Another Dream -- With Color and Without

The vibration spread out across the universe, distorting wit and structure.  No rhyme, no reason...a train of thought in space, a toss of hollow dice.  Shadow and light.  Those who see do not smile; those who don't, lose perspective.  And if I listen really close, I see thunder. 

Stuck in the Mud?

 

This week's theme at Illustration Friday is "muddy."  I'm feeling this one as snow melts and the driveway and walkways become mud pits.  I also feel a sodden metaphorical weight as obligations increase, health stumbles a bit, and suddenly I don't seem able to do as much as I would like.

I'm afraid that my output on this blog is suffering for it not being my highest priority.  But for Illustration Friday the last few weeks, I might not have posted at all.  Still, I remain firmly committed to at least one blog post a week and will try to ratchet up the frequency.  But who can say?

In the interest of keeping any and all who might be reading this post updated on all things Bungy in the blogosphere, here's a short list of links where you can find me (as well as items of interest):

• I've been contributing a bit over at the "poemicstrips" blog, including a very exciting project putting together an issue of Xerolage on the theme of dialogue balloons.  Check out the open call for participation here and then check out the other beautiful work on the blog. Consider posting a link in response to the current Poemic Inquiry prompt "What might a love/romance poemic look like?"
• @Platea recently completed is sixth project, "PlateaKnit."  It was a wonderful collaborative project thematically linking fibre crafts with networking and producing a crowdsourced knitting pattern on Twitter.  You can read about the project here, and check back at the blog as we anticipate a wrap-up post soon including lots of pictures of the works people produced.
• I follow Artspark Theatre regularly.  Recently, one of my comments was highlighted there as both a post and an invitation to others to do art.  I'll be posting my contribution here soon to Susan's Valentine's challenge.  Artspark Theatre is another one of those gems of a blog that never disappoints.  I only wish I could post with something more like Susan's frequency (and, well, depth).
• I've been following Andre Molotiu's "Abstract Comics" blog, including both amazing artworks and really sophisticated analysis of classic comics.  I comment regularly there, but lately Andrei's post about similarities between our contemporary reception of comics compared to 18th Century debates over musical form has really got me thinking.  
• Finally, Piotr Szreniawski has started a new blog for "experimental comics."  It's new and eager for both regular readers and contributors.  Why yet another blog?  Well, his thinking is that many of us are doing work with comics that aren't quite poemics and aren't quite abstract comics.  This is a place to share that work under the broader rubric, "experimental."

So, did I mention I have a day job?  Quite a busy one, too.  And yet, somehow we make time for the work that matters, whether it happens at work or on our own time.  Maybe I'm less stuck in the mud than just really committed to getting my hands dirty.

Focus -- Losing It While I Gain It

 

This week's theme over at Illustration Friday is "Focus."  Yet another one of those serendipitous confluences as the theme itself seems to come into focus in my life.

It's that time of the year when my profession requires me to engage in the ritual of the annual review.  Polish up the CV, review what I accomplished in 2009, match that against what I said I would do, extrapolate from all that my plan for 2010.  I always put this bit of administrivia off until the last moment.  I loathe it, and I am convinced it will yield nothing but internal angst over my lack of direction, my lack of clear focus.  And yet, every year as I fill out the paperwork, I find I was more productive than I thought, and that there is a more or less clear direction in my labors.

And that's the point of it all, I guess: to demonstrate for others but also for myself that I am delivering on my commitments to profession.  To bring into sharp relief the fruits of those labors.  Still, it is exhausting work.  Even if the message is ultimately confirming, I find myself drained by the effort.  All evidence to the contrary, I feel like I've lost my way. 

So.  A dark illustration in shades of gray.  A lonely alley with noir shadows.  A face lost in black ink and crosshatch.  Call this an illustration of inner turmoil.  See in it how too much introspection, even if required, ends up being an exercise in beating your head against a wall.  And somehow, at the very edge of the frame, my life swimming in and out of focus.