Mid-January, I took a much needed break from social media. Nothing new. Done it before. Will definitely do it again. Sometimes it’s an escape from visual noise, sometimes an effort to distance myself from comparisons; to allow my easily-dinged-up-self esteem to regain some composure. Sometimes it’s a realization that the whole thing is one giant façade we have given ourselves over to in a feeble attempt to feel validated; to be seen. And, I fully participate in it and hate it all at the same time. Like I’ve said before, I have yet to find a way to have a mature relationship with it. Thus, a new hiatus commenced.
The result of this particular break was different and so important. I felt free. Free to focus without distraction. Free to be productive. Free to invest myself in things I care about, to check back into my kids, to exist fully and presently and realistically with all the things right in front of my face.
To give energy to my own projects and lean into things that light me up.
I started writing poetry again. Reading obscure books. Shooting images in film. Distancing myself from mainstream anything to dig into the unique layers of myself. To give effort and attention to the things that make me tick. And in doing so, was reunited with a me that has been hidden under obligation and insecurities and heaps of everyones laundry. An oft neglected soul, per se, that used to believe in herself.
It just so happened that this break coincided with putting together a yearbook page for my high school graduate. Yes. I know. ‘He’s not old enough to graduate’, ‘He’s still a first grader in my mind’, ‘How does this happen’, ‘I. Just. Can’t’. I know. But, hey, it’s happening and will probably happen with your kids too, so, prepare. I spent hours scouring hard drives and back up drives and old picture CD’s for images to fill his page with. The process of that brought me to tears plenty of times, yes, but also brought me to the realization, yet again, that I have a damn lot of images I love that most people have never seen. Projects I’ve been adding to for close to 10 years. They are deep and varied and cover the spectrum of abstract lines to serene landscapes and back again.
And I’m really tired of them existing as digital cobwebs in the dark corner of my basement.
And I’m also really tired of telling myself that they aren’t good enough. That it can’t really be considered art because I’m not really an artist. That I have no credibility. That there are too many rules and guidelines and boxes to check off in order to price, promote and sell my work. That, in reality, noone wants it anyway.
That self talk makes me tired. Makes us tired. Makes us spend countless hours standing ourselves up to cardboard cutouts of people we idolize. I’ve let specifics of printing and time and money and demand and massive insecurities bog me down. I’ve let the voices telling me to figure it all out before I do anything to stop me from doing everything. And I’m tired.
So, with a month under my belt of digging into the things I love, I’ve decided to shrug off all that bullshit and make some art.
I have a plan, but am also very ok with that plan changing many times. I have images from projects I want to share, but am also very ok with offering people things they want to see. I have a pricing objective and printing strategy, but am also very ok with that going up or down based on specific demand and images. I don’t have it all figured out, don’t have an intriguing artist statement, don’t have a philosophy for why I do what I do. I just have some cool work I want to share with you all. And when it this all becomes not fun, I promised myself I would stop.
So, that’s how we’re gonna roll this out. I’m not opening up a shop or selling online at this point. See this as an impromptu rotating art show that puts images out there to enliven the heart to the beauty of visual experience; for us to be moved, in any which way one needs to be. Specifics will change frequently, but here’s where they are right now:
I’m starting with my favorite projects. I’ll shoot a preview out on social media of a selection of images from that project and give you a chance to weigh in on what you like, what you want to see.
I’ll select 3 to 4 images from that project that I also love.
I’ll print those as I see fit, specific to the vibe of each individual image. Some may be huge and printed on expensive fine art papers, others may be more in line with traditional photographic printing on archival museum grade photo papers.
Each will be a limited edition run. Which means there are only a select number of images that will be printed. Each image will be signed and numbered. Most likely, these will be extremely limited runs, meaning no more than 10 images. Probably closer to 3-5. I’m not rolling off 100’s of cheap prints from CVS inkjet printers.
Each print will cost a different amount. Pricing depends on size, paper, replicability, artist work etc. These are not mass produced and will be priced as such.
I will drop a new image from previewed project every week until I close out that project. If you want to keep seeing more from that project or I didn’t release an image you really wanted, hit me up. I’m more than willing to morph on this stuff right now.
Once prints are released, hit me up via social media ASAP. Once prints are sold out, they are gone for good. We’ll work out all the deets of payment, shipping, etc. at that time.
If all that is too wordy, or you just really don’t care about any of it and you just want to find an image you love for above your headboard, just stick with this:
I PRINT
YOU BUY
There are plenty of disclaimers about art being created for different reasons, about pricing things so as to be accessible, about shitty art vs good art and where we all fall on the spectrum; about art for experience or art for profit. There are countless soapbox sermons about buying local and from independent artists who are feeding their families (or sending their kids to college…ahem) and not funneling our money through mega corporations that are treating employees unfairly and or filling the pockets of the the already rich who just keep getting richer; about perpetuation financial institutions and systems that oppress people.
I have a lot of views on a lot of that stuff. We can hash it out later if you’re interested. At this point, I want to print some art. I want us to fill our houses with stuff that says something to us. I want us to participate in the fulfillment that comes from creating, that comes from experiencing the depth of others and essentially some depth of ourselves through their creations. To be playful, to be imaginative, to swoon, to remember, to see beauty, to break boundaries, to engage globally, to feel.
So dig into this stuff over the next couple months. Show me some love in anyway you want or can. Hit me up asking about my images you’ve seen or prints you’re interested in. Remember, if it ain’t fun, I ain’t doing it anymore. So, let’s get this art thing started.