Friday, July 15, 2011

Summer Limbo Land

Well, this has been a very interesting period of time so far for me. It really is difficult to describe. I feel free, in some regards, and more bound in others. I have yet to start a job, although I have been hired part-time by Urban Outfitters (starting the 26th), and am in between interviews with another store for a second job. Kellan and I have an apartment pre-leased for August. Although I've worked hard to take care of my responsibilities as a budding freelancer, it feels a bit like I'm living in the Groundhog Day movie! Every day is very similar to the last.


Regardless, I've made some significant progress with my illustration. At the end of June, I mailed out my roughly 650 postcards. That was an all-day ordeal, putting on stamps and addressing that many postcards takes a great deal longer than you'd expect. Toting them all in a shoebox to the post office certainly got me some strange looks! I also forgot to mention in my last post that the illustration department at SCAD offered to pay me for my portfolio book, to keep as a sample, but I declined. I couldn't give away my baby! So, instead I mailed them a disc copy of the PDF files. I've also prepared my tear sheet packets to be mailed as soon as we move into our apartment.

A couple weeks ago I received an email from one of my cards. I shouldn't name the company, since they haven't given me any work, but they were impressed by my portfolio and are asking for me to submit additional work soon (they need something slightly more specific in purpose than I have just yet). I'll let you know if this goes anywhere, but even if it doesn't, it was a very nice surprise, since I wasn't expecting to get any responses from my first mailers!

The biggest and best news of all though is several months in the making! Today I can officially announce my involvement with the Square Carousel Illustration Collective! It is a group of ten illustrators who met at SCAD and graduated this year. Josh Heinsz organized the group in a bout of complete genius, carefully selecting artists whose styles and personas mesh well together. I see our aesthetics as a gradient-- one person's work may be similar to another, who is similar to another, who is similar to another... The group will have bi-weekly challenges, and will act as a self-promotional tool, also giving us an opportunity to share advice and contacts with ease, now that we are spread across the country (and Canada!) The first challenge was to create our carousel animal, which will be synonymous with our name on the site. Here's mine:


"Happy Carousel Raccoon," Gouache, 2011.

Click here to check out our website! And here for our Twitter. Aaaaaand here for our Facebook page! Please like it, if you're on Facebook!

That's all I have for you at the moment. Check back soon!

adios
caitlin

3 comments:

Charla said...

Caitlin, I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your work. I graduated from SCAD with my M.A. in Illustration in 2009. Best wishes to you. Where there's a will, there's a way.

www.charlapettingill.com

Daniel Woodling said...

Best of luck to you! You're an amazing artist and I'm always inspired by you.

Caitlin said...

Aw, thanks to both of you! Sorry I didn't see these comments until now. Charla-- your work is lovely as well. I especially enjoy your dog illustrations!!