Week One: Learning to See Again

Week One of the Concept Design Mentorship and the Discipline of Grandeur

This first week of the mentorship has already shifted something in me.

Not dramatically. Not loudly.
But quietly. Structurally.

When I made Heading West, I could feel myself wanting to render, to texture, to push atmosphere. That is my instinct. I love mood. I love myth. I love symbolic density.

But this week I stopped myself.

I asked:
Is the shape strong enough on its own?
Does the silhouette read from across the room?
Is the light doing the heavy lifting?

That massive stone against the sun became less about detail and more about weight. Less about ornament and more about design. The figure is small, almost swallowed by the land, and that is intentional. I am thinking about scale more consciously now. I am thinking about how grandeur lives inside proportion.

The Stone Studies feel different for me.

They are not precious. They are not trying to be final pieces. They are exercises in clarity. In restraint. In repetition.

I pushed variations in proportion. I tested where light breaks across planes. I explored how a glowing seam could function compositionally instead of just symbolically.

There is something humbling about doing studies like this. It strips away the romance and forces me to confront fundamentals. Value. Shape. Readability.

And honestly, I needed that.

Three Mesas is where I really felt the shift.

I simplified. A lot.

Big shapes. Controlled values. Atmosphere doing quiet work. I resisted the urge to over explain the environment. I let the form speak. I let the land breathe.

For years I have said that my work is about honoring nature and the spirit of grandeur. About that feeling I first experienced in the southwest desert when scale hit me in the chest.

What I am realizing now is this:
If I want to honor grandeur, I have to design for it.

Awe is not an accident.
It is constructed.

That is what this mentorship is already teaching me.

Structure before detail.
Clarity before complexity.
Intentional design choices instead of instinct alone.

It does not remove the myth from my work. It strengthens it.

The Last Memory of Earth is evolving. And I can feel that evolution beginning at the level of foundation.

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Deep Gratitude

I would not be in this mentorship without the generosity of those who chose to support this chapter of my growth by joining the Membership Circle.

Your belief in my artistic path matters more than you know. You are not simply supporting a program. You are helping shape the next stage of this world I have been building for years.

With sincere gratitude, I want to thank:

Amanda Stewart
Debra Horvath
Stefanie Frank
Victoria Jackson
Donals Curtis
Mark Lange
Stephen Curry
Ellen Santaniello
Andy Sick
Jill Angelopoulos
Karen Faraca

Thank you for walking this path with me.

Onward.

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The Membership Circle remains open for those who would like to support this 12 week evolution in my craft. A number of thoughtful perks are available, including original studies and documentation from the journey.

Join the Membership Circle here: