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Anika Orrock
190 Plays4 years ago
Anika Orrock is an award-winning illustrator, writer, designer, cartoonist, storyteller & author of The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and the illustrator of “Birdie Can, Too!” by Malaika Underwood.
Anika’s work is included in the Society of Illustrators 62nd Annual exhibition & book and has been featured in national publications, including The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post and on NPR.
Her illustration work has been commissioned by The Worcester Art Museum, National Pastime Museum, ABC News & FiveThirtyEight, Merrill Lynch, Resy & American Express, The International Women's Baseball Center, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association, Major League Baseball organizations and international sports publications, as well as by a variety of musicians and record labels.
https://www.anikaorrock.com/
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:00:03
Speaker
You are listening to something rather than nothing. Creator and host, Kendall Ante. Editor and producer, Peter Bauer.
00:00:18
Speaker
This is Ken Volante with the Something Rather Than Nothing podcast, and we have another, what I would say, a baseball philosophy episode. We've got Anika Orrick, and I am so pleased to get some of your time, Anika. Welcome to the Something Rather Than Nothing podcast. Thank you very much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.
Anika's Early Artistic Journey
00:00:41
Speaker
Yeah, and I said baseball, you've done a lot of great illustration and writing, and more known for an incredible book on girls women's baseball league in the US. But prior to getting into some of those aspects of your creativity, the first question is, were you an artist when you were born?
00:01:11
Speaker
Yes, I came out with a little beret and a mustache. Oh my goodness. I know, it was kind of a real oddity for, you know, especially for 1980. Or in Anika too, you know.
00:01:26
Speaker
uh well you know i will say i i i guess you know i don't have memories so far back but according to uh the memories that i do have and according to my parents uh the answer would be yes i actually have
00:01:46
Speaker
I think it would be the first, according to my mom, the first drawing that I really ever made that looked like something. And it was a drawing of my grandpa. And then followed by a drawing of my grandpa. And she explained that she sent it to them in a letter. And so then I got that. But she explained to them that I had told her it was grandpa going to work.
00:02:11
Speaker
and grandma going to the grocery store and you know I mean now objectively looking at it I feel like I did an okay job but as long as I can remember uh absolutely I mean I don't remember not drawing um or making stories you know I used to make books like um I would illustrate my own little books about like Santa coming for Christmas or
00:02:37
Speaker
It was usually about holidays, like the leprechaun coming for St. Patrick's Day, or the Easter Bunny coming for Easter. I don't know, I just remember doing that a lot. And then it just evolved into all different kinds of stories. But yeah, as far as I can remember, I always was drawing. Yeah, you probably focused on some of those magical days, right, when a lot of fun things happened. Yeah, I still do that.
00:03:03
Speaker
I wanted to, I was going to send you this note separately. It's not like absolutely vital, but I got your book and I got it because of the availability at the time, like on Google books. So it wasn't through an independent bookstore. Apologies, independent bookstores.
00:03:20
Speaker
And it's a wonderful, even on a small format, it's super vibrant. It reads really well. So here's the big thing, and I just want to open it up for
History of Women's Baseball: Why the Silence?
00:03:32
Speaker
you. So you did this book, and you referred to in the intro, and there was some comments regarding a league of their own, right? So kind of a popular culture idea, a movie about women in baseball. But my gosh, once you placed
00:03:50
Speaker
Um...
00:03:51
Speaker
the reader amongst all these different things going on then, right? You have Negro leagues, you have the no explicit exclusion for women to be in baseball, you have World War II, post-World War II, you have labor issues, you know, women in the workforce, not in the workforce, baseball, and you have these female women baseball players in these incredible leagues, incredibly talented, with lipstick,
00:04:21
Speaker
skirts, rouge. How did this happen and how do a lot of Americans not know about this?
