The Habits of Viking Chickens
5 things from the studio this week
Hey! It’s good to write you this week. I hope you’re riding a wave of good vibes, making things you’re proud of. Here’s a collection of things I snagged as they flew by in the week that was:
1. SOME ART MAKING
When I find myself too enamored with somber topics, moody and adrift style choices and need to come back to home base, I draw funny things in an overly stylistic manner. There’s a simpleness to the shapes that feels like me.
Vikings and warrior chickens are begging for a complete story to live in, providing me hours of silly pontificating.1 I have the best job and I know it. This probably makes me unbearable to share a studio with. (Good thing it’s just me and ancient berserker poultry drawings.)
2. WORK WISDOM
In the end, there is no one ideal condition for creativity. What works for one person is useless for another. The only criterion is this: Make it easy on yourself.
Find a working environment where the prospect of wrestling with your muse doesn't scare you, doesn't shut you down. It should make you want to be there, and once you find it, stick with it. To get the creative habit, you need a working environment that's habit-forming.
— TWYLA THARP, THE CREATIVE HABIT
I connect with this notion of “wrestling with your muse” and finding a way to set up the fight to be on your terms, giving yourself the high ground. The way Twyla describes this as a habitual act is something I’ve been trying on for real and with intention for a month or two.
What can I do to make my space and my habits as conducive as possible to the kind of creativity I’m after? What needs to be jettisoned? What should I keep?
The one thing I know I’m doing that is absolutely necessary — is showing up.
3. THING I LOVED
As you may have sussed out by now2, I think we hold ourselves back more often than not. My own creative journey is marked by replacing my old ways of seeing things with new eyes, sprung up from rich “growth mindset” soil. Along the way, I’ve encountered little tricks and hacks that make it all work a bit more easily.
When I read this post by
, churned up from the
Mason opens the door to applying this kind of thing to the creative life:
What I love about this collection of advice is its acknowledgement and tolerance of human foibles, and its compassionate attitude toward them. This attitude is especially important for creative workers, I think! As I’ve written before, the best projects are often the ones where you have no idea what you’re doing and/or you’re operating at the very edge of your abilities. But working this way can create a tremendous amount of resistance—and the above techniques provide a lighthearted roadmap to overcoming that resistance.
4. A BOOK TO READ
There are times when I read a review and I think “I wish I had thought of that.” There have probably been a few with Mr.Tabor’s name associated. Just listen to this opening salvo from Kirkus:
Crow sits on a telephone wire as various animals approach, cajoling him into playing.
Crow utters one word—“KAW”—to all, even Hummingbird, who invites him to “race-n’-do-tricks-n’-loops.” Is Crow just standoffish? It turns out he has more on his mind than silly games. He is a secret agent with an important mission—to save the world from a giant asteroid hurtling toward Earth.
What!? He can’t play because of what now? This is the kind of book I would have checked out of the library a hundred times as a kid. Corey has the ability to take a concept and throw some Corey on it in way that is unexpected and delightful. Also, this:
As in earlier titles, such as the Caldecott Honor–winning Mel Fell (2021), Tabor plays with the physical format of the picture book, depicting Crow descending an elevator inside the telephone pole; down, down, down he goes to reveal a spaceship waiting for blast-off.
A spaceship telephone poll? Cranky, Crabby Crow (Saves the World) is on my list, 100%.
5. EPHEMERA, ETC.
Fellow children’s book illustrator and author (and substack-er),
put out a call for folks to talk creativity and I took her up on it. I try to not embarrass myself as I share things like:A successful creative life looks like joy in the process. If I’m doing it right, it’s equal parts grit, grind and epiphany. It’s mostly this.
You can read the full interview (dropped Wednesday) here.
Speaking of embarrassing myself, I was invited to partake in a “drawing game on Instagram with fellow illustrators I admire” just last night. You can watch it until the end to find out the depths of my loss in said game. I was just excited to hang out with
(also rep’d by Jen Rofé), Mark Hoffmann (the game was set up and hosted by his incredible wife, Lauren Hoffmann), and Sarah Anderson Walsh (whose artworks I find amazingly charming).See you next week!
Best,
Jacob
Throw in some deep thoughts on habits and you get strange and dreamy titles to weekly newsletters. I imagine yoga, axe sharpening, with an occasional molting.
The last couple of letters to you have been about shedding unhelpful mindsets:
Things I learned this week:
Corey Tabor has a new book I need to read.
I'm going to start talking about chores in reference to my future self.
Always read Jacob Souva's Substack.
Tis a fowl fit for a fjord!