It made an impression

It's easy to dismiss a new idea.
To let it go because it seems too
big, complicated, or time consuming.

To crush that early phase of
free thinking.

Of possibility.

Yesterday, we went to an outdoor
printing event, Print Jam, hosted 
by the artist studios and community,
Running With Scissors.

It was a display of oversize woodblock
printing using an asphalt roller.

No simple feat.

I imagine the person or people
who came up with the idea, 
seeing it in their mind's eye:

A big beautiful print of a hand-
carved image.

Then talking themselves out
of it.

How long would it take to
carve such a large piece?

What would we print on?
How could we get enough
pressure to make the print?

And so many more questions.

Would, or could, it be printed
on paper?

Maybe cloth?

Back and forth, questions and
answers. 

Excitement balanced with doubt.

Not every idea is a good idea,
not every idea will work. But
sometimes it's easy to allow
doubt to creep in, to steamroll
and crush an idea if the answers
aren't easy. 

To stop before we begin.

Not these folks.

As I begin a new project and
wrestle with doubt, I found
myself inspired by the idea of 
such a colossal block print. By
the determination and inventiveness
of the folks who made it happen.

I'm not interested in creating an
oversize block print, but I do have
an idea worth exploring.

An idea that deserves more thought
before it is steamrolled and
tossed aside.