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So, Colin and I are kind of on the "anthropology beat" for Nuvo now.
It's lots of fun. Sometimes they dispatch us to cover certain events and
other times we get to choose what we cover. Last weekend we chose
to cover the Indianapolis Post Card Club Show. It was very stange.
You walk in and...well, I'll let you read the story yourself...
Illustration Friday: Crowded
Ooh, I love this topic. I came up with a zillion concepts, but ultimately
went with this one. It's inspired by my living out in the country in high
school. Being able to see lots and lots of stars. They were sometimes
so big I felt like I could reach out and grab one and shove it down into
my pocket. I miss that. Now I live in the city where I have to squint to
see even a few stars. (sigh...)
Oh man, I have a lot going on right now. And I'm smack dab in the
middle of it. Balancing to-do list, prioritizing and getting things
done one by one. I find myself so energized by it. I feel like I can
accomplish all of it by deadline (I never miss deadlines). I feel like
it's all going to be done well. And it's all going to be something I
look back on next week and say "Holy monkey, I can't believe I got
all that accomplished and kept my cool!". I'm looking forward to
that feeling.
I have to have it all done by Friday night because Jill Sobule is
performing in Bloomington and invited me to go. I'm excited to
meet her. But I can't stay long because I'm going out of town Saturday
morning. My mom, my youngest brother and I are going on a road trip
(my mom's idea). She's picking me up at 4 o'clock in the blessed
morning (oh my!) and we're off to South Carolina. She really wants
to walk on the beach at night. I'm looking forward to that too.
I hope it's warm.
Gotta get back to work.
Best Advice Journal Inquiry
Will whoever has a journal for the Best Advice Project please email me?
I'm trying to keep track of them a little. Thanks!
This weekend was a big round wonderful blur. Well, most of it, at
least (I had work to do on Sunday). Saturday though, gave me the
time to do another painting for the April 9th show. And this one is
HUGE! 16x20 to be exact. Colin had to help me because it was so
unwieldy. I took a picture of it to show with my little digital camera
(above). I'm fascinated with power lines and birds. I'm not exactly
sure why. I think it's the weird contrast between the two...something
so man-made and rigid and angular paired with something tiny and
natural and fluid. I love that. So I did a painting up about it. Now I
just have to frame it...
Last year I had an easter egg hunt on my site. This year I've
gathered all the eggs for you. Click here!
Oh lovelies,
I feel like I must apologize for not being around very much lately. I've been so
sick and so busy (not a good combo). I've just been plowing through things
lately and trying to finish projects up. Are you still there?...I've missed you.
Good things
I'm much much better. Not feeling so groggy. And I can finally hear again
(it felt like I had invisible ear muffs on for about two weeks).
I have five new pieces to put in my upcoming show on April 9th. I'm working
on making some more. My goal is 8 for the show. If you're in the Indianapolis
area you should come see the show in person!
I finally saw a robin! The first one I saw had white spots all over it, like he'd
been through some difficult trauma (darn winter...lasting so long this year).
I think I actually saw him sigh with relief. :)
I've been working on a very high-profile project for the State Museum. It's been
totally consuming my time, but I think it will be really fun when it's all said and
done. Here's a very little sneak peek...
And, I think I've finally cracked some kind of code of the mysterious down mood.
I think it's Mondays. You know...the weekend is usually filled with things going
on and people to talk to and events. Then Monday comes and it's suddenly very
quiet in my studio and I'm all alone. So, to battle this I decided that next Monday
I will blare music, open the windows (weather permitting) and try to go out to a
coffee place to be around people. :) Game plans. I'm all about em.
Oh, and Happy Easter weekend!
Illustration Friday: Bloom
Okay, this is the first Illustration Friday that I've had to use
an image I'd already created. But I'm just way too busy with
deadlines and don't have a moment to create a new one.
I don't know if you've seen this before anyway...I don't think
I posted it here. I wanted to do something conceptual...and
maybe I will a while later. I just love this topic!
So, I think did fine in my chat with the students. I was a little nervous at
first because I thought they were all staring at me. And after I realized
I was right and they were SUPPOSED to stare at me, my butterflies went
away. And I started to joke around a little which helped a lot. My favorite
part of the hour long chat was the question and answers part. They asked
some really inspired questions and I was happy to be able to help. I feel
good about it. :)
And for all you students who are reading this post now, "Hi! Thank you
for being a good audience. I had a lot of fun talking to you!"
I'm speaking to a college class tomorrow morning (Wednesday)
and I just know I'm going to spill something on myself. "Hi, I'm
Penelope and...whoops." And then I'm wearing coffee on my shirt
and looking like an idiot.
So, I may just spill something on myself before I leave the house
just to get it over with.
One thing I wasn't expecting when I was contemplating going full-time
freelance is the very violent ups and downs in outlook. It's really
unnerving. And it's all internal, I believe. Nothing on the outside
changes, just the way I think about it. (But I can't seem to change
that thinking, even though I understand what it is.)
