Online presents

Hello wonderful pals!

For the past couple of months or so I've been stressing myself out with trying to keep up to date with social medias, online groups, blog posts, emails and admin in general. Then foolishly on top of that I decided to run my first Kickstarter. 

Don't get me wrong: Kickstarter was great, I'm super glad I did it (although I couldn't have done it without a lot help from my proofreading/professional writing hero Owen Heitmann)! My heart cockles were warmed by the response from family and friends and strangers who wanted to back the project. I was overwhelmed with the amount of support that the project generated. But that's the thing, I was overwhelmed. 

 

With all the time I had to spend on the computer with up-keep of the Kickstarter and then also just my general online presence stuff over all the other groups I help to organise, I was running pretty thin and I really just wanted to be writing and drawing my own work. The work that I'd quit my day job for. 

All the social media stuff had become a bigger part of my freelancing job than the actual creation of art. And creating art was what I wanted to spend my unpaid time doing. I wanted to spend every free second (i.e. every second I wasn't doing a job for someone else) on my book or experimenting with stories and ideas. But then of course once I was on the social media sites, I would get sucked in to looking at everyone else's beautiful pictures, making me feel worse for not creating and about my abilities to create. There has been many a time that I've gotten sucked into the continuing scroll. I'm sure you know the feeling of spending too much time looking at other people's work and worrying about not doing enough work yourself. But instead of getting off the internet and doing work, you keep scrolling. 

I've often been surprised when people compliment me on my online presence because I don't really see myself as a tech savvy person. I link most things to my Instagram (my platform of choice because it's mostly images) so I don't have to really use Tumblr (while I don't mind it, I don't really get it) and only have to do extra updates on Facebook when I have events and things. I have no idea how to Twitter, and I do not care to learn.

Then in the past few weeks I realised how much pressure I'd been putting on myself to keep my online presence going even though I've been working pretty much every day with teaching and workshops and mentorships and new jobs and grant application deadlines and prep for interstate travel. 

The most pressure I'd been putting on myself was around my blog posts. I constantly worry that they aren't long enough or aren't interesting enough. Sometimes I'd have lots of ideas for blog posts and sometimes none at all. I wanted to spend more time on them but there are only so many hours in the day and what I need (and I mean this as in an urgent, super strong, gut feeling) is to work on the book. And I guess sleeping and eating and maybe seeing my friends occasionally should get a look in. 

Then these thoughts popped into my head, "If I'm not posting, I'm not creating work - and if I'm not creating work, do I deserve to be a freelancer? I'm very lucky to be in the position to quit my day job to work on what I love. I should not be squandering my time. I need to work harder. And show people what I'm working on." These thoughts are super hard and complicated and I think I might unpack them a little bit later, when I'm ready, in another blog post. 

So guys, I'm making a call. I'm going to focus on making this book happen. I want to get it to the stage that I can send it out to agents or publishers by the end of the year and to do that I need to take a break from online. 

Have no fear, citizen! I'll still be around. I'm going to try to keep writing blog posts but I'm not going to necessarily do them once a week. I'll be posting a little less on the socials and I'll be taking on fewer commissions. 

Right now, all I'm going to do is make myself a cuppa, sit down with a sketchbook and let my brain relax and create. 

Thank you to everyone for all your continuing support, I appreciate every kind word. You can of course still contact me via email, I might just take a little time to reply. 

Gxx

My blog is brought to you by the help of my Patreon Pals. If you want to become a George Rex Patreon Pal, then just jump to my Patreon page here. 

Curiosity Care

Hello wonderful pals!

We all get stuck sometimes. It's a pretty common ailment of making something. Putting your heart and soul into a project, whatever it is, can be super rewarding and satisfying but also super tiring and scary. It can take all my brain power just to write a few words, because getting started is, at least to me, the hardest bit.

I've been stuck more than once while writing Oh Brother but luckily I've also been able to get unstuck too. Sometimes with help from other people and sometimes by just waiting around for my brain to let me back in on the project. And the bigger the project, the more chances you have to get stuck!

