Norfolk Park ▲ Play Day

drawing long shadows on a windy afternoon

Jan 30, 2025

Today was Play Day

To play means to live and to grow. I’ve neglected playing with my art for years, and my nervous system is showing it, and so is my work (in my humble opinion). To be able to work as an author and illustrator on long marathon book projects back to back, often under pressure, can be a real juggle. “But you are being creative all the time!”, you say. “What a dream career!” Well, your favourite hobby turned into a job, is work in the end, with all the pressure of other jobs, plus the added insecurities of freelancing.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m doing what I want to do. What I love to do! I’m making a difference in the lives of those who interact with my work. I’m a published author and illustrator who, so far in her career, has always had work. That’s a huge privilege and achievement! But free time is precious, it has become a commodity few can spare these days, and it’s no different for me. With a busy career, a young child and a home and garden to look after, and as a parent who cares about social and climate justice, I don’t have any spare in fact. So… I’m introducing a Play Day.

Isn’t that counterproductive, you say? To take time away from your work when you have none to spare. Well, it depends on where you are at in your life.

I can live with very little but still feel incredibly wealthy. I take pride in doing DIY and being thrifty. I feel relief knowing that I have a small footprint on the planet. We get our clothes predominantly from charity shops or second-hand; I wear them bubbled, with holes in them, and I mend them. We shop small, we only run a little used car, we don’t often go abroad, and what we have, we spend on the house that we own and everyday expenses. We are comfortable, the heating is on, and we have food to eat that we enjoy making. Tim’s family is near, and though my family is in Germany, and old friends are far away and we miss them, we have made some amazing new connections in Sheffield. Sheffield, the greenest city in the UK, with the beautiful Peak District a ten-minute drive from our doorstep and breathtaking walks and wild sights to behold.

Yes, of course, I dream of faraway places sometimes, but nothing more that is of material value. I never have. And I don’t need anything else. Truly, I don’t want anything else. And it’s the same with work. I work damn hard, and I want to continue writing stories and illustrating them, but if it makes just enough to survive on, I’m ok with that.

Chasing Joy Inside the Machine

The one thing that I do want, however, is joy! And I believe I can get that through play. Play that costs nothing. “Oh, wait! Yes, it does!” you say. “A day less of work each week means you won’t finish your projects as quickly.” I would answer that it is true, but also false. It’s the wrong economy to think of yourself as a robot that works at maximum output all the time and continuously. You are full of variants. You are an organism, a life, a flower,… you need to dance and play, to recharge, to reflect. And if you do that, you might just find your output is more efficient and of better quality.

So, I’m introducing a Play Day every week, or at least when I manage it. No strict rules and no pressure with this. Now, that would truly be counterproductive! A Play Day is a day to do anything. To go out drawing in nature, walk and see, learn something new, dance like no one is watching, or do nothing. Anything that is needed to inspire creativity and joy really.

I’ve neglected play for years, but I will no longer. Life is short and far, far too precious to buy into the myth of the capitalist work machine.

“Privileged!” you cry. Yes, I am. I have the choice to be less productive and, with that, potentially poorer, to restore physical and mental health for myself. It might make me less desirable to publishers or anyone that wants to work with me. I do not know. It might not. But I do know that in the end, when it’s curtains closing, I will have chosen for myself and my family to be present. An absolute privilege! An escape many on and below the breadline do not have. I’m aware of the broken system we live in and how it will grind you to the bone. David Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs is an interesting read. There is too much to say on the subject, and this is not that essay. Plus this Play Day introduction is already far too long.

Looking from Norfolk Heritage Park at Sheffield

Today, Play Day took me to…

Norfolk Heritage Park, Sheffield

Thursday 30th January 2025, 6°C, strong winds.

I planned to go and draw a tree and maybe another view. There’s an interesting architectural arch freestanding at the top of the park. I enjoyed the leaves rustling and dancing quickly, cheering me on my way up the hill to the park.

It was a day of brilliant sunshine and bitter cold wind. I didn’t want to be overwhelmed with materials. I haven’t drawn outside for so long. So I decided to stick with working in black & white today and only take my favourite good old trusty materials. Also, it was so cold, that I knew it wasn’t going to be a long sit down.

In my intrepid drawing kit:

a pencil roll of mostly graphite pencils and pens and black ink and brushes
a sketchbook
blanket scarf for extra warmth ( should pack a waterproof picnic blanket)
fingerless gloves
Water Bottle and a tiny Tupperware for painting water
Reusable coffee mug

I saw so much I wanted to draw. And I thought that if you can’t find something to draw on your doorstep, wherever you are, then you don’t want to draw badly enough!

Wandering just to see is full of wonder. I stopped to look at the ivy winding up the trees, the daffodils about to bloom and the light sparkling in the holly leaves. I instinctively knew that this exercise would inevitably connect me back to the seasons, and it felt so good!

Here are some pictures from today. Please feel free to use them as references too.

I settled on a bench.

I had not been there for a minute when I heard the phlegmatic smoker’s cough of a dog walker. She settled on the bench next to me. Her giant brown Labrador and German Shepard returned to me over and over again to sniff out my potato and thyme roll. She laughed and called them back loudly. Speaking to them gregariously and like naughty children at the same time. Sometimes she jerked up and ran over to me to claw them away. I didn’t mind the dogs but I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I imagined she was lonely and was there to chat with me. I would usually, but not today. I smiled but I didn’t speak. Today was a day for drawing.

Something in me has changed. I don’t feel the need to please anymore. I’m just here looking and drawing. So I watch. The wind is strong and I know I don’t have long before my fingers turn to ice. But the sun is warm.

This is what I see… a cottage. I just can't resist a cottage!

And this is my little, quick, cold-handed-line drawing.

The trees around it are magic. They are so tall and twisty. I should have stuck another piece of paper to the top to continue the height of them or started working in portrait. Note to self: Pack glue next time!