00:04:34
Speaker
the I guess I'll just start with the most recent question of how did most Americans not know about it and I think that that really goes back to everything that you just said about everything else that was going on and when the league folded for a variety of reasons some of those reasons had to do with the fact that uh you know the war had just
00:04:57
Speaker
fairly recently ended. They were, you know, five years outside the war and women had completely taken different roles that they had never taken before during the war. You know, it was kind of all hands on deck and there was an experience and an empowerment there and they really proved themselves and then there was just sort of this post-war
00:05:17
Speaker
um i guess what i would call propagandized push uh for women to return back to the traditional roles and um and it largely worked i guess in a lot of ways society you know society kind of reverted i guess and um you know so a lot of these women when the league folded
00:05:42
Speaker
they really, it never picked up the momentum that gave it the national recognition that it certainly deserved or the growth potential it had. So there were, it did grow and there were a lot more teams, but they were very centered in the Midwest around towns where there were factories that were doing more production at the time during World War II as part of Americans being able to go experience
00:06:07
Speaker
leisure and entertainment after working long hours in these war production factories they wouldn't have to you know there was gas rationing during the war so they wouldn't have to travel even they probably couldn't there wasn't enough time and they didn't have to spend the money to get there or the gas rationing using their gas to get someplace and they could have that right there in their own hometown and it also gave them kind of a sense of hometown pride and and all of that so uh you know
00:06:33
Speaker
But it did make some national publications. It made Life Magazine and different things like that. But once the war ended and the push for marketing after P.K. Wrigley, who, you know, owner of the gum company and the Cubs and all that, once he sold the league to local businessmen in the cities where the teams were, they didn't have that same marketing know-how and they didn't have that same reach.
00:06:59
Speaker
people just kind of got on with their lives. And then when the league folded, there wasn't this gigantic awareness already. But there was an awareness in the areas where they had been. But, you know, for these women to go out into the world and be doing things and and try to tell people that they had played professional baseball, they were just constantly met with, you know, you mean the conversation was you mean softball. No, I played baseball. I mean, softball, no baseball, like as if
00:07:27
Speaker
You know, it cracks me up when I hear about these conversations that women actually still have today, amazingly enough, where it's like, as if they're supposed to be like, Oh my gosh, you're right. I completely forgot what sport I play. Let me accommodate what I did to your ignorance.
00:07:45
Speaker
Yeah, it's just almost comical that they're even being corrected at all. But anyway, so that just was so frequent. And then because of that push back into the traditional roles, there was also a stigma attached where people who didn't know about the league and weren't aware of the level of wholesomeness and femininity. You're talking about the Rouge and the lipstick, and they played in skirts and all that. There was just the overall general idea that baseball
00:08:15
Speaker
was not only a man's game, but it was a masculine game. And so if women are going around saying, I played professional baseball, and they're pushing to be believed, well, then it must also be assumed that they are a certain kind of woman, which was not acceptable at that time. So they really just stopped talking about it. So the women themselves didn't feel free or didn't feel it was worthwhile to share that experience or talk about it anymore.
00:08:41
Speaker
And a lot of their own families didn't even know they played until the movie came out and they said, oh, I did that. He did what? So it just sort of fizzled out. And then when that story is not perpetuated and when its importance is not later,
00:08:59
Speaker
realized and talked about, it just disappears. And so when Penny Marshall learned that this had happened, she knew she had to tell this story. And she did such a great job. It's a wonderful movie, but it's not the full truth. And some of it has been, you know, fudged a little for cinematic value and all of that. So
00:09:20
Speaker
It did wonderful, tremendous things. It made the existence of the league known, and it changed those women's lives forever. And the
Cultural Impact of 'A League of Their Own'
00:09:26
Speaker
ripple effect is huge because there are young women who are playing baseball now, really maybe because of some of that and other reasons. But yeah, so.
00:09:40
Speaker
Thankfully, it was made. But yeah, there's more to the story. Yeah, and thank you. And everybody, we're talking about the incredible women of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. And that's actually the title of Anika's book, which
00:09:58
Speaker
Just talking about the illustrations, they have that kind of life and vitality and they're entertaining in and of themselves and it's what I'm telling everybody is that it's a really engaging book to get into.
00:10:15
Speaker
So one of the things that I find curious and just speaking about, and thank you for that explanation about the experience of women in the history of the league after it ended, I find baseball to be odd in its way it hangs on to these myths and legends and kind of misperceptions. One of them for me has always been like the Red Sox, curse of Babe Ruth,
00:10:42
Speaker
Right. He's traded when the real reason is any fan with any knowledge of history will tell you is that it's a racist ass organization and was so for decades. And therefore, it was the last team to have a black player on the team. But we end up with these kind of mystical ideas of why are we cursed or why do these things happen? It's because a lot of times we've excluded some of the best baseball players, be they women.
00:11:11
Speaker
or persons of color. It's a bizarre part of the game's history for me. And there's so many stories still buried back there, aren't there?
