What I say about myself posted 08 February 2006
I have a lot of things to say about myself. Here are a few of them.
I’m Canadian, and I love being Canadian. I love being self-deprecating even though Americans see it as a sign of weakness. I love being politically left of center (actually, quite far left, if you must know). I love being honest, and nice and polite and caring and kind. (Although sometimes I really do wish I could be a total bitch without feeling guilty about it.) I’m amused by my own respect for authority and rule-following instincts.
I’m also from Saskatchewan, the prairies, and I’m really proud of that too. I love the prairies: the flatness, the big sky, the clouds, the incredible summers and the brutal winters. But I don’t want to live there any more.
Now I live on an island near Vancouver, BC. That’s on the west coast of Canada, across from Japan. This coast is rich and lush and green all year ‘round. It seldom snows here. We even have palm-tree-like-things. We have beaches and mountains and giant trees. It’s absolutely incredible and I’m very, very lucky to live here.
I have a very big virtual life. In fact, most of my life these days seems to exist in the ether of the internet. I’m not that happy about this, but … I live on an island on the west coast of Canada, so, uh …
I do not know if I am lazy or driven. A little of both. While I tend to work every day, from morning to night (I’m frequently working past midnight), my days are relatively stress free. In the summer I tend to take a lot of breaks and sit in the sun or go for a walk. I spend a lot of time thinking. Just staring into space and thinking. Does this count as work? Sometimes. When I wake up in the morning with the perfect solution to a given problem, have I been working while I was sleeping? Perhaps.
These days I call myself a lapsed Graphic Designer. This is largely untrue, but in my struggle to redefine myself it’s helpful to cast off the old me in the search of the new.
I have a ton of experience in typesetting and design, but it wasn’t until I started doing this other thing in 2004 that I began to find the thing that is me in the act of what I do. Does that make sense?
I am impatient; I’m always about 6 steps ahead of myself, and I get frustrated that it takes me so long to reach where I feel I already am. But I have to remind myself I’ve made a huge amount of progress in the few years that I’ve been doing what I’m doing.
Am I successful? Yes. In terms of how I feel about what I make and why I do it. In terms of the acclaim and attention I feel far more worthwhile than I did when I ran a graphic design firm. Am I rich? No.
I often get mail from people and students asking me “What are your influences; where do your ideas come from.” I will answer that now: “Everything.” Conversations, things I read, things I see around me, books, magazines, old stuff, new stuff, art design, craft, film, music and garbage. I can be inspired at any moment by the strangest things. I am seldom bored. I have more ideas than I will ever be able to produce in my lifetime—some of them are even good ideas.
I’m well travelled. That’s what I did in my 20s when I should have been getting an education. Actually, I’m so so glad I travelled then, as the world is very different now. Lately I have been travelling a lot to speak about my work. It’s good to get out in the world again.
I love to think and write and talk. I love hanging out with smart, interesting people. I hate sports, I love music, I hate theatre, I love movies, I hate Disney, I love the Bothers Quay, I hate research, I love making things … I could go on like this, but it’s 1 am and I’m now tired.
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