On The Post

Hi all:

Firstly, I want you all to know that even after a couple of beers and a weekend of unbelievable sports misery for yours truly, I made a special stop at Buzz Bakery to get y'all a blog entry. I know it's been a couple of weeks, and I thought I'd touch base.

No blogging music today - forgot my headphones at work and I don't think my neighbors on this picnic-style table want me to share my musical tastes with them. I mean, maybe they do, but I'm guessing not.

Things have been a little crazy lately. A couple of weeks ago, I was in 4 states in less than 1 week. Planes, trains and automobiles (seriously, all 3), and for a while, I wasn't sure where I was, what time it was, etc. I'm still a bit sleep-deprived and feel like I'm coming down with something. Actually, I'm surprised it's taken this long...just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The major contributor to my lack of free time has been Ara Lucia's "We Vow" project, for which I am now starting to know wrap up post-production. Supervising the retouching and color work on this project has been quite an experience, and of course, I've been asked to contribute in some other ways too. I think Ara is pleased with the way things are going, and I'm glad that all the work we've put in seems to be yielding some strong results. Mike (the retoucher) and Ara are considerably more sleep deprived than I - and they've been great throughout the whole process. It isn't easy for someone to spend 12 hours working on something, then call someone and have them say "we're not there yet - we need to do more." I feel like an asshole at times, but they've been great. It's so unusual to have a team this supportive and dedicated, and I know Ara is thankful.

I move out of my friends' place and into my new apartment in Leesburg on Wednesday. It's been a bit of a whirlwind - selling the house (had some issues towards the end there, but everything worked out), the apartment, work, side projects - craziness! I ain't 22 anymore, and my body is really beginning to remind me of that.

No real fine art news to report - I've had to put some of my own stuff on-hold until after both the move and the conclusion of "We Vow." But, I'm anxious to get started and am optimistic that this latest roll of film will yield one or two worthwhile pieces.

In the meantime, enjoy what's left of your fall. It's my favorite time of year and it never seems to last long enough. So, go outside and play!

-Marc

Crazier Living Through Exhaustion

Hi everyone:

Wow, it's been a while.  Sorry about that - things have been a little out of control lately.  When you're trying to find a house, getting your old house ready to sell (settling in 2 weeks) and working your ass off at a new job, it becomes difficult to find time for yourself.  

So, I broke with tradition and found a coffee shop in Old Town with free wi-fi, so I'm blogging there today instead of my usual spot.  Though, I must admit I will probably head over to my old stomping ground later today to meet Rachael, Josh and Dahlia for cupcakes.

I just posted on my Facebook page that I miss my art stuff.  Don't get me wrong - I am SO thankful to Rachael and Josh for taking me in during this time of transition, but not having the space or supplies to create new work has been a challenge.  And, the space situation is not going to change any time soon - we had some housing woes and now need to rent an apartment for 6 months.   It's a 3-bedroom, but it's all one floor and the living space is a little small for the whole art thing.  Somehow, I went from possibly building an art studio in my basement to having less room than I had before - at least for a while.  

In art news, it looks like the NYC show fell through, at least for now.  The gallery has to move out of their space and it sounds like they are in some sort of limbo at the moment.  The economy has hit the gallery scene really hard in practically every major city, and I was sorry to see another casualty.  I hope they bounce back!  In the meantime, I'll just keep shooting and trying to create, so when the right space comes along, I'll be ready.  Investigating galleries in this area is one of many items on my to do list.

I just dropped off some recently processed film for scanning an hour or two ago.  I should have the images back today or early next week.  It's the batch that Tom had for a while, but never got to.  I hope this guy does a good job - he's relatively cheap, but I'm nervous about his ability to handle what I've given him.  My film never looks like what comes out of a regular 35 mm camera (or at least used to before digital)- mainly due to the fact that I'm shooting with something that is 90 years old, made of plastic and is meant to take 127 (which they don't make anymore), rather than 35.  The frame edges and tones are always a little goofy, and it takes someone with a little extra skill to get those images to a place where I'm ready to do my thing. But, if it works out, and this guy starts to know my needs, it could be a nice relationship.

In other news, my friend, colleague and inspirer Ara is embarking on her second major photo shoot next weekend.  I've agreed to be the "post-production supervisor" - a capacity in which I have never served on a shoot.  My role will be to make sure that the retoucher/post-production person is doing what he's supposed to do.  So, I head out on Friday after work to Chicago, at which point I will head straight to the hotel, crash, and be ready to be on-set at 6 am.  I'll only be on-set to observe and take notes (no art directing this time), so that on the back-end, I can make sure Ara's vision is being fully realized.  I come back late Sunday night, head to work on Monday morning and Monday night, I begin my supervisory work.  Tuesday is a trip to NYC for the annual Picturehouse event, and then I'm back on Wednesday night.   Then, a trip to PA over the weekend.  I'm yawning just thinking about it!

So, a lot of news, and yet, a lot more of the same.  I'll keep everyone posted on the new work, and if I go incommunicado for a couple of weeks, now you know why.  But, that saddle is waiting for me to get back into it, and I'll try not to keep it, or you waiting too long.

Until then...

-Marc