And now, walking into the party fashionably late…
back&forth project Spread #3
Late, like a couple of weeks late… this spread took some time. I’m still exploring why it became a time issue because there was no new technique or method. Nor were there any big challenges from a design point-of-view. I believe that this double-page spread was quite simply, a process-oriented artistic experience. It was about more than the final product; it was about the path along the way. Amongst the design elements that carried over – purple, black & quotes – I also managed to carry over some of the emotional wrestling that often happens in the creative process.
For Katie, the idea with tension was “trying something new”. From subsequent discussions, I know that she 1.) was captured by a quote 2.) made art around that quote and 3.) continues to process how she approaches The New. As I looked for the carry-over elements for the transition, I dove into the quote that Katie chose. And, as I thought about how I approach new things, I ended up at the related concept of change. My thought sequence went something like this:
1. How do I approach new things?
2. What are new things?
3. Sometimes you get a new thing and it’s really old. Like when you buy the exact same brand of pen or pasta that you’ve bought for years. It’s new but it’s predictable. No surprises.
4. Sometimes a new thing is something different. Full of unpredictability and learning curve. (This makes me feel squirmy…)
5. I like new stuff that’s predictable. Stuff that’s shiny but doesn’t approach my threshold for discomfort.
6. The second kind of new is really new. It’s shiny AND bouncy; it’s less easy to anticipate and control. (That one puts me at the end of my threshold for comfort – hence the squirminess…)
7. The second kind of new is full of change.
8. Change pushes my buttons.
And so I started looking for words and pictures around the idea of change. I kept some elements. Partly because that is what Katie and I agreed to do – take formation clues from the previous page. But I also kept some of the same elements because sometimes when I do something new, I like for part of it to be old and familiar. I often mix my New with a little bit of Old for comfort.
Here’s Spread #3. I picked up the purple and ran with it. (I think Katie and I may have the same Windsor & Newton tubes of acrylic). I also pulled over some black from her silhouette and added a favorite quote from my friend Candi Dickerson. Oh, and I added a deadline. Look for back&forth project Spread #4 in two weeks. I confessed to Katie that I’ll “stay in process” for way too long without a hard deadline. 
Enjoy,
~betsy
{Click image to see larger view}
