35x35 and U of U Printmakers art sale

This is just a quick little blog to let you know that tomorrow evening I have a couple of art events going on. If you're in the Salt Lake City area, it'd mean a lot to me if you dropped by and saw them.

The first is a show that Artists of Utah, the ones behind 15 Bytes, are putting on. It's called 35x35. The exhibition is of 35 artists all under the age of 35. It looks like it's going to rock. The artist's I know in it are incredible, and I feel like I'm in great company. The opening is at Finch Lane Gallery, tomorrow (March 8th) from 6-8 p.m. There will be another night relating to this show that is like an opening if you can't make it tomorrow, and that will be on April 19th from 6-9 pm. Finch Lane is open from 9-5 monday through friday, and the show will be up until April 26th.

Along with this show, I want to call attention to a lovely write-up Geoff Wichert did for 15 Bytes this month. It's called Lightening the Load: A new generation uses humor in art. There's a paragraph in there about me, and it just is right. Geoff has written a little about my work in 15 Bytes before, and he's always been kind with his words toward it. I love what 15 Bytes does, and I appreciate Geoff Wichert's writing about my work a lot. Even before he wrote about my stuff, he was sure to let me know how successful my work was at Snow College, when we crossed paths in Ephraim. So this is just to publicly say, thanks for getting it Geoff.


Alright. Second thing!

We've had a string of thefts in the U of U print shop recently. People got their tools, paper, plates, and other various odds and ends taken. I was a victim. I had some copper and zinc plates stolen, and a box of thread. The copper plates were for a print that I did last year but never editioned. The one good print I had was framed, as it had been hanging at the Battleground States show in the UMOCA, and I guess now it is the only print of it I'll ever have. Earlier on in the year I had roughly $100 worth of paper stolen, as well as some frosted mylar. I don't know if those were all the same perpetrator, but whoever took my plates also got a bunch of other stuff from everyone else.

I was not hit particularly badly compared to some.Ryan Kowalchik got a bunch of tools taken, and those cost him quite a lot. Other people got bigger copper plates taken. For whatever reason, the thieves also took a library book that is going to cost Kit over $100 as a fee for "losing" said book. We are poor art students. Most of us have jobs and scholarships to keep ourselves able to attend school at all. We cannot afford this.

So, we are having an art sale to try and recoup our losses. This event will be tomorrow at Saltgrass Printmakers (2126 South 1000 East) from 6-9. Please come if you can. Buy a print. I think Ryan was hit the worst, and his prints are incredible. They are large, insanely detailed, Anarchist propaganda mostly and I love them. I have one hanging in my room and it just makes me shake my head in awe every time I look at it. Also included are the artists Derek Perry, (His work is fabulous. I always try and encourage him to use more glitter, but to his credit, he only uses the exact right amount. Really, beyond that, his aesthetics are just smart.) Kit Osborn, (Kit doesn't really edition things traditionally, usually. He has variations on images, pulling things together in different ways, and finding every possible way to make a piece work really really well. It's beautiful and sciencey and just so so good.) Mikey Perez, (Strange and compelling abstract forms. I look up to him a lot with the quality of his screenprinting.) Steve Thueson, (Steve does monsters and comic book type stuff, pulling from pop culture in the best way. His etchings make my heart glad.) April Bolz, (Pulls a lot from friends she made on a fishing boat. Her relief prints make me feel inferior.) and Tonii Humphrey. (I'm not as familiar with Tonii's work as the others, but what I've seen based around travel and stuff gives me a greater appreciation for the world where I live.) I think that's everyone that's doing this. It really is a great bunch of work, and I hope all of us sell something, because really, being victims of stuff like this is awful.

There's a facebook event for this you can join if you'd like. link


That's all. Next time I blog, I'll actually write about art I'm making or something.