For my last graduate school course as I work towards my Master’s in Visual Arts Education, I am told to create an artist book. The subject to be included in this book is completely up to the one creating it, as is the structure and needed materials. Such open ended assignments may feel new and refreshing to many, and yet I am feeling stuck within the realm of Too Many Possibilities.
I have settled on the idea of Change as the foundation of this book. My life and the lives of those around me have been inundated with changes, and no matter if these changes are seen as positive or negative, they are felt as stress. Change is difficult simply because it requires a new adaptation. Perhaps your actions need revisement. Perhaps your thoughts are deemed as Wrong. No matter what it is, change is not optional and You Must Adjust. This often sucks.
My artist book will focus on this theme of Change as it relates to me. I am now living with another adult and two children. I am cooking for four people instead of simply heating up stuff for one. I have to adjust to a huge loss of control and attempt to not seem to neurotic about the cats, as they are all I have left to "control". The book will also look at Change as it relates to people around me. My mother has retired from her job as a Dean at a small women’s liberal arts college and is now opening up a natural foods store. As she puts it so simply, "I’ve moved up from Dean to Grocer." My step-father has therefore been moved from making the small supplementary salary to The Only Salary. The amount hasn’t changed, but their lifestyle surely will.
There are many changes that I can look at as I work through this artist book. What it will look like, how it will come together, and the basic structure all remain to be seen. I simply wanted to blather on about my thoughts on this, and this site seemed the perfect place to do it…