00:11:23
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And you touched on a really interesting point that, you know, it's tough because some of this folklore and mythology, you know, we can say it's kind of what makes baseball fun. And there's these stories and these legends and these larger than life figures and all of that. But you are right when you say that at the root of a lot of this mythology is really just kind of
00:11:43
Speaker
I don't know if it's self-preservation because of our love of baseball or what that is but a lot of that or stories that are put out there to sort of cover these things up but it is sort of a self-perpetuated
00:11:58
Speaker
a way to make ourselves feel better about the real dark and ugly sides that exist. And you could argue that that is absolutely true for every part of American history. Actually, you know, baseball is just sort of a microcosm of that. And it makes sense because it is the, you know, it is the American pastime. So at the heart of it, that would make perfect sense.
00:12:22
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. Baseball might be, you know, you find in other areas, but baseball is the wonderful game of baseball holds a lot of the history of, you know, where it's played. So what about what about another big one? So, Anika, I invited you on to chat book, to chat baseball, but also the big question with you as a creator and an artist, you create art. What is art? Oh,
00:12:53
Speaker
gosh you mean in in the larger scheme of things or in like what yeah like what it what it you know it is a beautiful book this beautiful illustrations it tells a story tells history um what what is it what's your creativity doing what is art well for me that uh you know i don't i don't know exactly maybe what
00:13:17
Speaker
necessarily the drive or inspiration or meaning is for everyone. I think it's very different, obviously. But for me, the value in it is the ability to elicit
00:13:32
Speaker
and evoke emotion and to connect with people through that. And a lot of that is through story. But some people's art doesn't necessarily tell a story or doesn't tell an obvious story, but in a way it does on maybe a subconscious level. So there are artists whose art, you know, some people may or may not understand, like, you know, maybe a good example would be someone like Jackson Pollock, you know, someone could look at him and say,
00:13:58
Speaker
That's just a big fat mess on a whatever. But someone else could look at that and feel whatever emotion went into the direction of those fatters, the color choices, all of that. And they may identify with that or find something in that that they relate to. And so to me, that is the value of it, and that's the meaning of it. So it really is hard, I guess you could say, to put a price on it, and that's always
00:14:26
Speaker
I mean that is always the conundrum for every artist and and every person who wants to own art or who doesn't want to own art. What is the value? But you know we as artists we have we are
00:14:43
Speaker
This sounds weird, but I think we are the art only in the sense that we are the conduit for it. I mean, I think you could safely ask just about any artist who isn't willing to declare themselves a genius, which to me, I think that's total bullshit, to be honest, because any real artist feels like
00:15:04
Speaker
or writer, you know, there are tons of writers who feel like the story already exists, even if it's if it doesn't exist in history, even if it's fiction, it exists somewhere outside of themselves. And when it starts rolling, when it starts coming in and you start creating.
00:15:20
Speaker
I've always felt this way and then I talk to other artists and writers who say they feel the exact same thing, which is just that it's essentially coming through you. You can look at that however you want, whether you think of it as being spiritual or scientific or physiological, whatever that is. There are times where I draw a little character, I draw something.
00:15:42
Speaker
I've looked at it and laughed or I get the giggles at it and it's not because I think oh I'm so funny it's because I look at that and I think of it as like it's got a life of its own and I just got to put it down on paper and that sounds kind of funny to a lot of people but I think every artist I talk to who identifies as an artist would agree that you have to be in a certain kind of
00:16:05
Speaker
the head space and then a certain kind of place for these things to like really start rolling through and you're the filter. So, you know, I like to talk about, this is a funny example and I just talked about it last night, but there's a video on YouTube now, but it's a clip from an old Walt Disney, the Walt Disney television show that was on like in the fifties and sixties where four different artists from the Walt Disney studio go out to a field and they all set up their drawing boards and they paint the same tree.
00:16:34
Speaker
and they're looking at the same exact tree but their paintings couldn't be more different and they explain what they're seeing and why they're doing what they're doing and what the tree is you know what they're feeling about the tree and whatever and it just goes to show how individual the the filter is but yet it's the same tree you know so
00:16:53
Speaker
As much as we want to say it is individual, I think it's tremendously individual, but the point is that it also is a way to connect with other people and use that connection to sort of tell stories, raise awareness about things, just help people feel things, help people process things. I like to think of it as something that is helpful, I hope, in the world, a good contribution.
