In the Well
An area to share the things and processes going on in my studio/practice.
Process. Writing. Seeking. Repeating.
I know it’s a bit wasteful, but there is something about working from paper and writing my thoughts out. For my early stages of writing it all takes physcially with pen and paper, which becomes a cycle as I will start a project and write out a bunch of thoughts, then I take those thoughts and type them into my writing app (Ulysses) and then from that I will print out those notes, ideas and inspirations. I then take those sheets and highlight and markup those sheets and see where they guide me. Sort of my past self guiding my present self, I will take notes on things I need to research and understand which is then when I take my time to go on consumption journeys of finding stories from others that I can draw from and this sort of helps me take my rough and sharp ideas and start chipping away at the things that don’t work or the places where I need to choose a direction. These journeys seeking inspiration and sparks can last anywhere to a few minutes to a few weeks. I scour films, tv, games, blogs, and any avenue of reflective thought to find what I don’t even know what I’m seeking exactly. Then once I’ve taken notes on a few new sources of how others have solved their problems I take their blue prints and see if/how they compare to the problem I have in front of me with my stories. Then I begin writing and cross referencing my previous notes and writing. Then the cycle continues as I dive deeper into this hand writing stage and then refining digitally and then printing and then again seeking. Rinse. Repeat. I do this with multiple projects so I can consistently write daily while also taking breaks to be seeking answers and learning. I never know what ideas will hit me but for the most part in keeping a daily practice of writing and seeking I am able to craft these stories that I believe in.
A Jolt of Yellow
This year we remodeled the studio and infused it with some creative sunshine, going from a drab grey blue to an impactful yellow that has really encouraged and excited me to write this year. I love spending time in this space and being able to work on multiple projects in different spaces has done wonders with my creative flow.
Pastel Breakthrough
I spent months trying to figure out how I wanted to refine this illustration and I am absolutely peached with how the final illustration came out, all the time and paper spent on this specific project was more than any other this year. I had a lot of trouble with the mixture of mediums that I am utilizing in this piece. In a lot of my pieces I use a combination of marker, graphite and pastel. With this one and the smudging and heavier mixing of those mediums cause a lot of ugly combination of colors and messy compositions and refinements. A lot of the problem would arise from the graphite and pastel not mixing well as the pastel would mix into the pastel and go places it shouldn’t and case a lot of the illustration to look like it had been smeared with vaseline. The answer that probably took too long to come to me, was to seal the graphite layer and then work in pastel over the top of everything. That allows the graphite to keep its texture and look without mixing into the pastels in an unwanted manner. Doing this also allowed me to be painterly with the pastels and achieve moments in the illustration that were spontaneous.
Connecting with the Past, Now
Sendak, Krauss & Ungerer have been one of many guides from the past that have inspired me this year. I adore this trio of writers and artist of picture books. Specifically, I love their honest and beautiful storytelling. I also appreciate their ability to converse with both children and adults about topics worth sharing; their ability to converse with both children and adults about topics deemed ‘grown-up’. They never wrote the same book. They wrote to the feelings, sights, sounds, colors, ideas, and humor of the reader. They created worlds full of conflict and whimsy. They invited their readers into the story. More than that, they granted the readers permission to rewrite the story. This allowed the readers to gain their own morals and ideas from the story. They respect the reader, especially children. They respect what they are capable of doing, understanding, and coping with. Their stories inviting the dark and weird or the difficult to interpret. Stories that are provoking and engaging with the mystery of the unknowns.
Researching and connecting with these spiritual guides have lead my own storytelling to improve and become much more interesting. Their stories and methods have inspired me this year. They have engrossed me in storytelling. I can’t wait to share these stories and questions with my readers very soon.
Caldecott Co. by Maurice Sendak
Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss by Philip Nel
Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story
Sparks
An area to share the things I’ve found and have been in my mind either inspring me or just something I found interesting.
1.
Soft Fronts & Strong Backs
“This simple sentence, we are all the same, is the Golden Theme that all stories express.”
-Brian McDonald
The Golden Theme by Brian McDonald
Brene Brown | Strong Backs Soft Fronts
Just a reminder we are connected and should continue to show that grace to others.
2.
An actual (maybe?) use for AI
“Computer methods have also recovered missing attributes or portions of incomplete artworks, such as the probable style and colours of ghost paintings — works that have been painted over and are later revealed by imaging in X-rays or infrared radiation — such as Two Wrestlers by Vincent van Gogh. This painting, from before 1886, was mentioned by the artist in a letter but considered lost until it was found beneath another in 2012.”
