Done…
An essay…
We are all familiar with it. We have all been there, in that one moment where we all we want to do is to call something off. Yet, many of those times, no matter how resolute we might be, we change our minds and whisper “one more time”. The “one more time” is often the inflection point, the aha moment, and the breakthrough. Sometimes though it is a sign to go back to the beginning.
Other times, the sense of being done is elusive and slippery. We are not sure how much is too much or we feel unsure of the format, or the delivery. In those moments, we yearn to say “done” but it remains afar. A lot of design projects in college classes feel this way for students. I felt that way my first year in design school, especially with theoretical projects. The truth is that some project are simple in their final output. We know what a magazine is, a brochure, a poster, a business card, etc. What we do not know is how the content that goes in it, needs to look. Interestingly enough, that is where I have found myself these last few days.
During these last few days I have been working on my upcoming paper presentation. I have been researching my topic, read several chapters and papers on the topic and some related. I still feel insecure of what to say and how to say it. We have about 13-15 minutes per person. I am used to tight time frames. You might be thinking, find a video, right? I did find some videos but not of panel presentations. There were more of interviews with artists and discussions of book chapters. Being that the conference is hybrid (face to face and online), I thought there’d be videos of the actual panels. Maybe I missed them.
I teach daily. Often I am able to just take a topic and go with it. My mind takes over. But in my class, I do not have anyone else expecting me to stay within my time limit. My audience, which is my students, is also captive. The students registered for the class and though we can argue about the current quality of the students nowadays (and believe me, there is much to say), they have for the most part, a desire to learn something and to hear from the professor. In a way, the pressure is lessened unless one is new and the students are in the testing mode. It happens.
This is my first time presenting at this conference which has historically been more about Art History than design. That is to say that I am afraid I will not be as formal, which naturally I am not, as it might be expected. My paper promises a glimpse to what it has been like for me to design the weekly covers for my church as worship.
Knowledge was beautiful.
I do not want my talk to be just about the experience and the process of my weekly designs. Though it certainly engages my skills, heart, mind, and soul. I also want it to be backed up by the historical precedent we find in illuminated manuscripts for example. And did you know that even hymnals were illuminated? Or that sometimes people who had money would commission to have recipe books illuminated for instance? I did not know that. There is historical evidence for illumination outside the sacred. In other words, knowledge was not appreciated because it was just utilitarian or beneficial. Knowledge was beautiful. To learn was beautiful. Of course, something needs to be said about what the people could afford. But then again, when one considers how long cathedrals took to be built and how they were a community effort, one could infer that the idea of beauty was a shared value that somehow elevated mundane tasks to something more.
Perhaps this post is my way to clarify my own thoughts. I spent two full days working on this over the weekend and yesterday I had to take a break. I went on overdrive because I saw some instructions that the presentations needed to be turned in tomorrow. One of the conference officials emailed us and calmed my tension. That means I am not done yet. But I have something to edit and revise as I move forward.
There is a sage advice that people usually quote when not knowing what to wear for an event: overdress. It is better to be well dressed than underdressed. Perhaps I should take a cue from it and over-prepare and aim to be formal. Once online, I can read the room and switch gears if I sense it is better.
Until next week. Love,
Alma