The show happened. This blog is closed. I am happy. See the work at the link that follows and hey - go do your thing, willya? https://www.movementcolor.com/movementcolorgallery/
Pictures...done.
The pictures are done.
I still have printing and framing and easels and artists statements and menus and silent auction details and, and, and...a million other little things left to do for the show to be a good show. But. The pictures are done. Like, the steak is off the grill, resting, medium rare, and we've just gotta get the table set and the side dishes off the stove. It's a good spot, after a year plus of fretting and working. As I have said before, not sure who will like the pictures, but as much as I was capable with the time I have had available, I finished them. And I like what I have done. And that's all you can do, right?
There's an unlisted password protected SmugMug gallery with all 22 Movement + Color images out there somewhere. You can't see those, but you can see them all in person if you come to my party on April 21st :-)
You wouldn't think that finding a good easel option would be a major damn project on its own. But it is. I can find awesome $300 easels, but man, I need like 10 of them so no thanks there. $9.99 easels from piecesocrap.com are easy to find, too...and yeah, would be great to watch one of my pictures crash to the ground during the show. Eighty million googleamazon searches and I think I might have found one. So I am posting a picture of...an easel. This is what my life has become.
This is an easel which will hopefully not make me broke and will also not drop my photographs.
Ten pictures at the framer right now and the remaining 12 in about a week. Later this week I will go in and sign them before they are sealed up. That's another thing - whether to sign a photographic print, on the front or back or the mat or not at all, and in pencil or pen and do we go with archival ink? Lord, what people won't make a big deal of. By the way, I'm signing them, on the front, in the margin on the lower right, with the title in the lower left, plus a verification of the date on the back, in special carbon pencils that are coming via UPS tomorrow. This is what my life has become.
Lots and lots of magical helpers continue to swirl around...Kim is my always, and Anne, and Maggie, and Terry and Monroe Street Michelle, and Picture Salon discounts, and open minded Kimi, and Chorus Christi and Josh always brewing. Good people. You will get to meet them, if...
YOU COME TO THE SHOW! I love you all. But man, there are a bunch of you that have been so sweet to tell me that you are coming...you just need to go out and buy your tickets. Really, it's awesome and I am so happy, but you're all stressing me out :-). We're way over half way, but not sold out. Do your thing. Pull the trigger. It's going to be fun. BUY TICKETS AT THIS LINK: http://www.isthmustickets.com/events/50929306/movement-color
Go do something hard you have always wanted to do. You won't regret it. Peace.
Two Months to Go
Two months until my photo show/birthday party/fundraiser extravaganza! Well actually a little less. Well past time for a blog update. Time's short, so let's do bullet points, shall we?
- In case you missed the project's background, see history at www.movementcolor.com or look at the earlier blog posts below.
- If you want to see details on the final event, you can BUY TICKETS and see all the details by clicking the MOVEMENT COLOR EVENT LINK. 70 of the 200 tickets are sold. Tacos, beer, cupcakes, music, pictures! It's all coming together.
- Pictures! Yeah, what it's all about. They're going fine but man is time getting short. I got to shoot Cassie, Kimi and Amanda from the UW School of Dance in Chazen on a fine January day. Then earlier this week Cassie came back for round 2 along with dear Lauren. We shot outside in the cold at American Players Theater. Magic. So much crunch time editing to do, but I think we have the raw material for some pictures. One more shoot probably in some place that's 'warehouse-y'. Still need that location, hit me up if you have an old warehouse at your disposal.
Section of an edit from tonight. Images taken from last weekend at American Players Theater.
Dancer: Cassie Last
So this is really boring. But that's where we are. Starting to grind some of the more final event details (like...seating, picture display, little things about food and drink, do you people need napkins, how do we reserve a place for a food truck, etc.), ramping up what will be endless final editing, starting to work with a printer, getting the start of final pieces to the framer soon.
