Matter of Time

Corkboard Notes (Inspiration, Encouragement, & Influences)

(click on image for a larger view)

1. A postcard of one of Emily's paintings.
   
2. A postcard I found an exhibit I went to. I don't know much about the artist or piece, but I fell in love with the colors.
3. My friend Adam sends me a lot of good mail. This is a postcard he sent to me. I just love this image of the man smelling the fresh peaches. There is something about this image that gives you a sense of joy being alive.
4. A picture of Static Films (Mark, Kevin, Doug, Evan, & Beth) in Maine, by Alyce.
5. Fliers of some of my first bluesanct/drekka performances.
6. Another picture of Maine taken by Alyce.
7. An illustration by my friend Joel, who I met at SAIC's Campus Crusade. I picked this postcard up from his BFA show.
8. Another postcard I picked up from an SAIC BFA show. I love this one because I liked the image of an artist sitting in his studio.
9. Another postcard of one of Emily's paintings.
10. A letter Emily sent to me at the end of last year, in which she wrote: "Keep drawing and making comics! You are awesome and talented. I want to see your work published in an anthology. I want to see an exhibit at the MCA of A. Busque!"
11. A card that my favorite artist, Makoto Fujimura, sent to me (with one of his paintings on it) along with a check buying some of my comics for the International Arts Movement.
12. A postcard of a painting created by Heidy Chaung. I met her in NYC in March of 2001. She and I corresponded for a while sending letters to and from Chicago and Boston. She had a very, quiet, gentle, yet brave and strong soul.
13. I found this image last week of Simon Reilly's "Mind's Eye." while flipping through a back issue of Art in America. I don't know much about this piece. But when I saw it, I couldn't help but to think about all of the goals I want to accomplish this year and the struggles I have been going through since I moved back to Michigan.
14. A postcard for Philip Von Zweck's radio show "Something Else" on WLUW. It's funny how my experimental radio class in 2000 went to his show to present some sound pieces. Michael was there visiting Philip. Both of us not knowing we would see each other. He and I started talking that night. This is, after the first time we "met" where he stared at me for an hour or so at Earwax Cafe. Then as I was leaving, he chased me out the door and embarrassingly gave me his e-mail address. I later found out that Michael designed this postcard.
15. James quoting Shakespeare's "Hamlet" when he was drunk; written on a back of a slip for some contest drawing Latitude was holding.
16. A postcard of a photo by Steve.
17. Another postcard Adam sent me, telling me to "take care of my knees."
18. A card that the Brice Family sent to me after Pat's funeral. I cannot even begin to know how to explain who Pat is to me and so many other people; The amazing energy he brought into a room, by just being there...
19. A card sent to me by Community Legal Resources thanking me for my volunteer work for them and the artwork I created for their 10 year anniversary event.
20. "Nothing matters when you love someone." Jeremy wrote this on a napkin, when he was drunk. I love it.
21. When I was working on issue #3 of my comic in 2004, I spent many, many hours at the Starbucks on Lincoln and Wilson. There was another person there who was always painting with watercolors. Eventually he and I introduced ourselves to one another and talked a lot about art. His name is Curtiss. He painted mandalas. This one he painted for me and e-mailed the image to me.
22. A postcard Emily sent to me in 2003. She writes to me: "My 'aloneness' is a choice... and although my single, soul desire is to find a companion... I just can't compromise the responsibility I have to myself and achieving my goals."
23. A postcard of a photo by Andrew.
24. Postcards I picked up during the Van Gogh and Gauguin exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2002. I went to that show at least three times. It was AMAZING.
25. My favorite picture of Lynda Barry, drawing in her studio.

In spring, he returned to the vicarage of Etten and spoke again about going to London, "If he really wants to, I shall help him go," wrote his father. But finally he went back to the Borinage, and that summer of 1880 he lived in the house of the miner Charles Decrucq at Cuesmes. There he wrote in July the wonderfully touching letter which tells what is going on in his innermost self, "...my only anxiety is, how can I be of use?... Can't I serve some purpose and be of any good?" It is the old wish, the old longing to serve and comfort humanity, which made him write later, when he had found his calling, "And in a picture I want to say something comforting as music is comforting." Now, in the days of deepest discouragement and darkness, at last the light began to dawn. Not in books would he find satisfaction, not find his work in literature, as his letters sometimes suggested; he turned back to his old love, "I said to myself... I will take up my pencil... I will go on with my drawing. From that moment everything has seemed transformed for me..." It sounds like a cry of deliverance, and once more, "...do not fear for me. If I can only continue to work... it will set me right again." At last he had found his work, and his mental equilibrium was restored; he no longer doubted himself, and however difficult or hard his life became, the inner serenity, the conviction of having found his own calling. never deserted him again.

