Great thoughts! I love your illustrations and I know you'll be fantastic doing both. I have an identity crisis, too--writer or designer?! Maybe it's just the labels that are the problem after all.

It is funny how we find the need to label ourselves but battle with finding one that doesn't carry a stereotype or cliche. I love that you are redefining things to fit who you see yourself as. That is what matters anyway. :)

You will do it. Hands are fun, and best when busy! Is there anything better than the smudges left on the side of your hands from accidentally dragging your hand over fresh marker while you draw?

The question is... Will you bust out your plaka?!??!

wkay - NEVER. Haha! It's funny, but plaka was mysteriously discontinued during my sophomore year of college so we never had to use it. Allegedly, it made a come back a year or two later - so did you have to use it? When my older sister was going through viscomm, though, she had more than one nervous breakdown over plaka projects. I've lived it on the sidelines.

Like your illo ... You should join Illustration Friday for fun. Great stimulation for a creative mind. Also many great artists around the globe post each Friday. Google it.

BTW ... Stay safe. Your weather looks CRAZY.

you can create your own label for yourself as an "artist", and be content in your life's work. the illustration is perfect.

Amen. I'm standing up and clapping.

Kelly

I love your illustration! I totally understand the challenges of calling ourselves "artists". I wonder if it gets easier with time... and repeatedly saying it of course.

Great blog by the way! I'm glad that I stumbled onto it :)

dear - i have to comment on this even though it's like 2:30 in the morning ... i've been contemplating this topic for the longest time .. and have been having conversations and self debates over this again and again ... so, next time if you come to new york - or if i come nearby you, we have to grab drinks and talk over this ... because i don't know if i ever going to find out - all i know is that the way you felt about painting is the same i am feeling about get my hands on sewing ... sometimes, i felt computer is eating me alive .. but, it also gives me such means to express - still, i miss touching fabric, have needle pinching my fingers and see shapes coming to life ...

have a great night - what i wrote probably don't make sense - but nevertheless - great topic you have raised ....xx

Alright, if this is some round about request to try and get me to pose nude in order to inspire your artistry, okay then, I agree.

p.s. my word verification was "dying" Hmmmmmm..hope that's not an omen.

Be both I never choose....I paint and write poems and my own music and I drum.....Don't label yourself.

I love this and I couldn't agree with you more.

I've always said as a graphic designer that took a degree to give myself a practical way to be an artist and still put food on the table with out sacrificing my creativity! ox

I'm with you - I have never associated myself with the title of 'artist' in any way. To me, that's reserved for those who are strictly painters or sculptors. It sounds a little too ... artsy fartsy for me. I think I identify more with the professional side of things.

This was something I thought a lot about and struggled with when I was deciding what to major in. Art or Design...I went with the one that would provide a livable income without requiring me to become famous - Graphic Design. My senior show consisted only of paintings that I completed in the month leading up to the show. No design work. Ever since then I pretty much realized they are not mutually exclusive and you don't have to stress over labels.

Funny. That had a striking resemblance to an artist's statement. Redefine the word. It appears to me that you already have.

i am definitely more artist than designer. i know this because i get super antsy and bored when i'm at the computer for too long, i like to get down and dirty with my hands.