Of course once you're on a roll, then it feels good. You're working hard everyday, making great headway, nothing can stop you and then, BAM. You're stuck again. On a plot point or style choice or something stupid that doesn't even mean anything but you just can't get it out of your head.

I'm currently writing part three of my book, and the written script part of the process (before I start digging into the drawings) is the hardest for me. For a few months now I've been in this limbo space, flipping between productivity and slump. Seeing how I was feeling, a good friend of mine recommended and gifted me a book. This book was: 

I have been enjoying reading Elizabeth Gilbert's views on creativity and I would also recommend this book for any creative thinking person (or any person tbh). I was particularly grabbed by her writings about curiosity. Gilbert writes that curiosity is accessible to everyone, contrasting it to passion (which feels more specific, unattainable and somewhere over there). Curiosity, however, says Gilbert, only asks one question: "Is there anything you're interested in?" 

And Gilbert's thoughts about curiosity were able to capture some of the feelings that have been floating around my brain and helped me to bring them to the forefront and crystallise them.

So I've been thinking that curiosity care is something that we all need to start doing. Let our curiosity take us to places we didn't know that we were interested in. Give it the time to stare in wide-eyed wonder, gasp at new knowledge and walk down a different path. It may feel like you're taking the long road to get back to your project, and you probably are, but it's going to be a pretty great trip and if you don't take it maybe you won't get back to your project at all. 

Being curious can come in many different shapes and forms. You don't have to be learning about something new to be curious about the world. And a lot of my curiosity comes from stopping and thinking about something I already know pretty well and trying to think about it in a different way. 

A lot of the time I just want to get my brain out of all the To Do lists I've written and just thinking about anything else. So here are a few things I use to help me get my brain cogs off lists and relax enough to let the world in. 

1. Tea

Yes, yes, we all know that I, someone who categorises and labels her dried leafy mixes into individual specially bought plastic containers, really likes tea. But I think sometimes I forget some of the reasons why I really like tea. I love the waiting for the kettle to boil, picking out the right tea for the moment, picking out the right cup for your feels, breathing in the steam of the hot water, smelling your tea choice and sitting with it. Not doing anything but sitting with your tea. 

Picking the right tea for the moment can be hard but I think it's important. I get easily stuck on whichever tea I normally choose to drink in the morning, with my lunch or just before bed. So one thing I like to do when I'm in a slump is to try different teas at the 'wrong' time of day. Here are some of the teas I have made and their magical properties. 

2. A different point of view

I have found that sitting in chairs all day can be pretty tiring, particularly if you are staring at a screen all day too. So if I don't have time to leave the studio, I like to eat my lunch on the ground by my desk. I enjoy seeing the world from a view I spent a lot of my childhood, well, viewing. Also lying on the ground and looking up to the ceiling and just letting your mind wander can be really great. I find it really hard to let my mind wander on anything other than making lists of things I need to get done, but I do manage it sometimes.  

3. Walking

Walking has been one of the biggest things in the past 12 months that I've discovered really helps me to think through tough spots in stories or mental blocks. A lot of my a-ha moments are when I'm walking or swimming laps. This is because if I do it long enough I get over that natural brain reaction of making lists in my head and move onto other things that must have been lurking in there but have been hidden by all those To Do lists. 

I personally like to look up at the skyline and the clouds when walking. The sky is endlessly fascinating to me. I will never be able to capture in my illustration a cloud the way I see it in real life, and that is so intriguing and mysterious to me, like a 40s noir film. 

4. Reading

Something that I've been trying get myself back into is reading more. I know I read a bit but not as much as I would like or think I should. I often think that if I'm reading I could be drawing instead. But you see it's actually okay to consume things too, you don't just have to create! Crazy, I know, but it's something that I'm trying to come to terms with. And if I don't consume other media it won't be able to inform my own work and help me to grow as an artist. So when I'm feeling like my brain is sludge and writing just one more email will make me cry or everything I've been drawing lately has been coming out just not quite that minimum level I'm used to, I'm trying to get myself to read a book or a comic. And then I'm working on not feeling guilty about it.

