The Reference Source
Not too far from Tokyo and right on the ocean, this city was so charming that I wish we'd stayed a night instead of making it a day trip. A common mistake, I hear.
We didn't have much of a plan other than seeing the big bronze Buddha statue and enjoying whatever we found along the way. So, once we stepped off the train, we mapped ourselves to the Kotokuin Temple and began our adventure.
The walk to the temple was colorful, salty, and exciting. The beaches were long and wide, scattered with families and their big bright tents.
As we continued, we passed an array of shrines, cafes, and art shops that seemed to line almost every street in every direction. The walk to the temple was only supposed to be about 15 minutes, but it ended up taking us closer to an hour with how much we kept getting distracted.
One of those distractions was this power line pole. I'd never seen one like it.
We stared in disbelief for a moment, I snapped a photo, and we continued on our way. It wasn't until an entire year had passed that I rediscovered the picture in my camera roll. I was putting together the marketing for my 'My Pink Blooms' print drop, and wanted to use it as a background image for one of the blooms I'd had.
It wasn't until I'd posted it that I received feedback on how interesting the photo was. I stared at it for a while, taking myself back to the feeling I'd had when I first saw it, and had an idea. What if I did something with this? What if I could make it prettier? Pink, even?
So I did. It was very relaxing for me to work on this piece. I felt like it was more of an exercise for myself than anything else. 20 hours later, when I finished the line work and coloring, I was very satisfied with the result. But I wanted to do even more, obviously. What if I tried making an animation with this?
I don't have any experience in animation. All of my skills, I feel, are in physical mediums. But my whole life, I'd always loved it from afar. It was one of those things that I felt was very far out of reach for me. That's for other artists. I have my lane and I should stay in it. But I couldn't stop imagining pulses of pink light, sparks and glitter zipping through the wires, and I knew it wasn't going to go away until I got it out of my brain.
After spending 4 hours messing with Procreate's animation feature, it was finished. I remember staring at the loop over and over, knowing I loved it and that it turned out exactly how I'd imagined, but still feeling anxious about posting it. What if it looks good to me, but it's actually not that good? What if I'm about to embarrass myself? What if the comments are filled with people making fun of me?
Despite the anxiety, I knew that I'd worked too hard on it to keep it stashed away. So I posted it, turned my phone off, and went on a walk.
4 million views and 13,000 new followers later, I am very glad I didn't listen to the fear. I had no idea people could be so kind and encouraging, and reading through everyone's different interpretations of this piece has been such a beautiful experience and gift that I never knew I wanted so badly. If you're here and you've made it this far, thank you for helping make my dreams come true. Seriously.
Before I close, I wanted to include some of my favorite comments I've received over this past week. You guys are so freakin' cool.
"I see a tired old lady facilitating the love letters of the youth." - @adh_austin
"This is how texts and calls get to her." - @strengthony
"If these artistic hands of yours can be applied to real people, then what a great deal...Never thought that tangled stars could look so good." - @cydrah.asad.real
"When you say, 'sending my love.'" - @raining_stars_