Is Facebook necessary for your career? 

 

I did this illustration because I quit Facebook a few weeks ago, on a moody whim and it's been great.  I'd say, cumulatively, I use to look at FB for about 30 minutes to an hour a day.  I used it to stay in the loop with LA people who were in the comedy scene (at this point I don't know a lot of illustrators).  But I disliked the self-consciousness I experienced from thinking about how people perceived me and my life through it.  Especially people whom I went to high school or college with, but never see or talk to anymore...  Or the way I felt voyeuristic by looking at other people's pictures and stuff (even though people posted them to share).  It just seemed like an unnatural way to "keep in touch" with people and it allowed me to feed an useless curiosity.  I have nothing against Facebook and I'm not trying to inspire a revolt.  In fact, I wonder about reactivating my account eventually, after devising a clearer plan to use Facebook exclusively for career promotion.  But even my fiance says he notices a positive difference in me since quitting -- which is creepy.  He says I just seem calmer and less self-critical and judgmental.  I just wonder, how necessary it is for work?  If anyone reading this, has an opinion -- let me know!  Especially any creatives who don't use Facebook to promote -- I would love to hear what you think, and what you do instead!

Today I worked on an illustration for The Story Pirates.  An awesome children's theater company that I very proudly perform with.  I will be using watercolors to color it in but I drew this with pen & ink.

Welcome to Leaping Squirrel!

So my blogging begins...  I'm an illustrator and comedic-actor in Los Angeles, California.  I live with my wonderful fiance, who's a comedic writer and director.  (He just won an Emmy for his writing on the PBS cartoon 'Word Girl'!  I'm very proud of my boo!)  I studied acting in college but I've been drawing my whole life.  For several months, I've struggled to make peace with my desire to pursue more than one type of career.  I think, particularly in the United States, people aim to define themselves by ONE thing.  One love, passion, skill, talent or role.  And most encouraged of course, is defining oneself by a career.  And maybe that works for some people, but I believe it's stifling to more people than anyone who might openly talk about it.  But now, freshly 30 years old, I'm trying to worry less about that stuff.  As Joseph Campbell said, “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

I'm calling my blog "Leaping Squirrel" because there's a ton of squirrels around my Los Feliz apartment (and I saw them when I was searching available domain names.  One of the few 'wild animals' that lives in L.A.) And because I admire those scrappy city squirrels, that are resourceful at leaping around a city that doesn't have a ton of trees.  They run and leap on cables, barbed wire and slippery metal railing -- whatever they have to.  Although in my case -- it'll be project to project.  I must learn to leap from performing live sketch comedy to illustrating for my Etsy store and freelance jobs, and then back again.