Towards the Sun

TOWARDS THE SUN

I've collected vintage books for many years. I love the look and feel of the exteriors, the faded colors, the etchings inside, even the musty smell of the pages. Back in 2015, while I was writing the first Turnsole album, I had developed an interest in the ultimate example in vintage books; Ancient Illuminated Manuscripts. Ancient texts, like The Book of Kells, were often decorated with colorful borders and illustrations. Often, the first letter of a word would be so ornate, it was difficult to tell what the letter was. 

As I dug deeper into the art of illumination, I found that the dye used to form each color was made from different plants. Certain plants were used to create specific colors, and one of the names of the plants used to make the purple, blue, and indigo dye was called Turnsole. But, it wasn’t until recently that I discovered that Turnsole has another meaning-Turn Towards the Sun. 

Most of the creative process, for me, is a series of fortunate accidents, and the accidental/unintentional second meaning of the word Turnsole(to turn towards the sun) is a prime example. 

In the years since the release of the debut album, my life has been full of extreme highs and lows, which is nothing unique. Everyone experiences life altering events. Some of them are unexpected, a lot of them are manufactured, but all of them are bursting with joys and struggles. And like the dual meaning of the word Turnsole, the best we can do, as artists, parents, friends, humans, is to try and add a little color to the world, and do our best to turn towards the sun.

 

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