katelynski – Page 3

OTM #30: Suit

March 28, 2023March 28, 2023 katelynski Leave a comment

I think I must be sleep deprived, because I’m at a point where I think a person walking down the street in a suit is a Succession character. It’s coming to that point of the semester, though; everyone is tired and checking out, ready for summer. I’m first and foremost ready for spring, though, something we are apparently in currently yet the nasty wind and flurries has me begging to differ. I think it’s funny how much I allow what I’m watching to imprint on my life; in many ways, making fun of the professionalism in Succession has helped me lower the pressure of professional work settings and interviews. The less seriously I can take things, the easier they will be to overcome, and that’s really motivated me over this semester. Failure is vaguely exciting and moments of stupidity (such as above) bring me a joy that I can’t quite explain – either way, everything is fun when you find a way to make it less serious. I hope you are all powering through the end of the semester!

OTM #29: Sketchbook

March 21, 2023March 21, 2023 katelynski Leave a comment

Lately, I’ve missed the freedom of having a sketchbook. I used to fill out at least a page every day in high school. I’d take the time to sketch in classes and then color when I got home using my fancy Copics. There was something freeing about it; there isn’t an undo button like there is when I draw digitally, so I’d be forced to exert confidence with each and every line. After a while, I started to care less and less about making a perfect drawing, moving in favor of filling out the page with as many sketches and ideas as I possibly could. It brought me solace.

Now, though I have a physical sketchbook, it doesn’t feel the same as high school. I left all my fancy pens and markers in my hometown, leaving me sketching with only a black BIC pen. It’s still just as fun, but I realized that I missed the clutter of colors scattered across pages. Something had to be done about this, I thought. I need the solace of a sketchbook again.

So, I’ve started to use my same old sketchbook methods but digitally, now – I cover a huge canvas in as many doodles as I can, finished or unfinished. Mind you, this is a very unconventional method for digital artists; usually, it’s good to fill out one canvas with one drawing to preserve a higher quality. But for me, it’s fun to watch one canvas build up art over time. Every drawing is small in perspective to the whole canvas, alleviating any pressure I feel about creating a “perfect” drawing. It’s like a time capsule, a way to look back at my state of mind as I draw through each week, and I didn’t realize how much I missed that simple feeling until I started again. Below, you can see two examples (there’s even some old OTMs on these, haha)!

They’re a little messy, a little disorganized, but there’s so much love in them, and that’s what makes me happy. It’s fun to just go crazy and draw to my heart’s content all on one page, rather than focus on what used to make me scared about art (a perfect portfolio piece, dozens of hours sunken into one piece, extreme detail and technical skill). If you’re an artist and stuff like that’s been giving you some extra stress, maybe it would be fun to wind down with a massive sketch canvas, too! Have a great week!

OTM #28: Time Change

March 14, 2023March 14, 2023 katelynski 1 Comment

So there I was, playing mobile games like a loser at 1:59am that fated Daylight Savings evening. I was deluded enough to believe that I was gaining another hour, that time would move back for me – but I could not have been more mistaken. It was a moment of downright shame as I watched the clock jump from 2 to 3; I had been successfully navigating independent adulthood until that very moment. I let myself slip, I forgot. Of course, it’s not that serious, but to that tired version of myself, it felt like life or death. After sleeping off the silly mistake, I realized that I was not the only one who forgot or didn’t remember how the time change worked; maybe I am a proper adult after all, I thought. It’s fine that I forgot. I can just sleep early the next day. It’s funny how serious things can be taken sometimes. Have a great week everyone!

OTM #27: Reminiscing

March 7, 2023March 7, 2023 katelynski 1 Comment

There’s always something odd about revisiting media you liked in middle school. I picked up reading “Homestuck” for the first time in about eight years, and I almost felt the puberty-acne reforming across my face. My mind and body transported to my middle school’s halls, where I would scramble to my locker in-between classes to secretly read just one more page on my phone. As I read, I could even smell the notebook paper I’d draw the characters on as a kid. I have so closely tied this webcomic with every scent, sight, and feeling of uncomfortable adolescence, but despite this discomfort, I was glued to the screen as I reread it. I found myself recontextualizing, finding a way to integrate it into my adult life instead of sulking in the past. Homestuck is just as fun as when I was younger, it turns out. I felt my consciousness transporting into some plane transcending space and time, chatting with my younger self and saying, “Hey, you actually have good taste, and that’s really shocking because all I can remember about you is how sad and cringeworthy you were.” I learned to appreciate that younger Katelyn a bit more. Media has helped me through a lot, and I’m grateful that I’m able to look back and see how much I’ve grown via this silly webcomic. Have a good week everyone!

OTM #26: Caffeinated

February 21, 2023February 21, 2023 katelynski Leave a comment

Walking is one of my favorite things. I just got over having COVID this past week, and I think an extremely long walk was exactly what my body needed after the long rest period. I wasn’t that eager to walk in the first place, but sometimes coffee just has an insane effect on me – I think it’s funny how things in our bodies can change so quickly just because of different substances. I was shaking even after the walk, my body tired and asking me to lay down yet simultaneously twitching and shaking with vibrant energy. Despite that dissonant discomfort, it felt good in a way. It is grounding to feel my body at work, to gain awareness of my internal systems reacting to what I’ve fed them. After a week of illness, it felt like I was being Frankensteined back to life. It felt good to be out in nature, moving my limbs back and forth, back and forth. This week, it feels particularly good to be human. I hope you’re all hanging in there with midterms and looking forward to break!

OTM #25: Windy

February 7, 2023February 7, 2023 katelynski Leave a comment

I’ve had mixed feelings about the weather lately. It looks so sunny and beautiful from the comfort of my apartment, but the moment I round the corner of my building, I’m bombarded with high winds. I walk forward with cartoonish resistance, hoping I’m not going to fly backwards and break every bone in my body. It’s the type of wind that’s so cold, so strong it makes me sweat. It’s so lovably Michigan. I feel like my hair will look like Doc Brown or Albert Einstein when I get to class (of course, it never does).

I really love how walkable Ann Arbor is, though. Nothing gets me to pay attention to the weather and nature around me like this city, having to prepare for each day out. I take a lot of walks even in this temperature just because it gets me in tune with myself, with the world. There’s nothing as grounding as taking a walk, even if the wind is relentless and the air makes your nose run. Maybe a nice nap under blankets would be nice, too. Enjoy the week and thanks for reading!