Quarterly Update: The End of an Era

And here we are in the throes of December.  The final installments for 2011’s Mystical Geometries have been sent out and should find their way into the generous hands of a special group of people I am very grateful to have been able to share this project with throughout the year.  As the year comes toward it’s close, and Mystical Geometries has been made whole and complete, the studio is preparing for the next chapter in the Drawing Subscription: Surface Disruption.

The past year has been incredibly productive for the studio and it is certainly the goal to continue as such through next year as well.  As I compiled some images for the usual cycle of grants and residencies and so forth, I realized just how much has been accomplished this past year, and it’s been great.  I’m very much looking forward to finishing the rest of the projects that are still “in process” and also jumping in to several new projects that have been gestating in the back of my skull and are really ready to burst into their own corporeal reality.  I’m starting to line up a few shows in the next year, and some printed/publishing projects that I’m very excited about.  It’s always great to be able to show alongside, and work on projects with people whom you respect, admire and mutually support.  For now, keep an eye out for updates about shows in Kansas City, MO, Chicago (x2), and Brooklyn, and other projects coming out of Brooklyn and Tuscany, Italy.

So a big thanks to all of the 2011 subscribers, and all who have started lining up for the 2012 subscription (You still have until Dec. 31 to sign up!), as well as all of the generous supporters of other projects and shows that have manifest this year, and are being worked out for this next year.

Quarterly Update the Third

Yes, I know, I’m lagging a bit behind on my blogging duties for this project.  Rest assured, all of the drawings have made their way into the hands of subscribers thus far, and I’ll be making sure this is back up to date ASAP.

The good news is it’s been a very productive year for the studio and the Drawing Subscription has certainly played a big part of that by creating a more regimented and streamlined approach to the space.  Many loose ends have found their way to completion, and lots of great studio visits have happened this year.  I spent a little time engineering a new storage system and am looking forward to both filling it with new pieces and pulling works out for upcoming shows and to send pieces to collectors.  I’ve been working out the concept for next year’s subscription which will open up again in November for a two-month window in which to subscribe.  Mark your calendars now…

Also, now that I have an understanding of the rhythm and timing the project requires within the context of the overall studio practice, I hope to be updating this with other tertiary tidbits and teasers of the project throughout the year to make it a more dynamic experience for all of us.  Therefore, this will become a part of the regular studio experience in the way the drawings are meant to afford a glimpse into a certain project.  I’ll be updating with new tools, or materials,  maybe talk about a new record I’ve been listening to in the studio, that sort of thing.  So while I’m still learning the best way to make use of the blog format itself, I think this has been a good learning process for me to investigate and develop the system.

Much, much more is coming soon…

Quarterly Update #2 (The Halfway)

So here we are halfway through the first year of my Drawing Subscription. This is the point where by all rights I could be cursing myself because it’s summer, and I should want to slow things down in the studio to “feed the beast” and absorb other artists works, or read more, or restructure some storage in the studio…

Well, I’ve actually been doing all of the above while maintaining the overall velocity within the studio as far as “production” is concerned.  I’ve continued to maintain the regimen of the subscription, and kind of been hauling ass on a couple other projects as well.  Thus far, this has shaped up to be quite a productive and fulfilling year for the studio.  The necessary discipline this project demands just naturally flows into the rest of the projects going on simultaneously.  Which was partially the whole point of it, but it’s been quite a good year thus far, and I’m very excited to start wrapping my brain around what next year’s subscription will involve.  I’ve been getting quite a bit of positive feedback, so I  hope both the recipients and other viewers are continuing to  enjoy the project as well.

Quarterly Update #1

3 months down in this the first year of the 1×12 Drawing Subscription!  That makes this the first quarterly check in.  So far, I’m very pleased with how the series is working itself out and the way in which it is offering me a direct focus within the studio.  I’m enjoying both the series as concept coming together formally and also the process as it is affecting the rest of my studio practice.

As a series, these works are formally mapping out ideas and structures I’ve been thinking about and slowly exploring through larger works and paintings that have been in the incubator for a little while now, so I’m very excited to see these forms taking shape and investigating their possibilities within the set parameters of this first series.  As I was hoping would be the case, the process has been very rewarding.  By structuring my studio time to account for the production of the subscription works I have been making progress toward a much more organized overall studio practice.  The repetition of the drawings I’m making for the subscription acts as a form of meditation, and it provides an almost immediate focus upon entering the studio to really bring my head into the space of making this black work.  I’ve found that the regimen is translating into other series I have been working on and the year’s overall production has been pretty impressive thus far.  Some of the other works being generated in the studio have been able to take on a looser quality and have allowed me to explore the potential within works with a more raw quality or an immediacy that hasn’t always been a part of my vocabulary.  I’m finding this to be very rewarding on many levels, and I hope both current subscribers and more passive viewers (i.e. “future subscribers”) are enjoying the project as well.