Welcome to Morning Ink, where I share my daily fountain pen drawing and whatever thoughts (sometimes none, mostly reasonably short, occasionally long and very rambling) jump out and onto the screen. If you don’t want daily emails you can toggle them off by going to Manage subscription – just turn Morning Ink off, no need to fully unsubscribe!1
I went out for my walk late yesterday and it was getting dark and pretty darned dark before I got home.
It looked darker than this. Of course my ‘smart’ phone makes adjustments because it knows it’s dark.
I have avoided going for walks out into the country when it’s dark for a while now. Ever since the Sarah Everard murder, to be honest. So more than four years.
I feel like I want to claim that back now. I don’t want to limit my walks to daylight hours or bringing my husband with me to feel safe. Just like I want to not be put off by rain or wind or snow (maybe ice… OK, definitely ice), I want to not be put off by the existence in this world of awful men. Awful men have always existed. (And awful women, of course, but…) And, in fact, being too scared to do normal things like walk after 7pm in the winter, is giving the patriarchy more power.
I enjoyed my walk and I didn’t feel at all scared, though I did feel a bit concerned in a couple of places where the pavement is very damaged, and a bit covered in slippery leaves, that I might fall. So, the only fear and anxiety I felt was about slipping and hurting myself, not being attacked.
Historically, that would have been the norm for me. Not expecting the worst and just getting on with life. I remember having quite a heated discussion with a relative who said she couldn’t possibly go on a solo trip to South America, because it wasn’t safe for a woman alone, and my saying you just can’t live like that, in that level of fear, because anything or any situation could result in something bad happening and what joy will you find in life if you only pick the smallest safest things. (Though, let’s be fair, I am never going to go mountain climbing or snowboarding, two things which she happily does, so everything does have to be about your own personal feelings of safety and security.)
Anyway, I am declaring it loudly.
I am now someone who will happily go for walks in the dark.
I also made a very nice soup last night. Mushroom and kale. It also had some lentils and buckwheat in. I actually feel the call to make an illustrated recipe of it. Something which hasn’t happened for quite a while!
And, this morning, after feeling momentarily glum – again – I think I found the solution to being interrupted mid Morning Ink flow. Pivot! (I am, of course, saying that as though I am Ross.) I switched to an ongoing piece on the iPad. I can work up existing sketches when there are other people around without a problem. It’s just the thinking, creative part I can’t do. Just like I can typeset while someone is chatting to me, but I can’t development edit.
Pivoting means I can keep within a creative flow, while not having to make people go away or go away myself. Sometimes it works out fine to keep on with the Morning Ink, such as when it’s a pattern, but sometimes switching to another similar task will do the trick. And it’s really not the end of the world if I finish the Morning Ink at 6 am, or 11.30 am – or even at 5 pm!
Thanks so much for being here. Your presence on its own is a joy, but I love to hear from you, too, so please do feel free to leave a comment. About something that has resonated for you in today’s picture or in today’s words. Or about something completely unrelated. Tell me about your morning, your creative practice, your particular work or life juggling act. Anything. If you want to go even further you can take out a paid subscription – if you’re happy to give me your postal address I'll send you some art of some kind in the post.
And if you don’t like subscriptions (I totally get it!) you can ‘tip me’ instead. But really, your presence and comments are the best rewards – if they could be exchanged for food and electricity, I’d be so very happy.
Oh yes please, to some foodie illustrations! I love those. 🤗