Farmers let their fields lay fallow in order to rest the soil and grow more bountiful crops in future years.  This blog, and the comics and drawings within it, are the result of my fallow years.  There have been many years in my life where I have created little.  I could get philosophical and tell you that this was my master plan but that would be stretching the truth.  My extended period of rest was more the result of detours, ignorance, misdirection, and pure laziness.

My detours were not unwelcome, but have delivered me to this point in a circular fashion.  I went through college without a true focus, majoring in Anthropology and Environmental Studies.  This led to a seasonal career as a naturalist, living in Colorado, Minnesota’s northern woods, the Catskills, North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and the bluff country of southern Minnesota.  Love was found along the way and soon I found myself enjoying my new role as a kept man and the stay-at-home parent.  As the kids began to head off to school, I decided I needed a plan for my empty days.  I chose to go back to school and explore the arts.

Since I was young I dabbled in the arts, taking ceramics, drawing, and painting classes but I never committed to pursue art any further.  I did not listen to others when they told me I should continue to take classes.  An art instructor in college became upset with me when she found out I was taking her class pass/fail.  She felt I should have been getting credit for the good grade she was giving me.  I never really listened to these voices and set art aside.

During my fallow years I also devoted a lot of energy in different directions, none of them art related.  For awhile I needed to be running in races frequently and was always planning my next adventure.  I still run, maintaining my sanity in the process, but I do not race.  I find I have space in my head for planning my next project instead of how to train for my next marathon and what flavor of Gatorade is the best.

And then there is just good, old laziness.  Sometimes sitting down at the end of a long day to watch The Wire is the best thing a person can do.

My creative brain and drawing hand are no longer fallow and I look forward to seeing what emerges.  I hope my production will be bountiful this year.