Best Laid Plans

If you have been following my blog, you realize that I had an almost foolproof plan to win $250,000 at this year's ArtPrize contest in Grand Rapids, MI. However, in spite of my (objectively speaking) brilliant idea, I didn't get any significant response from participating venues to display the work. How anybody could have read my proposal and not have instantly understood that I was going to create one of the great works of art the world has yet to see is beyond my comprehension, but then, great works of art often take decades after they are created for the public to appreciate them so I shouldn't be surprised that a mere proposal would have been instantly hailed. I'm still committed to making the piece but it will likely take longer than I expected to become a world famous artist. Oh well, on to the next plan.

ArtPrize Proposal

This is my ArtPrize proposal. I submitted it last week but might not know until July if a venue is willing to display it. If you click on it you can see a larger version to make reading the text easier. I call it the State of the Union flag because I plan to propose that it be used as the backdrop behind the President during the State of the Union address, in the hopes that commentators will talk about the art behind the President rather than their interpretations of what was said.
I went to the lumber mill/yard last week to select the wood. Although the proposal says bird's-eye maple for the blue/navy/purple stripes, they didn't have any that would work. Instead, they had some blistered maple, which I decided would actually be better because it would be more visible from a distance. I also selected two large boards of curly maple for the white stripes but, unfortunately, because of the way one of the boards was warped, the white stripes would have only been about 3 inches wide instead of the 4 that I'm planning. So I need to go back sometime and look again. For the red stripes I found some yellow curly maple that is more figured, and more fabric-like, than what I had previously selected. Although the other lumber was good, I couldn't honestly say that it was $250,000 good. One way I could tell that the new curly yellow birch was better than what I had previously selected was that in rough cutting and milling it, it was binding around the bandsaw and tearing out terribly while flattening it with the jointer. The earlier lumber didn't give me any of those problems.

Because of the success of ArtPrize last year, all indications are that it will be a much larger event this year. The competition just to get in is going to be huge, let alone into one of the prime venues and having a chance of winning. Regardless of whether the work is selected, I'm still committed to building it. One of the best things about the event is the inspiration to make something that has a chance to win, which alone could be enough to launch an art career.

Flag #3

I just finished the third of the flag series. It is experimental in that I wanted to use it to work out some design issues for the large ArtPrize flag that I plan to make this summer. I want to start moving in the direction of multi-level work with sections that are individually painted then assembled at the end. The technique can also be used to make work multi-directional as well.

Untitled Flag #3

shellac on curly maple, yellow birch, and bird's-eye maple
34" x 53" x 1"

2010 Show Schedule

Just in case you would like to see my work in person, and you are not going to be in Montpelier, VT anytime in the near future, you can also see my work at the following locations and times:

Paradise City Marlbourgh, MA, March 19-21
CraftBoston, Seaport World Trade Center, April 9-11
Paradise City Philadelphia, April 30 - May 2

After the Philly show I plan on spending the summer working on a piece that will win the ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, MI - September 22 to October 10. First place is $250,000 so I'll need to put a little effort into this one. I figure, if my goal is to be able to make a living making art, winning the ArtPrize would be a good start. I've been thinking about the project ever since meeting a couple from Grand Rapids over the summer who talked about what a great event last year's inaugural event was. After five months I've just about got it all worked out -- there is just one scenario that I'm worried about, if John Brickels somehow finds out about and enters the event, I'll probably have to settle for second place, otherwise, the cash is as good as mine. Prior to taking my winning piece to Michigan, you will be able to see it in the Vermont State House from when ever I finish it (sometime in August?) to mid-September.