The Project Proposal
Update from the studio
I’ve been keeping my nose to the grindstone as much as possible this summer, though it can be difficult! Weddings and other social engagements, illness, my work teaching, and keeping a comfortable home life for the family all take up time. However, I’m making steady progress on a project proposal that I hope to have ready to share by the start of the fall. The proposal will include a black and white and/or color book dummy, a finished spread, a finished cover jacket, and a cover letter.
It’s a lot of work to put together a book dummy! There is so much that goes into it: the birth of a manuscript and the editing process, breaking down the manuscript into pages, fleshing out rough imagery in thumbnails, rough illustrations, choosing the proper color and values… It’s all so time consuming! Do not get me wrong, this is enjoyable work. My only lament is breaking away from it with the knowledge that there is still the whole iceberg to uncover. That said, I am pleased to say I’m halfway through the creation of my book dummy and feel on track to have a body of work ready for my self-proclaimed deadline.
For any of you who may be on a similar path as my own, who are breaking away from a career to start fresh and finally, FINALLY are putting some real time into your art, I feel you. It’s a struggle to plug away in the “void” that is your studio. It’s often a place of joy and creativity, but this is not always the experience. Often the studio can be a place where isolation and doubt live as well. For myself, I wonder if my efforts will ever come through to fruition. Will I ever have the absolute self-affirming feeling of having my work published? Are there agents out there who might have interest in representing my work? Ahh, what utter rapture it would be, sorry, WILL be to have my work out in the world as a picture book- beautiful, colorful, and admired by children!
Meanwhile, a woman paddling on a sea of child-rearing, house cleaning, wifing, friending, teaching, cooking, and house projecting is also FULLY PRESENT in her studio! So there, says I!
No, friends. It is not so easy to choose the life of an artist. It is a challenge to yourself to show up every day in your lion suit of courage and say “Yes, I am worth it, my vision is worth it- and the whole world needs to see what I see.” You need to believe it, because no one else is going to make that dream become a reality for you.
Sometimes when I get afraid I just make sure I show up anyway, and that’s the first big hurdle to jump.
