Drawing to Overcome Fear of Flying

  

For as much as I love traveling, I am a fearful little flyer. Last week on the Lufthansa regional jet from Munich to Trieste, I could feel myself freaking out during takeoff.

My involuntary reaction when I think the plane is about to drop out of the sky is to throw my arms up in panic and then grab onto the armrests for dear life. I'll white-knuckle it for a few seconds, get my shit together and release my grip, take a breath or two, and then sit on my hands or fidget with my hair or something until I feel like we're about to fall of the sky again and the whole flail-grip-regain control routine repeats itself.

My row companion was pretty nice about it, but I felt supremely awkward grabbing all over the place and wanted to get my behavior under control. So I took out my sketchbook and started a weird mix of nervous doodling and contour drawing of the inside of the plane. It worked quite well to manage my phobia, as I could concentrate on reproducing the lines and objects in front of me to distract myself, and then just let the pen go crazy in the moments of acute stress.

You can see the balding head of the guy in front of me, the window, the seatbelt/no smoking sign, the overhead bins, the curtain separating first class...and me intermittently losing it, translated into shapes and squiggles.

In all, a useful exercise I'm sure to repeat on future flights and in other moments of fear and uncertainty - of which we sadly have an abundance of these days. At least I have a funny drawing and a story to share as a result, a concrete transformation of negative emotions into something positive. 

What do you do to cope with fear?

Venice: Morning of Day 2

My second day in Venice was blessed with sunshine, blue skies, and still somehow a relatively empty city. While wandering near Campo Manin, I followed some signs through a series of tight streets and came upon the Scala Contarini del Bovolo. I turned a corner and there it was, the most incredible spiral tower rising from a quiet garden courtyard, bathed in morning light, with nobody else around. It truly felt like discovering hidden treasure.

The Scala del Bovolo (which means spiral staircase in local dialect) was built at the end of the 1400's and there is some uncertainty as to who the architect was. One of my favorite aspects of the tower is that its arches get progressively smaller, with the top arches being half the height of the ones at the base. This creates the visual illusion that the tower is even taller than it actually is.

I slowly climbed the spiral stairs, stopping to admire and photograph at each turn. What a treat to have this all to myself.

At the very top of the tower, there is a 360-degree view of Venice. I loved this angle with St. Mark's framed in one of the arches. As it was a clear day, I could even see all the way to the snow-covered Alps in the distance. This experience was such a gift.

After leaving the Palazzo Contarini, I made my way across the city to the Cannareggio district. Several months before my trip to Italy, I'd come across an image of a church on Instagram that left me drop-jawed: the Chiesa dei Gesuiti (aka Santa Maria Assunta). I am a big fan of rococo and all things overly ornamented, but this church really impressed me because of its exquisite patterned marble interior (which inspired Fortuny's most famous fabric design, among others).

The interior of the Gesuiti church didn't disappoint. How incredible were these craftsmen in the 1700's?? All of that marble patterning is inlay, done by hand. I've never seen anything like it in my life. What a breathtaking effect.

Before leaving, I lit a candle for the ladies in my life. This is a ritual that brings me peace and hope, despite not being Catholic. The first time I ever lit a candle in a church was in Athens, at age 17, with the mother of my friend Lambros. Ever since it's been something I enjoy, especially while traveling.

After all of that patterning and art and divinity, I needed a break. I found a small courtyard cafe in an adjacent building and took a moment for a macchiato and an apricot cookie. Again, I had the place to myself. The scene was so lovely that I decided to do a quick sketch. This was my favorite "Table for One" moment of the trip. Quiet, calm, challenging, and refreshing.

Next up? Island adventures in the afternoon of Day 2.