Here I sit, trying to catch my breath this weekend and I find myself in a moment of reflection. All I have accomplished in the last few weeks, it is kind of amazing and it is beginning to slip from memory. Coming into March I was tasked with the publication of 4 advertising mags, which all go to print at the same time, on one day. This reoccurs on a monthly basis and this project was assigned to me at the turn of the new year. Once that deadline passed, I immediately jumped into the publication of a school magazine due a week later. This launched successfully, however again without hesitation I was off running to meet a third deadline the following week with yet another magazine- a 50 page, image-heavy publication for a volunteer organization in Denton County, TX. That was sent to print yesterday and is probably the most intense project to date since I took my job at Murray Media almost a year ago.
At times it is important I think, to take a pause and see where your experiences are taking you. Only 5 months ago I needed the assistance of my colleagues to accomplish in a week, what I can now do on my own: design a 32 page, full-color magazine. I am grateful to my teammates who saw my potential and have watched me grow to the level of proficiency I can now provide. In addition to harnessing technical strengths, the mental fortitude required to sustain a productive pace under constant pressure to perform is something I was not sure I had. The desire to get up and create something new everyday is a huge motivator. I have never felt so connected to my identity as an artist, a creator, and where I go to find purpose.
The photo above, shows my day-to-day creative space. This image documents a time when I was working on a logo design, one of my favorite projects. It takes a lot of sticky notes and coffee to keep this designer on track.