Wrapped up thumbs on THE SOLAR GRID, Ch. 8 (#9) and started on pencils. Feels good. The 198th newsletter was sent out a few days ago, considering taking a different direction with the thing come #200. Perhaps something more column-like.
work
Finally got around to taking some glamor shots of Sim Kern's THE FREE PEOPLE'S VILLAGE. which I was very honored to design the cover(s) and endpapers for.
Sim Kern's THE FREE PEOPLE'S VILLAGE release at Brazos Bookstore the other day went superbly well. It was a full house, and their conversation with Ehigbor Okosun was engaging, funny, and informative. The best part for me was for sure getting to see Sim in person (and also editor Irene Vasquez!) who despite living in the same city and getting to design their book cover, I actually don't really see much of at all.
So, the above photo bringing Sim, Irene, and myself all together in the same physical space is in actually a very rare occurrence indeed.
THE BIG BOOK OF CYBERPUNK drops in just 13 days, and its impressive table of contents has been announced on File 770.
Like other Best-Of tomes, this thing is a doorstopper coming in at 1136 pages. It is very humbling to see one's name listed alongside giants you've read for years; like Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, and Bruce Sterling, but it's also great so see the book bringing together many awesome contemporaries like Omar Robert Hamilton, Ales Kot, and Corey J. White. Not to mention boundary pushing thinkers like Samuel R. Delaney, Charles Stross, Lauren Beukes, and many more.
Looking forward to seeing it in person and spending the next 10 years attempting to read it all.
2084 words in 4 days. Shameful in many ways, except the words are so damn good.
Got the latest “booster” the other day and my body did not take too kindly to it. Out of commission for the day which frustrates me to no end. Trying to read and failing, may end up having to be a slutty TV day. Let's see what I can find.
On another note, my latest piece:
It's called POWER DANCE PATTERN, hand-stamped on 300 gsm acid-free paper, 9”x12”. The variation in stamping makes each one completely unique.
“Home is not where you are born, it's where all your attempts to escape come to an end.”
I've always cherished this quote attributed to the great Egyptian Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz. Year after year, its meaning and relevance become ever more acute for me. I've also always loved a particular photo of Naguib with a fedora (a “western” piece of apparel) on his head, the picture upon which the above pictured artwork series is based. Not quite how Naguib is typically depicted or remembered.
Aerosol over letterpressed print on 11”x17” archival paper. Limited edition of 10, available only at Garage.Ganzeer.
As much as I may have bitched about working on these 19th century scenes in TSG, I'm quite pleased with the results.
Pages fully scanned in, now working on assembly, colors, and letters, in addition to a couple work-for-hire gigs. One in particular I'm really excited about because it just couldn't be more up my alley. Between the queer punk rock vibes and strain of revolt all effortlessly fused within a speculative fiction yarn... I mean c'mon. Could I even hope for anything so perfect?
New print drop from my Halal Pornography series. This one is called Drip.
House has been vibrating non-stop from 7:30am to 7:30pm due to serious construction around the corner. Houston public works. This has been going on for days, and today we received notice that come next week they will be starting on our street. Driveway and pretty much any access to our house will be non-existent for some 40+ days, in addition probably to even more intense vibration. Sadly and very quickly looking into potential co-working spaces to utilize in the meantime.
Co-working spaces however don't quite lend themselves to analogue artmaking (paper, ink, paint, the works) which will throw a wrench in my usual practice and force me to focus on the digital-only components of my projects for a while.
Luckily, TSG Ch.7/#8 is at last fully inked. Will scan pages in tomorrow and start assembly/screentones/colors/letters, all digital work. A couple other analogue things pertaining to other projects on the docket though, may have to rush through them over the next few days.
There has been a sudden influx of subscribers to my newsletter despite it being on hiatus right now and I'm not entirely sure what the source or reason is.
The last stroke on the final page in the latest TSG should be going down today (easily a month behind schedule) after which I scan in the entire chapter and begin the digital part of the job (screentones, letters, colors, and assembly).
19% into STARGAZER: THE LIFE, WORLD, AND FILMS OF ANDY WARHOL by Stephen Koch which I am thoroughly enjoying. Started it just to get an idea, but now I'm hooked and cannot put it down despite a handful of inaccuracies I've noticed. It's okay though, because it's not the historical play-by-play facts that are important. It's the theoretical insight gleamed from the observation of the general happenings explored in this excitingly written text.
Recording live on the Afikra podcast tomorrow, which anyone can “attend”.