Transitioning. Again.

Hi all:

Well, it has indeed been a while. Sorry about that - as you may have guessed from the title of today's post, things are still in a state of chaos. But, I now see an end in sight, and actually, I appear to be getting a reward for my months of headaches. More on that in a moment.

No blogging music today - except the random selection of tracks playing through the coffee house speakers. "Box Full of Letters" by Wilco came on a few minutes ago - I was getting my tea and went into a trance. I was transported back to Lollapolooza 1994 in Chicago, when Wilco was playing the second stage. They were playing this song, their first single - and people were still discovering them. I remember thinking at that moment: these guys have that "it" factor - you could just tell. Now I'm getting some weird, horrible lounge-style organ music. Sometimes change is good, and sometimes it isn't.

The family is now out with me in Leesburg, VA - and since we're partially unpacked, we've decided that a great idea would be to move again. We saw a new townhouse we just couldn't pass up - and it's only a few blocks from our current apartment. There are many great reasons for this change, but the benefit I alluded to above is that...wait for it...here it comes...I finally get my art studio! Many of you remember from previous posts that, when still in PA, we were planning to finish our basement and put one down there. Circumstances clearly changed before that could become a reality, but the new house has a finished basement, with an area all ready for me to make into an office and studio. Sometimes things work out for the best.

The only bad news is that I am really being forced to hold off on new work until I get settled into the house. The apartment is just too cramped, and though I can (and will) work on prepping images, printing will just be too difficult. But, the end is in sight and I look forward to making up for my forced sabbatical.

In the meantime, I'm still working on some ideas, have done a little bit of shooting and still have a bunch of images to work on. So far, my evenings and weekends haven't been my own, but that shows some signs of changing a little.

More to come soon - perhaps even a couple of works-in-progress. In the meantime, enjoy what's left of your fall (for those of you fortunate enough to have it).

-Marc

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

More Of The Same, With Some Differences

Happy Labor Day one and all!

This morning, in an effort to branch out from my normal wi-fi spot, I ventured out to a pasty shop on the other side of Alexandria, only to discover they were closed for the holiday. Same with the barber shop I had planned to go to trim the hedges I currently have on my head. So, I ended up back in my normal haunts, but with a s'mores cupcake. Definitely the best one I've had here - damn tasty I much say.

Blogging tunes today are courtesy of a new band out of Australia called The Temper Trap. I just discovered them a couple of days ago, and I'm really digging them. Best band to come out of the land-down-under in a long time I think.

Not a ton to report at the moment regarding the art scene. The main piece of news is a tad annoying - but it underscores a problem that exists everywhere in the contemporary art world: spacey gallery directors. Now, I'm not saying they are all that way, but many of them are. The reason? Well, I believe it is because many of them are or were artists themselves, and as a result, they are good at the creative side of things, but not so swell at things like running a business, paying their artists or providing appropriate service - either to their artists or their clients. They like selecting work and putting together shows - but don't enjoy or excel at the rest of the equation.

I've seen this problem again and again during my career - and it surfaced again this past week. Several months back, I approached a gallery that reps a photographer I hired once for a commercial project. She's supremely talented and I figured that any gallery smart enough to rep her is someplace I should check into (even though our work is VERY different). The response I got was very positive, and even though the director wasn't currently looking for new artists, she wanted a price sheet and some other stuff for her files. We even chatted about the fact that we graduated from the same art school.

So, I obliged...and heard nothing for months. I followed-up to make sure she received the materials. She said she was too busy to discuss it and asked me to recontact her again in July. So, I waited a couple of extra months for good measure...and then re-contacted her again this past week. Her response? She wasn't expanding her artists at this time...and thanked me for my interest. I even included the entire chain of communication for her reference - and she was STILL too spacey and disorganized to realize that she had actually asked ME for the aforementioned materials and that I was simply following-up with her. At that point, I gave up. I've spent much of my career working with people like that, and honestly, I don't have the patience or time to work with another one.

I'm still waiting to get more info on the SOHO show. My work is still at Foley Cox & Home in Hudson, NY and I think (though I'm not sure because I left town before I could get word) that I'm in what will likely be my final show at Connexions in Easton, PA. Maybe not, but their curating practice involves an open drop-off, which I obviously can't do from DC. We'll see.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday everyone...you deserve the break!


