Christmas Wishlisting: Supporting your (ok, mine then) Local Arts Organizations

Hey hey....I just found out I have extra money this month.  I don't really do a lot of Christmas shopping anymore (I instead prefer to make as many gifts as possible and then give a whole lot of lovin to those I care about plus an awesomely rad holiday party is usually in order) so I spent that extra money getting memberships to some local arts organizations that I'd been meaning to join for months.  I think everyone should give a little to some organizations they love, be it art related or not, so I'm just throwing that energy (and idea) out there...although I know a lot of organizations are already doing that too.

Don't have an idea of who to give your hard earned money too?  Fine, donate to some of MY favorite Atlanta based arts organizations and receive my unadulterated adoration, as well as theirs:

The contemporary hosts a ton of incredible art events and they have great resources for members and artists.  This year their goal is $38000 for 38 years of awesomeness.

 I haven't really been to Wonder Root yet and I am very sad about this.  I keep missing all the amazing things I want to do there.  They also have a wish list of useful items they need.  I wish I had any of it to give to them. I did just give 'em some of my money though, so I look forward to hitting them up in the New Year.

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.
 

I've met the people who run Dashboard.  I kind of wish I hadn't because before I came back to Atlanta I had set my sights on becoming a Dash artist in the future.  While I'm not sure that's gonna happen anymore, I do know that the people who run it are as incredible as the things they do.  Give 'em some love.  Better yet, give 'em some monies.

Anyone who knows who I am (which isn't a lot of people, YET) knows my involvement with APS.  I love this studio, and not only because they gave me my first step to being an artist in the professional realm.  They do awesome things, and as far as I know, it's really the only place you can do a whole lotta printmaking in Atlanta.

Ok, give.  Do it.  It feels great.

Busy Busy Busy-Applications and shows

Another doodle for your consumption.

This week has been a little crazy but in the best kind of way.  I've been making a strong effort to draw for at least an hour everyday even if it's random doodles like the one above or the one I posted earlier this week.  A lot of the time what I think is my best work comes from random sketching and doodling in the books so this is a good practice.

I've also been trying to write up a description of a really huge project I'd like to take on which would be finished next year so that I can start proposing for shows.  It has to do with the domestic violence work I've been doing with AVLF and I'm both very excited and very passionate about it.  The first step is getting my supervisor to approve of the information I'd need to use for the project so hopefully I'll get the go ahead and can start working on it soon.  The biggest problems I'm going to face are finding a good space for it because it's not a particularly commercial project and it would be huge (I'm talking more than 2000 prints).  No matter what happens I'm pumped.

In addition to working on that I've been trying to complete applications for many different things.  I'm applying for a grant from the Elizabeth Greenshield's Foundation which I don't really expect to get but would be awesome if I did.  I'm also applying for a studio spot at the Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center which I'm also pretty sure I won't get but I have a back up plan if that happens.  I really want a studio space, working out of my messy apartment isn't especially conducive to my studio practice.  There are a couple other opportunities and things I'm looking at so I'm really trying to get my shit together (Idea Capital Grant, Press Room Mini Solo Show, etc etc).  It's hectic and kind of exhausting but good for me to remember this side of being an artist.

I also met with Mark Basehore of Beep Beep pretty briefly this week but it was cool to finally chat with him a little bit about randomness.  He was very chill and encouraging about sending him some images of my work.  I did and got an invitation to be a part of their December group show.  That kind of blows my mind but it seems casual so I'm not trying to let it freak me out too much (in a good way).

I also went out with Lloyd Benjamin of Get This! gallery last night.  It was a pretty surreal experience because we started by seeing this pop up show for Chris Hobe at the W which is a super swanky hotel I'd never been inside of.  Then we switched gears and hit Northside Tavern which I'd never been to.  I don't think I've ever seen something so randomly cool.  The people there were dancing like something out of a movie to this blues band and it was incredible.  I even got in on the dance action.  It was really a blast.  I really liked hearing about Lloyd's work too and he even listened to me ramble about the Domestic Violence project I mentioned earlier.  He made the suggestion of utilizing 15 Minutes at ACAC which I'm definitely going to do to sort of flesh out the idea and see what kind of feedback I can get.

Updates abound I guess but I link to all this crap in case anyone actually does read this and wants to click through to some of the opportunities themselves.