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The Bug that Stayed for Fall

Ayin Es2 Comments

My sleep times are all off these days. I don’t blame the recent daylight savings thing though. Honestly, I’ve been sick on and off since right before my show, or rather, under the weather. The worse it gets is a slight fever and crazy exhaustion, and some days it’s a stuffy head, runny nose and nausea. It’s a bug that won’t really hit full force, but won’t really dissipate either, so it’s really getting on my nerves!

I haven’t been getting all that much accomplished. I am jotting down ideas and prepping some pieces for a couple group shows for December, while I get my head on straight for the book drawings for Bottle of Smoke Press.

I should mention that I got a GREAT review by A. Moret in WhiteHot Magazine, so I am very thankful for that.

The drawings I’m doing for the Finegood Gallery show are like brothers and sisters for this piece I did a few years back. It’s titled Forgiveness on my Sleeve. It’s on a sleeve pattern and the smaller clothing patterns are arranged to spell sloch in Hebrew, which means “forgive.” So I am going to do a few other pieces like this one on different garment pieces that read in Hebrew.

For the Soft show, I am going to show piece(s) from my Ethereal Research Labs project.

Luckily, some of the work from my current show at George Billis will be in Miami during the weekend of fairs at the Red Dot Fair at his booth. I hope there is a good response, since he is bringing some very good pieces (I think). He will have both the Calvin Doll and the Mom doll, and a couple of Dan paintings too.

Today I woke up at 7:30 and took a nap around 5 after I watched Some Like it Hot (1959). I woke up again at 9:30 and now I am wondering when I will go back to sleep. I am just happy I can breathe out of both nostrils right now.

Now that I’m kinda done with this particular post — oh I was going to talk a little bit about some of my ideas for a drawing I have in mind for my book of poems. I had this idea to do some little watercolor and ink drawings of small items from my childhood: just random “things.” As I was falling asleep the other night I had a good 20 items that seemed perfect, but when I woke up I could only remember 2 of them. Before my nap today, I remembered about 6 more and scribbled them down. I’m still on the quest to remember them all. So far I have:

a cigarette burning in an ashtray
a tricycle
Wheel-o
a fire engine pedal car
a fish with a knife in it
slinky
a swingset
cereal

stuff, stuff, stuff, ye-ah.

Ayin Es2 Comments

Recovering from the opening. Yes, it took a week. It’s going to take longer if you don’t mind. It’s 2 years of working like a fiend, then there’s this one night that goes by like a blur, then the earth stops moving and time stands still and you feel like a truck ran you over. It’s weird.

I stupidly did not bring a camera. All I have are pics gathered from what a couple of other people took. Chance Press waited until everyone cleared out for the night and took a few. Coagula Art Journal took a pic of me in front of a painting for their Weekend Bender feature that they do on their blog. Other than that, I don’t have any great images of the night with crowds of people, but you’ll have to trust me that they were there. My voice got horse talking so much. Many people seemed to really like the new stuff – at least they said so. I was actually happy with how it all looked. (Now that’s not something I would usually tout!) People came in waves, but there always seemed to be enough people in the gallery to keep my gums flapping. I was happy that the work was so well received. A relief really. Everyone loved Dan. And Machine was the favorite.

I’m already getting a bit busy again. I am in a group show that opens tomorrow at Angels Gate Cultural Center called To Live and Draw in LA:

I should also mention that there is a great little article out about me in this new issue of Artillery Art Mag, a studio visit with Jack Chipman back when I still had Moppet.

I am going to be in a show called Soft that was organized/curated by Edith Abeyta at Future Studio and that opens on December 11th:

And I just got word that I will be participating in a show at the Finegood Gallery at the JCC at Milken in West Hills, California called, Jewish Ritual: Rethinking, Renewed. I will be making a few new pieces on manila pattern paper for that show.

What I am very much looking forward to is the upcoming publication of my very first book of poems from Bottle of Smoke Press in 2011. I am just now starting on the artwork for this. I have waited until I had focused time to do so. The title of this book is Monsters on Jasmine St. It’s just a few poems with accompanying artwork. The edition is limited to 50 paperback, letterpress covers and 26 lettered hardcovers.

Okay bye!

Countdown to Ecstasy

Ayin Es3 Comments

No, not the drug. I’m on something else right now – nothing quite as good as ecstasy, but… And no, not the Steely Dan album, which I wouldn’t call their best – although it’s still one of the best albums of the 70s and it does have Gold Teeth on it… No, I was referring to a few things that are coming to a head right now – like how my show is opening in 8 days (I’m installing it this Sunday and Monday) and how my book: Scribbles in a Sandstorm is practically finished. There are going to be only 5 books available at my show, and only 1 deluxe edition (which is the only one left – the rest have been sold out on pre-sales). Take a sneak peak of the book in progress on Chance Press’ site here.

