insane? Nope. Well, okay, that depends on perspective.
grandiose? So?
impossible? Hardly
unwise? See grandiose.
too big? too hard? too expensive? too...
much fun for words!!!
(and kinda exhausting, but in a good way)
I promised you a preview tonight, and I'm doing my best to keep my word, but there's a small glitch with that. I can't load a newer graphics program onto my old computer, so I've done all the final design on Cat's. I do save everything to a handy little gadget that I'm fairly certain is called a flash drive (yes, this from the person in charge of graphic design [insert sheepish smiley face here]), but the gadget is not in my pocket. I know, because I just ran down and pulled my jeans back out of the washer in mid-cycle, and it's definitely not there.
Whew!
This means my auxiliary brain is stuck to Cat's computer. My actual brain seems to have been left there, too. No matter. It will all be there in the morning, when I go back to do a final proof. Nope, didn't quite get it out on the blue moon as hoped (sigh). I do have most of the photos on my computer, however, so here's a shot of the cover in progress:
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| 365 Being cover in the raw. Can't wait to show you the final lettered version! |
The original plan was to use a watercolor-tinted pen and ink drawing, and I had nearly finished that when I realized it really didn't coordinate with how the inside of the bookazine had come together. I needed the heron to be painted more in the style of my murals. Frighteningly, I actually considered painting it as a mural, just for this shot.
Yes, two weeks past our target date for completion, and a week before our self-imposed absolute deadline for delivering to the printer, and I was planning to spend a night painting a mural. This is what deadline pressure does to my artist brain. Turns me into a raving perfectionistic lunatic. Fortunately, my inner 3-year-old kicked up a fuss at the thought of losing a full night of sleep, so sanity prevailed, and I got out a nice piece of poster board.
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| It's been a minefield around Belle Ami lately! Shooting many of the backgrounds for the pages involved creating temporary collages atop sample boards, laid on the floor in the best lit locations. In my home, those are the doorways between rooms. of course, I didn't want to move anything until I tested the photos with the words. Obviously, no pets or kids in this house! |
As a bookazine, 365 Being doesn't look like a regular magazine. Aside from the lack of advertising, there's also a lack of white pages. You see, each issue will be done in a style inspired by the artists featured within. This time, we kept it simple, and used my art (our other featured artists in this issue are British filmmakers, so it was a little hard to use their style), and in case you don't know this about me (you're new here, huh?), I don't paint white walls. The page backgrounds are all shot from my samples, or from actual walls I've done, layered up with bits and trinkets to illustrate the stories. I'm kinda waiting to hear if the printers up the price when they see how much ink they're going to be using!
Our website should go live any day, and as soon as it does, single issues and subscriptions will be available. As a lover of real books, of course I think it is worth buying the print version, but it will be available in PDF as well. So, just how nuts are we? Buy the bookazine and find out! ;)
You can actually contact Cat or myself to purchase a regular subscription now, if you plan to pay by check. We do have a special offer for early birds, especially because we know our earliest birds will be our loyal friends and readers. Thank you all so much for your encouragement, and special thanks to one of our heroes, artist and author Maureen Carlson, who called dibs on the first subscription months ago. We may be crazy, but we're also blessed, and we know it.
You can contact me, as always, about this or any decorating and painting questions, in the comments below, or by email at dawnmariedelara@gmail.com.
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