It’s HERE!
The Christmas (retail) Holiday Season, that is! Earlier and earlier every year, it seems. I overheard a barista being asked this weekend if he had eggnog yet. Which he didn’t. He said to the guy, “Yeah, we’re getting it in a couple weeks. Didn’t know that Christmas started after Halloween.” He was totally serious about it, which made it awesome.
It’s interesting thinking about what is already here – Thanksgiving (next week!) - and then what is not here anymore, namely a bunch of my gear, cause my house got tricked and treated Halloween night. I’ve been robbed before, but I found myself getting really sad about the photo shoot I had done that day. All of the conversations I had with business owners and cafe people, their generosity with their time, their hopeful expectations of the photos of their pride and joy. All of it gone.
I’ve had a few weeks to let it all sink in, and somehow it helps to celebrate the holiday season ridiculously early as a way of softening the blow. I find that without technology my nights and weekends have more time for knitting, writing, organizing photo albums….reading….cooking. Not a bad upside, I’d say.
Thought I would share a couple of photos from the upcoming Comfort & Joy holiday campaign I’ve been shooting and designing over the past couple of weeks. In my continuing effort to further my brothers modeling career, I put him smack dab on the cover (not to mention on banners hanging in store windows, and in the next few weeks – Public Television!).
The last few campaigns I’ve found that in my creative process I will hit a wall and feel completely lost. Then a few days later I will look out on the designs/images I have created and find that there is no logical explanation for how it all managed to come together. Not from me, that’s for sure. I have to give credit to my Savior. Seriously. I find that it’s not logical because the creative process is so…other. Spiritual? Maybe. But that sounds very…Oprah. The video below is the closest I can come to the description of the emotional roller coaster creatives are on when they create work and the ultimate realization that we must make that we are merely co-conspirators in all of this. I’m not sure of Gilbert’s belief in God, but I know that what she is saying is worth talking about and makes sense when you look at it from a Christian perspective. My job is to show up. Be faithful with the talents I’ve been given. And marvel in the grace of getting to revel in the benefits of a job well done.
