Dabringer uses maps that are standard size (“the ones that were made before maps were these big books”). She spends time looking at the maps to decide their character. First, she sees shapes. “I’m constantly pulling focus with my eyes. Sometimes I focus on the color, other times topography, other times black lines or colored lines or the landmass. I also let my eyes go blurry and focus sort of behind or in front of the map. Once I sift out a contour I don’t lose it. In the end, I see all of the separate elements all together,” she tells us. She prefers to draw cities with water–whether they’re rivers or lakes is no matter–she finds them dynamic.
