After reading “ A Field Guide to Getting Lost” by Rebecca Solnit, I was astonished. Her description capabilities are amazing. She made me feel as if I was standing there in every setting she described. I aspire now that one day, I can achieve such level. One of her quotes that moved me the most was: “To lose your self: a voluptuous surrender, lost in your arm, lost to the world, utterly immersed in what is present so that its surroundings fade away”. As an artist I have always found it very hard to come out and describe how I feel about my art to people. Even if I do, it is a struggle to express my self, or get my point across clearly. Part of it has to do with the fact that I am a Graphic design major. It is difficult for me to make my audience as passionate as I am about technical things in design. I feel that people always would like to see the finished product, rather than the process as to how it was made. Not everyone is interested in things like “ typography, leading, kerning, widows, bleed, canyons, and gutters etc… unless of course we share the same feelings. So I thought meticulously about the quote that kept on pulling me for some reason. I’ve always thought of my self as an artist, but am I? a questions that arose after finishing the reading. I feel like I am missing out in finding who I am as an artist, but at the same time I don’t want find out; because that would be the end for me. I’ve always had a very realistic look at my work. I never gave myself the chance to get “lost”. Experiment, fail, trip, and fall. I’ve always wanted an easy way out; I’ve always wanted to succeed. In other words if I had given myself the chance, I would’ve reached different outcomes. In conclusion I don’t think there is a perfect guide to getting lost to find out whom you really are. There aren’t set rules to follow, to reach a certain destination. You just have to experience and live every moment to its best potential to learn something about your self. Solnit’s: “ A Field Guide to Getting Lost” was very refreshing and inspiring, it made me decide to get lost in my own way hoping I can learn from my experiences. May be in the least it would help me explain myself better.
Journal #1
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