Earthing Odyssey

Have you heard of "earthing", or "grounding" yet? If you follow health trends like I do (I write and illustrate a syndicated newspaper column called Health Capsules), you may have already heard of this new phenomenon that's not really new. Earthing has been a natural part of human behavior for many centuries, yet it has been rediscovered and practiced in recent years for its numerous health benefits.

Because it was such a beautiful fall day in the Pacific Northwest today, I decided to ride my motorcycle to one of my favorite places where I write and draw, the dining area of the Safeway store in Orting, Washington. After I finished drawing my Health Capsules, I continued on toward Mount Rainier.

Several miles up the road I pulled over, parked my bike, then resumed my journey..."barefoot", on the scenic Orting-South Prairie Trail, which follows along the banks of the Carbon River. Going barefoot is the essence of earthing. But earthing doesn't work if you walk on asphalt, so I stayed on the grassy area beside the paved trail. I might add, as a neophyte to earthing, my feet don't handle cold ground in the late fall very well. Fortunately, you can also earth with moccasins on. I plan to buy a pair of moccasins.

The idea behind earthing: The earth could be described as an "electron sponge". It soaks up electrons from the sun's rays and from lightning strikes. All living things, including humans, require electrons for survival. Without them there would be no life on earth.

We get electrons in our daily diet from antioxidants, but we require more electrons than just those that we receive from our diet. We humans were designed to naturally take in electrons through the bottom of our feet by way of direct barefoot contact with the earth. But a few decades ago, when rubber-sole and plastic-sole shoes came on the scene, we lost contact with the earth. Rubber and plastic insulates us from the earth's electrons. We lost the benefits that we had derived from direct contact with the earth.

Walking barefoot on a daily basis offers a host of benefits. Among them: thinner, faster-flowing blood, relief from pain, lower blood pressure, calmer mood, and much more. It has even been called the most important health discovery ever. But what if you aren't able to walk barefoot through the winter with three feet of snow on the ground? There are ways of deriving the benefits from earthing while remaining indoors. For more information on earthing, indoors and out, watch this gripping documentary, called Grounded. Right now it's free on this web site, but it might not be free much longer. The DVD will cost $25:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/19/grounded-documentary.aspx?e_cid=20131019Z1_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20131019Z1 

Another information source on grounding: http://www.townsendletter.com/May2010/earthing0510.html

Sky Fishing

It was a warm and pleasant night in the Pacific Northwest last night, so I went to one of my special places on the far corner of our property where the saw grass is eight feet tall, and did this small sketch. I might have been influenced just a bit by James Christensen, only my drawing style is miles from his. This is just an initial sketch. I will probably do a larger more refined sketch next, then I might paint it.

A Day in the Life

It's time to take a break from the Little Beasties I've been posting recently and introduce to you my unconventional movable work style. Most people sit in their studio working all day. Not me. Been there, done that for many years. I've read many illustrators complain of the feeling of isolation with working alone in their studio as a freelancer. 

If the sun's out, I fill my saddlebags with my drawing and writing materials, then climb on my motorcycle and head for the beach or the mountains and spend my day "working" there. If it's cloudy or rainy, I head for Starbucks or any of a number of nearby coffee shops. I still spend a lot of time at my office on the phone and answering emails. But as soon as I get the business stuff out of the way, I leave my office and go somewhere to get my drawing and writing done. I do return to the office to do my Photoshop/Wacom coloring. But all of my drawing and writing is done outside of my studio.

Today my destination is South Prairie, Washington, a small town in the Cascade foothills of the Puget Sound region of Washington State. I will pass through the pleasant Puyallup Valley town of Orting on my ride to South Prairie. Mount Rainier looms in the distance (above) from the town center of Orting. The population density drops considerably after you leave Orting. The scenery along Route 162 between Orting and South Prairie is postcard pastoral.

The Carbon River is born on Carbon Glacier on the slopes of Mount Rainier. This is the river as it appears in the upper Puyallup Valley, between Orting and South Prairie. It joins the Puyallup River downstream near Orting, then winds its way to Puget Sound.

This is a typical stretch of highway between Orting and South Prairie. The scenery here is as idyllic as any in the Pacific Northwest. This area is far enough away from the population centers of the Northwest that it's still unspoiled.

The Veteran's Park in South Prairie where I do my work is located on the east side of town. I didn't include a shot of South Prairie...it's so small it doesn't make much of a picture. This shelter shades me from the midday sun while I work. In the late afternoon the sun comes beaming in at an angle into the shelter. Then I might move to the picnic table by the stream.

This is my favorite spot in the park. It's so pleasant and inspiring to sit and work with the rushing stream nearby. On this day the temperature was a pleasant 72 degrees while I sat and worked on my new Monster Safari children's book. I encourage you to leave your studio occasionally and find a pleasant place to work and renew your inspiration.