Change your tool, change your perspective

Those who know me know that I’m a bit of a pen snob: the only pen you’ll find me carrying is a Prismacolor premier chisel point marker in black ink.
 
I love the nice fat line the broad edge of the chisel lays down on the paper, and it’s a recognizable trait of my drawings. For example:
 

 
Strong black lines and a simple drawing. . . with a lot of heart. That’s me right there!
 
But one recent day, when I reached for my chisel-point I realized that I had grabbed a 0.2 point marker at the store by mistake. I didn’t happen to have my usual pen on me, so I drew a picture with that fine-tipped replacement.
 

The finer points

 
I was thinking about Picasso’s line drawings and decided to draw a doodle for the day inspired by this style.
 
What came forth was something quite different from what folks tend to think of me drawing. (Or what I tend to think of me drawing!)
 

 

Size does matter

 
Suddenly, with a simple change of the pen, the world I drew was less cartoonish and more artistic. More detailed and more delicate. . . Even though what I was drawing was not particularly detailed OR delicate. (Face, food, etc.)
 
[highlights color=”ffea00″]A simple change of the pen resulted in a big change of perspective.[/highlights]
 
The things I draw with my “fat” and “juicy” pen are not the same things I can draw with my thin and drier pen. It’s a bit like the movie, “Tomorrowland”, where the world the main character sees is defined by the pin she is touching. Or in my case, the pen I am touching.
 
With my fat chisel point pen, the world is bold and flamboyant. Things are simple, because the details simply don’t matter in the drawing. There is a simplicity and confidence of line and idea when I use my fatty. Drawing is fast, instinctive, and bold. The extra details simply aren’t necessary.
 
With my thin pen, however, it’s a whole different world. Fine lines give space and permission for greater detail. They give permission for me to spend more time with my subject, getting to know it better, more intimately, than I would have gotten to know it with my chisel point pen.
 
Whether it’s a doodle that grows from a building’s edifice design:
 

 
Or even a furry friend wearing a tiny hat:
 

 
The complexity and feel of these drawings are much (MUCH!) different than the things I usually bust out. Even the process is different: I don’t “bust out” drawings with the fine point marker. Instead, I sink into the drawing more and allow myself to take more time.
 
[highlights color=”ffea00″]The instrument shifts the way I perceive — and subsequently represent — my subject.[/highlights]
 

Instrument(al) insights

 
As I reflect on this experience of changing up my tools, the following things come to mind:
 
1. I am more than my marker. One pen does not define me. We all have many sides to how we see things. . . and when I use a certain tool it guides me to think a certain way. As the noted psychologist Abraham Maslow said, “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” Well, my chisel-point marker was my hammer. Trading it out (willingly or accidentally) for a different instrument allowed me to see — and express myself — in ways even I didn’t expect.
 
2. Change can be joyous. Let’s face it: we can all get used to being a certain way, and to what we expect ourselves to be capable of. When we step outside of our comfort zone, it can be a little intimidating. . . and yet it can also be wildly liberating. Joyous. It was exciting to discover this new and lovely part of myself that was just waiting for my shift in perspective — and pen — to make it visible.
 
3. It’s okay to be both. Now that I see this new/old part of myself, does this mean that I have to let go of my chisel-point marker and only draw with finer points? No! This process isn’t an “either-or” one: it’s more of a “both-and” one! Discovering and embracing this other artist aspect to my Self simply means that I have more facets to play with, more tools to express myself. Sometimes I’ll want to be bold and strong and simple. . . and I’ll embrace the call of my chisel-point markers. Other times, I’ll want to be refined and delicate and elegant and more detailed. On those occasions, I will embrace the finer points of my tools AND my Self.
 

Change your tool, change your perspective

 
[blockquote source=”Marcel Proust”]The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. [/blockquote]
 
I’m curious: what tools do you use to experience your world on a daily basis? And what could be possible if you changed up your tool for a day? Whatever that tool may be? What if you walked instead of drove? Drew with a pencil instead of a marker? Got your news from conversation instead of the television?
 
What tool could give you new eyes?
 
Whatever tool you choose to change, I cannot WAIT to see what you draw forth!