5. Drawing

The last thing I do when I'm in a bit of a rut is draw stuff I know I can draw. Stuff I like. Usually for me this means drawing my bag and all of its contents. But it can extend to drawing ladies in styles of clothes I would like to trial wearing. Or skulls. I quite like drawing skulls. This gives me the feeling that I've actually drawn something that day and it usually doesn't look terrible. 

Even though I think taking a break or letting your curiosity take over for a while is good and necessary, my personal little motto, that I say to myself at least once a day, is:

The only thing that will make you feel better about the work is doing the work.

The only times I have felt like I'm on top of my project, that I'm making actually physical, tangible headway, is when I've done something. And it doesn't even have to be a big bit of something. In fact, I'm a big fan of the chip away every day. But it's when I do something that I feel the best. 

ANYWAY. This post is waaaaay too long so I will stop (plus this post has been in my drafts for months and I've already had to write and re-write it a few times. It's time for me to cut it off and focus on some new blog posts).

Have a stellar dream tonight. One that you remember really clearly the next day. One that you can still talk about in years to come. 

My blog is brought to you by the help of my Patreon Pals. If you want to become a George Rex Patreon Pal, then just jump to my Patreon page here. 

Just quit your day job

I've had a couple of weeks in the studio now and I'm slowly settling into the idea of supporting myself with my art. It still feels pretty scary when I think too much about being able to pay the rent. But I don't want that to be what I think. I want to think about the comics I can create and the improvements I can make on my drawing skills and the story-writing skills I can learn by having the time to write more. 

So I'd better get going and make me some comics. 

Gx

A day in the studio

Hello hello!

This week we take a sneak peek at my studio. The studio is this magical place for both the artist and anyone looking in at the artist. It reflects how they work, what they love, and what they aspire to do and create. For me a tidy organised study is the only way to go - I try to clean it up at the end of each day before I head home but while I'm there it's a total bomb site. 

For years I thought that spending time creating work was like filling a sketchbook; if you were a real artist you worked hard from 9-5, got a tonne of work done and then knocked off for a G&T with your other artist buddies talking about philosophical things and all the rad projects you're working on. 

I soon realised that this was rarely the case. Those dream studio days do happen but they are few and far between. 

I have many plans to organise my days. Plans so that I'll work really hard on big projects, writing work, commissions, planning lessons (all the brain work) in the morning, and then go and visit libraries and museums in the afternoon, reading and learning about new things. Or watching films or sitting in the sun and drawing people and plants and buildings I see. 

Of course these plans are admirable but have not yet come to fruition. Paid work comes first and I don't want to 'put off' finishing Oh Brother but I've been finding it so hard to sit down and write it. Often when I do, I get emotional, remembering the stories. Or I start worrying about whether what I'm writing will be good enough; will this actually help anyone? I know these are thoughts I must dispel from my mind if I am to get anywhere with the next two parts and hey, some days are diamonds and I get quite a bit done. 

And I do worry about my work ethic. Am I creating enough work? Am I creating quality work? Am I focused enough? Am I posting enough online? I worry that maybe I just don't have what it takes to work in a studio full-time. Maybe I can't hack the ebb and flow of the creative process and I won't be able to push through those slump periods. The line between work and play is blurred when you are creating because you can't tell your brain to stop thinking about your project (at least I can't).

Having a separate space to work does help. Walking somewhere and sitting down to work. Going home and now you can relax. Although I find it hard to not do something. I feel guilty if I don't just finish off that drawing or send that email but also my body is telling me to relax. All work and no play makes Gina a dull cartoonist. I should listen to my body more. 

I'm constantly questioning my abilities to create the art I want to create, which hopefully will translate into improving and honing my skills rather than turning me off from creating my work all together. I want to create work I'm happy with but I also never want to stop learning and getting better. 

