Whencesoe'er I came...

This baby we christened Octobook.

Jackie came over one day with this beautifully-engineered little thing and entrusted him into my care.

He was....challenging. Stubborn. Refused to submit to my authority. Sigh.
But I love this little guy.

You do your best to prepare the little ones for the real world and, with all your advanced worldly experience, you believe you've done what you can.

You reasonably expect your progeny to see clearly the path you've laid before them and to reverently partake of the wisdom you freely give--until, bit-by-bit, your carefully laid plans unravel and the wee little thing takes hold of his ever-strengthening faculties, dismisses your unsolicited assistance, and (by the power of his own fierce conviction) becomes a thing you could not have foreseen, could not have contrived, and would not have wanted to try to foresee or contrive if you could do it all over again because that would only ruin the delight of the surprise.

And so the artist finds herself a master, leading the vision, yet also, a servant, paradoxically, being led by it.

Whenceso'er I came / Whereso'er I go

The quote is from Moby Dick.

I pitched it to Jackie and she approved. I think it appropriately embodies the paradox of a character being led on by Fate while retaining his agency as a Hero--ever-willful and carving his own path; Fate be damned. It sounds contradictory and yet there it be. We demand that the Universe be linear, and the Universe, in turn, says "Screw you, puny human."

Who can fathom it.

We only cared to make 50, signed and sealed. You can purchase them here on Jackie's etsy shop. Object is smaller than it appears (a 3.5' square) but a warning: this is a very serious pop-up--not for the faint of heart.

Update (14.08.02): as of this week, Octobook is sold out (Comic-con 2014 was its fated last appearance). Alas! It's time has come to an end. They've all found good homes, I'd like to think, and I hope for their bright futures.

medium: watercolor scanned and re-printed to cut, folded, and packaged between two slices of book board.