- from The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh, Volume I

DIY 2009 Calendar In-Progress, Part 2

January:



Illustration of Krystle "K-Roll" Gemnich, A little bit of Robert Buscemi, Kristy "K-Rock" Mangel, at the very first Comedians You Should Know Show at the Fizz on Wed., Jan. 23, 2008. It was a SUPER COLD January night.


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1 image down, 11 more to go, then 12 captions to go under each illustration. Glue illustrations and captions to calendar. Bind together & hang.

2009 Calendar In Progress

I've decided to start a new ritual for myself in which at the beginning of every New Year I will make a calendar for that year. As well as draw or paint a new self-portrait.

I've been working on the calendar all week. This is what I have so far:



Applied copper leaf to the calendar pages.


Created a calendar template out of a lino block. Next year I will clean up the squares. For now, I am satisfied with the "messiness" of it. I find something authentic about the print this way, with it's spots and glitches.




Making borders. On these pieces of paper I plan to draw an illustration for each month of the year. Each illustration will be of something that happened the year before on that month. For instance, for the month of August I am going to draw a picture from my goodbye barbeque in Chicago from 2008.


Writing in the dates and months.


Laying it out.

So now, I'm just working on the illustrations to be glued onto each month also adding in a caption below the illustration. And then I will bind the calendar and finally hang it on my wall.

Next project: self-portrait.

Other: Update website (artist bio, artist statement, resume, etc.), New comic

New Additions to the Studio

Along with my drafting table--since I got a $35 gift certificate to Target for Christmas--I bought two cork boards for the studio. The top cork board has items that have special significance to me and collected postcards that are visually inspiring. The bottom cork board has my favorite picture of Lynda Barry in her working space. I plan to use this board to thumbtack notes of my current art projects and/or to do lists, reminder notes, etc.



At some point, when I actually have some sort of income, I plan on getting bamboo blinds for the window, as well as bamboo blinds to mount on the plain, blank walls. (This idea, inspired by my friend Jen.)

Simone Weil

A full-length documentary on Simone Weil? I am looking forward to this so much: www.linestreet.net

Resist the Temptation to Talk About Your Work Instead of Doing It.

I just finished "How to Get Hung: A Practical Guide for Emerging Artists" by Molly Barnes about 2 hours ago. I am inspired to update my resume, bio, create a new artist's statement, and to re-organize and simplify my website. I find it a bit scattered right now and seems confusing of what kind of artwork I do (Artist books? Sound? Teaching art to kids? Comics? Painter?) I'll have to find a better way to present this in a less confusing matter.

The problem: I'm trying to figure out how to cater to the different people who I want to look at my site. If I'm applying for a teaching artist job, I would like to direct those to my educational category. What if I do start that mural business? But what if people are mainly interested in my illustrations like I did for ArtWalkRavenswood? Or what if I am applying for a job that would take interest in my sound and video editing experience. I'm trying to figure out how to show this on my site, without making it look like too much stuff. I need to weed out my more weaker pieces and keep the strongest pieces. I find myself more confident in my painting and illustration skills and am debating to cut out all the sound stuff altogether even though that is what I focused on entirely in art school. I'm trying not to get sentimental of what I cut. Do I really need my sketchbook pieces out there, even though I love how much it shows my etching style, but it also reminds me of my favorite high school art teacher that made me the artist I am today?

Also, I find this excerpt very useful:

"Finally, resist the temptation to talk about your work instead of doing it. It is true that if all you do is chat you avoid creating pieces that deserve to be crushed in the disposal. You avoid these dreadful, gut-sinking, morale-lowering moments that come with unsuccessful experiments. You escape the numbing fear that comes with exposing your soul.

There is no substitute for work. Whether or not you have already found your form, your theme, the most important task you have is to keep at it. Keep experimenting. Keep exploring new territories. Keep defining new boundaries. Each new technique you master, each new material you solve, each problem you resolve extends your ability. The more you are capable of expressing the more you'll find to express."

