Trust the shapes, mind the map

I have to remind myself that once a design takes a hold in my brain, I need to believe in it. As I trace the lines with pencil and burn them in with the heated nib, I sometimes question what I’m doing. I begin to doubt if it will turn out okay. I look at an individual line and wonder if I should improvise or correct it in some way. On occasion this is a good impulse. I sometimes see things that need adjustment.

But often I’m just giving into doubts of my vision. I’m getting in my own way and opening up the possibility to overcorrection and distortion of the original design. And this is may be especially true because of the fact that I work with AI. The designs are conjured through a weird combination of intention and randomness. They do not flow directly from my hand and this makes me cautious. Am I certain that they reflect my vision or am I merely pleased that something manifested so easily? But if they give me pause, I feel I should retain them. So I tell myself to trust the shapes. Have confidence in the original impulse to copy and don’t worry about every little detail or else you can get lost and render a mess.

I also keep checking in with the design as I burn. I keep the traced over paper next to me as I burn so that I know when to burn black on one side of the line and keep it blank on the other. Particularly when there’s more lines in a tighter area, I occasionally get confused and teeter on the edges of mistakes. In these moments, I look back and reference the design as though it is a precious navigation map that leads me to an effect, an impression, a graphic gesture I want to deliver in a durable medium. I mind the map and chart ahead.