The Art of Sitting Still
Last December, Charlie Capp, an artist looking for full-time work in Seattle, resolved to create a comic book adaptation of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Charlie planned to create an illustration for each stanza, for a total of about 150 pages.
April Update:
It’s hard to believe I’m already four months into this project! I’m roughly one-quarter of the way through my illustrations — cranking away on the pages, but not at the pace I’d like, so I feel like I’m being haunted by this specter of “meeting quota” lately. If I want to get to my goal, though, I just have to keep moving, keep moving, keep moving, and focus on taking each step, rather than the distance yet to be traveled. It’s not a perfect metaphor, since to get these drawings done I have to focus on staying in my chair and holding still, which has been a challenge with the return of the nice spring weather!
One consequence of the project is that I’m thinking of all sorts of new ideas I’d like to pursue, but don’t feel like I can explore any of them until I either finish this, or at least work far enough ahead of schedule to give myself some breathing room. “Too many ideas” isn’t really that terrible of a problem, however — it’s much more preferable to me than “no ideas.”
Slideshow: Work in Progress
The article you just read is free because dedicated readers and listeners like you chose to support our nonprofit newsroom. Our team works tirelessly to ensure you hear the latest in international, human-centered reporting every weekday. But our work would not be possible without you. We need your help.
Make a gift today to help us raise $67,000 by the end of the year and keep The World going strong. Every gift will get us one step closer to our goal!