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.