Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Behind the Scenes of The County Grapevine Magazine

There is a lot that goes into the creation of a magazine that goes unseen. Colour. Layout. Ad placement. Length of articles--too long, too short? Does that word end at the right spot.

And, so much more...

Magazines require a passion similar to that of wine-making. Two totally different things, but the amount of passion, patience, time, and perfecting of the art are very necessary to produce the vision. And, in the end, an investment worth making. It could be said that it is a labour of love as Michael Pinkus points out on page 61.

Each article planned, and pondered. Done (and re-done). Tweaked. Re-tweaked. Some finished layouts were re-jigged and became full evenings. An example would be Mosaic of Events (page 24). We started with one photo only, then a "mosaic" of photos unfolded with each photo carefully selected and placed. A balance of the right photos that would represent the agricultural, artistic, rustic, polished, beachy, elegant, fresh County that we all know and love (with a sweep of glossy glamour that magazines are so famous for displaying).

I can now relate to Evelyn Sloane's metaphor of an artists work being like a child (page 22). It is something you nurture, help to develop and grow into the vision that began as an idea.

Aren't ideas wonderful?

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