Stay Excellent Pals,

xx

What is a 'Patreon'? - Special announcement

Hello hello hello!

SO GUYS! I have some news. I have started myself a Patreon account. For those who don't know what a Patreon account is let me explain!

A Patreon account is kind of like a Kickstarter, where you donate money to an artist or group working on a one off project (for example funding the publication of a comic book or to produce a podcast or board-game), and receive a reward (how rad the reward will depend on how many dollars you donate). 

Patron has this same donation // reward system except instead of a one off payment you make a monthly payment, kind of like a subscription, and you get a monthly reward! Of course you can unsubscribe at anytime and you can just do a one off payment (then unsubscribe the next month) if you want to help me out but can't commit to a monthly deal. 

I want to keep working on my book about growing up with a brother with autism (and also to keep drawing silly little autobio comics). If you’ve been enjoying these blog posts and can spare even $1 a month and help me out by donating (and get yourself some sweet rewards as well as my everlasting gratitude) I would be over the moon!

If you’re keen to become a George Rex Comics Patreon Member, just follow this link to my Patreon page and then click on the orangey/red 'Become a patron' button and pick your donation level. Any and all dollars are appreciated, literally every dollar counts. 

If you can't/don't want to donate for whatever reason - I understand! I'll still be making comics and writing this blog (I don't think I'll ever be able to stop) and you’ll still be able to see them. Patron members will just be able to see them a little earlier than everyone else and will get a few extra treats (like Badges sent to them through the post or special extra short comics just for them). 

If I can get some regular Patreon support then I'll be able to focus on my art and get more of it out to you wonderful people. And for all of you wonderful people who have already read about this on my Facebook and Tiny Letter I'm sorry you've been hearing about it from so many different angles. I promise that I won't be talking about it for a while now. 

Thanks for reading, back to normal, once a week posting now. I really appreciate you guys just reading my blog, it's a pretty awesome thing to have people read your blog and take the time to respond and comment on what I write. 

You guys are great. 

xx

Goals and To Do lists

Those who have met me for longer than, say, 10 minutes will know that I am a worrier. I'm also a planner and an organiser. Although these qualities can bring on little spells of anxiousness, for the most part they help me achieve my goals in a timely fashion. 

I make lists of what I need to get done, what blog posts I'm going to write, and what my goals are for the future (both comics and life related). I write daily, weekly and monthly lists. And this year I have even written a general all-year plan. 

I think about things I want to do before I turn 27. I think about skills I need to gain to improve my comics. I think about things I want to know about to make me a more interesting person. And then I write lists about them.

I use colours to indicate which day I complete the tasks on my weekly studio To Do lists, so I can track how much I get done in one day. All these things are great and all and even can help me to remember/put straight all the ideas and things I've got to get done. But at the moment I don't feel like I have enough things on my To Do list to justify the time I put into them. 

As part of finishing off the first draft of my script (read the post about that here), I've kind of ended up in a bit of a post-project slump (unfortunately, I haven't even finished the project, just a draft of a section of it). I know I've done quite a lot of work towards my graphic novel book and there is nothing wrong with wanting a little break or breathing space from the work. Working on a personal story like Oh Brother means that some days in the studio are quite emotionally draining. The work gets me to think about a lot of things to do with my brother, both past and future, that scare me. It feels weird finishing off something big, the biggest thing I've ever done (in comics), and I feel a little lost. 

So I've been taking a break while waiting for feedback from a variety of people I've asked to read my rough draft script and during this break I've been in a limbo of wanting to do more work on Oh Brother and wanting to just draw stuff for fun. In the past week I've had a huge urge to write something fictional or to start experimenting with different art mediums (coloured pencils being a favourite at the moment). But I feel guilty for wanting a break from the work, for wanting to get out of the studio and sit in cafes and sketch and think about fantasy worlds and just draw things I really like drawing (instead of having to draw my brother or me over and over again).

