Getting More Ready for Brooklyn

 I want to get my prints out to St. Louis on time for this Brooklyn show, having been given a deadline for getting the prints there, so I had a reason to get to the Studio this morning.  In the week since my last posting I have done a few things, including an editing of the artist statement I made for the last show at JSAC, since both that and the Brooklyn show feature prints form the current Johnson series.  However, the prints and the number of them is different, and for now the Nashville show is off, so I kept what still makes sense and deleted the rest.  A few words here and there to make it all flow, and I had a new accurate artist statement and biography.  Set that aside for now.

The reason for going to the Studio was to check on the drying process if all the recently printed Johnson proofs, and to make some decisions as to what is to be sent, plus to prepare such things for shipping.  For music I brought a home burned copy of two albums on one disc, Beatles for Sale, and  Help! from the Beatles.  The reason was simple- last night I caught part of the "Ringo and Friends at the Ryman" tv special, and the part I saw was heavy with songs from those two albums.  The format was simple enough, Ringo and various guests, mostly current country music stars, on stage at the Ryman (former home to the Grand Old Opry, now moved to more modern performance space, and on my one visit to Nashville I saw the outside of it) singing songs performed by Ringo with the Beatles or solo, or songs I didn't recognize, which I assumed were hits for the stars at other times, intercut with filmed bits talking about Ringo.  One thing I learned long ago was that Ringo keeps key and time better when he plays drums along with singing, but he will be 85 in a few months, and plays a lot less drums than he used to.  When he does play, he still sounds the same, but he doesn't do full sets these days, and I don't blame him.  (by the way, I wrote about this disc back in September of 2019 if you want to know more)

First step was to put on the music, then clear some space on my table.  A quick inspection showed that everything was dry.  From the first six prints in the series, I chose two for this show, as Tom had requested.  I went with Love in Vain from the first bunch done, a print that Tom had once mentioned that he particularly liked, and Terraplane Blues from the second set done, and one that got a good response in the last show, as well as being a print I like.  Both only had some ink smudges at the far ends, eliminated by tearing off a few inches of paper here and there, with the aid of my 42" metal ruler and straightedge.  Now both pieces of paper were the same size.  

I also used my ruler to tear down pieces of glassine paper to make folders to hold each proof, and placed the prints in each one.  These glassine folders and a piece of cardboard were put into an old plastic bag (once held this paper) and that packed between sheets of corrugated cardboard, fit to fill the box I will use to ship it.  So that's all done now.  I took all this home, where I used my old computer to create and print out a mailing label that will be used to send the box to St. Louis later this week.  Next up will be to provide titles and dimensions of the chosen works to send by e-mail out to St Louis, but that will wait a few days, until after the package is in the mail.