From Doodles to Dialogues: Sketching Among Strangers 

For me, creating art is not just something I enjoy for personal pleasure when a creative idea pops into my head, it also serves as a visual language. A form of communication. It’s a way to translate the things I feel and think about but don’t always have the words for. As someone on the autism spectrum, I often experience the world in intense, layered ways. Emotions can be overwhelming or tangled, and sometimes trying to express them out loud just doesn’t work for me. That’s where my artwork comes in. 

Since I was a child, I have enjoyed making drawings when I go out to restaurants. It’s a place where my imagination takes flight. When I make drawings in a restaurant it can help me focus my mind when there is a lot of noise or clamor distracting me. Restaurants can be loud, crowded and packed, but drawing takes my attention away from the hustle of everyday life, which I see as a familiar friend. With a pencil in my hand, I can feel present without being overwhelmed and stay connected to my creative thoughts, even in public places. When my emotions hit me in public, it’s not always easy to handle them and I just don’t think it’s the place for me to talk about them either as I’d rather keep them to myself. But putting pencil to paper offers those emotions a place to go using my imagination. You don’t need to explain them out loud but rather let them flow from your hand onto blank pages. Waiters or patrons are often curious about my drawings and like to strike up conversations with me, forming friendships at the table. Drawing in public helps build my confidence and allows for expressive based connection rather than just small talk. 

Other times it helps me balance my social life with solitude, something I really crave. Drawing reduces isolation without demanding interaction. It feels like my safe zone wherever I go. Art gives me control over the world I create in each drawing. If everything else around me feels too fast or rushed for me, then making imagery helps me slow down and reflect on my thoughts. Making art may not fix everything in my environment, but it does help me in some way to find a place to escape. It’s my translator, my journal, and sometimes, my friend.