I’ve always loved art and art history. And while I never considered myself an artist and never took a class, I really got into sketching in high school (nothing fancy, just with regular pencils). I don’t remember exactly when I stopped, but it had easily been a decade without touching a sketchbook.

Then one day last year I happened upon several boxes of charcoals and chalk pastels being given away a block from my house, and it felt like they were meant for me. This has been a year of learning how to use them and trying to develop my own original style. These really don’t resemble the types of art I pictured myself making at all, but it has been a great practice in opening myself up to inspiration, and following ideas without judgment to see what ends up on paper.