It's not like I don't have things to do. I have plenty of emails and a few commissions that I'm finally catching up on. But the To Do lists seem to mock me; they are filled with days sitting at a computer and my body just wants to get out there and draw and experience the world. And then the guilt comes in and I get stuck in this middle zone of not sending emails and then spending time out at cafes thinking about the emails I should be sending, not enjoying being out in the world. 

At the start of the year, I had it all worked out. I put in wiggle room (just in case I couldn't do things as quickly as I thought I would). I sent the outlines to my mentors, proud as punch and determined that I would finish the whole book (final art and everything) by the end of the year. I would achieve this while working part-time and playing roller derby and seeing my friends and family occasionally. My mentor Pat's first email told me not to rush the book. That I shouldn't worry if I didn't finish it by the end of the year. And I soon realised that he was right. By March/April I had changed my overall plan to finishing the final art for part one of the book, along with the scripts for parts 2 and 3. I would be able to get that done no problem by the end of the year. And again I soon realised that no, if I still wanted to work part-time, play roller derby and ever leave the house/studio to see daylight, I would either need to cut down my goal or cut out another factor. This was when I realised that I wanted to make a go at drawing comics full-time and took 6 months Leave Without Pay from my work. 

Since starting my leave from work a couple of months ago, I have hung out with Pat and worked on my written script, learnt how to thumbnail and then completely thumbnailed my script, and created a 100 page readable rough draft of part one of my comic. I felt like I was on track to complete my goals for the rest of 2016. I felt like I had made the right decision. I have loved being in the studio full-time and wish that it's what I could do for living. But then I worry that turning making comics/illustration into something that I rely on for money will take away the magic or worse I won't be able to be self-motivated enough to keep finding work. But sometimes when I think about going back to an office job I just can't imagine me doing that right now. 

However, at one recent feedback session with two comics pals (Greg Holfeld and Robin Tatlow-Lord), they suggested that maybe I shouldn't jump right in and do finished art for the whole of part one, but rather maybe pick a section/story and just finish that as a sample and then send the publishers the full draft and the sample story with finished art. This was good advice, or at the very least something to think about. Unfortunately it meant that I couldn't just jump straight into my plan of doing the final art for part one. I needed to sit down and figure out what to do next. 

And that's pretty much where I'm at. Not sure which way to go and waiting for feedback. Not sure about what I want to do in my near future. Knowing that in January I head back to a good office job and that I would be crazy (from a stability point of view) not to want to go back. But I just can't shake this feeling that I need to try to make a go of drawing comics for real. It's not just something I want to do, it's something I feel like I need to do. 

So, while I wait until that moment I finally decide what I'm doing next (which I'm sure will change regularly), I will keep writing lists upon lists, trying to figure out what I need to get done today, this week, next month, in five years, until I figure it out. 

I even write lists of the all the points I want to cover in my blog posts about goals and To Do lists. 

I even write lists of the all the points I want to cover in my blog posts about goals and To Do lists. 

Phew! Sorry for such a wordy post. I promise to have some more illustrated ones soon. 

 

Stay classy folks,

Gx

In which our hero checks in

So guys, I thought I would check in with you. We are about 6 months through the year and I thought you might be interested in how I am going with this graphic novel project -- you know, using hindsight and stuff. 

Part one: The goals.

Even before I started going part-time at my day job, I wrote down what I wished I'd ideally be able to achieve with this GN project by the end of the year. They are pinned to my studio pinboard, sitting there waiting to be forgotten about. 

 

Some of these goals were achievable, and I have actually been keeping pretty well on track with what I was hoping to do -- with one, tiny, difference: instead of finishing the whole book by the end of the year, I'm only planning to finish part one (of three).

I soon realised that I couldn't conceivably do research, write, thumbnail, pencil, ink, colour and edit 200+ pages by the end of the year when I only had two days in the studio a week.

Part two: Starting a blog / keeping a studio journal. 

