Parking Lot Landscape, Harriet Island

5.5 x 3.5", in the Tiny Moleskine Sketchbook.

One of my dearest friends gave me the little sketch book I've been using so much the past couple months. I have taken to carrying it wherever I go, like a small talisman that reminds me to enjoy living, and especially to practice, every day, living as an artist.

If I have ten minutes because a friend is running late, or I'm waiting for them to finish changing the oil in my truck, or I got there early and the store isn't quite open yet -- I have a ballpoint pen, a pencil or two, and my Tiny Moleskine Book. I can be joyful and creative instead of bored and impatient.

I recommend this, even if you think you can't draw (link goes to a piece by Roger Ebert, with whom I often disagree but who I will always love for this post alone; thanks, Roger). If you write, carry one with ruled pages. Or a little MP3 recorder. If you cross-stitch, keep a small project on hand. Jokingly I call my portable art supplies my Boredom Prevention Kit, and it is, but it's more than that. It's something to remind you that you are who you are.