AI as a tool utilized by humans is interesting in helping uncover mysteries (AI as the product to replacing artist and writers, not so much).
Nature | How AI is expanding Art History
3.
You, Nicholas
The Guardian | I Didn’t get into movies to become a meme.
Medium | The 3 Versions of You, Which is the Real You
A you crafted by you, a you from them, and then its just you.
4.
Family Crest
As someone that always idealized the idea of solo backpacking but has been slowly building a family, it’s nice to see a family taking on the task of a Pacific Coast Trek.
5.
Dinosaurs!
So we’re the monster police, too?” I said to Tom.
“Correct,” he replied. “The only real question is, who are the monsters?”
“They ask that question in every monster movie, you know. It’s an actual trope.”
“I know,” Tom said. “What does it say about us that it’s relevant every single time they ask it?
John Scalzi, The Kaiju Preservation Society
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
National Geographic | Young Tyrannosaurs Last Meal Gives New Insight
It’s funny how things work out sometimes. I tried reading The Kaiju Preservation Society early 2023, but I jumped off it fairly quickly. Not because I didn’t enjoy it, but something just didn’t resonate with me. I had my eyes on another book. But a few weeks ago I picked up the book again form my library and absolutly breezed thru the book in a day. The book personally resonated with me in a deeper way. The main character had lost their job, just as I had at that time. It was a simple feel good book that managed to hit me in a deep way right as life was hitting me in the face with some anxiety. Shortly after finishing this book, I came across an interesting article. It was about a new discovery for dinosaurs, made from the contents of a dinosaur’s stomach.
6.
Role Playing Adventures
I was so scared, I half wanted to piss myself, but the difference between the strong and the weak isn’t that the strong don’t piss themselves. It’s that they hitch their pissy pants up after and go through with it.
Christopher Buehlman, The Blacktongue Thief
Big fan of fantasy… escaping can lead the mind to unexpected connections
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
7.
Anxiety & Mystery
It means no matter how far you’re thinking or your actions, or your reactions, no matter how far out it is. It is still not far enough, because one challenge, if it’s worthy at all, has to be followed by a greater challenge and it is the unknown, that’s what’s so fantastic about death, and that’s why death has to be welcomed and when ‘I’ die, I’ll find out what’s behind that far out.
-Tomi Ungerer
It’s funny what we gravitate towards that ultimately is exactly the we need in our lives. I’m writing a story on fear of the unknown and the anxieties it brings. I found myself diving into two drastically different shows. The Bear overwhelms every sense and inch of mind with anxiety and the unknown. Columbo tells you the end but leaves you clueless about how we get there. Both shows are impeccable storytelling that dabbles in the unknowns and its anxiety.
8.
Climbing Mysteries
Has been a great meditative experience of climbing a mysterious mountain in a ravaged land.
9.
Tell it to the Bees
Stumbled upon a comment talking about this concept one morning while roaming the web. An interseting tale of the bees and telling your secrets to the universe.
10.
Things from the Shore leading to the Deep
Public Domain Review | The City That Fell off a Cliff
Hakai Magazine | Drawing the Deep Sea from the Seat on the Shore
Atlas Obscura | Deep in the Journey to Bring Amazing Deep Sea Animals to the Surface
It is astounding what the mind creates during times of things falling apart, stories of humans experiecing this sublime feeling as things begin to fall and then the stories after the fall of things continuing deep beneath that leads to discovery.
★
And Here’s a List
Just in case any end of year post requires a list of favorites, here are all my favorite picture books (in no particular order) I read this year:
- Stanley at School by Linda Bailey and Bill Slavin
- My Sister’s Rusty Bike by Jim Aylesworth and Richard Hull
- The Burger and the Hotdog by Jim Aylesworth and Stephen Gammell
- The Mitten by Jim Aylesworth and Barbara McClintock
- In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck and Tricia Tusa
- Trevor by Jim Averbeck and Amy Hevron
- The Moon Over Star by Dianna Hutts Aston and Jerry Pitney
- Dirty Gert by Tedd Arnold
- Green Wilma by Tedd Arnold
- Five Ugly Monsters by Tedd Arnold
- Lost. Found. by Diane Arnold and Matthew Cordell
- Are you a Cheeseburger? by Monica Arnaldo
- Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer
- Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andrea and Guy Parker-Rees
- Disappearing Desmond by Anna Alter
Well that's all for now, it was a grand year and I'm looking forward to scribbling a list together of things I'm hopeful to learn this year. What are you seeking and where do you think it will take you?
Thank you,
Caleb