Before I start here, I just want to let you guys know that this drawing was finished in June of 2017, and I originally posted this blog then. But I'm re-writing it a bit and giving it a facelift for this new blog layout I'm using. It's actually really nice to revisit these :)
So. It's done. > insert every happy/crying/heart-eyed/worried/relieved emoji here <
I poured my heart and soul into this drawing. And I'm feeling a little deflated now that it's done. It's this weird combination of relief and awe and stress. I sincerely love Carl Sagan and every thing he (and Anne Druyan) stood/stand for. Science literacy and accessibility, the wonder and awe the cosmos brings to so many of us earthlings, etc. etc. etc...I have some pretty big feelings about all this. Science—and astronomy in particular—is the kind of thing that makes my heart soar.Â
So it was difficult for me, as an artist struggling to get some traction in her career, to put something out there that I REALLY felt personally attached to. The reactions from people tend be underwhelming. And while I know that my success will not be determined by fucking Facebook or Instagram or any other social media monster, it still stings to work diligently for 6 months on a piece of art—finding any break between work and being a mom to draw until the wee hours of the morning—only to finish it and get it out there and...practically nothing happens.Â
But I would do it even if I was all alone in this world with no audience at all. I would still make things and work hard on them and, who knows, maybe even do better work because I wasn't thinking at all about how it would be viewed by others. Maybe this is a notion I should explore for future artworks.
I am exceedingly proud of what I've done in this piece. I will never ever ever sell the original. Ever. It's something I want to pass down to my boys and their families. It's something I hope lasts for generations after I'm long dead. So it seems silly to worry about post likes and comments and print sales. In the end, that's not why I do it and that's not what really matters.
