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- September 3, 2009
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Dispatches from Climacterica
As I mentioned in my last post, I spent the last week of August taking a workshop, “Illustrating the Personal Narrative” at the Penland School. I began the week with trepidation: I’d never really worked in watercolor or pen-and-ink, my drawing skills left much to be desired, in my mind at least, and before even arriving, I had already gotten very bad vibes from the instructor, a brusque New Yorker with no experience teaching the mixed-level classes that define the place.
My week lived down to expectations about the instructor, but exceeded expectations greatly as to the work I produced: a series of postcards from the mythical country of Climacterica, where all the residents are female, minds go absent, lists get lost, and intentions often go far off track.
Like most artists I know, I am REALLY hard on myself and nitpick my work to death. But I have to say, the set of postcards I created please me greatly. They hit my sweetspot of combining concept, humor, color, and writing. And several fellow students are in line to buy these once I get them reproduced.
I’m now researching the best way to reproduce the set and getting tips on selling my work from colleagues; so in a way, this could be one of the more transformative weeks at Penland for me, if it finally nudges me toward selling my work.
UPDATE October 27, 2009: My Climacterica postcards are now available for purchase, for keeping in touch with friends, giving as gifts, or framing. View the details and order at my Big Cartel storefront.
Suzanne Allen
September 4, 2009 at 10:40 am /Chris, you are too modest by far! These are great!
car57
September 4, 2009 at 11:08 am /Thanks so much!
Jodi B
September 4, 2009 at 11:18 am /One word: ETSY.
These are great. Wish I could see the others in the series. Post larger pics of those too?
thanks Chris, great work.
As for the teacher, her loss.
Tina
September 4, 2009 at 11:49 am /Hey . . . way cool postcards. Hope you get around to having them printed. If so, let me know. Thanks for sharing. Tina
car57
September 4, 2009 at 12:10 pm /Thanks Tina, I’m working on the printing side–first I have to do hi-res scans! So we’ll see if I reconnected everything correctly when I unpacked my workstation.