Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Anne Frank, Post Hank

So, after a talk with Hank I have decided to go all out with the Anne Frank book. It's going to be 16x20 and will really feature the artwork that I've done. I'm even more excited about it now than I was before. I woke up at 4:30am to finish up some work for Anne's class and have been working on my new book since then...it's 7am. Insanity. That is what this school does to you...it's a little nutty, but clearly, I love it.

My first instinct with the book was to go BIG with it...to really make it oversized. Somehow, I talked myself out of that thinking that it was impractical to create something that big. It's a diary, I said to myself...it SHOULD be small, personal. But this book is way beyond the ramblings of an angst ridden teen...it deserves more than that. I wanted to bring an EMOTIONAL quality to it, I wanted to bring life to this book, to the words of a young woman so FULL of life, hope and wisdom. The art I created brings a new energy to her words and I think the oversized format is the right way to frame both her words and my images.

I have a new link...located over there----> yeah, to your right...the one that says ANNE FRANK COLLAGES..if you want to see better images of the work I've done.

I have to continue to remind myself that I DIDN"T come to PC to do "safe" work...I came here to push myself to the edge, and then go a bit further...to take risks...and to trust MY instincts. Over and over, I continue to get this message. Trust what I know. These recent incidences of theft...that is about listening to my instincts...I didn't. My gut is almost ALWAYS right but I let my head out-think it a lot of the time. I tend to go with what makes "sense" versus what feels right. I imagine if I can seek out some sort of balance within this conundrum, things will become less difficult.

4 comments:

minus five said...

i read your post this morning after i woke up late and before i took a shower and got ready and left for my stressful job. i had to force myself to go take a shower and not respond right away. that said, i'm excited for you that you decided to step out and do something untraditional. you say you didn't go to pc to do safe work, i would go further and say none of us are here on this earth to BE safe. what would be the point?

i don't know much about your project except the paintings you have shown. i would encourage you to not stop there. save everything if you haven't already. the scraps. the mess-ups. the pieces with nothing but leftover paint and ink on them. they might be useful later on when you put it all together. let what you're trying to say go into every part of the book. not only the size, but the paper, the arrangement and maybe things go from big to small to big again. i always figure that if i can imagine something in my head, i can find a way to produce it.

i'm not trying to tell you what to do or anything b/c, like i said, i don't know the ins and outs of your project. i'm just always excited when someone shirks tradition.

Harpy said...

Your paintings are just beautiful. I'm also glad you decided not to be safe. I struggled with that a lot at PC also and it lead to me producing work that showcases more than my design ability, and I think it will be the same for you. No one's going to hire you for your corporate stationary suite. One of my favorite teachers at PC wrote on our syllabi- People want something that is soulful, No one gives a shit about surface anymore. I ripped it out and hung it above my desk. Congrats and enjoy the ride.

Harpy said...

Your paintings are just beautiful. I'm also glad you decided not to be safe. I struggled with that a lot at PC also and it lead to me producing work that showcases more than my design ability, and I think it will be the same for you. No one's going to hire you for your corporate stationary suite. One of my favorite teachers at PC wrote on our syllabi- People want something that is soulful, No one gives a shit about surface anymore. I ripped it out and hung it above my desk. Congrats and enjoy the ride.

Mary Campbell said...

Thanks guys!
I appreciate the feedback and encouragement...I am definately going to continue to push myself and do work that is demonstrative of what I am passionate about.