Toys used to be so much cooler back in the day. I realize this makes me sound like a very old nerd. I also realize that I AM a very old nerd. So there's that.
Our local antiques store had a huge treasure trove of vintage Native American themed toys and gifts this weekend. I realized that 1) I'd owned a lot of them and 2) none of my friends had. It never occurred to me that my collection was particularly large or unique. Doesn't every kid have a fixation on this country's indigenous population? Apparently not. I love the visual language of the Navajo and Hopi especially. My Kachina doll collection was the bomb.
This sketchbook spread features a man whispering some Yin Yang song lyrics into a lady's ear. I drew them separately, then realized the guy was definitely hitting on her. I can't imagine that singing the lyrics from "Wait, The Whisper Song" have ever worked. But today might be the day. We also have a hairless cat and some very mysterious Illuminati symbolism. I like to stay busy.
"Man on the Train: Hey, are you a dreamer?
Wiley: Yeah.
Man on the Train: I haven’t seen too many around lately. Things have been tough lately for dreamers. They say dreaming is dead, no one does it anymore. It’s not dead it’s just that it’s been forgotten, removed from our language. Nobody teaches it so nobody knows it exists. The dreamer is banished to obscurity. Well, I’m trying to change all that, and I hope you are too. By dreaming, every day. Dreaming with our hands and dreaming with our minds. Our planet is facing the greatest problems it’s ever faced, ever. So whatever you do, don’t be bored, this is absolutely the most exciting time we could have possibly hoped to be alive. And things are just starting" - waking life (movie).
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So the other day I had a beautiful conversation about lucid dreaming with some friends. We shared amazing dream memories that we all had experienced and right the next day this sleeping beauty started showing up on a piece of paper.
What about you, are you a dreamer? :)
♠️
This drawing looks a bit like one of those "how are you feeling?" hospital charts. It starts out okay ("smiling cat", "drunk pirate"), and descends into full Lovecraftian Horror. I was driving toward a local town known for its unpleasant yokels, which probably explains the progression. Today, for the record, I'm 75% Apathetic Lumberjack, 5% glassy-eyed cat, and 20% Vampire Waluigi.
There's a moment in Black Panther where Michael B Jordan's character steals an African mask from a museum. When the other character with him asks why, he says "I'm just feelin' it." The mask he grabbed was VERY cool, and I kind of wanted one, too. But, short of stealing things out of museums, I guess I'll have to draw them. If you click on the image, you'll see a full spread of them.
