This week we used our time off for the holiday as an opportunity to use our time off as a chance to either make more imagery or collect imagery from those we would be surrounded with on the holiday.

We decided that before we could (have) reached out to a community beyond ourselves and see what imagery they were creating and/or collecting we should look around us. Because truthfully we often don’t get to see (or understand) the articulation of those who are close to us’ mental health.

I for one take the mental state of those around me extremely seriously. I often take on, myself, the states my friends/family are in. If my friend is struggling I plummet, if God forbid someone in my family is struggling my whole body aches constantly.

This is something I am trying to work on – that is compartmentalizing.

Below are drawings I have done in the past week to add to our aggregate for the zine.

 

 

I reached out to several friends to make pieces based on this idea of mental health and a few beautiful pieces I got form my friends Lillian and Sophia are this collage and this photograph.

It is really interesting to ponder what these mean to both of them. Additionally, even though they are from two people they pair interestingly together.

Maybe this is where empathy comes into play. How can we align these images so that they more than aesthetically pair together well but they empathize with one another.

Looking forward for this week it is really about finalizing layouts so we can begin to test print and eventually bind the magazine in preparation for the final.

We at this point have collected more than enough imagery and text prompts to create our desired look(s).

So it is just about putting it all together and working to lay it all out!

NOTE: I mentioned this last week in my post but it has been very difficult for me to being myself to do the work for this project. I have been dealing with a bout of depression that  I haven’t experienced in a long time. I have been finding it hard to get up somedays and do much of anything. So having to confront and in-part chronicle this experience through this work has been very very trying for me. Nonetheless I am trying the best that I can. If there is anything I care about it is honesty and making honest work.