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January 17, 2008
The Machine Stops
So, I've been approached by Chester River Press to do a few illustrations for a book they're thinking about printing in a small run. This is exciting news, because it's a small press that does BEAUTIFUL letterpress work. You can't really tell quite how beautiful from the images online (even at large size) because part of the beauty of the whole letterpress thing is actually seeing the ink on the paper. Anyway, the last book they did was The Chesapeake Voyages of Captain John Smith (TCVoCJS for short), which our friend and subscriber Marc Castelli illustrated. The book that I might illustrate isn't going to be nearly as richly done as TCVoCJS, but I'm not complaining. They really went all out on that one and it is GORGEOUS. Plus, the idea that I'm considered even sort of in the same league as Marc is ridiculous (and yet strangely pleasing).
Anyway. The name of the book they're thinking of doing next is "The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster. It's kind of a futuristic, apocalyptic, matrix-y type story that is creepy in large part because Forster wrote it in 1909. If you have some time, have a read, because it's really quite fascinating, if you like that sort of thing.
It's not a sure thing yet, but I'm glad I was pointed in the direction of the story regardless. I did some sketches but it's all still very much in the planning stages, so who knows if any of this will actually ever go to press (I'm a real under-expecter in life - it keeps me from getting disappointed when things don't pan out).
Matthew actually had trouble telling what this was, which means it's probably not a good illustration. But, it's these airships he talks about, crashing down through the earth. Color would help, but as I learned in grad school, if an image is illegible without color, then it's ultimately unsuccessful. Way to keep a woman down, grad school and Matthew.
So that's the exciting latest.
In other news, I recently hung out with two of my very best friends from college, Sam and Mike (though actually on separate occasions).
Okay. So the crazy thing about these two guys is that in spite of that fact that they look (and often act) like complete idiots (this is a high compliment, coming from an idiot herself) they are, in fact, wicked smart, and they profess at some very fancy institutions. Sam's a professor at Tufts and Mike is not a self-loathing illustrator (see the url), but rather a self-loathing professor at Harvard Business School. I mention this only in this here blog because if anyone who reads this should ever find themselves enrolled at Tufts or HBS, you should take a class from these guys because they're HILARIOUS. And maybe also because they seem to know something about, like, stuff. I also mention it because it kind of makes me look smart by association, which is as close as I'll get. Luckily, nobody in college picks their friends because of smarts, they pick them because they were impressed by the fact that they can fit 15 marshmallows in their mouth at once. Actually, I only met them because of my hot roommate Cathy who beguiled all the guys - I can't actually fit 15 marshmallows in my mouth. Sometimes, you just need to surround yourself with greatness, and then reap the benefits.
Posted by ribbu at January 17, 2008 11:15 AM