Pilot Options

Examine and step back from the piece, formulating an analysis and questioning one's own work.

September was a month of stress-filled moments trying to complete my most recent book “Infatuation.”

Travelling since the end of May rendered trying to complete the creative process a longer than expected time frame. We have had this trip planned for the last year, but the slow build of our new travel trailer postponed the journey till the beginning of June. We embarked on the trip by driving north to Sumas, Washington, to pick up our Escape 17B travel trailer. Seeing it cross the border from British Columbia was a thrill and the beginning of our journey.

This trip provided me the opportunity to immerse myself in an environment that shaped my childhood and interests and laid part of the groundwork for the artists’ book I’m creating. We spent some time exploring filming locations of the 1968-1970 TV series Lancer. Some of my photos are utilized as background scenes for the fantasy of the theme ‘becoming of age.’ These details help the final product represent my vision.

© 2022 Louise Levergneux. The Hacienda in the Santa Lucia Preserve, Rancho San Carlos Road, Carmel, California.

© 2022 Louise Levergneux. Corringanville Park was a working film studio and movie ranch for outdoor location shooting,

© 2022 Louise Levergneux. Malibu Creek State Park in the Santa Monica Mountains. The 8,215-acre park was established in 1974. Opened to the public in 1976, the park is also a component of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, CA

Our other goal was to visit California Missions and view the stunning beaches. An all around fun and fantastic trip.

© 2022 Louise Levergneux. Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo first built in 1797, is one of the most authentically restored Catholic mission churches in California.

© 2022 Louise Levergneux. Mission San Juan Capistrano is a Spanish mission in San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California. Founded November 1, 1776 in colonial Las Californias by Spanish Catholic missionaries of the Franciscan Order.

I noticed during the trip that the service provider for my cell was creating havoc with making calls very challenging — any calls. After a month, I purchased a new cell and thought this problems were done. But a week later, I dropped it in the parking lot of the Malibu Creek State Park. Presently I have a major crack and damaged corner, Oh! Well, it still works. Good! NOT!!! The service, though, remained a major issue. The beginning of the end…

My travels came to an end during the last week of August. I finally prepared myself for the sometimes frustrating production of the book, though excitement was in the air! My technology equipment seemed to throw a fracas before I had the chance to experience the numerous frustrations of the work ahead.

After returning to my studio, my Epson Photo Stylus R3000 printer couldn't clean its nozzles, ink flowed to some, but not all nine cartridges. After trying several times, I delivered it to an Epson Service tech in the Tucson area to wait almost three weeks with no sign of life… Since printing was out, I concentrated on finishing some details in each book pages. Then, the power charging cable died on the MacBook Pro. It was dead in the water! I had to make a fast trip to an Apple dealer to purchase a new charger to fully charge my Mac… Thank God, my computer is still under warranty. The printer repair delayed the laser cut job for some of the pages into October… OH! My Wacom tablet no longer wants to track properly!... OK, I have gone over pretty much every equipment that is not manual. Thanks for listening, I’m certain you have suffered days like this.

Whatever I know how to do, I’ve already done. Therefore, I must always do what I do not know how to do. Eduardo Chillida

Not enough on my plate. The little quote above brought me back to the purchase of a beautiful red cow suede in Salt Lake City while on our trip. I wanted to use the suede for parts of the Drum Leaf Binding. I required a look of sensuality and richness that the material conveyed, but that is not going so well. It is not time to attempt something new at this stage, but creativity and vision could not be stopped.

I need to regroup and plan some more before the end of this project. Hopefully, I will end the year with a completed artists’ book.