Patternotion - Life's delicate balance

Life is a delicate balance. Drift in a perfect bliss of ignorance and you can find your personal Nirvana or find yourself lost. Structure our unpredictable lives and we harness our potential, achieve greatness or send ourselves to the edges of insanity.

So when I contacted our 1000+ artists with the book’s theme, I felt more like a therapist and just a little bit unhinged myself. The task was to analyse their lives and to root out the personal systems that helps them function in life and work.  I suspected that artists and authors were excellent exponents in the secret art of system making, with the flair and skill to explain them. What I hadn’t expected was such a swift and varied response: within 6 hours of the call-to-arms we had to close submissions and the pages of the Patternotion book were all reserved.

We at Sampson Low Ltd are unusual in the way we select our artists and authors..... Everyone is welcome. We run a first-come first-served basis and have never rejected an entry. This has given the book a varied palette of ideas from artists, authors, children, train drivers, research directors, company bigwigs and unemployed geniuses from all over the world including England, Scotland, Wales, Denmark,  and for the first time The Democratic Republic of Congo (see Thomas Yocum's submission below)

Thomas Yocum

The book is split into two sections. The first contains both prescriptive and open systems that may require some thought. In the second part I asked 9 artists to interpret systems from the previous section. With a mix of instinct and structure they have channelled their intellects, producing fascinating and unexpected results.

Read the book and you realise that a good system contains as few ingredients as possible and has a short shelf-life before being re-invented or adapted. In this book you’ll find over 60 recipes to inspire and amuse you. In its best known form a life system is the New Year’s Resolution, where the participant declares their intentions and like a social gladiator lives or dies under the gaze of the populace.

Patternotion is not a dramatic ‘do or die’ ultimatum of course, it is just a book. Read it though and the ideas inside could influence the next chapter in your life.

The Book is now at the printers and we have removed the slideshow with all the submissions, so you'll have to wait for the real thing. It will go on sale in the week of the Blue Plaque launch which is Saturday 9th March.

AL

Join the New Year's Revolution

Join in the lastest book from Sampson Low Ltd by submitting your artwork and inspire others to a better life in 2013. As artists and authors we get the most out of lives and have the artwork to prove it!
Many people start New Year's Resolutions at this time of year but have nothing to show for their efforts and often fail because of it.

Help these people by sharing your systems and show them how to see the interesting aspects of their everyday lives. Inspire them by documenting your own New Year's Resolution perhaps.

If you've got an interesting 'system for living' already or are willing to embark on a fresh start for 2013 then get in touch and reserve a page. Then make your artwork and send it to me before the deadline of 1st Febraury 2013.
We'll publish it in the Patternotion Book and send you a copy for FREE.
For all the details on how to get involved visit the Theme and Submit pages.

The Book page tells you more about the physical book itself and how you will be paid.


For my page, I've started to decorate my daughter's bedroom (after several years on the to-do list) this Christmas holidays and we're going to create a series of sculptures with what we've found under the floorboards and behind the wallpaper.
A mundane job has some added interest and I get to spend some extra time with my children.
See our first robot above.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
Alban