Something old

This is a piece from my first sketchbook, which I kept in this way.

When I started this practice, I had to find a balance between the time I wanted to invest and the insights I hoped to gain from it. There is always a tension between expectations and possibilities.

When I look back at this old work today, I feel sentimental. How different this work is from what I create today! Who I was back then and how I’ve evolved since makes me realize how much I’ve learned.

Beyond that, however, I also discover many themes and aspects that preoccupy me then as now. In doing so, I uncover patterns. They reveal to me how my creative process has always worked, how I think, and what I love.

Even though I no longer edit my sketchbook pages as meticulously as in this example, and have found a different balance between time spent and insights gained, my expectations and possibilities have actually remained the same.