Hello!
This is the first of a new weekly blog post called the Sunday Sweep. Every Sunday I'll be sharing shop news for listings, new coupons, and periodic giveaways you can enter! The Sunday Sweep is one of two weekly blog renovations. Also on Wednesdays I'll be posting about current works in progress and other studio news so make sure you're subscribed to my email list to never miss a post!
For today's Sweep I want to begin with my latest print release titled Keep It Up Neighbor which is a two color linoleum relief print. The print was released on sale as a preorder Thursday, October 1st and closed at midnight on Thursday, October 8th. During the preorder collectors could save $15. To celebrate the release of this month-long project my fiancé Megan helped me put together a homemade commercial complete with a blooper reel! Check it out here:
Hahaha the bloopers were too good not to share. What did you think of the video? Shoot me an email if you want to share your feedback. I'm always looking for ways to improve my content! :) Making this video was a first for us and we had a blast! I'm sure there will be more commercials for projects in the future with original music and plenty of bloopers.
Keep It Up Neighbor, Relief Print, 6" x 8", Oil-based Ink on Strathmore Riverpoint Paper, 2020
Now that the preorders have been placed, production for this print edition is under way. Each sheet of paper will be ripped down from larger sheets and then pressed with a spoon to transfer the ink. As promised ten extra prints will be made to close off this edition at 15! I'm glad I chose to run a preorder on these because in the past I either don't make enough or make too little for the demand of reproductions. When you're an emerging artist like myself it takes time to find and grow your collector base. I've been super fortunate to have collectors of all backgrounds who want to purchase my art. Since I opened my online store two months ago I've received 15 orders! I feel so happy that many of you want my art in your homes so thank you! Sometimes after a piece sits with me for a few years I start to believe that it may never sell right before someone reaches out to inquire it. You can't predict these things!
On the topic of selling older work, I recently made a sale for a painting that I created in 2017 titled Down The Ladder. I'm very excited that this painting will be heading to a longtime collector and family who has supported me for close to ten years! Recently I've been wanting to compile a list of my collectors and to create a space where all of you can share your experiences with my work online. To begin this process I'm asking for emails from my collectors! So if you're reading this and you own, or know someone who owns, one of my pieces please reach out to me and let me know which work you live with. Also feel free to add an image or two because I love to see my art "in the wild" and in loving homes. It's a bit like being reacquainted with an old friend so its much appreciated!
By the end of this year I'll be releasing a "Collector's Room/Corner/Circle" I haven't decided on the name yet. Let me know if you have an opinion on which one sounds best. Either way this will be a members-only page on my website. As a way to thank all of you who have supported and invested in my work; you and other collectors will find early announcements, shop listings, and other promos.
Have you heard print and small painting orders will now ship in 100% compostable mailers!
Another update for my shop is that I've decided to offer Free Shipping in the US on orders of $30 or more! This helps simplify some of the checkout methods and also frees up space to use a different coupon at your checkout. This also makes for a fun free shipping combo with a $25 daily drawing and the $5 sticker bundle!
On August 23, 2020 I began my daily drawing project. Since then I've made 50 drawings! Each one is drawn on 4" x 6" Strathmore 80lb drawing paper. I've used graphite, ink, colored pencil, and marker throughout the weeks. Most of the drawings have been expressive self portraits but I've also used this project as a way to explore inventive imagery. If you look through them on my shop you'll see many have doughy bodily forms with hair and eyes. If you haven't gathered by now, stretching the human form is something I continuously explore in my work. I like to push the visual definitions of what we think of as human or human-like. Whether its a sense of mystery or familiarity I try to create something that is somewhere in the middle of the two. These have been a great addition to my studio practice allowing time to experiment with imagery and drawing methods. They also allow new and ongoing collectors to pick up something original at an affordable price. You should check out the reel drawing videos I posted on Instagram for some of them. Each one is 15 seconds and has original music made with my guitar!
Earlier this month I ordered my second batch of stickers from the Colorado company Sticker Giant. I like this company because they make conscious efforts to use sustainable energy in their production. Below is a short video I put together for my new sticker called Snake Noises. The name comes from a new painting that is based on a character I designed which is also the subject of the Keep It Up Neighbor print. The name for the character is still to be decided but I'm considering something simple like neighbor or stranger. In my last year of graduate school I read from a text titled Strange Encounters: Embodied Others in Post-Coloniality written by Sara Ahmed. The book is about the concept of "the stranger" in a contemporary western context. In one of the chapters, Ahmed brings up a recent history of Neighborhood Watch programs and how they perpetuate language and images of brown and black bodies as unwanted threats to the suburban community. I referenced this text in my thesis paper for my MFA degree. If you'd like a copy of my thesis shoot me an email and I'll send it over! I'm considering ordering a small edition of 10 books all about my MFA project. This would include my thesis writing, scanned sketchbook entries, notes, images of work in progress, reference photos, installation imagery, scripts for presentations, and personal images that are relevant to the exhibition. I've been thinking about this since I began the project and would love to know if others think its a good idea. Especially since it could be a steep cost up front. I don't see the book having more than 50 pages somewhere between 8" x 10" and 9" x 12".
Anyway this character is inspired by the idea of an encounter between someone who belongs in a community and another body they mentally categorized as the "strange other" before any genuine interaction happens. What's left is a subject who's form is more ambiguous than human, and who's identity is formed by the signs which surround it. I'll continue talking about this growing idea within my work in future Wednesdays In Progress posts!
Coupons
I don't have any new coupons this week for you, but if you do make a purchase in my shop this month add "Print Please" in the notes and I'll throw in a small relief print while supplies last! Here's a link to my shop!
ENTER THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAY!
To enter this week's giveaway just type which daily drawing is your favorite in the comments below! I've added my favorite there too so take a look! I'll pick a winner at random who will receive a digital drawing based on a photo they provide :) Winner will be announced on the blog next Sunday! Good luck and thanks for reading the first Sunday Sweep!
P.S. Anyone else watching Schitt's Creek? Megan and I love it we're trying really hard to savor season 6 only one episode in! Who is your favorite character? Add your response in with your giveaway comment :) mine is in there! Okay see you on Wednesday!
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