At the very start of the year, I thought to myself that I should keep a weekly blog and a studio journal. Not only so I know what I need to do, but also to remind myself how much I have actually achieved. I didn't want to get lost in the project, going down the wrong rabbit holes.

As I am queen of list making, I also made daily (which turned into weekly) To Do lists. I stuck these side by side with my studio diary so I have both a list of things I did and my feelings about those things (and other things floating around my brain).

Part three: Mentors. 

As part of my scholarship, I organised mentorship from two radical Australian cartoonists: Pat Grant and Mandy Ord.

Mandy: I'd never met Mandy before; I just wrote her a letter and asked if she would consider mentoring me. I couldn't believe it when she said yes. I was terrified to meet her for the first time.

We have now met a couple of times and have been sending each other a sketchbook through the post.

It's been lovely getting to know Mandy (and getting mail!) through writing comics to each other. I'm hoping in the second half of the year that I will be able to spend some dedicated time with her going over thumbnails & pencils and figuring out ways of story telling. 

Pat: I had met Pat last year at the Comic Art Workshop in Tasmania.

Next week I'll be in Wollongong, doing a two-week visit to Pat's studio and hopefully gaining all the comic knowledge and pulling apart my script for Part One. I am still a little terrified of what Pat will be doing and worried that I'll be painfully shy for the first few days. So I thought I'd take a sketchbook with some things I want to talk about with Pat (so I don't forget them or can get him to read them if my words fail me) and also fill in the pages while I'm there -- in other words, keep a little comic record of the trip.  

Part four: Story structure/scripts and getting my teeth stuck in. 

Now, what did I get a scholarship for again? Oh yeah that's right, writing! 

For the first few months of this year I did interviews with family and Rob's carers. I wrote down stories & anecdotes about my childhood growing up with Rob on post-it notes and colour co-ordinated them into types of stories. 

Then, under the recommendation of mentor Pat, I started thinking about the story beats. I also started thinking about who I wanted to read the book (I would ideally like it to be like a good Pixar film: for kids but adults can get something out of it) and what I would like to get them thinking about. 

From writing all this down, I realised that my stories all fitted into three bigger topics: Communication, Obsessions, and Fears.

I started using the 'Milk Bottle' way (again a suggestion from Pat) of tackling the project. Chipping away at a little bit every day, using the first part of the day (the cream on top of the milk) to do my main thinking and story nutting out before tackling all the other things in life (emails and admin and the stuff that you want to do less). 

So I started writing for at least 15 minutes a day, then moved on to writing at least one story a day in script form (describing what visually will be in the panels as well as the text). I found that I tackled writing the script-writing best when I was in a cafe. 

I seemed to be drawn to the stories about communication and started focusing on writing those, my goal being to finish part one of the book (which is about communication) by the end of the year. 

Part five: Time struggles and Leave Without Pay (LWOP).

Time is a funny thing. It doesn't matter how much you think you have, or how well you manage your time, you always seem to run out. I mentioned above that I knew I would not have enough time to finish the whole book by the end of the year. I soon started worrying/realising that I might not be able to finish even part one if I kept working a day job. 

I would have my Monday and Tuesday in the studio, start getting on a roll and then, bam! I'm back at work. It's really hard to enjoy work when you've got a comics project sitting in your studio waiting to worked on. 

So I sat down, did some sums and lots of thinking and figured I could live comfortably for 6 months without working. After sleepless nights and bundles of nerves I got up the courage to ask my manager about taking LWOP for the second half of this year. To my surprise, it was approved. Which means as of this week, I'm doing comics, FULL TIME. It's pretty exciting. 

I am of course terrified that I will fall into bad habits of watching re-runs of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and falling asleep on the couch. But hopefully my willpower will prevail.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Phew, this was a wordy one this week, sorry guys!

Hope your day has as many sparkles as you want it to have. 

Gx

In which our hero learns how to market herself

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough be able to attend an Enterprise Bootcamp. It was teaching me all about how to market myself as an artist and how to produce work and be professional at design markets. Interesting stuff and being the nerd I am I kept some notes. I thought that you guys might be interested in reading them. So here they are. 