Breathe. Work the process, use the deadline to push the creativity. That's it, kids. Tell your friends, buy some tickets, show up to eat, drink and have some fun.
More soon, peace.
4 Months To Go
Busy, busy, busy. And that's a good thing.
It’s four months before my photo show. Lots of stuff has gone down recently, and a TON more to do. If you're reading this, then you’re probably interested in an update, so the latest details are sketched out below. For those of you who are new to this, you can scroll down to find earlier blog posts, or you can see where this all started (a year or more ago...) at the home page, www.movementcolor.com.
THE PICTURES: What is this thing really all about? The work! If you've been involved in a creative project, you understand that one of the biggest enemies is procrastination. Doing something new, putting yourself out there, going into creative areas you haven't been before - all stuff that shouldn't be scary, but for whatever reason, it is. And when something is scary, our brains look to run and do something else. I have been doing a pretty good job (some practice shooting, some practice editing, studying editing and color techniques online, etc.) and my procrastinating 'something else' has been stuff related to the project (see below), but I am now to the spot where I am going to have to ramp up - like crazy, and like now. If you see me on the street, you have full permission to come up and ask me what I have done today to practice my shooting and editing. Really. Track me down and kick me in the ass. Thank you! :-)
THE LOCATIONS: Pretty good progress here. The Chazen Museum on the campus of UW Madison has agreed to let me shoot there. BEAUTIFUL space, a real winner. In this location (and also close by in around around the Humanities building), we will have dancers expressing their stuff about art, buildings, rooms and spaces. Magical Helper Anne has also helped me coordinate permission to shoot on the new stage at American Players Theater. If you haven’t been to APT recently, WOW! The space is amazing! (Anne has also achieved Platinum Magical Helper status by taking on a bi-weekly ‘sounding board’ role for me as well. Everyone needs an Anne!). We'll look to get some brave dancers to APT in late January or February, bundle them up and shoot outside...in winter...and explore some of the heart of storytelling and dance. Still looking for a connection to a rough, open warehouse location. Let me know if you have a lead. Overall we're in good shape so far and just need to get to some final shooting.
THE DANCERS: Things are good here, too. Magical Helper Lauren has been amazing in opening the door to the folks at UW-Madison's Dance Department. Soon (like, now...) I am working to coordinate some of these amazing young artistic folks for the first official final shoot. This is the best, and it is the scariest. Actual talented people giving me their time. What could possibly go wrong, other than me totally screwing the whole thing up. Whatever, let's go. On a side note, at the risk of leaning too hard on the good will of this group - if you have connections with other dancer folks that might also want to participate, please let me know.
THE PRODUCTION: I have to make the images, but then I also have to make them presentable. Magic Helper Michelle at Monroe Street Framing has been a champ with tips and assistance once we are looking to get things ready for the show (printing, framing, other aesthetic stuff). Lots of others in my circle have been excellent about meeting up and answering questions about the little things that go into a show. As with everything on this journey, good hearted folks have been there to help around every corner.
THE EVENT. We are in great shape for the actual April 21st show. The Chorus Public House is locked and loaded. Carol and Christi at Chorus are fantastic supporters; the 'nuts and bolts' of the event should go smoothly. My Big Sis Terry is now a Magical Helper, having tossed her hat in the ring for day-of event help, and lovely Daughter Maggie will be another set of great day-of hands to help. My 'Two Josh's' (Taco Josh and Beer Josh) continue to be in communication and are heading towards giving you all a GREAT meal the day of the event. Magical Cupcake Jen has also recently confirmed her participation, too. Pictures, tacos, beer, cupcakes - good stuff right there.
I expect to have a ticketing system up and running within the next month and will hopefully start heading towards securing my magic number of 200 paid attendees. You're going to have to pay to come to my birthday party, folks (Probably $25? Makes me sweat to say that), but you're going to get fed, you're going to have some fun, and I want to give a nice donation check to the wonderful people at Domestic Abuse Intervention Services at the end of the evening. I am currently shooting to have around 20 images on display as well, and I will be looking to sell as many of those as possible to donate more to DAIS.
