Day 6-7 Friday/Saturday 12-13/09/09
This weekend I tried to get my head around my imagination. I try, then I get rational, I try again, then I get logical and so on. I remember the hell that was my 26 clocks project, how it led me to Tel Aviv, and into the Emerge exhibition at the London Design Festival for potential work. Everything happens for a reason.

Day 8 Sunday 13/09/09
Scratching my head again today - puzzled by trying to imagine and fighting off what feels natural, (which is actually not) to apply logic and rational progression to all that I do and think. I arrive and Oded says to me, “I think I have worked out what the problem is with you, but I'm going to test myself. Not you - but my own thinking.” He continues, “I want you to shoot a stop-frame animation in the next 2 hours. It is to be 1 minute long and my catalogue of typefaces has to be in it. You can use the space as you like, but you can't ask questions or speak to me.”

I shoot the frames within the two hours. He asks me to edit and produce the film for 9am tomorrow morning. I work until 12am and find it dull having produced it without much ‘thought’. I obviously made decisions as I went. I am my own worst enemy.

Day 9 Monday 14/09/09
When I arrived this morning Oded asked me to produce a second film, made up of 6 episodes. He provided me with a cutting mat, a scalpel, 1 laser-printed Aleph and some white sheets of A4 paper. [Watch the film here] I begin and panic slightly; feeling like my brain is incapable of producing ideas this quickly. When I produce something without what I consider to be ‘thinking’ time I find it dissatisfying because it seemingly has no process behind it and I don't understand it myself. I loose my desire to produce when I can't think.

At midday I show Oded the film I made yesterday. Oded asks me what would be the best reaction he could have. I say that it would be easier on my brain if he liked it. At the same time, it would probably be better, but harder, if he didn't. He told me neither would be best. The best option would be for him to like some parts, and hate some parts. I think he dislikes it all. He tells me I was interested in the circular motion of the catalogue and that all other elements were arbitrary.

To explain this to me, Oded used an analogy of a pair of legs. He said, “Legs walk like this - [step, step, step] - that does not mean they are only capable of walking. People use legs to create dance and movement.” He asked me to view the catalogue differently, not literally. He gave me two more hours to complete a new film. I began to try an idea which ironically enough I'd thought of yesterday but ruled out in my head because there were too many variables to consider. It was unknown rather than comfortable. The swatch book began to walk amongst Oded's collection of Hebrew books. I enjoyed it and watching the playback made me laugh.

In the afternoon, Oded asked me to repeat the morning's task but now with the letter Beyt.  Having been amused by my ability with the bookshelf, I felt more willing to try again. Oded explained that I was obviously daunted this morning by the Aleph, the equipment and the episode criteria. He tells me just to begin with the Beyt and just do whatever I please. I try again.

Day 10 Tuesday 15/09/09
I wake up late, exhausted from working late and still with the Aleph & Beyt films to put together. I figure tiredness and a time limit are likely a good thing, less room for fussy behaviour. On the way, I feel like I've had enough. I consider if my brain is simply not programmable in the way Oded is asking. I'm willing, but it's hard.

When I arrive I show  Oded the bookshelf and the Aleph/Beyt films. He loves the bookshelf and we laugh. The quirky little swatch book looks so funny climbing around the books. He asks me to make a few colour tweaks so that he can publish it on his blog. We are making progress. He asks me if I want him to see the Aleph/Beyt film. I say I’m unsure. We watches it and he tells me again never to respect your work; that way you will never be precious about it and it will always evolve. He explains how, of course, there is always a time when decisions have to be made but that it should during the last 1% of the process.

Read Lucy's first entry here, and stay tuned for the next installament of Lucy's Design Diary next week. In the meantime, check out Lucy Brown Studio on jotta and her personal website.