Please excuse all the spelling mistakes. 

That's it for this week. Short and sweet. Promise to write soon. xx

In which our hero talks about the importance of personal space

My current studio space, filled with all my favourite things: books, comics, art, podcasts, cups of tea and art supplies. 

My current studio space, filled with all my favourite things: books, comics, art, podcasts, cups of tea and art supplies. 

Creating a space is something I do. I think I've always done it and I don't think I could not do it. I love working with everything I love around me and within easy reach. 

When I moved into my current apartment, I was like, 'Now Gina, let's keep these nice, white walls minimal in their decoration. Keep It Simple.' Anyone who knows me realises that this is almost impossible for me. Within a month, every available spot on my bedroom walls was covered in art, anatomy posters and photos of pals. I think I just have to submit to my true nature. 

I have loved building cubbies and pillow/blanket forts since I was little. 

Me and my teddy (Mason) just hanging out with my hoard of safety blankets (I'm hiding them behind me like a dragon hiding treasure).

Me and my teddy (Mason) just hanging out with my hoard of safety blankets (I'm hiding them behind me like a dragon hiding treasure).

I would often work on the floor as a kid/teen and I liked working in circles. I mean, even my business card is an aerial shot of me surrounded by all my favourite things, everything specifically  placed in just the right spot. 

Creating this bubble of things would help me calm down when I got (get) nervous or overstimulated with my surroundings. It happens less these days but usually after a couple of hours of socialising environment I can start getting anxious and usually need some drawing alone time. 

The idea of surrounding myself with things that make me happy and help me feel calm is just something I've naturally gravitated to. I never leave my house without a bag filled with books, paper, pens, pocket knives (and now my laptop) -- anything I would need for any situation. I never like being caught with a great idea or spare time on the bus or train or at a meeting or cafe without my mini studio in a bag. 

Circles. They are the best. 

Circles. They are the best. 

Rob also has the knack for space creating -- surrounding himself with all his favourite things, including (but not limited to): vegemite toast, toys with wheels, coke in a measuring cup, blankets, books with lots of pictures (we both love pictures - we also share the same favourite Beatrix Potter book, The Tailor of Gloucester) and Disney cartoons.

Also in Rob's personal space creating is sound or the lack of other people making it. Rob loves making noise while he's watching his fave shows, he can get real loud, but he doesn't like anyone else to be noisy around him. This often leads to him having one finger in his ear (leaving one hand free for book reading, snack eating etc). Sometimes, wanting to keep that one hand free, he'll try to put his shoulder up to his unblocked ear and still grab for things. He actually makes it work pretty well. 

He also managed to create personal Rob spaces at school as well as home. I remember seeing this photo come home in Rob's school diary and being super jealous that Rob didn't have to sit at a table with lots of other kids. 

Although the caption from this school visual diary entry reads 'Rob at home', Rob is actually at school. 

Although the caption from this school visual diary entry reads 'Rob at home', Rob is actually at school. 

Although there are similarities, personal space for Rob is very different to mine. Rob's space is everywhere and everyone else is just disrupting his space, whereas my space is this protective shield, defending me from everyone else. 

While Rob would often come and stand face-to-face to me, naked, trying to tap my teeth and being darned cheeky, I would lock myself in my room listening to Billie Holiday and rearranging my bookcase in a new order. 

I would eat with my family at dinner time, sitting in the same seat over time, whereas Rob would eat in his room away from everyone else. 

Even though we are both lovers of personal space, I still liked connecting with people (preferably ones I already knew and only for short amounts of time) and Rob preferred being alone. Here's a photo that pretty much sums up me and my brother. 

Home Photos 2.jpg

That's it for this post. I hope you enjoyed it! How do you feel about personal space? Do you create your own little bubbles of calm around you to get you through the day?

Stay excellent and write you soon. xx