Rilla Alexander: Without the Doing, Dreaming is Useless from 99U on Vimeo.
We all have an idea we’ve been meaning to execute on, but how can we really make it happen? In this highly original, all-ages talk at the 99 Conference, illustrator Rilla Alexander walks us through this classic creative struggle by sharing the story of Sozi – an adorable character who walks us through the arc of an idea. She daydreams, she procrastinates, she sets deadlines, she gets tempted by new ideas, she buckles down and works hard – and finally – she realizes “Her Idea.”
1:15 – The start of an idea 1:45 – “I can’t work with anything hanging over my head…” 2:54 – “Finally. I put pencil to paper. ..and Im confronted by the mediocrity of my idea” 4:10 – What about all those other ideas? 5:03 – Five years pass… 5:30 – “I begin to hate my idea, its a huge weight of unfulfilled expectations” 6:05 – “I give up. But then, it happened…” 6:50 – I love this idea again 7:10 – Deadlines force me to have realistic expectations, “Instead of focusing on how wonderful it is, I focus on getting it done” 8:00 – How to execute your idea 8:41 – Dreaming up ideas is fun, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg 9:29 – Without the doing the dreaming is useless 9:55 – Set boundaries 10:11 – Let the idea take control 10:55 – Theres always another idea that looks better. But thats because I’m not working on it. I haven’t seen its flaws and failures 11:25 – Don’t give up. Don’t cripple it with self-doubt 12:09 – It’s a lot of work, but much more satisfying than procrastinating 12:30 – Rila reads “Her Idea”
About Rilla Alexander
Rilla Alexander is an Australian-born Berlin-based designer and illustrator. Her cast of creatures dance across Madrid’s Museo del Prado’s ceramics and stationery products, populate Swiss Credit Cards for Cornér Bank and sleep on the walls of Hotel Fox in Copenhagen (where she replaced the bed with a tent).
As a member of design collective Rinzen, she has published several books exploring the creative process. The felt-covered book Neighbourhood featured the collaborative efforts of over 30 artists reworking and remaking hand-made toys in a sequence that stretched across the world.
Her all-ages picture book, Her Idea, was launched with an exhibition at Colette in Paris — and tells the tale of her alter-ego Sozi and her quest to make ideas happen.
This exhibition showcases the power of small-scale sculptural
works. Highlighting artworks no larger than 12 inches, but that possess
a much larger presence. Composed mainly of ceramic, with some mixed
media additions, these objects prove that something doesn’t have to be
huge to be monumental.
Requirements:
Artwork size is limited to 12 inches in any direction.
Use of Mixed media is allowed, but may not comprise more than 50% of the artwork.
Display possibilities include: pedestals, wall, hanging from the ceiling or as an installation.
Postmark Deadline: May 10, 2013
There are many ways to make handles, here I’ll show you a few hand built
methods. To purchase the corrugated boards used in my video or any
other Bill van Gilder tools and dvds, please visit my webstore http://vangilderpottery.com/vgp_store…. Please comment here if there are other demos you would like to see. I
will be able to read the comments and use them to come up with future
videos. Thanks for watching and please subscribe to be notified of new
vids!
US Residents. Ceramic works of any thematic and stylistic presentation
will be accepted for entry. Clay must be the primary medium. Works may
be functional, decorative or sculptural. Assembled works may not exceed
4ft. in any direction, and 50lbs in weight.
Juror: Peter Held, curator of ceramics at the ASU Art Museum Ceramics
Research Center at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.
Awards: Best of Show – $1,000, 2nd Place – $600, 3rd Place – $350
LH Horton Jr Gallery Exhibition: August 22 – September 19, 2013
On-Line Exhibition: August 2013 – June 2014
On-Line Entry / Fee $30 for first 3 entries and $3 for each additional
entry, limited to a total of 6 entries. Alternate view images of 3D
entries are unlimited and cost $3 for each image.
