"What Am I Doing?" is a good name for a blog because it lends itself to the notion that those who would, for whatever reason, choose to follow a blog by a children's book illustrator (and sometimes writer) might very well possess an interest in what, exactly, that illustrator might be doing. "What Am I Doing" is also a good name for a blog, specifically by me, since it is a question I often pose to myself. It is a question that permeates my deepest meditations (usually while I'm mowing the lawn). "What Am I Doing" is a question usually associated (for the purposes of this blog) with what direction my artistic career is taking. It serves as a kind of systems check. Am I doing the kind of work that I should be? Am I choosing the jobs that forge the right path for me, professionally? Then the cruelest question: Am I doing the kind of work that I want to be doing? And if that question isn't cruel enough: Do I even know what kind of work I want to be doing? After countless passes over the grass behind the mower, I have finally trimmed out the answer: I want to make books, specifically, books written and illustrated by me!
Yes, I have worked on books. I have illustrated several (here) and even designed many (here & here). Being able to collaborate with a a great art director or editor with a great vision and a great story is...great! But what leaves me feeling just a little like my calling is being missed is that the stories and the characters involved are not from the eager roster of cast members constantly milling around in the back stage of my imagination. Since I was ten years old, I have been keeping company with a rather imaginary cadre of critters, people, towns, solar systems. After 30 years (28 if you are counting, and I am) the actors are getting restless!
Throughout my illustration career, amid and between deadlines, my thoughts have often wandered to that aforementioned troupe. I would think how delicious it would be to call them onto the stage to make their debut. Alas, deadline after deadline came and I was never able to find the time to make that casting call. After a couple years of breakneck illustration projects I felt exhausted and burned out. I decided that the work I wanted to be doing was work that would be of personal importance and value to me as an artist and a storyteller. After a long period of recovery and regeneration, I have put myself to the task full-throttle. I revived and revised stories that had been sitting in dusty corners of my office and set to work to bring them to visual and literary realization.
My first project is a story that began forming years ago when I was still a college student. It has the working title "The Hike" and it is a rhyming jaunt through the outdoors. The adventure begins when three children leave their front gate to encounter cascading falls, marching beetles & burping frogs. It truly has been a thrill to be in the director's seat and I am very excited about this project coming to life, one drawing at a time. Perhaps half of the fun comes from sharing the progress with you! And you can follow me along the creative path on facebook and twitter.
Now you know what I am doing! I look forward to answering that very question again and again in the future as new opportunities and projects come my way. I hope you'll join me.
Josh
