WEEK 24
This week, I'm excited to introduce Kristle Marshall as our guest teacher!
Kristle Marshall is a full-time designer at Hom Sweet Hom and an artist who loves all things lettering, illustration, and animation. Kristle’s mission is to create work that breaks down barriers and fosters connection. She has worked with clients like Bloomscape, Coach, and Upwork.
Kristle's greatest desires are to tell great stories, collaborate with fellow creatives, and constantly grow through creative practice. When she isn’t drawing, Kristle can be found practicing bass guitar, watching anime and documentaries, or spending time outdoors jogging or hiking.
From Kristle:
I arrived at the park early.
I had plans to meet with a friend who I hadn’t seen in a very long time— a type of reunion that is happening for so many of us these days.
My eyes fell on a picnic table in a shady spot of the park. I walked over, sat down, and found myself embedded in the tableau of Starr-Jaycee Park. The trees were swaying in joyful surrender to the gentle breeze. The sunlight shone through the foliage, animating abstract pattens on the ground below. And all of it was scored by warm chatter, the laughter of little ones and the faint rustling of leaves. I had my camera in hand intending to take pictures but was content to just sit and wait.
Catching up with a loved one is always nice, but I’ve most often thought about the time I spent before their arrival. The impact of that 15 minutes was something very special and I knew I wanted to use it as inspiration for this week’s HOMwork. My first attempts to write this were a struggle—I just couldn't put my experience into words; That is until I remembered episode 692 of the podcast This American Life and the perfect word for my trip to the park: delight.
The episode was entitled “The Show of Delights” and was inspired by the poet Ross Gay’s "Book of Delights", a collection essays that are the result of his personal project to write about something delightful each day for a year. In the preface of the book, he writes:
“It didn’t take me long to learn that the discipline or practice of writing these essays occasioned a kind of delight radar. Or maybe it was more like the development of a delight muscle. Something that implies that the more you study delight, the more delight there is to study.”
It’s easy to drift from task to task, worry to worry, and injustice to injustice without pausing to acknowledge your delights (something that Ross considers a kind of rudeness). Big and small, these gifts exist in many forms in our daily lives and are waiting to be noticed, embraced. One of the things I really love about Ross’ essays, is that in their acknowledgement of special moments they also hold space for the hard stuff: worry, loss, injustice. Similarly, I don’t see delight as a cancellation of harsh realities, but an offering of relief and release.
When I found delight at a picnic table at Starr-Jaycee Park, I had no idea how parched I was for it. I had truly forgotten the feeling; so much so that I lost the language for it. When I finally got a sip, my whole being responded, “hey, let’s have more of that.”
Summer has just begun, and I know I want it to be filled with bursts of wonder and gratitude. And then, I want that vibe to go well into 2022 and beyond. I hope the same for you too! So, in the spirit of Ross Gay, I invite you to tune into the concept of delight.
Your assignment: Create artwork inspired by something that has brought you a sense of delight.
Thought Starters: Draw inspiration from your senses and memories. Delights can be rare, common, big, small—all that matters is that they’ve brought you joy, peace, or comfort.
Some Examples:
Uncontrollable laughter
The smell of a fresh croissant
Banter between my grandmother and me
Driving to the blues with the windows down
This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan
Resources: If you need more inspiration, I highly recommend checking out these interviews with Ross Gay and the episode I mentioned. I've linked them below:
Ross reads some of his essays in each of these podcast interviews and they are a real treat! If you can’t check out the book, consider taking a moment of rest and listening to one of them. You won’t regret it. It’ll help to expand your view of delight and empower you to go define it for yourself.
Caption Idea: Tell us the story of the moment. Dig into how it made you feel. Does it call to mind a memory of a place or person? Invite others to share stories of the things that has delighted them.
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Don’t forget to use the hashtags #HOMwork2021 & tag @kristhecreative and @homsweethom when you post your work. We’ll both be sharing our favorites in our Stories all week.
