The Year that Was 2013

2013 was another one of those years when circumstances acted to keep me from getting much artwork done.  Not that it wasn't a busy year, just not a lot of prints to show for it.  Here's a breakdown of how things went, all the details of which can be found back on this blog for those who care to look.

Prints- Not including the annual holiday card, only two new prints were created this year, two saints.  One created for a specific person, one created to be a demonstration piece.  I've really got to improve that for next year.

Shows- I count being part of 10 exhibitions in this calendar year.  Half were in Belmar, and the rest were scattered around, all places I have exhibited in the past.  The biggest show was the fourth ever presentation of the whole Fourth of July piece (366 prints).  I count 20 prints total in the rest of the shows, which had anywhere from one to four works in them.  Although it didn't involve any of my prints, the Table Talk show had 18 tables in it, all of which I had been involved in constructing.

Publicity- I was mentioned in a review of the invitational show in Rahway, Preemptive Strike.  I was interviewed by phone in connection with Table Talk, part of my responses appeared in the online only newspaper that conducted it.

Awards-  My contribution to an online exhibition organized by Audubon Artists won an award in the printmaking category.

Firsts- Although I have hundreds of prints visible online all the time, the above mentioned Audubon show was the first time I have been part of a specific juried exhibition that only existed as images on a website.  Although it had nothing to do with printmaking, my artistic skills were called on to paint sets for a theatrical production, including a giant forest backdrop, simulated stone walls of a castle, and miscellaneous parts of the stage.  I've helped paint murals all over Belmar, but for the first time I developed a plan for designing one myself.  It ended up not being chosen for the specific project, but there's a good chance the images may be used for a future mural project in town.

Miscellaneous- I ran four sessions of my woodcut class at the Belmar Arts Council, although events did once again force a few of the meetings into the Studio when the Boatworks was undergoing construction.  To meet Molly's demands, I had to come up with a new design for wooden tables, including a drop leaf table that could convert from round to square.

The Studio- In the second half of the year, operations expanded into a second larger space thanks to an additional room rented by Molly specifically for the table project, but we did hold a few critiques there, too.  I finished my part of that job a month ago and removed my tools, but Molly still has some stuff in the other room.  Our print shop needs some repairs and reorganizing, ignored over the past several months while we were occupied with building tables.

Next Year- With the table project done and all the family moving (including my own) done, I really need to get back to making prints again.  I need to start thinking about a new saint for my new nephew, and it's been two years without completing a new boardwalk print, so that is also a priority.  With plenty of planned prints to work on, I haven't spent much time thinking about new ideas, but sometimes these things appear suddenly and develop quickly.  Check in here throughout 2014 to see what happens.