Recently in Very Short Stories Category

Just a quick note to mention that I've spruced up the Very Short Stories page on the site, added some additional information and generally made things nicer. So go submit a story already! In gathering some links for the website, I came across the student galleries at MIAD where it looks like they took down a bunch of my older, outdated work and put up a some of my newer stuff. There isn't anything there that isn't already here, but its still nice to know they keep things up to date. P.S. Extra-perceptive blogaroos will take note at an altered color-scheme on the site. Red!

I've been talking a lot about this senior thesis project without really explaining what it is I was doing. As its now officially the 20th, the day of the big opening where my work will officially be open to the public (although it has technically been on display for about a week as its in the main foyer of the school) and as all of the work is up on the site, I think its rather appropriate to go into some detail for those who may be curious.

Back in November I was reading an issue of Wired magazine and in it was a feature that caught my attention. Sometime in the 1920's Ernest Hemingway made a wager of $10 that he could write a story in only six words. He wrote, "For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never worn." (winning the bet.) Wired magazine had asked 33 writers "sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers from the realms of books, TV, movies, and games to take a shot themselves." The stories, as you may already know, were just fantastic and the fact that they were told in only six words just made the whole project all the more interesting. In the magazine they were arranged and presented by five different designers, each taking their own liberties with the presentation of the text. While I enjoyed the design work, I was disappointed that the stories didn't get the individual attention I thought they deserved. Right away I thought it would have been really interesting if the stories would have been illustrated in some way, this snowballed into the idea that a little illustrated story book would be a lot of fun to make and to read.

The idea of challenging myself in this way was really appealing. I received this great little storyboard notebook for Christmas and I decided to pick some of my favorite stories from the feature and fill my little sketchbook with ideas for images. It was my intent to illustrate as many of the stories as I possibly could in time for the senior exhibition.

For some stories the pictures came really easily, others were a challenge and required pages and pages of sketches to arrive at a place I was happy with. I found a printer for the book that was inexpensive and allowed me to print a small number of the finished books for the show and myself. Which, I might add, turned out really well.


So far the project has been really well received. I even mediated a minor dispute between a rather inebriated couple over what the project was about. If you've scrounged around the blog you may have noticed that one of the authors, James Patrick Kelly, found "his" illustration and commented on it. One professor here has even expressed an interest in turning it into an assignment for future students. The most gratifying response, however, has been observing people walk up to the work with a very serious look on their face and watching their faces slowly crack a smile as they "get it." For some it takes longer than others, but almost inevitably it happens.

The work is currently on display in the main foyer of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and on joshwebbillustration.com. As of this writing, the opening/reception for the 2007 MIAD Senior Exhibition show is tonight, from 5PM - 9PM. If you're in the area, stop by and say hello.