This Summer

[JAZ]

Where you can see some of my work this spring and summer:

SoWa Art Walk 500 Harrison Ave. 4th Floor, Boston, MA
May 21 & 22, 2005, 11:00 - 6:00 This is an Open Studios event for two days only. I will bring what I can fit in my car in one trip.

Touchstones Blum Gallery, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine
June - September, 2005 reception: June 12, 5:00 - 7:00. One bronze, one three-element steel sculpture.

Artcology Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, Cazenovia, New York. Three cement tree footprints outdoors, one steel wall piece in the gallery. A residency project.

Invited New England Sculptors The Barn Gallery, Ogunquit, Maine
May 25 - July 31, 2005 reception: May 28, 5:00 - 8:00. Small painted steel sculpture.

Maudslay Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit Maudslay State Park, Newburyport, MA June 5 - June 25, 2005 reception: June 11, 3:00-6:00. Mixed media installation called “Mama Says”.

And one more possible.

JAZ

[Blake]

JAZ
That is quite a schedule, not only have you the talent to do great work but you posses the ability to market the work as well, I am both very impressive and envious. This year I will manage three shows in the year for the first time in my career, how much time do you spend on marketing and finding venues?
I wish I could see some of the shows you have arranged, you will have to keep us informed with events and post some photographs and stories.
I wish you every success this summer.
Blake

[fritchie]

Congratulations, JAZ! I know you work a lot with some of these New England groups, to help them with overall organization, so it’s good to see you are getting some of your own work on exhibit.

Let us hear how everything goes!

[JAZ]

Actually, Blake, I am not very good at marketing because I don't spend enough time at it and I don't have the ego it takes either. But opportunities do present themselves sometimes. for instance, the woman who organized the show in Bar Harbor, Maine saw my Potential 3x3 (three eight foot maple seeds made of light weight steel) online last summer. She was searching around and saw either my member page on the ISC site or the New England Sculptor's Association site (I forget which) and called me to see if I would put them in her show. I did. She didn't sell it, perhaps becasue it was bigger than most of the other sculpture in her show, but she did sell 60 sculptures last year. Then, she called me again this year wanting to put Potential 3x3 in this other show and two more she's organizing and anything else I had available. So, I'm going to bring my new bronze one to Maine also. But I told her I couldn't put anything in the other two shows for practical reasons. The SoWa people contacted me too, I think becasue I recently became represented by Art Advisory Boston and I think they must have given my name becasue I didn't know anything about the event. I installed my stuff there today (the Art Walk is this weekend) and just brought stuff I already had. The space is 33,000 sq. ft. and I'd say there were about 60 or 70 artists, more painters than any other genre, which is good for me becasue it makes mine stand out more. But again, I didn't find them, they found me (through some miracle). A sculptor I know in the Ogunquit group called to invite me to put something in that show too. I know a lot of sculptors, artists and other people in our area becasue I have given many hours of my time to volunteering for arts advocacy in our area for many years and it does pay off in indirect ways.
The Maudslay show is an artist organized one that I've done every year for seven years now. It is site specific installation based, so gives me a chance to experiment. The remaining one - Cazenovia, NY - I submitted a proposal for. I also would like to try for one more, though I may not have time.
I just keep slogging along and hope for the best and I stay involved in the arts community.

Fritchie,
Thanks. The volunteering has at times really limited my studio time, but it has helped me in some ways, as I've mentioned above. But recently, I've started backing away from the volunteer groups so I can do a little more of my own. Somtimes it's also because people take you for granted after awhile. For instance, wiht the Somerby's Landing thing, the city never did agreed to fund the insurance and since they approached us about placing sculpture on the waterfront on city land, I really stuck to the idea that they should be responsible for the insurance. People who promised to help with installation didn't show up either somtimes and some of the installations were significant amounts of effort and troubleshooting. Anyway, I've succeeded in passing the torch on that one.
JAZ

[Blake]

JAZ
It is more than luck, your efforts and kindness towards others is returning to you and your talent is shinning through. I think it wonderful that you are receiving this type of attention and recognition you obviously deserve it.
I hope that you have a wonderful summer.
Blake

[Julianna]

Wow. Congrats & good luck!

[iron ant]

Jaz,you should be jazzed up,and good luck with your shows,you can,t sell what you don,t show eh......mini metal man

[JAZ]

Thank you iron ant, Julianna and Blake. The Art Walk in Boston was yesterday and today. It cost me nothing to participate (amazing) and even nothing to park (doubly amazing for downtown Boston). I brought only one relatively big sculpture, one 30" high one, a bunch of small freestanding and wall pieces and a dozen or so Holga photographs. People bought two wall pieces and the 30" sculpture, which is pretty good because as we all know, sculpture is tough to sell. But the best part was the really good conversations with interesting people. I talked to one guy on Saturday for about 45 minutes about tree related stuff and life, the universe and everything. I also met some interesting artists, including a couple with an 11 month old baby. The father is from Angola and will be entering a Masters program at the Museum School in the fall. The mother is Russian. The two of them were homeless for two years and have just moved into an apartment. It's amazing what some people have to live through. And they are happy and seem to be wonderful parents to that child. They are both painters.
The other day I found out that a residency to do a sculpture installation in upstate New York that I had sent a proposal for is in fact approved, so I hope to be able to complete that too. Time is really tight now. Everyone wants everything for summer shows at the same time. Yikes.
JAZ