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| A finished triangle..with a red SOLD dot!!! |
So, a friend of mine pointed out that December 3rd was actually kind of a significant night. What I had failed to realize was that exactly one year ago to the day I had my exit show at UGA (never mind that I haven't officially gotten my degree YET-damn those pesky core classes I'm taking online). Interestingly, it was also the night of the opening for the "Alchemy" show at
Beep Beep. While it's a big group show, and my pieces were small and unlike the work I normally do, it was kind of a big deal because back when I wrangled the invite for the show it was really the first success/step in the right direction I had outside of the residency at
APS. Since then I've been getting a little lucky: I got into the "Wholly Georgia" show at
Mint, got some work put in a group print show at the
Portal Gallery, and found out there may be an APS residency show at
MOCA GA after all in late spring. Essentially, my friend pointed out that December 3rd may be a good point in the year to stop and reflect on what I'm doing and sort of check in on my life. Good advice I think. This whole December 3rd date was solidified by the really awesome experience I had at the
Ponce Crush too.
In any case here goes some notes from my reflection:
Accomplishments I am really fucking proud of:
-Emerging Artist Residency at APS
-Applying for a ton of grants (even if I don't get them)
-Getting into the show at Beep Beep
-Getting into Wholly Georgia
-Doing the Yea Big! Stumptown Printers thing
-Arranging a meeting with the other people I exited with to talk about a group project for the new year
-developing my idea for the Domestic Violence project
-Applying for a studio space at ACAC even though I knew I wouldn't get it
-Getting involved with Print Big and more involved at APS
-going to more shows and events (Flux, Elevate, Crushes, etc)
-Actually writing in this blog
Things I'm not proud of:
-How little time I've spent in the Studio since my residency finished
-The amount of of events and shows I haven't been to
-The fact that I'm still way too shy and introverted at the shows and I don't always make an effort to talk to people
-That I'm not saving more money or at least spending the money I'm spending on art stuff
-I haven't been exercising enough
-I've barely started any of the projects I've been planning and working on
Things I'm gonna work on:
-Go to everything!
-Talking to people
-getting in the fucking studio
-exercising and doing more of the fun stuff I love
-drawing, all the time
-saving money
I think I'm moving in the right direction. It feels good to know I've actually been taking steps. I don't know, I don't feel like I've gotten very far yet but at least I'm making moves and doing something. I do really really need to work harder though.
On to the fabulous time I had at
Ponce Crush:
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| One of mine! |
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| Neat idea... |
Some friends and I started at
Beep Beep. "Alchemy" looked cool and their were a ton of triangles I would have bought if only I had any money (like those by
Sean Abrahams among others). The most exciting thing, for me, was we got there around 7:30 and two of my triangles had sold already! I was surprised. Mine were some of the cheapest though (I priced each at $25). I learned yesterday that all four were sold by the end of the night which feels pretty good. We didn't stick around too long at Beep Beep which I kind of regret now because it turns out a few people I work with showed up (actually, two of them bought pieces which is pretty nifty of them).
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| Beep Beep Gallery |
Next was
Kibbee which was another group show. I think I love most, out of everything, the small drawings of
Jason Kofke hiding in the back room. I didn't snap any pictures of the show though, but sat around wishing I knew more people there while my friends gabbed. This was one of those points where I needed to be less shy and introverted and fucking blabber so I could meet people.
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| That's me (left) at Young Blood! |
What I thought was the final stop was the show at
Young Blood. It was my least favorite of the three but still enjoyable. It was there I ran into an old class mate from UGA who works at Young Blood now and expressed interest in me participating in a print show. That was nice but we'll see if she actually emails me (I hope she does, that would be exciting). In addition to that little tidbit I also learned from someone who works at
Mint that one of my prints from that show sold.
Seeking to be exact. One of the big ones. For $300. Mind was completely blown by that news. It's still hard for me to fathom anyone actually spending that much money on art-much less my art but damn I was pretty excited by that point.
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| PARTY! |
To top of the night, the people I was with new about this Holiday party happening next to Young Blood. Walking into it was, for me, like being transported to some crazy city like New York where fancy over the top Studio parties probably happen all the time. Maybe I'm young to be so impressed but geez, I was really fucking impressed. I felt really disoriented by the whole thing in an awesome kind of way. The rest of the night gave way to boozing, talking, and attempting to find a dance partner and was the perfect ending to a night full of good news.
Burnaway rocks. There's not a lot more I can say about the coverage they provide of all the arts happenings in Atlanta. If I'm at something and Burnaway is there I'm pretty sure I'm in the right place. If you become a member you get swag. If you donate right now your dollars count twice. That's pretty rockin.
