Can One Picture Tell a Thousand Stories?

Six weeks ago I shared an idea that had been quietly growing in my mind for some time.

I wondered whether the old saying was really true: can a single picture speak a thousand words?

Many of my personal drawings are born from folklore, mythology, half-remembered tales and imagination. They begin with questions rather than answers. So I asked myself: what would happen if one drawing was placed into the hands of dozens of different writers? Would they all tell the same story—or something entirely unexpected?

That idea became MUSE.

Today, the MUSE project is no longer simply an idea. It has become a creative collaboration between an artist and an extraordinary community of writers, each bringing their own voice, imagination and perspective to the same collection of drawings. The results have been surprising, moving and wonderfully diverse.

Today is the final day for submissions.

Over the next ten days I'll be immersed in reading every story and poem that has arrived. Choosing which pieces to include will be incredibly difficult because the standard has been far higher than I ever imagined. Sadly, not every submission can appear in the book. But because there has been such an enthusiastic response, I'm also exploring ways to publish all of the submitted work online, so every contribution can have a change to be seen as part of the MUSE project.

And finally...

Please save the date.

The Kickstarter campaign launches on 29th August.

This has always been a project about collaboration, imagination and shared creativity. I can't wait to show you what we've created together.

Here are a few pictures that will be part of the project. Some are still WIP.....