If you’re interested in attending, keep your eyes peeled over the next month. I plan on letting my Facebook hive know about the tickets once things are up and running. Thanks for reading, have a great Christmas and New Year.
A 'practice' image for some of the techniques I am working on.
6 Months to Go
Sometimes in life, it's hard to tell if a particular challenge is something you need to work through or if it's a signal that you are doing the wrong thing. If you change your course, are you doing the right thing and getting yourself on the correct path, or are you just being lazy and avoiding the work you should really be doing? Welcome to this blog post and my last 90 days. There are 6 months to go until I have to put on a show.
(As always, look down below at some previous posts or my my original thoughts at www.movementcolor.com for some background on what this is all about).
When last I wrote, I was back home from Denver, fired up about the city and the setting, and seeing opportunities to create something special. I took August to make final contacts, complete more research, and communicate all my project scope and details with the decision makers in Denver. Everything was submitted. I waited. And then...Thud. The excited partners that I met face to face in Denver changed to folks that were at distance and didn't think there was a match after all. Thanks/No Thanks. Ugh. Sigh. Wimper.
In hindsight, I mean, it makes sense. I was a banker guy who was 1000 miles away, pitching a story that sounded pretty OK, sort of neat I guess, and yeah, let's give it a whirl. I'm not being cocky, but I sell stuff for a living and on the right day, face to face, I can be a little charming. But then a few weeks go by, I am out of sight/out of mind and people start to wonder to themselves 'Why were we thinking this was a good idea?'. I was at a crossroads. Do I try to basically start the Denver process over, visit again, trying to re-light the fires? Or do we quit. Or maybe pivot. Commence Jim pouting for a while. 12 steps of grief. Lots and lots of thinking. I will spare you the details of the process, but...
I decided to bring the project home. Magical Helper Anne said it best - Denver is cool, but this project is not now and never was about a the specific city. It's about the work and saying what I want to say. So we pivot and move on.
Part of me is definitely disappointed. The story won't be as sexy. Shooting in a distant and cool city, overcoming the hurdles, connecting communities - all very nifty. But truth be told, with commitments at work, many family responsibilities, all the volunteering...if I stuck with Denver, in the end the event wouldn't happen. I need to make this happen. And at the risk of sounding like I am now telling an artistic story that covers up my inability to make Denver come together, it's probably going to be better. You always hear that an artist needs to shoot/paint/write what they know. There's a lot of truth there. I know this area; born, raised and living in and around greater-Madison. Say what you need to say here, Jim. Focus on the work and not the stuff around the work. OK. Let's go.
Since mid-September, once I committed to things in and around home, I have been re-energized. And also fully realizing that I have a complete shit-ton of things to do. Here's what has been happening over the last month or so:
- A contract was signed with Chorus Public House in Stoughton. We really, firmly, contractually have a place. And it's beautiful. Magical Helper Carol has been amazing to work with. Yay. It's going to be a really fun party.
- Magical Helper Anne has committed to being an every-three-weeks mentor/sounding board. She has been and will continue to keep me working hard and pointed in the right direction. If you want to get something done, say it out loud and surround yourself with people who can help you stay accountable. Thank you, Anne.
- I have had a couple get-togethers with Magical Helper 'Beer Man Josh'. For some reason my project inspired him and he is bringing the craft brewing skills in a LARGE way. If you come to the show, the beer may well upstage the pictures. I am 100% OK with that.
- Magical Helper 'Dancer Lauren' and I have been talking good about seeing if UW-related dancers can be the subjects in many of the pieces. Fingers crossed that this all comes together.
