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October 2014

The “Other” List

By Everything Else

Before you read today’s post I want to mention that apparently I was not the only artist to feel the pain of the Boise Weekly Auction results, and in a thoughtful and generous move on BW’s part the decision was made that all artists would receive at minimum $150 for their original cover art. So, if their work had not sold at a final bid of $500 or more (which would have netted them that amount as their 30%) they would still receive the amount paid in previous years.

Thank you Boise Weekly!

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By the way, my offer still stands to my “Treefort Blues” tarp buyer — whoever you are — I would gladly buy back the tarp and give you a framed archival photo of the tarp taken by Jake Soper at Evermore Prints in exchange. You can contact me here at my website!

(Warning: Unrepentant use of one four-letter word in particular ahead.)

Ok, onward and upward….

So here’s the thing. I’m over 50. In fact I’m half way to 60 which frankly blows my mind because parts of me are still in Jr. High, while other parts of me still refuse to admit I even turned 40. I have friends in every decade of life — including one who’s pushing 90 — you go Elaine! But most of them do tend to be in their 50’s like me and at this point in our lives there seems to be a common obsession….

The Bucket List…
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In other words, everybody finally admits that if there’s a middle (which is where we seem to think we all are at the moment) then there must be an end. And if there’s going to be an end then we’d better get busy and DO a whole bunch of stuff so we can say we did it while we’re lying in our death beds and the hospice nurse has that check list (because there must be a check list, right?) and she asks “Paris?” so we can say “Check!”

“Skydiving?”
“Check!”
“Fire Walking?”
“Check!”
“Learn to speak Tagalog?”
“Check!”

Here’s what I put on my Bucket List: call bullshit to all the pressure to create a Bucket List and then have to do those things just so you can cross things off of it.

And then I created a new list:

The “Fuck-it List.”

The best part about the Fuck-it list is you don’t even have to write it down. Of course if you like lists, and you like to write things down just so you can cross them off — which by the way you get to do immediately with this list — then write away!

I know you’re catching on already, but I’m going to tell you how this works anyway, at least the way I’m using it.

First, you are going to want to take a look at that stupid Bucket List that’s been weighing you down and then transfer at least half the listings over to the Fuck-it list.

Learn French?
Fuck-it.
Take up Scuba diving?
Fuck-it.
Ride the Trans-Siberian Railway?
Fuck-it.
Start Pilates?
Fuck-it.

Once that’s done I promise you you will feel 10 years younger and 20 pounds lighter instantly.

After the initial purge it just becomes a matter of self discipline. Any time you start to feel that uncomfortable “oh crap” feeling like: “I SHOULD go, do, learn, buy, eat, this thing before I reach the end of my otherwise pointless life” which you would formerly have put on your Bucket List, you instead put it on your Fuck-it list.

It’s the uncomfortable feeling that’s the decider. This is not a list for things you actually WANT to do. DO those things! But I am done, done, done with keeping up with the Jones’s Bucket List. Fuck their Bucket.

Cuddle a baby tiger?
Fuck-it.
Walk behind a waterfall?
Fuck-it.
Get a henna tattoo. In India?
Fuck-it.
Fill up a KFC bucket with Slurpee at 7-11? (Are you kidding me?)
Fuck-it.

Want what you have. Give what you need. And love your own life as you’re living it. Enough IS enough! (And yes, I need to be reminded of that myself on a regular basis.)

Work harder on becoming more enlightened?
Eh…I’m still marinating on that one.

Going, Going, Gone

By Treefort Tarps

Fair warning: Rant Ahead…

Last night was the Cover Auction for the Boise Weekly and my tarp “Treefort Blues” was item #25.

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Not a giclee of the piece as I’d suggested — nicely matted and framed, archival quality and easy to hang anywhere. No, the actual 8 foot by 10 foot tarp.

I’d been assured the cache of having been part of Treefort, of having literally weathered the festival…

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and come through a beautiful survivor, would make it that much more desirable and sure to cause a stir and fetch a nice bid for both the Weekly, and my 30% cut.

In the past the Weekly has paid the artists $150, and because my work generally runs in the $750 to $1000 range it never felt like a good fit for me. When they changed the artist’s renumeration to 30% of the final auction bid I thought that made more sense, and for the majority of artists it works really well.

The auction was at Gallery 518 and when I delivered my tarp at the appointed time I discovered that the show had already been hung and there was no room for my piece. Granted, my tarp would have taken up an entire wall which held probably 20 of the pieces available for sale — I get it, I’ve curated many shows and the difficult pieces often end up in less than desirable locations. My tarp ended up OUTSIDE the gallery on the back wall. Unlit.

During the auction Mike and I stood at the back of the gallery and I talked with darling Shelley Jund whose piece “Drawn to Cervidae Light” was number #31. Even before our pieces were up, we talked about how painful it is to have your work held up for view and then bid on — especially when the bids don’t come, or are very low. I would add how painful it is to have your work not even get properly shown and then to expect anyone to have any interest at all.

“Treefort Blues” sold for $125. I will recieve $37.50.

When we were leaving I told the woman receiving payments that if my buyer had any regrets I would buy my tarp back from him.
If you are reading this my buyer:

I WILL BUY TREEFORT BLUES BACK FROM YOU!!!!

As some of you know I’m doing a “second life” series with the tarps and I would love to have the complete original set. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, these are two detail shots of the tarp I called “Granny Squares”…

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I didn’t sleep for s**t last night. I kept tossing and turning and thinking about how we artists are constantly asked to donate our work for little, or usually zero, renumeration as if it’s no big thing. Even those of us who are hugely prolific invest time and heart into what we do.

Personally, I’ve quit responding to requests for my work that don’t offer at least a 30% return — except for the Idaho Humane Society — without IHS I wouldn’t have the furry little loves of my life, so they get a pass. But after this experience I think I’m just done. If you want my work you’re welcome to buy it. My prices are reasonable, i.e. way less than I would be paid in New Orleans or New York.

By the way Shelley’s piece brought $550 which is f**king awesome!

Rant over.

Walking the Talk

By Lula

As soon as I think I’ve gotten things under control — my To-Due list is nearly all checked off, it looks like there might actually be an open day on my calendar to work on something just because I feel like it, this always seems to happen….

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I guess that’s the price we pay for being alive. I don’t really want to cross the last thing off that To-Due list — after all it sometimes feels like it’s the only thing that keeps the Walkers at bay. Gotta just keep on, keepin’ on!

Speaking of Walkers, this past Saturday was See Spot Walk. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

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It was a little surreal, and a real treat, to see so many people wearing the t-shirt with my design out walking their best friends to help raise money so other people can find and adopt their best friends in the future.

Here are just a few of them…

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Lula and I ran into Lisa Jarussi-Smith who is the See Spot Walk Event Organizer. I know how these things go, I bet she’s already working on next year’s event. Sit, Lisa, sit! Lie down, Lisa, lie down! Take a break! You’ve earned it!

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We also got to see Hannah and Mike, Lula’s fabulous foster parents. Lula was so happy to see them both!

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We wouldn’t even have Lula if I hadn’t agreed to do the artwork for See Spot Walk this year and run into Hannah and Lula that fateful day in January. Evidently it pays to keep adding things onto my To-Due list, and then to actually DO them.

This time was definitely worth walking the talk!

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