00:17:19
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And I know there's been a lot of themes on the show as I've gone along that I mentioned frequently about, you know, the process and healing and, you know, just kind of like a basic goodness in the, you know, in creative activity and your comments about the art being there or maybe the story being there at times, you know, I think of like,
00:17:42
Speaker
One of the examples historically, like Michelangelo with the statue of David, that he thought he was only chipping away at the excess, like the statue was already in, I don't know, made out of granite or whatever. So it was like, it already exists, it already existed in his head and he was chipping away excess, which of course is a very different vantage point of, you know, just creating it. And so it's kind of chipping away at the excess to get to the,
00:18:12
Speaker
perfection or something and you know it maybe i don't know he got close to doing it if he didn't do it oh god no kidding especially when you look at those things and realize it's marble it just blows my mind i and you know there are a lot of artists who do the same thing um with other mediums i for as much of a a real piece of work as he was um
00:18:35
Speaker
As a human, I think Ernest Hemingway is a great example of someone who did that where he would just chip away, chip away, chip away until he had.
00:18:44
Speaker
just the essential thing where he said the most with the least. And that is a whole different art form. What you don't put down versus what you do. What space you leave versus what space you fill. To me, those are the people that just blow my mind are people who are completely economical with what they do and have a huge impact with that economy. That's always very exciting to me. That's something I always aspire to when possible.
Will the Giants Lead the NL West?
00:19:12
Speaker
Yeah, there's such an energy, I think, in that type of writing, particularly when it's done well to get down to the essence of things. Speaking of the essence of things, this is a very different question, Anika, and you said I could ask you any question. But this one here has to do with San Francisco giants, your beloved giants. Prior to getting into another conceptual question,
00:19:37
Speaker
There's a big question right now is what place are the Giants going to be in the NL West at the end of the year? Are they at first place at the end of the year? Can you just say yes or no? Or can you just tell us what's going to happen? Because you're into this stuff and everybody on the outside is saying it still doesn't add up, it still doesn't add up, and they're still the best in the league. So what's going to happen? At the end of the year, San Francisco Giants going to be in first.
00:20:05
Speaker
OK, well, that is a tough question. But I'm going to go ahead and say yes. And here's why, is that I've never, I don't want to jinx anything. I guess that's why I really hesitate to say yes. I will give you these. If you believe, wait, one second, Annika. This is baseball, and it's a jinx sport. So I will convey the right to you, since it is a jinx sport, to answer the question as you are most comfortable with.
00:20:35
Speaker
OK, well, then I'll just do the knock on wood. I'm doing that right now. But I do feel like that's possible. And here's why. I mean, I've been a fan for as long as I can remember, particularly after graduating high school. And I got to move back to San Francisco and be close to it. And I moved there the year the new ballpark was built and really got into it then.
00:21:05
Speaker
I saw all the seasons where you know it was adding up adding up but you just kind of you know like uh 2000 was that 2002 against the angels or three um and then you know but 2010 for me is the big one that's and the same you could say the same thing for 2012 and 2014 but 2010 really I remember
00:21:26
Speaker
uh everything was awry up until the all-star game and and things started adding up and it was such a ragtag team no one thought
00:21:37
Speaker
they could get to where it was and you know and then there are other seasons where it's like this one and then things kind of fall apart but I think they have the elements and you know I've seen it happen where they're just no one thought it would happen and they gave all the same reasons that they're giving now or very similar reasons
00:21:56
Speaker
And but the ingredients were there and it was exciting and hopeful. And, you know, so I'd like to I like to stay hopeful. I also think that a lot of my hope comes from how the other teams are doing, not just the Giants. So, you know, kind of keeping an eye on on teams like the Dodgers and San Diego and all that. And I think, you know, only half an eye compared to how much I pay attention to what's going on with the Giants. But I do think that they they stand a decent chance in the NLS.
00:22:24
Speaker
I do appreciate your important update in early August here. Yeah, I mean, you know. I thank you for your courage, but you know everybody's asking the question, so. So back to the sexual question, a little bit bigger about you.
