I delivered a commissioned EcoMemory to a client last week. I find the “big reveal” very satisfying. By the time I have presented the art to the client, we’ve already talked for an hour about their favorite place in nature. We’ve already discussed the written report I wrote which outlines my ideas for the color palette and design of their EcoMemory based on our interview. I have a very clear idea in my head for the design and the fabric colors and what it will look like. However, even if the client has read the report with a line drawing of the design and an image of the stack of fabric I will use, it’s very hard for people to imagine what the final piece will look like. For that reason, it is always a joy to watch them unwrap their EcoMemory or to hear about it from client’s I needed to mail the EcoMemory to.
In particular, this was a special EcoMemory because the client is a good friend of the family. Her daughter commissioned me to create this EcoMemory for her mom’s birthday. One thing I’ve learned from this process is asking a simple question “What is your favorite place in nature?” is really not a simple question. In this case, we went on a journey of my client’s life and how being near a body of water was essential to her story.
It was the peace and quiet she would find on the edge of the water, be it from a creek from her childhood, an ocean in Maine or one of the Great Lakes in the Midwest. This concept helped me free my idea of an EcoMemory as being just one location. At first, during our conversation when she said it wasn’t just one place, I struggled to think how I can create an image of multiple places. By the end of the hour, I knew that it was just a calming presence of water, in general. I had the idea and now I could run with it.
I researched the different places that she told me about on Google images and used these photos to give me ideas for colors and design. In this piece, Edge of the Water, in the image below, the three design anchors are the white lighthouse with the black top on the left, the green for the tall pine trees on the right and the pewter color of the waters edge with a section of Duponi silk which represents my client on the waters edge looking out over the water at sunset with a sailboat in the distance.
Edge of the Water, 2018.
After I presented her the Edge of the Water, we ate some lobster rolls as a reminder of Maine. We found a place for her to put the artwork and hung it up immediately. My hope for each EcoMemory is that when people look at their artwork, they feel all the emotions we discussed in our initial interview; be the place one of solace, or a nostalgic time in childhood, or a vacation spent with family.
Every single EcoMemory I have created has been different, not just in the obvious way by location, but also in the way the artwork makes the client feel. But for the most part, it is always about the peace and calm we feel when we are in nature.
I am opening up my studio schedule this Fall for the Holiday gift giving season. If you want to give the gift of a commissioned EcoMemory to a loved one this Holiday, let me know.
Space is limited so contact me by November 1, 2018 to schedule a time. Click HERE for the Contact Me form.
If you want to learn more about the process, click HERE. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about the process. Just let me know.