37days Project Update

Does anyone even remember my 37days project from last Thanksgiving? Well, I got an email from Patti Digh a few days ago telling me that I got in! I don't know yet which/how many of my four illustrations will be published, but at least one of them will be! I'm so jazzed!

All Finished!

That's my final Challenge Card illustration, for this essay. This was a particularly difficult one, but everyone seems to like it. It's very simple, and I like that. The essay is about existing in those liminal spaces that we occasionally find ourselves in -- We've let go of one thing, but have not yet embraced a new thing. It is in those oddly uncomfortable spaces that true change can take place.

Digh, in her essay, uses the visual of the trapeze artist and of the childhood gym toy, the monkey bars (hence, the title) to talk about that place between letting go of one thing and grabbing hold of something else. I looked for images of both/either to use in my Challenge Card, and didn't see anything that really moved me that I could get permission to use (back to that nasty permissions issue). And even with an image, I couldn't think of a concept. My husband, John, mentioned that the visual he got after reading the essay was of a person standing alone (thank you, John). That really worked for me, as a concept, because we usually travel through those liminal spaces by ourselves. And what better way to represent a threshold than with a doorway? A doorway is, after all, a threshold into a new place.

It drives me crazy that the doorway is somewhat askew. I swear on the original, it's not that noticeable. Well, it is now, but it wasn't before! LOL!

This is not the image that I originally had in mind for the focal point of the illustration but iStock didn't come through for me. In fact, I didn't hear anything from them after our email exchange in which they asked about contest rules. I just decided that it wasn't worth it to keep hounding them. Instead, I went looking for a suitable replacement image. This one works for me.

Many, many thanks to Jon Johnson for the use of his image. It was used under a Creative Commons License, so my final work is also licensed under the same license. I'd also like to thank meatcats22, Miss Twiga, and Felix63 for giving me permission to use their photos. I ultimately decided not to use them, but I appreciate their kindness and consideration. Many thanks go to Jer from Flickr who taught me an easy way to search for images that can be used commercially. Her techniques helped me find the photo that I did use as my focal point.

By the way, there is a Flickr group set up for sharing scans/pictures of the Challenge Cards as they are created. Considering how many entries there probably are, there aren't very many being shared, but there is some really great work. There are a couple of other Challenge Cards on various artists' blogs. Be sure to check out the featured artwork on Patti's site, done by 11-year old Callie. It's great!

Let go of the monkey bar

No photo to share with you yet. I'm emailing with Client Relations at iStock.com, hoping to get permission to use a wonderful photograph they have there. We've had quite an exchange which culminated in my sending Biliana links to all the posts in Patti's blog where she talks about the contest. I've even sent a mock-up of my illustration. I'm jumping through all their hoops, and hoping for the best. Biliana is super-nice and is really working with me, rather than just dismissing me. She seems to want to help me. I'm really impressed by their attitude at iStock.

Special thanks to Sandy Davies, an art friend. Tuesday afternoon, I bundled up all my mock-ups and took them to her office. We spent a fair amount of time, going over each one, talking about what worked and what it needed and why I did what I did. It was an excellent exercise for me. Sandy is an artist herself and a great teacher. In situations like this, she doesn't just lecture, but tells why she thinks what she thinks. So, in addition to getting another pair of artistic eyes to look at my illustrations, I got a mini art lesson! I also got some great advice, which made my pieces better. Thanks Sandy!

Go see the tiny Ninjas

This is one of my favorites, mostly because of the way it came together. I had read the essay several times and couldn't get beyond the visual of the tiny Ninja figures. I wasn't seeing what the essay was really about. It wasn't until I was emailing a friend (I know you've already read about this, but bear with me. I love this story) for advice, and I distilled the essay into a few sentences that the door opened for inspiration. I said to Tammy, "This essay is a bitch. It's about seizing the moment, showing up for life. It seems to be about tiny Ninja theater doing MacBeth at the Kennedy Center, but it's really about putting one foot in front of the other, and being present for your own life. A couple of quotes from the essay: 'And for a bright shining moment, this little tribe of Ninjas made all the world a stage.' 'Get yourself to your life.' 'Rise above the aches and pains, the nausea, exhaustion, general malaise. The show won't run forever.' I'm really loving the essay -- I love this woman's writing style; it's very conversational -- but I have absolutely no inspiration. Wish you were here to brainstorm with."

Well, it wasn't long after I sent that email that it hit me -- putting one foot in front of the other! What a visual! So off I went to Google Image Search and a few pages later, I run across this photo. The file name is walking-to-treatment.jpg. That really struck me. When I looked at the blog that the photo is from, I realized that the woman in the picture is fighting breast cancer. Not only is that poignant, but it makes the photograph perfect! Talk about putting one foot in front of the other! Going through the grind of fighting cancer. I commented on Marilyn Kass' blog entry that included the picture of the feet; she emailed me right back and quickly gave her permission for me to use this exquisite photo.