-Marc

Need The Stuff

Hi all:

I write to you from a Vicodin-induced haze, resulting from a whirlwind trip to Portland, OR for my brother's wedding this past weekend.  Probably 32 hours worth of traveling when you total up both flying and driving time - which did wonders for both my back, as well as my knee. Hence, the narcotics.   Hopefully I'll be back to normal in a couple of days - but regardless, it was a great event and I'm thrilled to have another sister in the family.  We love you Gianna!

Not a ton new on the art thing right now folks - I need get my ass back into the studio and make some new work.  Scanning guru Tom and I had to part ways - a function of my relocation and his schedule - so the latest batch of scans needs to be done by someone else who is equally capable and preferably not too expensive.  I don't know the labs out here yet, so after some exploring, I'll get those done.  It may take a while, but I envision the new work happening in a flurry of creativity - I'm clamouring for juicy image-making, and it kills me that those images are just sitting in PA right now.  But, I haven't been around enough to work on anything anyway - so hopefully I can get in a groove soon.

I've been trying to make a point of traveling with my camera at all times now.  I figure that I'm at a crossroads, in a new place, and out here on my own for now - which should provide ample opportunity for new work.  I haven't shot much yet, but with any luck, I'll grab a window here and there and I can keep a steady flow going.  I know - lots of optimism, but no results as of yet. That's all I have time for right now unfortunately, but it's gonna happen.

The other thing I'm craving right now is my art collection.  Obviously it's all back in PA right now, and although my friend has some nice work, I'm missing my own chosen inspiration. My friend actually has a couple of my pieces in her possession, and although they're old, I actually still like them.  It is VERY rare for me to see old work of mine on someones walls and not cringe.  But in this case, I feel like maybe I did something right for once.

In closing, I haven't mentioned 20x200 in a while - so I thought I would post one of their more recent offerings.  I'm really into the whole combination of old and new lately (hmmmm, I wonder where that's coming from), and I find this photo by Mike Sinclair to have a very timeless quality to it.  Though a large 4 th of July celebration is being depicted, the image feels very intimate to me - a quiet power.  Maybe there's an added resonance because of how rough things are right now in this country - but this image gives off a dash of optimism that I think we could all use right now.

Enjoy the rest of your week, and your holiday weekend in case we don't chat before then.

-Marc

Greetings From The Commonwealth

Hi everyone:

Welcome to my inaugural blog entry from the fair state of Virginia.  See what I did there - "inaugural" - playing on the "inauguration" concept in honor of my DC area relocation?  I know, brilliant, right?  

Blogging music is a mix on my I-pod shuffle, so I can't really mention anything specific - except that the latest album by The Sounds is on there, as well as some current stuff by Ida Maria and White Lies.  Beyond that, everything from Buddy Holly to The Pixies will be part of today's session.

I'm sitting in a cafe right now in Alexandria, VA called Buzz.  Very tasty breakfast items and a fantastic tea list, which is helpful to those of us who don't drink coffee.  It's only about 5 minutes from my friend's Rachael's place and I stopped here when I was in town last time for my interview.  But, they kinda have this weird issue with Wi-Fi access on the weekends - anyone who wants it has to sit at this long, table in the center of the cafe.  As a result everyone's kinda on top of each other, which I'm not a very big fan of.  I have a trace of claustrophobia in my genetic make up, and this is the kinda stuff that drives me a little crazy. Note to self:  find a different spot for weekend blogging.  But there is some comic relief - the woman across from me has a sticker on her computer that says "Can't Sleep - Clowns Will Eat Me."  Good stuff.

The other day, I was reminded me of something that happened to me near the beginning of my professional art career and I thought I would share it with you all.  

My first feature show as a professional artist was at a gallery in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago.  At that time, the area was still a little rough around the edges and consisted of a few quality restaurants, some up and coming galleries and artists' studios.  One of the largest art festivals in Chicago called "Around the Coyote" was staged in the middle of this neighborhood - and it continues to this day.

