when we talked about the idea of starting this blog, it was shannon and my hope to not only feature and honor the back and forth projects of others, it was also to document the creation and birth of a self published children's book. we wanted to provide glimpses into the process- which at the time of the blogs first post, was almost exclusively narrowed down to creating the artwork to accompany the words.
shannon had long ago finished her story- save for minor tweaking and a word change here and there.
but the great unknown that we intended to share with the world was, at that point, well, an awful lot about ME and my work and process. having taken a hiatus from the world of Art (with a capitol A), i was eager and joyfully anticipating the idea of really digging deep and making the perfect artistic companion piece to buoy and capture shannons words.
and so i got started.
and i would excitedly bring forth whatever tidbit i'd scrounged the time to produce.
and we would document the latest endeavor and post photos to the blog, etc...
and,
well,
after a period of time,
and some more time,
and a little more time,
i realized that the amount of exposing that was going on, before i had what i felt was a fleshed out idea of the RIGHT visual language, was muddying up the place from which i was approaching the project.
unexpectedly.
mysteriously.
i was starting to confuse the project and the product, meaning i was wrapping myself up in the idea of the PRODUCT, or the finished piece. i was losing connection to the PROJECT, or the evolving creation. subconsiously i had let the (loving and supportive) input of friends and others start to dictate the moments of creation. would i please those who were essentially holding their own hopes and expectations for this project? would i capture an aesthetic that was similiar to shannons?? could i fluidly blend her own unique mix of modernhipcoollovelysweetspaciousclean?
ahhh! labels!! not helpful.
not.
helpful.
so where i came to and what i've realized is this:
there is a time and a place for back and forth, and then there is a time and a place for holding a space that is devoid of external influences, or as devoid of those influences as we will allow it to be. to watch something unfold unto itself, without attaching much to it, but staying present in the act of creating. holding ones cards close, i think you might call it. introspection.
blah
blah
blah.
all told, i think i'll hold back from posting pictures of works in progress for a while is i guess what i'd like to say.
instead, i'd like to do a bit more writing about what is happening, and leave the pictures for later.
we'll just have to wait and see what happens!
what WILL this language look like? hmmmmmm..........