After I finalized the use of Marilyn's photo of her feet, the rest of the layout just fell into place. Oh, by the way, the Chinese character in the middle of the collage is Energy. I thought that was appropriate, given that it really does take energy to put one foot in front of the other and to show up for your own life. Asian stencils were designed by Keith Bishop for Plaid Enterprises, Inc.

I'd also like to thank Shari L. Ireton at the University of Washington School of Law for allowing me to use this photo, even though my Muse and I ultimately went in a different direction. I really appreciate her cooperation.

Consider the flea

Here is the illustration for Consider the flea. Image is used by permission of Jillian. I was determined to use this image somewhere, somehow. I just love it. The men were really the inspiration, thinking of how I could manipulate the photo to illustrate the essay. Since the essay talks about 17th-century Dutch microscopist Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek, I was inspired to go with a magnification theme.

Celebrate every orange flag

Here is the first of my four essay illustrations. It was done in mixed media collage -- though mostly cut and paste. The little girl is from Digital Collage Sheets. The birthday candle is from Kathleen Peirce at Peirce Clipart.

The work is meant to illustrate this essay. Go read it. It will make you smile and buy birthday candles.

Speaking of which, I'd like to thank babybluebbw for her permission to use this picture. I decided on a different photo, but I appreciate her cooperation, none-the-less.

Inspiration Comes From Funny Places

Well, I've come up with the idea for my fourth illustration, so all is right with the world. I'm still waiting for a few permissions to come back for the third illustration, but I'm working away as though they will. It's my intention that this project will go smoothly. I have looked for back-up images where needed, but I'm counting on not having to use them. I have found some awesome images, though. There are some really talented photographers out there.

I mentioned that I found my fourth idea. It came while I was kvetching with a friend, via email, about the last essay and how I wasn't coming up with any ideas for it! Since I didn't know if she had read it or not, I told her that on the surface it seems to be about tiny Ninja figures and MacBeth, but in reality, the essay is about showing up for life. It's about putting one foot in front of the other, and getting on with the business of living. Gee, does that bring a visual to mind for you? Well, it did for me! And I found the most amazing photograph! What makes it the perfect photograph is that the woman is on her way to get treatment for breast cancer, I believe (to be honest, I've only taken time to scan her blog, but I'll be reading it in depth once this project is over). Talk about putting one foot in front of the other! Talk about showing up for life! I wish there was some way to tell the publisher the provenance of this image, so she would understand how well it illustrates the theme of the essay.

I quickly commented on the photograph and held my breath -- and I had an affirmative response almost before I closed the page! It was a great feeling. From there, the page just fell together.

Am I teasing you, by talking about the mock-ups and not showing them to you? I would but my camera takes truly hideous photographs as the flash doesn't work reliably. Or rather, it most reliably doesn't work! LOL! And you've heard the I-don't-have-a-scanner woes. Tomorrow I am going to be near a scanner. Maybe I can scan the mock-ups then. The problem with that (I know: Excuses, excuses!) is that the elements aren't glued or taped down, so that I can more easily move them around and try different layouts. Hard to scan something when the pieces are floating around!

You can bet, I'll be sharing the finished products, though. Visit again around Friday and you'll see them then.

Project Progress

Well, I have three mock-ups complete, although I'm not sold on the third one. I haven't run it by my in-house art critic (my husband) or by my friend who is brainstorming with me. He has read the essays and is giving thoughtful critique to my illustrations. In fact, he inspired the third one. I'm also waiting on permissions for the focal image, so please, keep your fingers crossed with me. I'll have to buy the image, but I love it, so if I can use it, I'm happy to pay for it. I've written to iStock Customer Relations to see if their license covers what I want to do. I think it does, but I thought, "Better safe than sorry". Or is that, "It's easier to apologize than ask forgiveness"? If I don't hear from them in a timely fashion, I'm going to go ahead and use the image. I am also continuing to look for other sources of images I can use. If you know of an image with a similar feel or theme that I could easily garner publication rights to, let me know. Thanks!

Busy, busy, busy ...

My blog entries for the next several days will be short and sweet as I'm knee-deep in an art project for the 37days website. I'm entering a contest, where the winners will get to illustrate an upcoming book. It's all very exciting.

I've chosen to create four entries. My assigned essays are:

• Consider the flea


• Celebrate every orange flag


• Go see the tiny Ninjas


• Let go of the monkey bar

I've got mock-ups of the first two illustrations done; the last two have left me blank. This time last night, I didn't have a clue as to what I'd do for Consider the flea, so there's still hope that my Muse will visit me in the night with an idea. Or that my great friend, Jillian, or my darling husband, John, will brainstorm with me and help me come up with an idea. There's still hope that I'll meet the 5:00 PM, EST, 30 November, 2007 deadline!