Eye Candy

Yesterday was very long. I went into the studio about ten in the morning and exposed a bunch of screens for my next print. Then I went to work in the school gallery de-installing a show and installing a second show and then taking that show down again because the artist decided she wanted to re-paint her frames. Almost immediately after that the reception for my graduate class's group show started. It was actually pretty well attended and I met and spoke with quite a few interesting people. I also got the chance to talk about my work. People seemed to get my point of view without me needing to talk too much about it. So I mostly answered questions about the process. That's perfectly fine with me. That reception lasted until 10:30 and I didn't get home until after midnight. Tiffany took some pictures of the show, so I swiped one from her flickr stream. I did a bunch of photoshopping to make the wall look less dirty. I also removed the electrical outlets.

Bella Vida

I'm working on logos, business cards and post cards for Josie's import shop. Here's where I am now: Front and back of a business card.

Goings

A couple of days ago, the final edition came in for the Littlest Print Exchange. yesterday, Jessica and I printed up some boxes to house the final portfolios. She did most of the work. I also conned her into designing a colophon with information about the project and all its participants. I'll probably be transferring the blog to its own domain name since I plan to continue this project on an annual basis.

This morning I worked on revising my resume and stuff again even though I've done that a hundred times. I also I posted a new exhibit at Captive Werewolf from Harry Diaz. I had been sending out email announcements about new shows, but I didn't know if anyone really wanted me to do that. It turns out they did. So I'm going to have to get back on top of that. Anyone that is interested in having a show should contact me with a proposal.

Gallery

Things are afoot. Thanks to my longtime friend Josie Alaniz (nee Hernandez,) Michael Costanza and I have been offered the opportunity to take over a small space in a new retail development downtown. Over the last few years, the Majestic Center, once home to the Town Cinema, has been under renovations. While the theater is no longer active, there are a lot of small shops and offices in the building. Just over the last few weeks the lower level has begun transforming into a Town Mall. Josie's space, Bella Vida, a store specializing in goods imported from South America and Mexico, includes a second smaller space, which she is generously allowing us to use. Our plan is to host art exhibitions and lead small workshops to help energize the local art scene. With very, very little advance warning we were asked to have the space ready for a grand opening today. We threw together an exhibition of our work and spent the day answering questions about our plans and trying to promote Michael's first workshop. It is so early that we haven't even decided on a name for the gallery but several hundred people passed through today and, for the most part, interest seemed high. At the very least, now they know we're here and that we're doing something.

Second Chance 007

Blah, blah, blah. I finished printing this yesterday. Today I went with Rhiannon, Jessica and Carrie to SOFA on Navy Pier. I brought my camera and only took one picture. It was of an ID label cause I didn't want to forget the name of an artist, Dusty Wolf. Thinking of SOFA made me realize that I've been writing this blog for more than a year. 2159 page hits is probably pretty lame for that amount of time.

I got new glasses and I guess they must look pretty much the same as my old ones because nobody noticed.

Second Chance 006

As I'm starting to get better at really making these prints look the way I want them to look, it seems more and more likely that I'll want to reprint the earlier ones. If that is the decision I make, it will severely affect my plans for having a thesis exhibition of my graduate work in the spring. I've known a few people that finished all of their required courses and then held off for a semester or two (or even a year or two) before finally returning to finish their degrees. I really don't want to do that. It seems like, lately, I've been at the studio or in class or manning the art gallery pretty much all day every day. I know I don't want to burn myself out, but honestly, I guess there are a few more hours on the weekends that I could be working in the studio. I'm not crying about it. In fact, I finished this print yesterday, and I got six screens ready for the next print. I'm hoping to sneak in a few color layers tomorrow when I'm supposed to be in the gallery.

Eye Candy

Here's an upcoming show of thirteen graduate students, like me. November 18 through December 9 at Governors State University's Gallery F1617 with a public reception on November 18, from 6-10 p.m. Included are, Sharon Burrink, Christopher Clark, Veronica Cook, Rick Edwards, Brenda Farris, Tiffany Gholar, Karen Keorpes, Russel Laske, Becki Moffett-Moore, Stephanie Monroe, Gail Pachyn, Craig West and Emmet V. Reeb Jr.

Nothing Else, Ever