Deep Blue
I was so blue on Friday I had to stop trying to work. I moped around the house trying to get to the bottom of why I felt so sad and depressed and could not find a satisfactory answer. Sometimes I think my spirit sees and feels things ahead of my consciousness and body.
But since I couldn’t get out of the mood, and trying to work anymore seemed futile, with nothing else better to do on a rainy day I decided to tackle cleaning up the basement. As I was sweeping and putting away toys, fishing tackle and memories, I looked up at a nautical chart I have on the wall and came up with an idea for a next art project–one that combines the sea and journeys, two of my favorite areas for inspiration.
I decided to make a fantasy map of a special quest. Using a nautical map of Gardiners Bay and the Orient and Long Beach bars as the backdrop, this new map would illustrate a tale of adventure: sea creatures friendly and hostile, magic artifacts, and the quest to sail through the unknown to reach a rare and dangerous treasure. The idea helped kick me out of my gloom, and I braved the downpour to pick up a chart from Prestons. After laying it out on the dining room table, I went to work using stuff I found washed up on the beach: fishing lures (the monsters), glass, old pottery shards, metal, oyster shells. I have placed them around the map to help the story unfold, as it meanders with unexpected twists and turns.
The map wouldn’t tell me how the story ends–only that the hero loved the sea, enjoyed herself (mostly) on her quest, and would end up surprised by both friends and foes. She did a lot of dumb things, and got saved by luck more often then skill.
