I am an artist and illustrator. And these “episodes” are quick sketches of and stories about people that I meet or have met over the years. I do the drawings first, keeping them simple and spontaneous but (hopefully) sophisticated. They are with perhaps one or two exceptions, line drawings done with a fine-line pen. I started doing these drawings in business meetings. That expanded to doing them in waiting rooms or while traveling, as a way to remember the people I met, worked with, or just observed from afar. Once I’d done a number of these sketches, I began to wonder about the people they depict. What might they be really like on the inside? What are their dreams? Their fears? Their secrets? Since I did not know the people I was drawing (or because I did not know them well), I felt ill-at-ease about asking personal questions. And so, I began to create stories about these people, based on what I imagine their life is like. That way, each drawing became a kind of psychological adventure; I never knew, when I sat down to write, what I was going to find. Like the drawings themselves, the stories are not to scale or photographic. If there is any prevailing theme, it is this: people keep their inner world well-hidden and probably for damn good reason. A secondary theme: making stuff up is much more fun than reality. And in a way, that is the real truth in all this. If you would like to learn more about me or my work please send a note. Our email: myron.gilbert@att.net
3. Rita “The Rapper” Genato, Department Store Sales Clerk
After two and a half semesters at a local college, Rita dropped out and took a job selling children’s clothing for a national chain store. She left school because she felt it was unfair to pay tuition if she were unsure about why she was there. She is a hard worker and good at sales. She’s been told that, if she sticks with it, she could move up to management in her company. And she loves to dance; “It’s techno-rap or nothing.” Her parents are not pleased with her leaving school. She tells them not to worry, that this is just until she figures out her career plans, But she is terrified that they will find out about what is going on in her personal life. “They would be so ashamed.”