00:22:45
Speaker
And this doesn't necessarily have to be as far as an artist, but just as who you are and the influences. Who or what made you who you are? Oh,
Family Influence on Art and Storytelling
00:22:56
Speaker
gosh. Well, I think there are a lot of people and figures involved in that one, absolutely. But 100%, my family,
00:23:09
Speaker
And I think a lot of that credit goes to my grandfather. We were very, very tight, and my dad as well. And I was an only child, and I just adored my grandfather, first of all. But he was a storyteller and a writer himself, a cartoonist also. But the way that he looked at life, the way he dealt with life,
00:23:36
Speaker
Just his overall philosophy was so uncomplicated and he was just a very easily delighted person. There was so much about the way that he did everything that informed
00:23:53
Speaker
everyone around him before I was even born to the point where by the time it got to me, I just really got to reap the benefits of the family that had been built. And then, God bless my grandma, she did all the hard stuff. So I think she probably made it very easy for him to be the way he was, but that just shows how much of a role she played in that.
00:24:16
Speaker
So I, you know, and then I guess because the philosophy facilitated all the other things like art and music and storytelling and, you know, I'm very, very, very lucky to have grown up in a family that valued those things. So I felt like it was a possibility for me to pursue them. I was never discouraged from that.
00:24:39
Speaker
I was never given unnecessary gold stars for things or anything like that. But I was encouraged to, I was never discouraged from just doing the things that brought me joy because I had many examples of how doing that could also be successful. And those were, that was the definition of success. We didn't have a ton of money, no one in our family did, but there was plenty enough to get by and there was never any stress around things like that.
00:25:06
Speaker
And my grandfather was the first example of someone in our family having the opportunity to do exactly what he wanted. And he started it pretty late. He got his, basically, his dream job at 41. And my dad is a musician. He never made that his primary occupation. But he still plays music. And he plays around where he lives today. And my mom.
00:25:35
Speaker
never discouraged me from pursuing those things. And so I was very lucky, but it's not easy.
00:25:42
Speaker
it's not easy at all it's really really hard but um it's it's definitely worth it so for better or worse i i never had had it in me to be able to take a quote unquote real job i guess you could say oh you know one of the things in in in i asked that question uh of a lot of my guests and um
00:26:06
Speaker
you know, all of the folks around us and what happens at certain times make a, you know, make a big difference in our development as humans or as creators. Anika, I wanted to ask a different question, not to leave too far behind, you know, what you wrote about in your book. And I just want to mention or just give a couple thoughts I had in general where I'm
00:26:32
Speaker
I've been confused about, you know, baseball's handling of... Well, here's the thing. Women, you know, they take, you know, their kids to games. Sometimes they don't want to go to games. Sometimes they're obsessive fans, just like men. Sometimes they're really into baseball statistics. Women play baseball. They're huge fans, enormous fans, you know, by
00:26:59
Speaker
the millions. They played baseball. There's greater movement into the executive realm. That's been happening over the last few years. Hitting coaches. I've interviewed one Rachel Balkovic for the New York Yankees. So for me, it isn't like a lack of attention or a fandom when it comes to women in baseball. It's 2021, and we've seen some of the changes that we're talking about right now.
00:27:28
Speaker
Where do you think baseball is going in just recognizing women in whatever role when it comes to their contact, appreciation, and involvement with the game? Well, I certainly think it's moving in the right direction. I do think we need to
00:27:50
Speaker
of course pay attention to and celebrate and give recognition to these things that are happening because the more young girls and women that are aware of it and that see it have the seed of possibility planted in their brains and that's extremely important. You know there's
00:28:13
Speaker
indescribable value in seeing and then believing, you know, seeing the possibility before you and knowing that it's possible. That's huge. But I do think we need to be wary of taking those as
00:28:28
Speaker
uh allowing ourselves to feel like okay the work is done or what are you talking about there's a woman that you know there's an assistant general manager at the yankees or what are you talking about we have coaches um because the ratio is obviously you know uh it's so far skewed but it's also so important to have more than just you know just the representation
00:28:53
Speaker
because that's how fundamental change really happens. When you get to the levels where actual decisions are made, not just decisions about what happens on the field or the team, but decisions on who gets funding, where that funding goes, how college programs are developed, how children's programs are developed,
00:29:09
Speaker
um you know where those resources go. We just saw uh fairly recently NCAA tournaments where they showed the men's workout facility and the women's workout facility and how they had like a couple of canned weights you know and like it was like laughably pathetic. So the people who are making those decisions uh you know that's where that stuff comes in and when you have women involved in those
00:29:32
Speaker
those places. Those decisions become easier. There are people who are there to make sure that the right decisions are made. And then also importantly that it's not just white women. And I think that is a really
00:29:47
Speaker
you know it goes back to the all-american girls professional baseball league they did not allow women of color into the league and at the time the logic behind that was one thing at a time you know we're already dealing and also women of color did not fit into the American ideal of wholesome good feminine
00:30:09
Speaker
beautiful, acceptable women. So if they were going to uphold that image, that didn't fit for them. But then the other part of that is that they viewed it as it was already difficult enough to get Americans behind this thing and then have it be successful.