And on my own, I have been trying hard to 'Do The Work'. Locations are starting to come together. The work is crystallizing in my head. Moving dancers, in spaces, telling me where they are at and how they are feeling about it. The spaces are revolving around art, buildings, commerce, industry, agriculture, storytelling. It's horrible artistic mumbo-jumbo, but I want to do all I can in my largely unqualified way to bring a current abstract expressionist angle to this work. Let's talk about the big stuff, where are we all at, right now.
And technique. Oh yeah, the pictures, right? I have shot...a little. I need to shoot...a lot more. But after the first couple of practice rounds, I quickly found I needed some more and specific digital training. Camera dorks will know what I mean when I say I really know Lightroom but I really don't know Photoshop. So I have been learning Photoshop. I am starting to really see what I want to do and how I'm going to do it.
IF YOU KNOW of someone who may have access to and allow some shooting to occur in a warehouse that looks anything like the picture below, let me know. Brick, stark, neutral, windows, light, industrial. Find me a space and you, too, can be a magical helper! :-)
That's it. Man, if you made it to the end of this post, you must really be interested. Or bored? Thank you for continuing to come along for the ride. Peace, lots more to come.
July has been a hell of a month.
Heads up, this will probably be pretty long. Updates, realizations and some online therapy...venture on at your own risk. (Reminder - if you want backstory, you can see several previous blog posts below this one, and also the initial project summary [MUCH changed already] at www.movementcolor.com.)
In July this project received a beautiful home for the final show, got a beautiful city to shoot, met a whole bunch of magical helpers, and got smacked in the face with the crystal clear reality that getting it all done by April 2018 will be really hard.
Three weeks ago, I jumped on a plane and went to Denver. Mission #1 was to check out the Clyfford Still Museum to see if I could shoot there. In addition to that, I hoped to walk, check the city out, and see what else might be possible. The trip exceeded all of my expectations. My walking app registered 30+ miles in three days, and I came away with the guts of what could be a great project.
I could go on for pages on my time in Denver, but things are best boiled down to a few bullet-point highlights:
- My lodging hosts were amazing - a great Airbnb family (wife, husband, three kids and an awesome dog!) in a beautiful turn-of-the century home in North Capitol Hill. The father Brian, also an artist, gave me tips for visiting the town and showed me his studio (www.2520lar.com). Thanks for the hospitality Michele, Brian and family! And you too, Charlie Dog!
- The first full day brought an early coffee date with a new Magical Helper, 'Denver Jenny' (friend of previously discussed Magical Helper 'New York Katie'). One thing this project has gotten me is some great coffees with talented, caring, passionate and beautiful people! Jenny is an architect and artist. We met in a corporate office building (555 17th Street) in the heart of Downtown Denver. There is a Starbucks in the building's lobby overlooking a beautiful art installation that Jenny had created. We spent over an hour talking art and having Jenny rattle off about a dozen potential locations which might make good additional locations to shoot. I no longer needed to worry about what I was going to do for the remainder of my days in Denver! Thank you, Jenny. You are something else.
- My Clifford Still Museum visit exceeded my wildest expectations. I really can't describe it in any effective way. The art moves me deeply, the building is architectural genius and it is a perfect place for my shoot. I had a fantastic tour with Chicago-born Lydia and she seemed to dig the project. I need to get a final a proposal to them, and then hopefully we are in. It's really hard to believe I may be able to shoot in that place. Fingers crossed.
- After Clyfford Still, I toured the Denver Art Museum, Denver Library, Cheeseman's park and a good half-dozen other spaces. All amazing, but none that were good photo fits. What a city, though!
- Some head-shaking karmic connections got me to Wonderbound. They are an innovative dance studio in Denver which I came across on a walk, and that Denver Jenny happened to also think might be a good fit. I have some work to do, but my hope is that they are a potential shoot location and also a possible source of dancers in Denver.
- A tip, a lead and some cold-calling landed me a tour of the Clock Tower. Holy crap, you've gotta be kidding me?!? 20 stories up, a steampunk-esque fully functioning turn of the century four-faced clock tower! The proprietor, 'Clock Tower Jodi', gave me a spectacular tour and is open to a shoot there as well.
