SHOW & TELL.

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This is a process & ideas blog from the secret attic headquarters of Meg Hunt, who lives and makes in Portland, Oregon.

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February 4, 2011

in thefuture

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Hello risk.

This year has started out really interestingly. The good: I think I’m at a point where I can stop questioning my process and start questioning my mindset/process/whathaveyou. I’m working on a book (!). I’ve figured out what I don’t want to do anymore. The bad: I had to put Picture Book Report to bed (which is also a good thing, but bittersweet), I didn’t get to start teaching this year (but it did make me start thinking about what I have to offer in helping other students), freelance work has been overly quiet, and I’ve been struggling between the big things I want to have happen for 2011 and the financial reality of the state that I’m in. There’s a pretty big disconnect, and it’s not exactly troubling but it makes me want to push up my sleeves and figure out how to actually fund the things I think I need to share with the world.

I’ve also been thinking about comfort levels, and safety vs. risk. I feel like 2010 was a very safe year for me. Good things came out of it, but I want great things for me and you. Reading this article by Francis Ford Coppola on risk really got me thinking about how important taking leaps can be.

An essential element of any art is risk. If you don’t take a risk then how are you going to make something really beautiful, that hasn’t been seen before? I always like to say that cinema without risk is like having no sex and expecting to have a baby. You have to take a risk.

This is something I’ve been hoping to do, and I keep making little leaps. The first one has been the charging back into the printed world— with Print Club, with letterpress collaborations, with contributions to projects I really like. There’s something very important to me about the craft of print, though I’m still working on pinpointing what that is. I’m still an illustrator though at heart, and client work is key. But I don’t want to work on projects that just turn me into a hired hand anymore. I am hoping somewhere between the first and second quarters to be able to fund some smaller, personal promotion projects. Not so much a show off, ‘look at my work’ sort of thing, but gifts to give and experiences to share. Because I want to connect with you (whether you’re a viewer, reader, art director, or fan) on a deeper level beyond the transactional. I want important projects and charming projects. I want to be nourished by the work I make, because then you’ll be nourished by the effort. I want to tell stories and keep you guessing, not just ‘how did she do that?’ but ‘what’s next?’ I’m freelancing full-time right now. That’s a risk. But baring who I am and sharing and warming up your lives? That’s even more of one.

An old graphic, but one that still fits. I’m ready to work on amazing projects. So: Let’s work together. Drop me an email. Tell me a story. I want to know you and make the very best things I can for you.