Anyway, this feature show was in a gallery inside the Flat Iron Building, where many of the artist's studios were located (not to be confused with the Flatiron Building in NYC).  The piece I was showing was narrative work I created while in art school, and the gallery owner was very complimentary.  He gave it a nice spot in the gallery and at that point, I knew my career had officially begun.  But, my plans were to start here - gain some experience and use this as a stepping stone for other things.  So, after a year or two, I moved on from the Wicker Park scene.  

Some time later, I decided to drop by the Flat Iron Building for a visit.  The area was changing so quickly, and I wanted to see if I still knew anyone there, and if so, what everyone was up to.   As I walked through the hallways of this dark cavernous building, I saw folks I recognized, except this time, they were scowling at me.  Confused, I wound my way over to the gallery where I had my feature show a couple years earlier. The director looked at me intently for a second, walked slowly over to me, reluctantly shook my hand and said in this very snotty tone:  "So, are you a famous artist yet?" 

It became clear that I was being shunned by this community for daring to have aspirations beyond their starving artist lifestyle.  In their eyes, I was a traitor who used them for my own personal gain and dumped them when I no longer needed them.  The thing is, they weren't entirely wrong.  My plans involved galleries with freshly painted walls, windows and money to promote themselves (and me).  But, I needed to walk before I could run and I felt a connection to these beginnings and the people that gave a 21 year old newbie a chance.  I foolishly thought they would be happy for me. Lessons learned through naivety can be hard to swallow, and I walked out of that building for the last time a little bit wiser, but knowing that if I had it do all over again, I wouldn't have changed a thing.  

Today's visual stimulation comes courtesy of Mercantile Home, the gallery of Mr. Ken Jones Jr. I decided to post a little something different today- fiber art - which I know is a first for this blog.  I admire the skill of fiber artists, but it isn't usually my thing.  However, when I saw the work of Anneke Herrold, I was pretty damn intrigued.  The below piece shows 1/2 of a box that has been hand-felted using fiber collage.  The other 1/2 is painted, and the diptychs that she creates using these two processes are quite unique. Her materials combined with the small scale she works in creates a very intimate experience I think.

New job starts tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

-Marc

The Beginning of My Migration

Hi all:

No blogging music today - I'm writing this post from home, the kids are sleeping, and my wife has the hard drive with all my music on it. So, a little peaceful blogging today - but the subject matter of today's entry is anything but peaceful.

That isn't to say that the news is bad - it is in fact quite positive. In my last post, I alluded to some major news that I was waiting for the right moment to reveal. Well, my friends, here's the scoop:

After 9 months of "day job" unemployment, I'm starting a new role on August 24th...in Washington, DC. Northern Virginia to be more specific - and this of course means that, yes, I'm moving on out to "The Commonwealth." I say "I", rather than "we" because, although the family will of course be there eventually, I'm heading out on my own to get started and will be staying with my pal Rachael and her family until the house sells (or until it becomes impractical to be separated any longer). Due to some prior commitments, I'll be seeing the fam, or a portion thereof, almost every weekend through the month of September. Lots of driving and flights in my future...

Some of you may ask - how will this affect the blog, the art career, etc? Well, regarding the art career, I may need to take a little time off right at the beginning, but I fully plan to continue crankin' out the work. My house will become my "4 hours away studio," and I hope to do at least some art every weekend that I'm back in PA. As for the blog, the beauty of the web is that I can do this from anywhere. I may not have a ton of new work to show right away, but I'll be using this as a vehicle to keep everyone posted on things.

Throughout the past 9 months, DC wasn't even on my radar. But, now that it's happened, I think it will be a really good fit. Great culture, great schools, friends and family around - and it is relatively close to the Lehigh Valley, so we can keep up the relationships we've made here. It actually makes a lot of sense to me.

Not much else going on at the moment - this news seems to be pushing everything else to the periphery right now. But, I can't leave you without passing on some tasty art inspiration. So, I'm including a link to an artist I'm diggin' big time at the moment. His name is James Feehan - a Pennsylvania artist whose work I find to be a nice mix of "old and new." He draws on a variety of different styles, but everything has this contemporary touch that I just love. Oh, and his wife Susan Roseman is pretty darn good too!

www.rosemoonstudios.com

Enjoy your weekend - more next week I'm sure.

-Marc