- The rest of the trip included more walking, more amazing site visits, drinks with Jordan, a little Kimball Musk and then an uneventful plane ride home.
One of the main galleries, Clyfford Still Musem, Denver.
If I were to predict things as they stand right now, I would see a shoot around January or February 2018 that will hit up to four locations - Clifford Still, Wonderbound, Clock Tower and 555 17th St. Pictures of dancers in motion immediately convey energy and expression in any setting, but dropping the dancers into some of these diverse spots would incorporate art, space, emotion, time and the modern life we all have to fit into. Broad abstract expressionist-type themes is what I am going for and this just might do it. And to tie in the greater-Madison area, we may just bridge things with a couple of shoots around here to fill things out.
So, Denver...I'm coming for you. It's going to be good.
Meanwhile, back in Wisconsin, the struggle was real to find a location to hold the final show. Lots of discussions left initial option #1 in Stoughton as a no-go, so I reached out to my social media clan and you all delivered! I received around fifty suggestions for potential spots, and a clear leader emerged almost immediately, the Chorus Public House in Stoughton, just a few blocks from my initial spot. A few days after receiving the tip the owner, Magical Helper Carol, met me there, gave me a tour and...IT IS PERFECT. We struck a deal, reserved the space and now have a home. You can see more online, but suffice to say, this turn of the century beauty is all I could ask for - classy, original, beautiful light and wood, plus an owner who buys into the project. I couldn't be happier. Check them out here and tell your friends: www.choruspublichouse.com.
In addition to the space, I have had a bunch of additional Magical Helpers lining up for the show...Taco Josh, Cupcake Jen, Beermaster Josh and Accountability Anne have tossed their hats in the ring to help push this thing forward. It's hard to overstate how great the support has been.
So, here we are. Beautiful places to shoot. A spectacular place to hold the show. A bunch of people willing to help. An idea that is ripe and ready to work. All there is now is...a complete shit-ton of work to do. Planning a thing is hard. Doing the work to pull it off is a whole other thing. And as I sit here, I am completely unsure if I can pull it off. I am a husband, a father, a banker. There's Syttende Mai, Norwegian Dancers, dance conventions, dance team, a couple of other photo commitments, keeping healthy, getting some sleep...and so on. These are of course just the whinings of a very lucky man, but I have had a clear realization; if this thing is going to happen, I need to start doing some things differently. Time to work on this project is not going to just materialize. I have to prioritize, communicate, execute, be ready to say no a lot, deal with setbacks and keep on pushing. I am honestly not convinced I can pull it off. August will be key to getting some important items off the list. All we can do it set things up an knock them down.
I can see it. I really can. Like, in vivid detail and in full color. In the immortal words of Alexander Hamilton...Let's Go.
Heading to Denver
Welcome to blog post #3. So far I'm running a month between posts. Things will be ramping up soon, I promise.
As a reminder, if you haven't read the original backstory to this whole thing, check out www.movementcolor.com. There's a couple earlier blog posts, too, if you're really suffering from insomnia...
So tomorrow morning...middle aged banker guy gets on a plane by himself, leaves the family at home and flies to Denver for a couple days. I'm planning on being all young and cool, too - staying in my first Airbnb!
The #1 purpose of the trip is to have a meeting with the Clyfford Still Museum folks on Tuesday to see if I can get permission to shoot some pictures in their place. While I am there, I am going to work HARD to see as many other buildings as I can, meet other people and hopefully walk away with a plan on where I can shoot this project later in the year.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: If you know anyone associated with museums, interesting public buildings or other arts-related things in Denver...let me know, like soon, will ya? Thanks.
PSA #2: this seems like the right place to once again thank the best wife in the history of wives. Like...what spouse is completely cool with their significant other doing stuff like this, really? My wife, that's who! Big fat kiss emoji right atcha, babe.
