To know me is to know I have a sketch book with me almost at all times. These books are filled with many notes, thoughts and personal expressions that document my creativity in the time in which it was used. There are thumbnail sketches and quick gestures. There are detailed perspectives of planes that I draw to pass the time of a 1, 2 or 3 hour flight, and notes that i write to myself so I don’t forget. This may sound crazy but these sketch books become an extension of my memory. A paper hard drive that stores a short stints worth of “good times and potato salad”.

The latest sketchbook is particularly hard to retire. It spans a year that has seen so much. Starting with a trip to NYC, followed closely by an American Advertising Federation(AAF) Conference in Orlando that was the first of 3 trips to Florida for me. This trip introduced me to new friends, opportunities and was the catalyst for me changing careers. There were family trips to Baltimore and Disney, work sketches, WTG float drawings, logo designs, cartoons and jokes. The book ends with another AAF trip, this time to San Diego followed closely by the “mushroom drawings” for the Golisano Children’s Hospital Gala happening this Fall.

For me, this book is a time machine. Flipping through the pages takes me instantly back to the time when I drew each picture, sketched the thumbnail, or penned the note. A time machine that brings me back to the family and friends that share the history of each picture. Move over Einstein… I have a time machine in my hands.

Powerful stuff.

There is only a dozen or so pages left in the book now. It needs to be retired, but I’m not ready yet. I need to draw just a couple sketches more before it’s filed away on the shelf. Just a couple more sketches to help my brain remember when i pick the book up 6 months later. Just a couple more sketches to fuel the time machine to take me back to places that i enjoyed so dearly.

Then I can say “hello” to the new book. I’ll say, “Nice to meet you, please pay your respects to your predecessor as you pass by the hall. You have big shoes… er pages, to fill.”