wrap-up.

though past the technical deadline for the upcoming illustration group show at the basement gallery in january, i am still trying to crank out some last-minute art. it's a struggle since i told myself i would be done by this point, but it seems that with my regular-joe-job, i didn't have the free time i had hoped for this month to work on pursuits of the artistic variety, and the two ambitious painting projects (photos included with this post) i started took more than a week each to complete. so while i'm still rolling off the pressure and work schedule of last week, i'm going to make a final pull for new art this weekend.

the website that allowed me to post mixtapes is kaput, sadly, so now i will have to use my ftp site in order to share music with yous. among some of the music i've been listening tonight to work to:
empire of the sun
foals
mystery jets
what else?
for the holiday, i spent it with my pop's side of the family. we made the drive out to middleton, braving icy roads. my sister and i played with my nieces and their barbies after a christmas meal that wouldn't be complete without tamales. beth says i talk to my nieces like they're 20-- though 7 and 5, giving their barbies names like stacy (anastasia. a kleptomaniac, swedish exchange student and member of the illustrious ski team) and britney (best friend, then rapidly ex-best friend of stacy). i fixed 5 year old brooklyn's bottle feeding-peeing plastic dog which entertained the both of us for nearly an hour. then we chased my aunt's boston terrier, cowboy, around the room with a horse head on a broomstick that played william tell's overture. cowboy never really recovered, much to my aunt's annoyance, no doubt.
i'm a bad influence on the childrens.
i hope everyone's holiday was full of something worthwhile and good.

basement gallery work.

i've scanned in some of my recent arts for the upcoming basement gallery group show in january. i've decided to do a collection of holy men, akin to my collection of nuns in that were in the august show this summer at the VaC. so far i've completed five, but they all differ from one another-- as opposed to the nuns which were all done similarly. i don't know if i should continue to change them all up as i've done so far, or to start making them all in the same manner. thoughts? any comments would be appreciated.

birdhouse

f--- ABC.

sad news. Pushing Daisies has been cancelled due to an all-time viewer low last night of 4.86 million.
i like my shows with a bit of intelligence, witty dialogue, and unique storylines, but people aren't terribly shocked, saying no one was watching the show-- which as a side note, is just baffling to me. how are over 4 million people "no one"?!
i feel that it wasn't given a fair chance. they move shows around to different dates and times, or not run a show for two weeks and expect viewers to be able to follow the network's madness? where do you expect viewership to be if you don't run pushing daisies for weeks and suddenly show episodes again?
doesn't make sense to me. it'll just be added to my list of tv network shaftings alongside "my so-called life."

seriously.

read this article about each the CEO's of, as we've tagged it now, The Big Three flying to D.C. to beg for bailout money in.. drumroll.. their private jets!
i don't want to give any money to these asshats who promise to streamline their companies and cut-back jobs of hardworking individuals while these nerds waste money on travel that could have been done a hell of a lot cheaper. the "20,000" it costs to fly a jet to washington and back could be someone's salary for a year.
what's even more insulting is their diversion tactics in claiming taking those jets was a matter of "safety."
the article states, "Like many other major corporations, all three have policies requiring their CEOs to travel in private jets for safety reasons."
(i'm picturing the CEO of ford riding economy on a commercial flight here, casual conversation with other passengers turning to occupation.
"you work for who? you're who?? i work for mitsubishi, bitch and i'm gonna shank your ass!"
can the level of danger really be that high?)
here's an idea. instead of streamlining the company and cutting the jobs of the workers, streamline those wasteful company policies and you just saved three people's jobs for a year.

dichotomy.

i haven't spoken much about my feelings toward election night. the joy and hope i felt that my vote went for a man who actually won this time! the hope i felt for this country during his speech. the hope that the election of the first black president stood for a grand advancement in history... only to have that hope shattered with the disappointing results of individual state's ballot measures to ban gay marriage and adoption like prop 8 (prop hate, anyone?). never before has there been a voting on taking away rights from loyal citizens of the united states when they were previously granted them. and really, how ludicrous.. when i think back on the presidential election, it is hard for me to grasp back the hope i felt that night when it seems so overshadowed by the disappointment i feel in light of those results.
talk show host keith olbermann explains this waay better than i can. see this clip here.

deestrackshun.

(the halloween project for my birthday guests this year, as seen above, was a collection of severed toes complete with toe tags. each guest was asked to pick out a toe, which then matched to a bag of "personal effects" of the deceased (really just a bag of goodies). i recommend attempting this project for anyone wanting to plan something cool for a halloween-themed party. you can find standard toetag templates online, but if you have Photoshop, watercolors, pens and ink, you can make each toe tag look very authentic and unique. the toes are a bit trickier, though, and require more skill. i made two casts of my toe with sculpey firm, then modeled each toe with either sculpey or sculpey firm, baked them, and painted them with acrylics. they turned out looking very realistic, almost to a disturbing point, but were met with disgusted delight. thanks to shavawn for the crime scene photography.)

in other news, it's been months since i returned from the desert and yet i feel part of me was left out there(so much for Leave No Trace)-- the part that was able to concentrate and work on, basically, everything.
the pile grows of things i need to finish up and i can't manage to find the time to work on them. the websites need updated, there's a gigantic italian mirror i've been restoring for work (a project that has taken months), friends to phone, emails and letters to write, art to make.. when you compile a list of to-do's that only seems to be growing, it can be hard to get inspired to even attempt tackling one. today is my first day off, it feels, in a while so i'm going to try to accomplish some of those goals today.
wish me luck.
also, look for an upcoming group show i'll be participating in at the basement gallery opening in january, along with local favorite bill carman, erin cunningham, and ben wilson- i believe. should be promising. i will try to post sneak peek photos of my art for the show as it progresses.

art schmart.

the good news is the art show with Paste Eater is up and running. if you haven't had a chance to make it down to the Visual Arts Collective, you've got until the end of september to go see it. it's worthwhile, too. Paste Eater has some pretty amazing stuff there, and most of the art is moderately priced. if you're on a budget, much like myself, but still can't resist collecting some nice art for your space, i'd recommend getting down there soon. Paste Eater will have a bunch of drawings available, and i've a collection of smaller works too for those teeny spaces..
now i'm busy preparing for the show at the flying m next month, so i haven't had a chance to get those Josh Ritter/Andrew Bird posters up on the website yet. i don't foresee that i'll be able to get to that until i return from vacation in the desert at the beginning of September. after that, it'll be my goal and first priority.
also, if you've ordered any shirts from milquetoast press in the past two weeks, i apologize that it's taken extra days to get those out to you, given my busy schedule. but i always try and make it worthwhile and slip a little piece of free art into your package. i take your patronage very seriously and want all my customers to be satisfied with the product they receive. we don't aim to be a giant shirt factory and i still hand print every shirt that leaves here, making your shirt unique to you.
i'll try to post some new images from the flying m show in the coming week and a half, but for now, a few of the "art from the toilet" show pieces are up at my flickr page. (see link to the left.)