24 Comments

Lovely piece, it’s very poetic today and I’m here for it! Beautiful works too of course and congratulations on the CCM nomination!

Expand full comment

Thank so much for reading Trish! Always great to hear from you! Really means a lot to me!

Expand full comment

Congratulations! A well-deserved selection of your work for two series.

Expand full comment

Thank you so much! It feels more like luck or an accident, but I’m not complaining, lol.

Expand full comment

Yay, Duane! And hooray Kirk—he’s the best!

Expand full comment

Thanks Stephen! Kirk really is the absolute best! I was really happy to see his name on those lists as well!

Expand full comment

I'm so glad you've made the shortlist. Thank goodness you gave in to the threats. 😅😆

Such delightful shaping in "the act of saying I".

Expand full comment

Thanks Martin! I had the base layers of “the act…” sitting around for a while without really knowing where it was going. I’m not even really sure what it was that finally got me to finish it. It seems almost accidental. The top half of the piece is just some random bits of junk mail glued to an index card. I moved the index card around on the scanner while it was scanning to create those interesting warped and warbled shapes. It’s a fun technique to play with, its always surprising.

Expand full comment

"almost accidental"

"fun"

"always surprising"

Music to my ears!

Expand full comment

A few of my favorite things, lol.

Expand full comment

Congratulations :)

Expand full comment

Thank you so much!

Expand full comment

Congrats on being shortlisted - well deserved!

Expand full comment

Far too kind Richard! I appreciate it!

Expand full comment

Congrats! Well deserved 🤗

Expand full comment

Thank you! I really appreciate it!

Expand full comment

"under the surface of every word we say " is blowing my mind right now. seriously incredible.

Expand full comment

Thanks so much Steve! It was a fun piece to play with. It’s actually pretty simple. I enlarged the image on a photo copier, I like the noise and grain this adds. I scanned the photo copy and jostled it a bit while it was being scanned to create wave/warp effect. Laid out the type in Affinity photo. Printed out the type. Distressed the type with tape. Added back in Affinity. Made a couple tweaks and that’s it. Lot’s of little steps but, nothing overly technical. My ‘skills’ are rudimentary, I try to make up for it with ‘process’, lol.

Expand full comment

I love it - and glad you shared the process - BTS insights are always great. That emotion evoked though... That's more than just skills, man. That's freaking heart.

Expand full comment

Thanks man! I don't believe in harboring 'trade secrets'. I don't believe in having or hiding a secret recipe. I don't know much, but what I have learned I've had to learn the hard way, and if I can spare anyone some of the hardships that come from learning to make things, I'll do anything I can to.

Thanks again for your kind words! I suppose one of the benefits of having a narrow margin of skills, is that I don't have teh option to hide behind them. It's all heart or nothing. Can't tell you how much it means to me to know that it shows up in the work. I really appreciate it!

Expand full comment

Congrats Duane! I haven’t kept up with CC Magazine as I should but it’s an incredible publication and I think it’s well deserved.

I agree with Ann’s comment!

Expand full comment

Thanks so much Nathaniel! It really is a fantastic magazine! It’s a bit surreal to have been recognized by it even in a small way. Thanks again!

Expand full comment

Duane, I see you learning to strike a balance between exploring the process with curiosity and still being willing to put yourself out there. You seem able to share in a way that’s very open-handed and generous—holding on lightly to the outcome. A beautiful example of Beginners Mind 💡

Expand full comment

Thank you Ann! That balance is very important to me. It’s taken awhile to get to it and to cultivate it. I think it’s a combination of a few things. I think I’ve learned to turn my imposter syndrome into something useful. If I’m not a ‘real’ artist, if I’m not a ‘real’ creative then it means I have nothing to lose and nothing to prove. I can make anything I want, in any way I want. But, also I think I’m beginning to understand that my ‘art’ isn’t in the things I make, but rather in the processes I create to make them.

Expand full comment