00:30:27
Speaker
um and they were they did but you know in their minds I think the explanation for that was one thing at a time that was 1943 so like you said we're in 2021 and it seems like that is still
00:30:44
Speaker
the mentality. And I've been brought on, I've actually had these conversations, I was just recently asked to host a panel discussion during the all star break, which I actually declined. And I was told, this is great, we needed some diversity. And it was a panel of like, I want to say at least seven or eight men and then myself, but we were all white. And I already felt and there's there's some
00:31:12
Speaker
other problems with that of me being the only woman there and how that could potentially go really wrong. You know, if I don't have, if there are another, if there are not other women's voices there to sort of, you know, quote unquote back me up, if we start getting into a certain subject area where things become sensitive, then that could be
00:31:33
Speaker
really bad for me or even potentially unsafe but then also you know that is that doesn't paint the whole picture of diversity so we do have I mean it's
Diversity in Baseball: Beyond the Surface
00:31:44
Speaker
so often that we have the presence of women right now in major league baseball and in other areas but we just also have to keep
00:31:51
Speaker
remembering and keep pushing for the fact that women don't complete the picture of diversity, you know, white women don't complete the picture of diversity. So the more voices and presence of all different women that we can have in there and men as well of, you know, just diversity in general,
00:32:12
Speaker
The better decisions will be made, the better allocation of funding, you know, the more inclusive and the more representative it will be of our country as a whole. So if it is our national passion, then that should be reflected. So I'm hopeful for that. I think that we have a lot of good things in place.
00:32:28
Speaker
I think the best things that are happening for women in baseball are actually happening as I think a lot of things do at the grassroots level. There are people working very, very hard to see that that happens and they're working with their own fundraising, their own funding, their own blood, sweat, and tears without, you know, with very minimal help from Major League Baseball. I think they're finally getting some of the attention and momentum that they need and they deserve, but then what happens from here on out is going to be
00:32:55
Speaker
Yeah, it's going to be challenging for them and I hope that they get the resources they deserve without having it sort of
00:33:04
Speaker
I think Major League Baseball is starting to recognize some of these things, and I really, really hope that they don't just step in and say, okay, great, thanks, we got it from here, and take all that hard work away from them. I hope that they know where to put those resources to make sure that it happens the right way, because these are the people that have the knowledge and the know-how to actually make it happen. Organizations like Baseball for All, the International Women's Baseball Center,
00:33:28
Speaker
There are inner city organizations. I think there's one based in Boston called BACE that works with inner city youth and underprivileged youth, giving them accessibility to sports and different things. So yeah, I'm hopeful for those organizations for sure.
00:33:44
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, and I really appreciate your comments and you know, I know it's kind of like to give, you know, the question is, has, you know, were you looking at an overarching, you know, kind of way of looking at things, but I really appreciate what you have to say.
Inclusion in Baseball: Progress and Acknowledgment
00:34:01
Speaker
And I look at, you know, kind of the kind of like the flux of history and the flux of baseball history, where you do see these moments where there's this kind of,
00:34:12
Speaker
uh, chain, you know, if the game feels different, um, it's, it's changing. And, uh, you know, baseball has always been, um, my sport amongst the sports, but I've also had like a very frustrating relationship with it in the sense of, you know, being critical of, of its histories, yet loving, you know, kind of what, uh, what it can be.
00:34:35
Speaker
I know with them recently, the game, Major League Baseball has recognized more the contributions in the history of Negro Leagues Baseball. And I found that that's kind of a greater and growing trend. When I was younger,
00:34:54
Speaker
I happened upon a book in a library, you know, I mean, I think I found out about the Negro Leagues by accident and I think, you know, somebody picked up your book, you know, they're gonna find out about the league, the women, the girls, you know, you know, by accident and I think part of it is like,
00:35:12
Speaker
It shouldn't be by accident. It should be a little bit more, you know, this is baseball and this is part of the story. So I hope it becomes more inclusive in the celebrations. Moving from that, I do have the big question that I do have to ask you, Annika, before I let you go.
