I’m finally making good on a promise I made back in October. That was when I received my first, genuine piece of fan mail—outside in the mailbox standing at the end of my driveway.! It came from pop-up artist and author Kyle Olman (New York) and is a mini, pop-up version of FLOORED, 2010. I told Kyle that I would showcase his gift here, but that’s as far as I got—until today. Now that this outstanding piece of paper engineering has been documented, it’s found a new home atop my Drobo—where I can see it every day. Be sure to visit his site to see his latest release, BABY SIGNS (illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers).

I completed the last of 3 new commissions this week. All are for magazines. I won’t say which ones (yet), but I will tell you that the approved, final versions are not these.

I first appeared between the pages of Harper’s in March of 2004—4 images printed 2-0ver-2 in the Reader’s section. This one-time honor (or so I thought) has grown into one of the best working relationships of my career. There isn’t a pedestal tall (or worthy) enough to hold the magazine’s Art Director and the Assistant Art Director.

(Did I mention that Stacey and Alyssa came to hear me speak at School of Visual Arts in NY last September?)

Harper’s is an artist’s dream-come-true. Plenty of lead time is given to read the copy, ponder the problem and come up with a solution (with one legitimate exception). I feel valued, am rewarded handsomely and, best of all, I’m entrusted with full creative control (to date, everything has been accepted ‘as-is’ with no revisions).

How did I get to be so lucky?

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(The January 2010 issue marks my 5th time in the magazine and features a portfolio of my work. Full scans of the actual layout will appear here in February.)

Boy. I’m glad THAT’S over!

Back in May, I received an email inquiry from an exhibition group wanting to know if I would be interested in teaching a number of workshops in Hong Kong. In the letter, they offered me a stipend, accommodations at a 4-star hotel, per diem and round-trip airfare for me AND an assistant. I no sooner posted a query on Facebook when Jared Janderwski—a friend and student from Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University—sent this reply (complete with disclaimer for his lightning fast response): “I’ll go—I’m not stalking you. Really!”.  If I’m not mistaken, Jared applied for a passport the very next day—just in case!

As the days and emails back-and-forth from Hong Kong passed, the offer took on the characteristics of an ice sculpture—solid and beautiful at first and then gone! After submitting my compensation requirements (to teach 6 workshops in 10 days ) along with a ‘rental’ rate for my work, I was told, “There will be no need for your person to be present.” At first I thought this meant Jared, but there was a language barrier that I misinterpreted once before, so I wrote back for confirmation.

Yep, they didn’t want me either!

Instead, they only wanted the work. To be more specific—a selection of the actual books that I had deconstructed and photographed—no prints (the first of  my language misinterpretations). The organizer also wanted to know if the original ‘rental’ amount would be lower since I was no longer traveling. All email correspondence ceased when I answered, “No”.

At that point, I was tired of all the hoop-jumping and relieved that the deal was off. However, I still had the painful task of telling Jared and felt like a total jackass when I finally did. Fortunately, he was very gracious and understood.

I recently got the chance to make it up to him.

Several weeks ago Jared posted a status update on Facebook and “hinted” at wanting a copy of PAPER: TEAR | FOLD | RIP | CREASE | CUT by Raven Smith for his birthday. At the time, he was not aware that I am one of the artists featured in the book so I signed copy and sent it to him. The picture above appeared on Facebook  (and Jared’s blog) today along with this note: A simple thank you didn’t seem like it would suffice. I got the book yesterday and I love it. Thank you!!

That’s one of the nicest THANK YOU’s  I’ve ever received and a perfect way to close the book on such a ridiculous ordeal.

Foley Gallery in NY has just announced THE SUMMER SHOW PROJECT – an opportunity for 12 emerging photographers to participate in a group show in 2010. I, along with 5 others photo professionals, will curate the project. Go to the SUMMER SHOW Project site for further details.

A few weeks ago, I received a rather interesting email request from Bobby Solomon at Kitsune Noir. Instead of describing the content, I’ll let Bobby tell you in his own words. The last line is the best!!!

My name is Bobby and I run a blog called Kitsune Noir.
Through the blog I run a project called The Desktop Wallpaper Project, where I ask artist and designers to create wallpaper sfor people’s computers. These are given away every Wednesday in a ton of different sizes including iPhone and PSP to people looking for a change to their desktop.

I was curious if you’d be intrested in creating something for the project?
I’ve loved your work for… probably years now, definitely since you first started popping up.
But I’ve had a couple beers so I thought I’d email you and see if you’d do it?

Who could turn down a request like that? Thus the creation of INFECTIOUS. I sat down last night and rendered all of the requested sizes and then double-checked to make sure that I hadn’t forgotten any (a not-so-uncommon reality). I was quite surprised to see it posted so quickly today!

If you choose to download INFECTIOUS, I hope you enjoy it. It’s the least I can do for everyone who has supported my work—both online and off. Yes, I did this for the sake of good karma. Also know that this image will never be available in print form. This is a gift, so do with it as you see fit.

Unlike a lot of artists who view the internet as a venue for digital shoplifiting and income loss, I feel that the number of honest people is significantly larger than those who are not. That said, if you choose output the image, do so prudently and, above all, MAKE SURE THE COLOR IS RIGHT!.