“If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly those moments.”
— Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Happy Wednesday, friends!
I hope you’re all having an inspired week so far. I woke up this morning with every intention to write about my experience speaking at the CreativeMornings group here in Montevideo on Friday. My talk was titled “The Alchemy of Moments,” and I loved sharing about how my sketchbook helps me catch more of life’s little moments and remember them more deeply — a process I recently realized is a kind of alchemy, transforming our ephemeral moments into eternal memories.
But when I sat down at my desk today, spread out my laptop and notebook before me, and brought my pen to the page, an entirely different idea came to mind.
I just returned last night from a brief trip to the beach: to the lovely seaside town of José Ignacio, about a 2.5-hour drive from Montevideo. When packing my bags this past Saturday morning, I was especially excited to include my sketchbook and sketching supplies. I’ve sketched in José Ignacio before — with its iconic 140-year-old lighthouse as my subject — and it was fun to envision what creative adventures this return trip to the coast might hold. And yet here’s the truth:
I spent the whole weekend taking photos with my smartphone — and never once got out my sketchbook.
* * *
At CreativeMornings on Friday, I began by telling the group about the wall I hit as a traveler in 2011 — that when I only traveled with my camera, it felt like I returned home after each trip and could barely remember the place I had just visited. I spent each trip running from place to place, staying still just long enough to take a blitz of photos before moving onto the next site to see.
Sketching changed all of that for me — it taught me how to be still in a place; how to slow down and stop running so much; and how to see each place with my own eyes and mind, instead of only through the eye of my camera.
But when I sat down to write about that this morning, my mind suddenly thought back to my trip to the beach over the weekend, and to how I’d documented the journey with yet another blitzkrieg of photos — and not a single sketch. Furthermore, many of the photos I’d uploaded were Instagram Stories, i.e. photos that are visible for just 24 hours before they disappear from your profile.
And the realization I had then was this:
If I’m going to encourage others to set down their smartphones and cameras more often and pick up their sketchbooks, shouldn’t I be doing the same?
* * *
But right as that realization arrived this morning, so did the idea for a new mini-project.
I thought about how reliant I still am on my camera to document everyday moments from my life, and how it might be good to challenge myself to exchange my smartphone for my sketchbook for a certain period of time.
It then occurred to me that today also happens to mark the start of Lent — the period of 40 days leading up to Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter Sunday. Many people use Lent as a time of fasting, even giving up something like coffee, candy, or chocolate, in honor of the time that Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness before his crucifixion.
And so as my mind raced to do something with all of these swiftly arriving thoughts, a surprising idea presented itself:
What if I gave up my camera for Lent?
And in place of taking so many photos, what if I committed to creating one small sketch a day for the next 40 days, thereby catching 40 of my favorite moments?
As soon as the idea came to me, I felt a rush of excitement. I love that it’s simple and I’ll spend no more than 30-60 minutes on a sketch most days — only long enough to catch that day’s favorite moment. I also love that it naturally connects to our Moment Catchers sketching challenge, and I’m excited to create my sketches for both March and April’s challenges in this sketchbook.
Most importantly, I love that my goals for the 40 Days of Moments project are really no different from those that first inspired me to start sketching in 2011:
1. I want to be more still and present in the little moments of my life.
2. I want to rely less on my camera, and more on my own eyes and memory.
3. By the end of Lent, I want to have a lasting record of my favorite moments from the past 40 days.
The only catch I’m allowing myself is that I’ll still take photos of my sketches, so I can share them with you on social media along the way — where I’ll be tagging these sketches with the hashtags #momentcatchers and #lentsketches. But all other life-moment-documentation will be left to my sketchbook for the next 40 days 🙂
I just finished my first Lent sketch this afternoon and I can’t wait to keep sharing updates with you from this mini-Moment Catchers project — and if you feel inspired to join, I’d love the company!
With gratitude,
* * *
PS – Mark your calendars! Our next Moment Catchers sketching challenge is this weekend,
March 4-5, and I can’t wait to see the sketches and artwork you all create.
Oh dear me. This is such a rich idea. Putting your camera aside is a sacrifice, for sure. I wait with bated breath to see your daily sketch. WE all need more mindful moments. Thank you for this lovely challenge!
Yes! I know you so understand what a challenge this will be for me 🙂 But I can’t wait to be a little more mindful of each moment these next few weeks–and I also *love* that you’re going to journal your 40 favorite moments this Lent. So excited to see them all! <3
What a great idea/plan. Giving up in order to create beauty!
Thank you, Kathe! And that’s such a great way of looking at this challenge–thanks for putting it so perfectly 🙂
What a fantastic idea! I can’t wait to see your sketches 🙂
I’m so glad the idea resonated with you, Tahirih! And I’m so looking forward to seeing your sketches from Europe–please keep me posted as your blog and project develops 🙂
Hi Candace, I finally made my first post! Eek…a little nerve wracking, lol! I’m so judgemental of my own writing that I probably over-edited. Anyways, it’s over at https://lettersfromthewilds.wordpress.com/ if you want to take a look.