It should be a fantastic few days. It looks like my Airbnb hosts have some gallery space and are artist. Meeting them, the Clifford Still folks and anyone else I can connect with should hopefully provide some good leads for locations. And Denver's a pretty great city, so I might sneak in a little fun as well. My hope is that I will post another update in a few days with good news and keep this project moving.
Other associated random tidbits include:
- Met up in NYC a few weeks back with previously mentioned magical helper architect Katie. That provided some good juice for my motivation. I looked under 'real deal' in the dictionary and there she was.
- Hopefully close to finding out soon if choice #1 (The Lageret in Stoughton) will be the spot for the show in April 2018. I'm being patient and hoping that some folks contemplating it for their wedding decide to go somewhere else.
And that's it for now. I really want to get this location thing settled. The planning and structure of the project has been motivating and interesting, but I am getting increasingly itchy to start the actual creative photographic part of the project. I have been consciously not allowing myself to start on the 'fun' part (shooting the pictures) to keep myself motivated to finish the logistics. It's just now starting to drag because I have SO MANY IDEAS, MAN! Power through. Do the work. Stay true to the vision. Work the process.
More soon, thank for reading.
- Jim
Blog Post #2 - Magical Helpers
Hey!
It's been a month, but things have been busy. If you're interested enough to click on this link, then you're probably interested enough to read this update, so let's go! (In case you aren't familiar with the project, you can see the overview here: (https://www.movementcolor.com/)
My May assignment was to secure a location for my shoot, and to secure a location for the final show. And...neither is done yet. But worry not, we are working the process and magical helpers continue to appear as I need them.
My instincts told me that this would be a project where we would have to go with the flow. Regarding the location for the photo shoot, this is EXACTLY what has happened. The Rothko Chapel was a no-go out of the gate. I shouted out to the world via social media and many other channels for help early on. And help is what I got.
Magical helper #1, my friend Ross, was excellent enough to think hard about who he might know to help with a location. He came up with magical helper #2, Katie. THANK YOU ROSS.
Katie is the real deal - young, successful, fancy New York architect kind of real deal. She was cool enough to spend some time connecting via email then phone to discuss the project, and then fed me a bunch of potential leads for locations. In a nutshell, Katie GETS IT. Her suggestions were exactly what I was looking for - spaces with the architecture style, light and spirit that I am going for with this project. THANK YOU KATIE.
I spent a bunch of the last month researching these options and landed on one that really spoke to me. It is a museum in Denver dedicated to a 20th century abstract impressionist artist, Clyfford Still (https://clyffordstillmuseum.org/). One of many karmic connections is that Still was a contemporary of Rothko, my initial inspiration. I sent in an application to the museum which resulted in an email discussion which lead to the conclusion that the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver...might work.
You see, people with priceless pieces of art have security staff. These security folks don't initially think highly of the idea of trying to protect their priceless artwork while some guy with a camera directs dancers to dance and jump around in front of said priceless art. However, I am passionate and becoming more persistent. The end of this story - in early July, I am jumping on a plane and heading to Denver to meet with folks at the museum. We will try to work out details and see if we can make it work. Yes, let's repeat that. I am getting on a plane in the middle of the week in July to fly to Denver so I can talk to people who work at a museum to see if they will give me permission to take pictures of people dancing in front of art. Sigh.
Enter magical helper #3, Becky. A long-time friend and 10-year Denver resident, she coincidentally reached out to me last week to say hi since she will be in the Madison area this week. Really - I needed someone in Denver and Becky reached out and said hi. Life is cool. I will be meeting up with Becky to see if she has other connections in the area. The Clyfford Still Museum is in the neighborhood of many other fantastic Denver art facilities. My current thought is that we may try to secure several hours in Clyfford Still and then also try to find some similar space close by for a second and maybe third location. The Denver art scene looks vibrant, so we will get there, check it out and soak it all in. THANKS BECKY for any help you will be giving me with the on-the-ground work yet to come.
