The Hopefear Project

The hopefear project started months ago and now it is done. Still, I feel like it isn’t done.

When I reached the day of reckoning on this project, I pulled all the data obtain on my questionnaire and it totaled 100 people exactly. People from all over the world. That seemed perfect. My hope to get a handful of photos, poems, songs, and other ‘expression’ about hope and or fear was hardly realized and so I canned my plans for that aspect of the design. Funny thing happened though . . .

I decided to go and look at the ‘harvest’ of responses again, to see if anyone else had participated, and I was a bit blown away. Well over 1500 have posted their hope and fears. There are also a whole lot of photos, poems, mp3s, and other art! So, when I say that I am done, I am not really done. I have all this awesome data and most of it is not included in the piece I just finished designing and installing. So what now?

Well, I think I will have to write (and design, of course) a book. And I will! When? I am not sure, but I will. Right now things are really busy for me, trying to finish up my BFA program at BYU-Idaho and working freelance and being a Dad to my adorable Nina. But I will do it! I am already starting.

Anyhow, the process of this was really something. I didn’t track how many hours of work went into the project, but it was a lot of hours. Last weekend, I printed everything out, mounted it to foam core and cut it all out. It took about 50 hours to complete just that task. Then I hung it all in the library, using nails and gaffers tape.

While the project is done, it is not done. Stand by.