Last week I was focused on making a bunch of work.

In the beginning I don't really care if it is good or bad. There is a certain critical mass that I have to achieve to make good work. When I'm designing in leather I have pages with the blank profile of whatever I'm working on. If I'm designing a new satchel I'll have a grid of 6-8 isometric rectangles that I'll draw flaps, pockets, and different closures on. At this point there are no bad ideas. If it pops into my head I have to write it down.

I did the same here with my cyanotypes. I'm just running through paper and making a wide range of different styles and compositions. If I think of it I have to try it. Once I have a big enough stack I'll sit down and look over all of them to find things that I like. Often I already have a good idea of what I'm looking for since I've been developing my creative taste for over a decade with my leather work.

This is the thing I have been the most excited to see. I know what my style is when I'm designing leather goods. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to translate that into a different medium like cyanotypes.

I can see my style beginning to emerge as I sort though this stack of work. If you want a quick guide to my style here it is.

I like simple work. Simple but not boring. It can't be too busy or too noisy. So there is usually one strong element in a big empty space. But when you look at that apparently empty space you'll realize that there is a lot going on. This could be the whorls and marks of full grain cow hide, or it could be the subtle mottling you get from brushing wet sensitizer onto watercolor paper.

I'm also a big believer in limitations when it comes to cultivating creativity. I like to give myself hard limits on what I'm doing in a project. “Hmmm, what happens if I can only make things that are blue and brown?”

I think this comes out in my work too. If I'm going to put down a line it needs to have clean and clear edges. I like to have details that involve doing something very precise and meticulous. Conversely I also like a bit of chaos in my work. A little room for serendipity. But it must never come off as sloppy. Color and a good range of shades from dark to light are also important. Most of my work is usually monochromatic or bi-chromatic.

So knowing what I know about my taste I start looking through the pile and finding things that check those boxes. I also take careful notes. With leather I keep files in Evernote, but with my cyanotypes (for now) I'm just writing in pencil on the back of the paper. Maybe someday I'll be famous and people will be able to read what I was thinking on the back of each piece.

My notes encompass how I made each piece with details about things like how I brushed on the sensitizer, how I let it dry, how long I exposed for. I also have project notes in a notebook where I track the arc of the greater body of work.

Here is where I will decide what I'm going to work on. I'll usually end up with a few ideas I'd like to try, but I'll pick one idea and (again with lots of detailed notes) shelve the others.

I call this "running down my rabbits". Imagine a wolf in a field with a ton of rabbits. If he tries to chase after all the rabbits he's never going to catch one before he's worn out. If he picks just one rabbit and stays on top of it until he's caught it, that wolf gets dinner. I've found if I try to chase after too many ideas at once I end up not really finishing anything. So instead I'll pick one idea and run that idea down until I have something to show for it . If the other ideas are any good I'll find them again later.

So do I have an idea of what the finished body of work is going to look like when I'm done at the end of the month? Yes. I finished some pieces last night that I think are going to form the idea I'm running down this time. Except it's still wet from being washed and I'm not about to accidentally tear it. So you'll have to wait a bit to see.

October Residency Week Two