We're now halfway through the month of resolutions. How are you faring? I feel I've done well so far. My fingers hurt from picking up the guitar again. I have a couple side projects under way. And to top it all off I spent my Friday night doing some digital painting. I felt I deserved a bit of a treat for my efforts so I'm going to see Peter and the Starcatcher on Broadway. As hard as I looked, I found no one to see this buzz-worthy, soon-to-be-closed show with. So I decided to take myself on a bit of a date. While this made me a bit sad at first, I've realized I don't go out by myself nearly enough. Of all cities, New York rewards such independence with its vast array of strangers and events. Such scale often forces us to stick to our close group of friends but striking out on your own can often prove more inspirational than any group outing.

 Independence is a learned skill. We are born social creatures, made to rely on others for their skills and companionship. The military somehow indoctrinates both assets into its force. Each soldier is valued based on their ability to survive alone but also their ability to function well within a group, under orders. The drastic impacts of combat are captured in this collection of military lighters from Vietnam. Each says something about it's owner's outlook on that most miserable of wars, their hopelessness or indifference.

The establishment normally has dire consequences for those without the means to profit from it. Thankfully, the internet age has allowed many smaller groups to sell themselves with an extremely low overhead thanks to cheap digital tools. This effect is most drastic for independent musicians. Ousback, has created this wonderful monochromatic site. I especially love the simplicity and the music players integrated into the design. On top of it all, the site is wonderfully responsive.

But since we must learn to be by ourselves, it gets easier with age. Who doesn't remember the first long trip they took by themselves as a child? I was once nearly left at a rest stop when just a boy since I took too long to return to the bus. Thankfully, the woman I was sitting next to had the driver wait for me. Just an example of how reliant we are upon others, especially as children. This short explores a girls solitary journey on the subway where her journey is sabotaged by a sly fox. The lovely painterly style of the animation and fantastic settings are simply wonderful.

The Sketching Mechanism is a series of weekly posts, published on Mondays, containing the artistic musings of Mobile Designer/Developer Ben Chirlin during our Monday morning meeting at the NY Creative Bunker as well as his inspiring artistic finds of the week.