Mini-Interview with Suhita Shirodkar, #OneWeek100People2019

This little interview is related to #OneWeek100People project. Find out more about the week long event over HERE.

MTH: You’re a parent, (I don’t know how parents have time for anything!) and a freelancer, and I know you’ve had to travel quite a bit recently for life/family-stuff. so – my question is – Do you have any special strategy for fitting 100 people into your schedule?

SS: The closest I have to a strategy is to try and fit them into my schedule in whatever way I can. I’m traveling by myself with my kids most of the week (a last-minute plan), including a full day of flying and lots of driving, so the sketches will just be what I can do in what time I have. I think that’s going to be challenging enough, so I haven’t a special focus in mind.

I might also supplement my day’s sketching with some studies from photographs if I have the energy to squeeze them in at the end of the day. We’ll see! Can you tell I’m not a planner?

About being a parent and freelancer and sketching, I think it’s mostly about finding those bits of time in the day and having your sketchkit with you ALL the time. My sketchbag and me is a little bit like the character Linus (from Charlie Brown) and his blanket: it goes everywhere with me. It even goes from my studio to my kitchen table when the kids are having their breakfast before school, because, hey, if I get the time to sit down to coffee, I can squeeze in a sketch! < This is so true, it’s the only way! – Always Be Sketching :) 

MTH: I asked Liz this, but I want to get your take: What do you think about the ‘social’ issues of drawing people in public? Do you twinge when you get caught – or is it even an issue for you?

SS: It’s been a non-issue for me for a while now. It’s partly that I never was particularly self-conscious about how I draw (I think that’s really the issue, people wonder how their sketch looks to someone else), but it’s also a confidence you build over time: After a while you realize most people don’t care and some are even intrigued by what you do. Also, your sketches get better over time and that helps! But you gotta start and stay at it to get there. < Hah! You are so over it :) 

MTH: Related to that, have you ever had any unusually good or bad reactions?

SS: I can’t remember any disastrous ones, for the most part they’re really good. Drawing in public is a great conversation starter: I like talking to people but rarely approach someone I don’t know. But if I’m drawing, people come talk to me, and people are intrinsically interesting.

MTH:  I know we’ve all given our tips and tricks on our blogs, so I won’t ask that – but – how about this – If you could draw anything – person life not being a factor – what are some realistic projects you’d actually be doing? Is there a subject/project you’d like to share that possibly other people could try in their #OneWeek100People2019? 

SS: One little project I might incorporate into this week, (especially given that I might not get to 100 people sketches from life) is drawing the sport of baseball, from photos and then from video. Why? My son plays little league baseball, and I understand absolutely nothing about how the body moves and weight shifts in the pitching and batting actions. So drawing baseball has been hard for me! I’m hoping that drawing from photos and videos might give me some feel and understanding the helps draw live action: we’ll see!

MTH: Thanks, Suhita! We’re looking forward to sketches from your trip!!