Inspiration Comes From Funny Places

Well, I've come up with the idea for my fourth illustration, so all is right with the world. I'm still waiting for a few permissions to come back for the third illustration, but I'm working away as though they will. It's my intention that this project will go smoothly. I have looked for back-up images where needed, but I'm counting on not having to use them. I have found some awesome images, though. There are some really talented photographers out there.

I mentioned that I found my fourth idea. It came while I was kvetching with a friend, via email, about the last essay and how I wasn't coming up with any ideas for it! Since I didn't know if she had read it or not, I told her that on the surface it seems to be about tiny Ninja figures and MacBeth, but in reality, the essay is about showing up for life. It's about putting one foot in front of the other, and getting on with the business of living. Gee, does that bring a visual to mind for you? Well, it did for me! And I found the most amazing photograph! What makes it the perfect photograph is that the woman is on her way to get treatment for breast cancer, I believe (to be honest, I've only taken time to scan her blog, but I'll be reading it in depth once this project is over). Talk about putting one foot in front of the other! Talk about showing up for life! I wish there was some way to tell the publisher the provenance of this image, so she would understand how well it illustrates the theme of the essay.

I quickly commented on the photograph and held my breath -- and I had an affirmative response almost before I closed the page! It was a great feeling. From there, the page just fell together.

Am I teasing you, by talking about the mock-ups and not showing them to you? I would but my camera takes truly hideous photographs as the flash doesn't work reliably. Or rather, it most reliably doesn't work! LOL! And you've heard the I-don't-have-a-scanner woes. Tomorrow I am going to be near a scanner. Maybe I can scan the mock-ups then. The problem with that (I know: Excuses, excuses!) is that the elements aren't glued or taped down, so that I can more easily move them around and try different layouts. Hard to scan something when the pieces are floating around!

You can bet, I'll be sharing the finished products, though. Visit again around Friday and you'll see them then.