Reach Out

Someone said to me this week, ‘I don’t like people.’ He’s a quieter, keep to himself type person. And I can appreciate that a lot of the times, humans can cause unnecessary drama. But upon reflection on the topic many times, I do like people. The right people. And something that I like in particular is connections with people. And sometimes I am surprised with what comes out of a simple reach out.

So here’s some examples of a few recent interactions. Through some social media, I came across an article about a new father in the New York area, who lost his wife with the birth of their child. There was a Go-Fund-Me set up. I sent a note through the ‘contact’ page just saying, ‘hey, I’m sorry to read this story, but here’s someone local in my area who has been through something similar’ (the person I am working on a book with), and just simply explained the connection and provided his instagram page so they could see he was a real person with his own experience shared publicly. So this new dad could connect for some emotional support by someone who has been through a similar situation. The reply back was a sincere thank you (from the child’s aunt) and a question – would I be interested in potentially doing illustrations if this father were to put something together for his child.

I listened to a podcast episode back in April – Kate Northrop – and she interviewed a Children’s book illustrator. This lady had mentioned in the podcast that she had considered mentoring people that were beginning their Children’s book journey. So I connected with her on Instagram. Followed her and commented on a post that I had heard her podcast episode and if she does do the mentoring, to let me know! Just a friendly note of introduction. So she responded that she will and was happy to hear from me.

In May, I’d joined into a specific private (but world wide) Facebook group with lots of creatives connecting about their creative ambitions. In one thread of conversation, the different types of creative ventures were discussed, with some introductions, and what resulted was a few more Instagram connections for my art page, and a note that illustrations may be needed for someone else’s area of focus in the near future.

It doesn’t even matter if anything or nothing comes of any of the connections made. What I find the most interesting is that connections get people thinking. Making connections can spark ideas or inspiration. It could be that maybe that is all that was needed – for either party – in that moment. I hadn’t been thinking about getting a mentor… but maybe that’s something I should consider. Maybe the family of the newly widowed dad, hadn’t considered an illustration collection for the baby, of its mama, but maybe that gave a little bit of hope for something that could be presented to the baby later on.

Of course, I always think cautiously if I reach out to anyone, so I don’t do private chat stuff and wouldn’t meet someone or decide to do any kind of work without some research. But with a simple reach out about a common goal or interest, it can generate some good ideas or perspective. The nice thing is, you can simply leave it and appreciate it for what it is, a common connection in that moment, and let it uplift in that moment and then move on.

Sending Love,

Devon