00:35:36
Speaker
And the
Philosophical Musings on Baseball
00:35:37
Speaker
big question is, why is there something rather than nothing? I really like the philosophical aspect of this, because art and baseball are two very philosophical things. So why is there something rather than something?
00:36:00
Speaker
I also asked the question a different way too and you could just so you know it because I've asked it or I've hinted at it for baseball folks a different way. One of the things I've discussed is you know baseball being a game of whether game baseball is a game of something or nothing right.
00:36:21
Speaker
people like there's nothing happening on the field and there's not too many events right so it's like people are standing around and i've always seen it for quite a long time as a like a you know if something happened or is there nothing happened so you could also look at the game of baseball is this is if something happened or nothing happening
00:36:41
Speaker
that's a really good metaphor actually and you know it's funny because I uh you know I'm sure you get this as a baseball fan from people who are not baseball fans like oh my god it's so boring how can you stand on how do you I feel that way about install I feel like
00:36:57
Speaker
It could not be more mind-numbingly boring, but I don't know what's going on. And I mean, I've seen my dad stand and yell and slap at the TV when it doesn't look like anything's happening. So, you know, what's fun is knowing what is happening. And sometimes the things that are happening
00:37:15
Speaker
art is everything that you can't see, which I guess kind of goes back to the idea of art and the economy. And so much of what is happening is what is not there. And that carries so much weight in, you know, artists like, for example, Al Hirschfeld or, or it's just that one swooping line and suddenly it's Barbara Streisand or, you know, whatever it's supposed to be. So to me, I think when you're talking about baseball and art and a lot of aspects of life,
00:37:45
Speaker
the nothing is the something. So I don't know that it's either or, I think it is. I think that the nothing is the best something. That's an answer. I love it. Well, it is an answer, and it's a darn good one. Anika, I wanted to ask you, so you could let everybody know, I really enjoy your illustrations that you post on Instagram. We mentioned your book.
00:38:15
Speaker
How do folks contact you, contact your work, see your work, you know, in whatever way you'd like to present it?
00:38:24
Speaker
Sure. Well, I appreciate the question. I, you know, well, as far as the book, I'm sorry to say that I no longer have signed copies right now. And I'm, I just don't have, I'm not home long enough or have the time to order more and go through that. So I apologize. Some people have asked, but like you said, local independent bookstore is always the best route, but I appreciate any route people take to buy the book. Of course, it is available wherever books are sold.
00:38:51
Speaker
Other stuff, though, and, you know, as much as I absolutely love baseball, it is definitely only a fraction of what I do and what my interests are and what stories I tell. So if anyone is interested in the other things that I do, I think Instagram is definitely the best way to see all of that. I'm on Instagram as Anika Drawls.
00:39:18
Speaker
A little confusing, but it's my first name, A-N-I-K-A-D-R-A-W-L-S. And there is a story behind that, but I won't go into it. And my website is my first and last name, dot com, anithaoroc.com. And I do have a contact link on there if someone has questions or they can, you know, ask me a question on Instagram if they'd like. I will go ahead and put it out there that I am
00:39:43
Speaker
I'm on Facebook, but if you send me a message on Facebook, there's a really good chance I won't get it. I'm on Twitter a little bit, same handle, Anika draws. So yeah, any of those places, you're welcome to follow along and ask me questions and I'll do my best to answer them and yes.
00:40:02
Speaker
Yeah, I love it. And I think it would be great in the future to chat about more because I do see the other work that you do and really love your style and seeing the different images and bouncing away from baseball and historical personages. I believe you had an illustration of, I think, Richard Pryor that I saw.
00:40:28
Speaker
in there and um but uh yeah I really um really love the art and thank you for letting folks know uh where to find you I want to let you know um when it does come to baseball uh best of luck to the Giants um I live on the west coast now I'm in Oregon I'm close enough to the Giants and Giants fans to say you know uh you know go Giants
00:40:55
Speaker
I get an audience around the world. But thank you so much, Anika. It's been a great pleasure to chat with you and for coming on something rather than nothing. And considering some of the great questions of creativity and the game of baseball, thanks again. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me on. I appreciate it. And yeah, thank you. Take care.
00:41:26
Speaker
You too. Thanks, Anika. Thank you. This is something rather than nothing.