For example. Last night I was very down...Wondering what the hell
I am doing? Where am I going with this? Why do I put this on myself?
I'm going to be nothing but a big fat failure and I'll have to walk home
with my tail between my legs. And then I'll just die from my own lack
of self-worth. Blehk...
And then this morning I am suddenly feeling much lighter. I feel like I
can conquer my lists of things to do. That it's not just a sea of creative
people with no faces, but everyone has their own unique identity. That
one can succeed in a creative field and by doing what they love. Just
stick to it and keep your head down and charge!
See what I mean? Total flip-flop. We're up...and we're down.
I wish there was a little light switch in my head that I could flip back to
"on" when the darkness seeps in. Or I wish it at least gave some kind of
warning: "HEY LOPE! You're gonna feel like utter sh*t for the next 3 hours
or so, okay? So just go get a cup of tea and the box of kleenex."
I could deal with that. I could maybe prepare myself and hunker down
waiting for this spell of bombing to be over.
But no...I just write about it the next day. And try to give some kind
of warning to those thinking about going into this adventure for
themselves. Be warned....you will have ups and downs. You will wonder
why you're doing this. Just wait and you'll eventually know.
Note to self: read this during the next low.
I was able to get to bed at 10pm last night and I finally got a good
night's sleep. I woke up feeling a little bit better (hope!). And then
I made the decision to take today for myself...No client work. No
deadlines. No stress. Instead I took a long, hot shower and made
some tea with way too much honey. I started to feel even better so
I decided to make a little illustration for myself (mainly because I
thought I could do a better job with "fragile" than the orange-haired
girl below).
Since then I've just been laying on the couch putting together a little
sumpin' sumpin' for you.
A lot of people have asked about my process. So I put together
a little how-to page, walking you through the steps I go through
to create an illustration. Click here to see it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A little addition:
Singer/songwriter Jill Sobule recently recorded a new album
and wanted to highlight two of the songs on her website. She
hired me to do two illustrations for these songs, and I worked
with her wonderful web-programmer to animate them and make
them interactive. Only one is done so far, but you can check it
out now. (HINT: Rollover the various objects in the illustration...)
I'll post the second one when it's done as well.
Check it out!
Illustration Friday: Fragile
Oh, I'm sorry I've not written. I'm still alive, but just barely. I'm still very ill.
I even went to the doctor (first time in years) and he gave me some
medicine and told me to get some rest. I started laughing to myself,
knowing he was right...I should rest, but also realizing that this was a
REALLY big week for me. I've been slammed. And I've been working
my tail off til the wee hours of the morning trying to get everything done.
I think that's why I'm no better than I was a week ago. Eesh...I really do
need some rest.
I decided that I needed to stop on the projects and do something just
for me. So I made that illustration you see right up there for Illustration
Friday. She's my really really fast, not very thought out interpretation
of fragile. I like her orange hair. I want orange hair. Maybe that would
scare the sickness right outta me. :)
I hope you are well and healthy. Don't take it for granted! I never will
again. I promise!
p.s. I promise to share the stuff I've been working on as soon as I'm in
the clear to show you.
p.p.s. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I CANNOT believe I'm sick again. This time with fever and dizziness.
Oh my...
Illustration Friday: Ancient
This week's topic was "Ancient". For my illustration I was going for the idea
of ancient family history and how all generations narrow down to you. How
it is a part of you and shapes you. I'm not sure I hit the nail on the head, but
if not, you can make your own interpretation. What do you think?
(Click here to see it larger.)
I also promised to share my first silkscreening endeavor. It took forever...
lining up all the shapes and mixing the perfect colors. I did several runs.
Had four goof-ups before I hit with this one. I dig it. This will be one of the
pieces I sell at my show in April. Going now to clean all the paint up that
I spilled. Yipes... (Click here to see the finished painting.)
A few odds and ends I've been meaning to share:
1. I found this incredibly yummy recipe in Real Simple magazine. I made it
last Sunday and wanted to share it with you. Here you go.
2. Yesterday I got into a complete funk. You know the kind. The kind where
you feel like nothing is going smoothly. Everything you touch turns to sludge.
And you feel like you're never going to make it till the end of the night. So.
I emailed Colin with all these thoughts and he reminded me of something.
He said to me: "Lope, you need to create something. This is just your body's
crappy way of notifying you that it's time to make something."
And of course I completely ignored his advice and went to bed early feeling
like a piece of poo.
This morning, then, I woke up and started creating right away and am a
completely different person. Go figure. I should have listened last night.
3. I heart silk-screening. Hoo-boy! (I'll show my first piece later....)
SO Excited!
I just got a some silk screening supplies! I'm so excited I'm going to
pee my pants! (Well, not really. That'd be grody.)
