Next....

It seems like it has been weeks since my kickstarter.com project reached the end of its funding period even though it has, in fact been less than a week. The end of the project came at 6:09 pm EDT on Sunday. How did I celebrate this milestone? I was working away in my studio. I had gotten an email on Friday(?) asking if I wanted to have a show opening the end of the month and going through most of April? Of course, my answer was yes and then reality set in.
Egad, I had to get busy and pull the show together. It is a show of the original art from the Word Project- yes, the same art that will be published soon in my kickstarter-funded book. For the past 2 years the art has been sitting in a little storage closet in my apartment gathering dust. But I had 8 pieces that needed to be framed, paperwork, lists, labels, etcetc that needed to be updated- all the many tasks that need doing collateral to a gallery show. Plus I have, thank heavens, some graphics assignments on my desk.
Yesterday, I loaded up my elderly Saab with 7 bins (94 individual, framed pieces) of art and drove down to Hudson Beach Glass in Beacon, NY (about 40 miles south;) and hung the show. My good friend Laurel Smith (sister of one of the partners in HBG) stopped by and we had a nice lunch at Homespun Foods. I went back and continued hanging art. I ran out of steam at about 4 and called it a day. Came home and collapsed. Managed to stay up late enough to watch the designers on Project Runway try to design fabrics- (note to PR designers: don't give up your day jobs.)
Framed one last piece- my motto for this project seems like it should have been: measure 4 times, cut twice... Drove back down to Beacon and finished hanging the show. The rest of it is out of my hands and opens tomorrow. The reception is not until April 10th so I am going back to working on production for the book, the assignments on my desk, oh and I have to frame another piece for a show submission on Monday.
I am very grateful for all this but I am also learning some lessons about taking care of myself. I'm no spring chicken anymore, lugging those bins full of art down the stairs was a 3 ibuprofen job. Anyway, here is panoramic montage of the show: (yes, I meant to jam the frames together like that, I like it and I'm sticking with it.)

The Countdown Begins

The countdown on my kickstarter.com project "Publish 'The Word Project' " has shifted from days to hours to go- 55 as of this writing. It is both exciting and terrifying to see this. Exciting because it means the book will finally be published- terrifying for exactly the same reasons. I am having to confront my fears of failure and success in the same package.
Failure- what if my backers don't like the finished product? What if the book doesn't live up to its promise, what if I don't live up to my promise? Success- what if this really takes off and my life changes in good yet unforeseen ways? How long before I fall on my face? Fear, fear, fear...what a soul-killer.
Its not like I have not already rather spectacularly failed in public in my life. Almost 2 years ago I lost almost every thing in my life yet with the support and boundless kindness of friends, and taking some steps, I made it through. I have a roof over my head and work and much (platonic only, alas) love. And I am 55 hours away from realizing a long-held vision. There will be much hard work between the end of the funding period and sending the book to the printer in 3 or so weeks- not only the work of writing and assembling, preparing the images (and, of course, I now have a gallery show to mount and a desk full of graphics assignments); but also admitting my powerlessness over my fear, turning it over and keeping my focus on the next right step.

Posters For Haiti

I am participating in a project to support Doctors Without Borders' efforts in Haiti. The project is called "Posters for Haiti." Artists and designers create posters around the theme and then signed reproductions of the works are available for sale on the site. 100% of the proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders- a worthy cause and an excellent model.

(Rant about typical charity art auctions deleted...)

I finished the art and the design today and hope to be able to get the posters printed tomorrow and shipped out mid-week.

Ole Green Eyes Strikes Again

Every once in a while my cardinal sin of envy rears up and smites me, and smites me hard. It happened a few days ago when I read about a project on kickstarter.com that has made over 400% of its goal. Normally my eyes are a squidgy grey but they quickly turned blazing emerald when I read that. I spent the next hour or so wallowing in my envy, marinating in it- not a pretty sight. It was a truly unlovely thing.
My own kickstarter project has made its goal but has stalled at just under 120% of its goal with 19 days to go. Am I content with that? Noooo... I want 400% too! Inside, I was stamping my foot, holding my breath and throwing a right royal tantrum.
But now I am over it for the most part and have been racking my brains trying to figure out how to shake that pledge tree in the remaining days. I do have to mention that the project in question was all about sex and my project, while it depicts a fair number of naughty bits is just that- a bit naughty, mostly punnish, and clever.
Do I begrudge them their 400%? No, I congratulate them on their achievement. I have to believe that there is enough for us all or I will just set myself back to where I was 2 years ago- a (non)spiritual place I hope to never revisit.
But, man oh man, 400%....