Screen Time

I have spent the WHOLE DAY sitting in front of this computer, and I'm TIRED of it. Evelyn's working at the Healing Center tonight, and I decided just to jot off a blog entry before going home, and then I may not open the computer again before bedtime!
We're at the art-choosing stage in our monthly production schedule. Because we don't have a full-time art director, our process goes like this: Jim Nieman, managing editor, and I meet with the company's art director, Mark Haas, who helps us choose art, come up with graphic ideas, etc. He also takes stock art and doctors it in Photoshop, etc., to create customized looks that we couldn't get by depending on the stock services alone.
But I spend quite a bit of time creating light tables full of possible stock images to start with. And that's what I did a little bit yesterday afternoon and what I've done almost all day today. I did have a 50-minute conference call with planners of the next Stone-Campbell Dialogue meeting that will happen in Indianapolis in October. And Mark and Jim and I met for about 75 minutes this morning in the first round of art planning meetings  for our April issue.
Tomorrow morning we'll meet again, and in between some correspondence, I've been looking at art possibilities in preparation for tomorrow's meeting. Hopefully we can get the rest of the art chosen in another hour or so then.
So far, we have some neat concepts going. Here's a tiny, little preview. (This isn't the best concept by ANY means, but I don't want to give away too much!)
The issue is about conflict. One article is titled: "Ways to Know Your Church is Headed for Burnout."
We're going to try to illustrate it with a church attached to a lit fuse, as though it's getting close to blowing up. Mark will combine the fuse from this bomb with this church building picture to make the illustration. We'll see how it works!