Brain Speed Bumps & Melted Traffic Cones
Navigating my early years with a host of learning disabilities made the idea of being a “lifelong learner” sound like a curse from a pile of vile, wart-ridden, broom-riding, evil-cackling, child-eating, cauldron-stirring, apple-poisoning witches.
It wasn’t until late in my college career that I understood how to store and retrieve information more valuable than pub trivia in my brain.
In 2019, while working in a career-style 9-5 job, I was encouraged to take a three-month college-level career advancement course.
It was there I discovered I enjoyed learning - from textbooks??!
YouTube? Fine. Webinars? Okay. Podcast? Yes. Old moldy boring textbooks? Woof.
It turns out I had found ways around my various brain speedbumps (I won’t call them disabilities any longer because they don’t hold me back (did you know I am 38?!*), sometimes they get in my way, but not for long) and discovered that I was a motivated and dedicated student.
Being a “lifelong learner” became a humble brag, mostly because never in a million and twenty-two thousand years would I have believed those words could apply to me.
I enjoy learning, and once I discovered this, I’ve been seeking new and exciting knowledge ever since.
So.
Imagine my consternation when I realized I needed to review some art basics to elevate my current art practice. Basics I didn’t learn well in “the before times” because my un-hacked brain had the capacity of a drooping traffic cone slowly melting into a shimmering patch of blacktop on a mirage-inducing 124-degree Arizona day.
I had concerns, mainly because I had already tried to learn this stuff, and it didn’t stick. What if this particular info was un-stick-able?
Is that a thing?
What if my semi-melted traffic cone of a brain betrayed me?
Again.
Terrifyingly, I was about to find out.
I started with this book, and It’s been good! Thankfully, I’ve been painting and paying attention long enough to know more technical bits than I had thought. I just haven’t been applying the knowledge. More than the instruction, I needed the reminder. And this area of study has already paid off.
The results have been quality time making color wheels with different color families in my studio and making art based on these studies.
I’m excited for this new chapter of honing my craft.
Limited color palette cloud study.
And you won’t even believe the next book on my list - it’s a college text written by a neurophysiologist. My brain is already wrapped in a weighted blankie and gathering metaphorical comfort foods.
Vision and Art The Biology of Seeing
Is there something you didn’t believe you could do that was much easier than you had given it credit for? If so, I’d love to hear about it.
Drop a comment below!
~Jill
*In a recent interview, I proudly and with the conviction of a four-year-old high on candy and cocaine, declared that I was 38.
I am not 38.
Numbers still do not stay in my head, but that’s okay. Many people had a good laugh over it, myself included.