I also added a group show to my schedule that opens November 7th at Angels Gate Cultural Center called, To Live and Draw in L.A.

Today (Friday) I am going to have lunch with artists Nancy Baker and Oriane Stender. They are both in town for Nancy’s show tonight at Jancar Gallery in Chinatown, which is happening from 6-9 PM. You should go!

this past week I’ve been covering all the fronts of my paintings with that foam sheeting so they will be AOK for stacking in my car and transporting to the gallery. I guess I’ve been a little more anal about these things because I’m sick of touching things up after I moved everything from the old studio to the garage. Especially the white background paintings, but I’m bringing a paint kit anyway just in case anything gets nicked after we hang it. See? Anal.

I have to say that I look forward to installation day, not reception day. Getting the work hung and the placement of everything is what’s so important to me. It’s what I have been working for these last 2 years. To me, that’s the show; that’s the personal satisfaction. being alone in the gallery and seeing it all “perfect,” or feeling good about how it is anyway… then I let it go. I hand it all over. The control. I set sail to the work, the energy, the control, the art, the relationship I had with it, and I take my hands away and totally give it up. It is no longer mine.

Reception day is usually a blur. I try to get through it best I can. It’s like driving a car with a broken steering wheel down a thin alleyway at 150 mph, where I can’t see through the wind sheild, 3 of the tires are nearly flat, and the head gasket is about to blow up, and I have to eat a hamburger with my shifting hand. Meanwhile, I have to make sure I don’t hit any pedestrians. …As long as I haven’t offended anyone the night of the reception, I feel safe. It is not easy to give every single person who comes undivided attention. I want to thank every one who actually think it’s worth coming to see my work – but I have to do this without feeling nervous. Because I am uncomfortable in social situations, I fear I come off disingenuous. In actual fact I am blown away that anyone comes at all. When there is a crowd, I’m just overwhelmed trying to play it cool. “thank you for coming out…. thank you for coming…. I appreciate you being here….” I probably just sound like an idiot.

Anyway… nice chatting with you.

Back From Nashville!

Ayin Es3 Comments

It was beautiful! We saw the Cumberland River. We went to the Hatch Show Print! and took a walk down lower Broadway. What a great town – in case you didn’t know, there is music – everywhere! Oy! Enough with the music already! Music music music! Come on now…who doesn’t like music? Luckily, the only kind of music I didn’t hear there was POP music. It’s a great town for bluegrass though, and I do so like bluegrass.

Tinney Contemporary is by far the best gallery in town, hands down! I am one lucky little duck. Beautiful gallery space and amazing staff!

I have to admit I am really high right now. I’ve been high for a couple days. I was high when I got on the plane to get back, and I’m high today because I just had a bunch of dental work done on the left side on my mouth. The Novocaine part is starting to wear off and I’m starting to feel the tooth pain and I’m about to get really screamy, so I’ll make this here real quick like.

Here is a little blurb about the show in Nashville. It’s part of the highlights of their art crawl. And I put together a few pictures here. Don’t laugh at how fat I am. You’ll win a prize if you don’t think bad thoughts about me. My friend Kyla made that hat.

I was very very pleased with the show. So many people came. My little speech to the Vanderbilt alumni went pretty darn well, and so many people were very interested in my work and wanted to speak with me. I felt very important all evening and it was because everyone in Nashville is so incredibly nice!

Okay, time for another pain pill!

Getting it done…

Ayin Es5 Comments

Reading what I wrote last month makes me feel like I actually got something accomplished. I have 5 pieces left to do and 2 of them are more than half way there. I’m going to show WIPS (that’s works in progress folks!) and a few things I’ve completed over the last month.

Most of my danvites are done. They are for VIPS, so sorry if you don’t get one. They take forever to sew and I’m trying to entice certain critics and curators to come to the show – so that’s who they’re for. I did finally design my postcard the other day and it’s being printed right now. And by the way, I’d like to give a bit of a shout out for a local printer I use that kicks Modern Postcard’s ass. They are called America’s Printer and they do a stellar job on heavier card stock, with UV coating (or not), for way cheaper, and all online. Use them! Their customer service is amazing too.

So I’m on the last 3 paintings and then I’ll be working on the last 2 pieces which are dolls. I’m going to be showing some of my handmade dolls. Did I already mention that? Well now I did. So we got yer paintings, yer drawings, yer handmade dolls, and the amazing Scribbles in a Sandstorm, the big Dan premiere… it’s going to be one helluva show ladies and gentlemen.