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| Autumn Moon and Stars |
I once worked in an art department where the person who signed the checks was convinced that there were certain shapes that none of us clumsy, hired hands would ever be able to execute the degree of perfection which was required to create the production patterns for this product. So each time these shapes appeared in one of the designs, rather than sending our inferior efforts back (to the check signer) for a series of rejections, we tediously spliced copies of one or more of these computer generated shapes into our otherwise very exact, precise and hand inked vellum patterns. To add insult to injury, once these patterns arrived at the factory overseas, their employees would interpret them by very primitive hand painted methods and the results weren't always so pretty. They, too would always throw it back to us, to try to cast blame on the patterns they were given to follow.
Anyway, one of these standard shapes happened to be a star. The check signer had this idea that there existed a uniform and perfect five pointed model, similar to the old fashioned gummed, foil types one might get as a reward if such a thing existed. But we were rewarded richly- with vellum sheets of these stars printed by the row, in every imaginable size, waiting in our flat files for the next design that summoned the surgical precision and dreaded honor of wielding the golden Xacto. Needless to say, we avoided including these shapes in our designs if we could help it!
Coincidentally, "Star" is also the posted topic at Illustration Friday this week. From the heavens above, the sparkly radiant objects that inspire poetry, songs and dreams also stir dark memories of living nightmares. So I'm just here to have some fun with watercolor today- Imagining star shaped leaves in autumn, wobbly, little hand painted stars and a kind and gentle moon nestled in the clouds. I never set out to be perfect. And I think that is universal knowledge by now. ;o)