Every spring my mom and I have this little competition to see who
can spot the first robin of the year. Usually I win. And it's usually a
couple days before her birthday that I spot him. I call her and sing
the na-na-na-nuh-boo-boo song, and she laughs.
Well, today is my mom's birthday (Happy birthday mom!). No sign
of spring (it's snowing here). No sign of the first robin (I've been
staring out the window all day). No good at all (I'm bummed).
Dirty robins.
Okay, so I should probably explain a bit better...
Lately I've just been feeling sort of stuck in the heavy mud. Like I'm
not doing enough to push myself. And then I was just surfing along
and came across this artist who totally blew me away. Seriously. I felt
like a faint little candle and my flame was just snuffed out on a whim.
And I was hiding in the corner feeling little and sheepish and tiny.
But that feeling was quickly replaced. I'm a sucker for reverse
psychology. Really. If someone says I can't, I just try harder and do it
anyway. So that's where I am now. I've been challenged. I've seen the
next step. I'm going for it.
I've been thinking a lot about self-promotion. About ways to get out
there to get more work. There are a lot of websites that let you put little
portfolios or blurbs. I'm not sure if they work or if they're just fluff, but
I've added my name to them. Plotting...
Here's a few of the sites:
Coroflot
Creative Hotlist (affiliated with CA)
Portfolios.com
Art Wanted
So, at least it's a start. You create your own luck, right?
xo
p
p.s. Linda, who asked for a print of the jazz image: that's no problem,
just email me and we can talk about it.
p.s.s I'm thinking about selling prints here on the site real soon. Any
particulars you'd like to see offered?
How do I grow from this? By realizing that everyone is on a different path
and has his/her own timing. And that feeling weak is just another reminder
to try real damn hard to blaze my own path.
I know that I can be weak and have my confidence shaken if I
don't watch it. I try to listen to myself and know when I'm strong
versus when I'm weak. I misjudged. I shouldn't have. I need to
learn to see this as a reason to grow...and not to shrink.
Illustration Friday: Jazz
I had lots of other things planned for this topic. But none of
them seemed to be panning out. So I decided to go with three
characters playing their instruments. Groove on, daddio.
Click here to see a bigger version.
Creativity, Part 2
Sitting here drinking a rootbeer float and thinking about all the
great comments you left. Thank you all for responding. Very
interesting things you bring up. It seems like a lot of you said that
it's kind of both. You have to schedule time for creativity or you'd
never do anything, but also you have to be prepared to catch the
lightning. I agree with you. It works that way for me, too. I sit down
at my studio table and make myself be creative. Some days it works
beautifully, and some days it's a flopper. You never know, I guess.
But I think it's good to sit down to at least attempt to channel it.
I also always carry a notebook with me so when I'm out running
errands or sitting in traffic and the lightning strikes, I'm ready.
(Although, today I managed to leave home without a notebook and
had two great ideas...I had to call my husband to write them down
for me. oops!) And inspiration seems to happen at the strangest
moments. Like you'll hear a lyric in a song you've listened to a zillion
times and suddenly it says something different to you. Or you happen
to see a person with an interesting face and immediately feel the
need to record that. At least, that's how it is for me.
Another interesting thing that you brought up was the different
times that you are creative. I hear that most people have a productive
time. I wonder if that can shift over time. Right now I feel like I'm my
most creative around 5 or 6 in the evening and then get a second wind
at night. But it used to be mornings. Hmm...When is your creative time?
Do you try to set everything aside to take advantage of that time?
I'm also curious about your process. How do you tackle creative
assignments? I usually sit down and feel a bit intimidated by the
blankness of my paper and start doodling. Really really bad sketches
happen. I scratch the worst ones out. And some have glimmers of
goodness in them. One of my doodles usually ends up sparking a
personal illustration and I do that quickly. I'm not sure why...to loosen
up the gears maybe? I'll do a blog illustration or draw a little card for a
friend or just draw an idea for a future project. Then I go back to my
assignment and it happens much easier. It's like I got all the gook out
of the way, and I did something small to remind myself that it's a game.
Then the assignment is fun...not so challenging.
What's it like for you?
Creativity
I've been doing a lot of thinking about the mystery of creativity. How it
happens, where it comes from, when it strikes...etc. I've read contradictory
things about it. Some think that creativity is something that hits you
occasionally and you should take advantage of it in those fleeting moments.
If it hits at 2am, then by god, get up and create!
Others think that it's something you can call upon when needed. In Anne
Lamott's Bird by Bird, she talks about setting a schedule for creativity.
Sit down at the same time everyday to be creative and you can program your
mind to be productive then. Your brain goes catches on..."Oh, at this set time
I must generate ideas and be creative."
So, this has been floating around in my head. I'm wondering about your opinions.
Where do you stand? Do you think creativity can be called upon? Scheduled?
Or is it just lightning that could strike at any moment?
I'd love to hear your thoughts...
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© Penelope Illustration. Stealing
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