Cheers!
Great idea! I love taking photos too and end up with hundreds and feel overwhelmed. I agree that sketching really puts you in the moment and the memories flood back when you look at old sketches.
I love your wee little sketchbook. I managed to sketch every day for jan and feb, but do feel a bit overwhelmed by it and need to slow down a bit. But maybe I’ll try it sometime with you in a small sketchbook like yours. Maybe later in the year we can all do a month of mini-moments like that… would love to join you later in the year!
Looking forward to seeing your sketches. That beach, that sketching location… heavenly!
Thanks so much, Brenda! And yes! I loved following along your daily sketches in January and February, but I can completely understand how you might now feel like you need to slow down a little now…while I love the idea of creating a sketch a day, I’m not sure I could sustain such a daily challenge throughout the entire year–especially because I can’t help but spend at least 30 or 45 minutes on even the smallest sketch 🙂 But I do like the idea of perhaps doing a monthly challenge of daily sketches once or twice a year–and I truly *love* your idea to open up such a specific daily sketching challenge to our Moment Catchers community…so thank you so much for that inspiration! For now, I’m wishing you continued joy with your sketches, and know that I can’t wait to keep following along on Instagram. <3
Great idea. I look forward to following your progress.
Thanks so much, Amanda! And know I’m so looking forward to seeing the sketches you create this weekend 🙂
YES, I love this idea! I recently wrote about a similar topic at The Week (http://theweek.com/articles/672597/whimsical-joy-traveling-without-technology).
Your sketches are so gorgeous; I’d take them over photos any day!
Susan, I *adore* that piece! Especially the fact that Leah recommends sketching as well, as a way of staying off our phones and being more present as travelers–as you know very well, I couldn’t agree more 🙂 Big congrats on such a meaningful story, and thank you again for sharing it with me!
Haha yes, when I read this piece, I knew I had to share mine with you! Cheers to mindfulness!
The sketch of that shell had instilled such peace and calmness into my day. You have taught me that we have the choice to decide what is worth to capture into our day. And it need not be the big picture. Muchisimas gracias, Candace!! Tengo muchas ganas de verlos mas de 40 dias que viene.
Kar, I can’t thank you enough for your note here–and especially for helping me figure out exactly what it is I’m hoping to practice through this daily challenge…we absolutely *do* have the choice to decide what moments we transform into more lasting memories from each day, and more and more, I’m learning about what a powerful tool sketching is to help us capture those memories. Thank you as always for helping me distill more meaning and underestanding from each of my posts, and I can’t wait to keep sharing these daily sketches with you 🙂 Besos de Montevideo!
just a note, I googled Montevideo and came across a website called They Draw and Travel….you might like to check it out
Yes! I’m a huge fan of They Draw and Travel, and their sister site, They Draw and Cook 🙂 Isn’t the work they share incredible? Thanks so much for thinking to share it with me, Sunny, and I can’t wait to see what sketches you create during our challenge this weekend! <3
This is a lovely idea! I can’t wait to see how you capture these next 40 days 🙂 Hugs xxx
Thank you so much, Veena! I’m so happy to hear this idea resonates with you 🙂 Can’t wait to share the sketches with you as they unfold over the next few weeks, and as always, I’m sending the biggest hugs from Montevideo to Memphis! xx
I love your idea of 40 days of moments! As I can’t draw (yet!!) I think I might use it to capture in writing 40 days of moments. Looking forward to seeing your sketches, Candace 🙂
I’m so glad the idea resonates with you, Colleen! And I especially love your twist on it, to capture moments with writing instead 🙂 A couple of other friends have mentioned they’re doing the same this Lent, so I can’t wait to hear how it goes for you!
Your illustrations are incredible – I can’t believe I’ve only just found your site!! Such a great idea for lent – I’ve not seen someone do this before. But I certainly understand the reasons why you decided to hide away your camera. And with sketches like yours, who needs cameras?! 😉
Hello, Justine! Thank you so much for taking the time to say hello here–it’s wonderful to connect with you, and I’m so glad you stumbled across my humble online home this week 🙂 I’m also so happy to hear my idea to sketch one moment a day instead of photographing it resonated with you–and I can’t wait to share these Lent sketches with you along the way! I’m not sure if you’re looking to start sketching, but please don’t hesitate to let me know if I can ever be of help 🙂
Wonderful idea……you are saying what I’ve learned Late in life after my travels are over……daily sketching of the ordinary makes life special every day. Thanks.
I’m so happy to hear this project resonated with you, Lucinda! And I couldn’t agree more with what you shared about daily sketching–I’m learning the same thing through this project, that even the simplest and most “uneventful” of days can hold small moments worth remembering. For me, sketching is now a way of taking hold of those small but significant events that make up our days and, ultimately, our lives 🙂 Thank you again for saying hello!