Helper #4, Josh, was mentioned in my first blog post. He is connected with my first-choice location, the Lageret in Stoughton (http://www.thelageret.com/), Josh and I have met a few times, have had some discussions with the decision maker folks, and are dialing in on if we can use the space on April 21, 2018. Anything can be purchased for a price of course, and we could probably make this happen with dollars, but part of this project is also trying to raise funds for DAIS. There will be an ongoing balance with this project to cover costs, have a great event, but also try to maximize what we can give to DAIS. More on this soon - hopefully my next blog post will be us announcing a final show location and the places where the shoot(s) will occur.
I guess that's about it. I will continue to talk with the Lageret folks, and I will be getting on a damn plane in early July to fly to Denver to scout shoot locations. For a banker in Stoughton Wisconsin, this frequently seems like a fairly nutty idea. A final shout out to my beautiful wife, Kim. She has not blinked at this project. Not once. If you look 'supportive' up in the dictionary, Kim's smiling picture will be there. Not sure why she us putting up with this, but she it. True Love.
More soon. Let me know if you know artistic folks in Denver, and hopefully there are more blog posts to come soon. Cheers, people. Follow your dreams, smile, have a good week.
- Jim
Start Here - Blog Update #1
Here we go!
It's April 30, 2017 and this is the first of what will hopefully be many updates as I work towards showing folks some pictures and having a party on April 21, 2018.
If you go to 'The Project' page of this site (https://www.movementcolor.com/), you can see the original thought and the original plan. As of today, I am thinking that I will keep the original page out there without any edits, basically for history and for posterity. As I will explain below, one week after putting the original plan out there, it's already toast. Bummer. I knew things would change. But still, complete rejection on step #1? Bummer. Anyways, Onward.
After posting the original Project online (Job #1) , the next thing (Job #2) was to try and secure the Rothko Chapel for my shooting site. The development of 'The Project' page had two main purposes. The first was for me to get it out there, in one spot, and relatively clearly, so I could share with the people who needed to see it. The second and most immediate purpose was to have it as support for the application to get permission for use of the Rothko Chapel. I dutifully filled out the application and submitted it to the folks in Houston.
Folks in Houston are efficient.
Within a day, they let me know (quite certainly and without wiggle room) that my project would not fit, I should look elsewhere, and good luck. Commence a few hours of Jim pacing and grumbling and wondering if I should quit. I predict this will be the first of a few dozen times I will ask myself if I should quit. Bankers in Wisconsin looking to shoot dancers in some spiritual place in another state for some fairly rambling fuzzy reason might be best served to just quit. But hey. Onward.
In 2017, what do we do when we hit a wall? We reach out to social media, baby! In what was partially a venting exercise, partially 'creeping' the idea out into the public sphere and partially looking for real help, I dumped a Facebook post out there, asking for help to find an alternate location.
Result: Lots of love. Some good suggestions (several local, some international!) that I am actively following up on. Banter and discussion. And a connection to an architect in New York City who may have some other relevant connections and some amazing initial suggestions for alternative sites.
In addition to the shoot location work, some beers were consumed with my #1 connection to my #1 desired location for the final show in April 2018. Initial work on that front will continue to unfold over the next few weeks. Fingers crossed that the project calls to the decision makers involved as much as it has called to me. If not, well...I got to drink some really good beer and hang out with a few of my most favorite people while talking about pictures and our kids and all kinds of other stuff. Something will lead to something and we will end up with an amazing place to display these damn pictures and have a hell of a party in the end, right?
In a nutshell, this is all EXACTLY what I wanted for week #1. Actually more activity than I could have hoped for. This project will be a living thing. I need to work it, all the time, for the next year. I have to ask for help from the amazing people around me, trust the process and see where it goes. Fun!
That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Peace, have a good week.
- Jim