Hello again, my dear Backers!

So, I'm down to my final two + days here in Prague, and all of a sudden I'm crazy!  Seriously, I'm really excited about my Open Studios event tomorrow night, and working furiously to finish as much as I can - I've got 20 prints, one sound piece and a video all hopefully going in today and tomorrow!

Now, you may have noticed that the subject of this update is "Rewards."  Have no fear, nothing is being down-graded.  There's been an upgrade.  Those postcards that a large number of you were supposed to receive, see, I got a little carried away when I started making them.  Brief backstory - I love maps.  I used to draw all the time.  I started making the postcards as hand-drawn maps of various locations around Prague.  Cool, right?

Here's the thing.  I GROSSLY underestimated the amount of time this would take.  And I don't want to skimp on this, so here's what I'm thinking - they'll still be postcards, but some may not actually be mailed from Prague???  I apologize.  Bad artist.  I hope this is ok....

To make up for this miscalculation, here's a photo of how the cards are coming along and to give you an idea of what they look like.  

Cheers!
amy

Hello You Lovely Backers!

It's starting to be the home stretch here in Prague - I can't believe that I have been here for three whole weeks already!  I head home next Thursday afternoon, and I feel like I still have a ton left to do!

So, first off, rewards are in the works (woot woot!).  Those of you receiving postcards, they are cut, and I've started the drawings/makings of said items.  Each postcard will be a hand-drawn map of a location in Prague that I have spent some time at - my apartment, my studio and some of my favorite spots around the city.  I'm running with an Art Nouveau style to these things, as I've always loved that look, and everywhere you turn, there is some lovely little hint of it (there is one thrift store nearby with a hand-painted name on the window with an art nouveau font!).  I've attached some of the pencil sketches below.  

Also, for those of you receiving prints, once I'm home and all my images are organized, I'll post a gallery, and you'll have your pick of a print!

In the mean time, I've also attached a few of the new images that I'll be showing here during my open studios next week.  I think I'll have at least 4 prints, one projected video and then one sound piece.  The sound is lagging behind a bit, as I'm trying out some new things and I'm REALLY slow with these new techniques.  But hopefully, I'll post a snippet before I head back home so you guys can get a taste.

All in all, the art is really coming together, and good times are being had by all.

Cheers!

amy

Hello Again!

So much for me posting the very next day!  Sorry about that!

To update: Twitter has been going strong, with snapshots being posted almost every day.  If you missed that link to follow me, here it is again - https://twitter.com/#!/anartgeek

Also, I wanted to share an ongoing photo album of what I've been seeing around in my wanderings.  Not so much art-focused, but more me as tourist!  This gets updated far less frequently, but when it does, I download a ton of pics.  Here's the link to that - https://picasaweb.google.com/amy.giese/Praha2012MeetFactory?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKallLjRpqHuWQ&feat=directlink

And finally, what I really came here for - making art.  Truth be told, I forgot to give you all an update last week because I was totally derailed by my project!  I had planned on making very large cyanotypes on fabric, similar to the work that I had been making prior to this trip.  Here's the thing.  Cyanotypes require direct sunlight to really work well.  It's winter in Prague (for those of you interested in these types of things, Prague is actually further north latitudinally than Boston is, so shorter days and weaker sunlight).  Needless to say, my initial efforts have been incredibly frustrating, as I was unable to capture anything close to what I had hoped for!  

To show you some examples, I did a test before leaving, from my living room in Boston, which is the first image below (dark blue with a white border on two sides).  Then I started making tests here, and the next pic should show a lovely, yellowish wall (my studio) with a whole slew of blue-ish rectangles of fabric all over it.  Those are them.  I refer to them as my grid of blueberry blobs.  Boring.

So, I've been a bit stuck.  But today I got unstuck.  I have some new ideas I've started working on that I think is going the right direction.  Once that gets shined up a bit, I'll send along some examples and flesh it out for you.  It's gotten me excited for the work and the new direction things seem to be shifting, which is the whole point of these opportunities!  Yeah!

And I've gotten the go-ahead from Marketa, who is the curator of the galleries here at MeetFactory for my Open Studios event, which will coincide with a gallery reception here on February 1st.  We're also hoping to do an informal dinner with local curators/artists/patrons a few nights before the Open Studios, so I'm really excited about that!

I think I'm all caught up now.  Life is good, and I'm even starting to make sense of some of this Czech - I can now officially identify the word for potato on a menu (brambor) and I can almost pronounce the word for "thank you" which is Dekuji.  It's an ongoing struggle but fun none-the-less.

Signing off for now!

amy

Alright wonderful Backers,

I've made it!  I landed in Prague last Tuesday, very very early in the morning and spent the last few days getting settled into both my studio at the MeetFactory, and my flat which is a short tram ride away in the area called Smichov.

And the plan is in place - I will send regular Updates via Kickstarter that sum up what's been going on during my residency and send along pictures and other fun tidbits.  But for those of you who either have too much time on your hands, or who love to be distracted by the inter webs, I have started to Tweet (!?!?!)  I know, a bold new step for me.

My twitter handle is @anartgeek and here is the link to my account if you'd like to follow me:
https://twitter.com/#!/anartgeek

I'll update my feed regularly with pics, video clips, maps and other fun facts.  You do need a twitter account to follow, but they are free and easy to set up.

I am about to download my first round of pictures after my first meeting here with the curator of the galleries, so tomorrow I'll send along a proper update that relates to all things art.

Hope all is well back in the states, and I'll be talking to you again soon!

amy

Hello my wonderful backers!

So, as I (hopefully) finish my packing and prepare for my flight tomorrow afternoon, I am thinking of all of you, who helped me get to this moment.  You rock.

I've got some plans up my sleeve to keep you all informed about the fun stuff that will be going on once I get to Prague, so stay tuned for another update once I land and get settled in.  I'm excited to start working and to indulge in a month of just focusing on art and Prague.  I've even been attempting to learn a few words of Czech (this is not going as well as hoped!).  So, dekuji.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and keep an eye out for an email from Kickstarter asking for your mailing address for those of you who will be receiving postcards as part of your rewards package!

Best,

amy