Now, we shall see what 2009 brings out of me artwise. Excited? I am. I bought a used drafting table from Craigslist for $65. (I'm happy that it was from an alumni of Center for Creative Studies and he was happy to give it to someone who would put it to use.) I spent the majority of New Year's Eve moving around furniture in Space 311 so it would be ready to shine in time for the New Year. Much work will be created on this table.

Similiar Techniques

Last week I finished reading "The Artist Within: Portraits of Cartoonists, Comic Book Artists, Animators, & Others" by Greg Preston the same time I was looking over my sketchbooks, notes, journals, etc. from the last four years in preparation for my next comic. I was excited to find out that graphic novelist, Craig Thompson, whose artwork I admired from his well known illustrated novel, "Blankets" works in the same technique/order as I do. (I'm sure many graphic novelist work in the same way, but like everyone else I really loved "Blankets" when it was released!)



It reads: "Thompson's technique is as unique as his medium. He begins by jumbling words and pictures together in a shorthand which is nearly illegible. He then goes over the work again, drawing everything in a crisp, clean style to iron everything out. Thompson insists on doing a first draft in ball-point pen before the more time-consuming brush and ink method."

Before I read this page, I had found my own draft from one of the stories I did for my Morning Star, Issue #3. Here is that draft:

This draft turned out to be a 9 page story. Here are 3 pages out of 9 (final print) that was based off of this first draft:

Ninja Kneesocks

Here is a comic book character (alter ego, aside from Geli Girl) that I wanted to create a couple of years ago, that never developed into anything more than just rough draft sketches. I thought it was cute enough to make it to a Geli Girl Notes post though:


Ninja Kneesocks

Self-Teachings Notes (CLR Print)

• Pre-cut more paper than needed. You will most likely end up using the extras.



• Make sure when you do "time management" for your projects, you schedule extra time for days when you will be too tired to work; count in time for mistakes that will have you starting the project all over again.



• Mistakes are good. Don't stress out. Mistakes make you a better artist. Try again. Take note on how your project has changed and evolved from your prior mistake.



• Pandora Music is good for background while working.



• Your final product will most likely not be how you first envisioned. The spirit of it is still there. It's a better version of how you thought it would look like.



• Make sure you have the appropriate tools. When working with such a small size, I realized I could not be as detailed as I would have liked, with the etching style that is trademark of me. I needed smaller nibs, bigger canvas space.



• When working such a small size, make lines as simple as possible. Have extra nibs on hand. I broke one in the middle of the night the morning before the project should have been finished.



• Carving into lino blocks for hours is tiring.



• Take a printmaking class: Learn different methods, instead of the DIY style you know.



• Frames and matting are a saving grace for the aesthetics of the prints.



• My bench hook and bone folder rules.



• Allow yourself to leave your working space and go outside, be with friends, have a drink, take a breath of fresh air. Take a walk.



• Step back, take another look. Proceed.

Print Created for Community Legal Resources

Community Legal Resources connects lawyers and communities by fostering pro bono legal representation for unfulfilled legal needs of nonprofit community organizations in Michigan that serve low-income individuals and communities, with an emphasis on community economic development activities.

In honor of CLR's 10th Anniversary they had commissioned me to create prints to be awarded to the law firms and lawyers who volunteered their services to make a better Detroit. Thus, my first time (since I've been back in Michigan) that I will be known as a Detroit local artist.

Documentation of work in progress to the final presentation of my print below:


Pre-cutting 6 1/2" X 9" pieces of paper.



Creating the final sketch.


I had to scan the final sketch and the text for the print to make an inverted copy before drawing the design on the block.




Hours and hours of carving with a hand that has arthritis, only to find out...



...that my first try on this block didn't work out and I made the "g" in the CLR logo backwards.


Starting all over on a new block, more clean.




Ready to print.


Testing the print.


Making "Space 311" into a printing factory.


Hanging to dry.



Signed and numbered.


Framing and adding business cards.



Finished.


Packing up.


Ready to go.


Some of the aftermath.




The 32nd floor of the Guardian Building in downtown Detroit.


My prints being awarded to law firms and lawyers. [Blurry, but documented.]







A lawyer sits back at one of the tables with his award on his lap at the end of the night.