Stick People Are Art!

About a year ago I started my first job in Vancouver with a place that shall, of course, remain nameless – only a fool complains about their place of employment by name on the Internet! After a few days of sitting in the cubicle across from my coworker Stacey (not her real name) I realized I was probably going to go insane.

Stacey talked. A lot. She was on her cell phone constantly on non-work related business, usually complaining about how someone had slighted her and how much of a “bee-yotch” that person was or how busy work was and her frustration at never being able to catch up or stay on top of things at the office. 

There were so many things I wanted to say! I wanted to tell her that her work would be done if she’d put the cellphone down and actually DO the work. Simple and effective solution in my mind, but not one she wanted to entertain. I went to Chapters after three days of non-stop babble and bought a little notebook.

In this note book I drew a female stick figure in a leopard-print dress with a haughty expression on her face saying: “Oh I know you’re not an idiot, I just enjoy talking down to you.” Stacey of course never actually said this, but it was implied in her tone of voice and that superior little smirk she always wore. I discovered after a couple of months that she was really quite lonely and had no close friends and I felt a little bad about the drawings. I suppose I would have felt worse if I’d actually said some of those things to her though, so all things considered, the notebook was a good idea.

However, drawing in that little book became quite a habit. I took it with me to the next job and drew even more stick people. I worked out my frustrations with co-workers and just people in general in this little book. I discovered that it is far more healthy (and very entertaining) to laugh at silly people in private rather than taking them to task in person – for the most part anyway. I’ve drawn up some other, more personal issues in this book too, and it’s interesting to see the progress I’ve made.

It’s really becoming a stick-person diary I guess.

So anyway, last night I went to a BBQ at my neighbour’s and a friend of mine said she’d like to see the notebook, so I went home and got it and a few of the drawings I’d turned into watercolours. She and a few of the other guests started using the word “artist” as the drawings got passed around.  I don’t know why, but that word as relates to my snotty little stick people seems wrong.  I mean, they are stick people! Sure, I drew them on expensive watercolour paper and inked them in, but they are still just stick people at the end of the day.

I have been assured they are expressive and funny stick people though and that they count as art.  So I’m going to post a few of them here and see what (if any) comments people make about them. I suppose if they give anyone a laugh, then they’ve done their job.