Patrick's Hamster Wheel of Life

Sandy's sketchbook  "Hamster Wheel of Life" was passed to me right during a period of time where there was just no possible way I was going to complete the sketch - I was too busy.  So, I passed the book on and am just now getting back to it.  I had a crazy 5 weekends in a row where I was not home in Singapore and in that time I had a lot of fun and accomplished many things, but rest, relaxation and sketchbooks were not among them.  We did LegoLand and a trip to Phuket as a family before I set off for an R&D trip, then I had a few days in Singapore before heading to KL to co-lead a Google Apps BootCamp, present a few sessions and a closing keynote for the Google Summit.  I capped that string off with a few days of work then a trip to Hong Kong Disney.  Phew.  A slow Saturday of sketchbooking is my reward.

I tried to capture the idea that all the events and fun were keeping me moving while at the same time grinding me up.

a positive spin

a positive spin

Sandy's theme, "The Hamster Wheel of Life", got me thinking. I first thought about life in general and where we all end up. Then I remembered some really great photos I took at an old country cemetery. But this thinking was a bit negative, so I started thinking about the literal hamster wheel of life. When do we actually ride wheels? I remembered this photo I took at Santa Monica Pier in California. After showing Sandy my art for her book, she said it's the antithesis of the hamster wheel of life...another way to look at things. I googled hamster wheel and found this:

When life's melancholies and loss get to us, we need a spin on a ferris wheel. Hence the title, "a positive spin".

I turned this photo into a faux painting in Photoshop with the Oil Painting tool.

Rhian's entry in Sandy's book

I tried to capture Sandy's Hamster Wheel theme through a spiral of time...again, I found myself with only a black marker at hand and it ended up looking a little plain so I thought I would use a ribbon to highlight the spiral.

Little did I know that what sounds like a good idea to begin with often turns out to be a ROYAL pain in reality :) However, snipping and gluing the ribbon and trying to get it to turn nicely became quite relaxing after a while and loads of fun for our kittens!

"The Hamster Wheel of Life" - Exploring in Sandy's book

I love Sandy's first sketch and her theme: The Hamster Wheel of Life.  At this time of the year especially, I often catch a glimpse of our calendar, my eyes bug out and I think, "Seriously?! It's the end of April already?!"  May is always a wash.  And then it's June, and I finally breathe and I promise myself that next year, I'm going to be better at guarding my time and being balanced. Sandy's first sketch perfectly captured the myriad ways our lives often get us stuck on that hamster wheel, and her (awesome) line "strive to be the toad" inspired my collage.  Sandy reminded me that I need to stop moving so much;  it is important to plant our feet, take a breath, and take in what is around us.  Whenever I do this, I am always overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude.

My creation is a collage consisting of thank you notes received, thank you notes we've had printed (that's our lake up there in the top right - 25 teaching days away, but who's counting?!), and the stamps and paper we use to make our own.    I also used some stationary that looks busy to me, with all of those spiralling little wheels, as part of the back drop, reminding me to step off the wheel, take a moment, and be thankful more often.

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