Looking forward to receiving my complimentary copies of the Chronicle Books compilation, ART MADE FROM BOOKS: ALTERED, SCULPTED, CARVED, TRANSFORMED.  I was one of the artists invited to contribute last year. Thank you to the book’s author—Laura Heyenga.

Release date: August 20, 2013.

My work is part of the exhibition, WORLD OF POP-UP ART, at the Art Center IDA in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, Korea. Special thanks to Vivian S.H. Choi for inviting me to participate.

A few months ago I received an email from Estíbaliz Espinosa asking if (a) she could use on of my images on the cover of her self-published book of poems and (b) how much it would cost. She also mentioned that the collection would be free.

I firmly believe that, as artists, we need to help one another whenever possible. The feeling of making someone’s day is worth more than money. Besides, she had me sold when she wrote, “I really love your work, it weaves a fabulous perspective on the inside of books. And it returns to life so many lovely vintage pictures.”  

Now that’s poetry!

If you happen to be in the area on Sunday March 24th, I’ll be speaking at Lourdes University in Sylvania, OH from 2-4pm.

It’s always fun working with Dance Gazette – official magazine of the Royal Academy of Dance (London). This time I was asked to conceptualize the process a choreographer must go through to teach his/her moves to a dancer.

My initial plan was to render a digital composite using a pre-photographed stack of books. However, after the above sketch was approved, I decided that I would feel better about myself if I crafted and altered everything by hand. The scorched house and trees were from cut/creased/folded/glued from the top book’s cover cloth. A wood chisel started the cave-carving process. A Dremel – fitted with a small burr attachment – shaped and smoothed the rudimentary dwelling of the underground shelter—many ‘stories’ below.

My career has been marked by a series of firsts—first NY show, first sold-out print, first art fair, first magazine commission, first book cover, first book, first media award, first television appearance, first appearance on the side of a building, first appearance on a rodeo ticket…

This is about a recent first that came in the form of an email from AARP (just days before my 50th birthday) that had nothing to do with my impending membership eligibility. It was from Michael Wichita, Interim Director of Photography at AARP Media, inviting me to work on a print and iPad project for AARP Magazine. Seeing this as both ironic and serendipitous, I accepted.

Unfortunately, due to no fault of mine, the project was killed by AARP before it got past the 3rd proofing stage. Things like this happen all of the time. For example, in 2011, I signed on to do a huge project for the site bookish.com. After two weeks of work, the entire design team was fired and the new art director decided not to continue in the direction things were going. Even though I was compensated (as I will be in this instance), it’s just one of the pitfalls of working freelance. That said, I must profess my gratitude to Michael Wichita for lobbying on my behalf for this project.  Who knows? We may cross paths again someday. In the meantime, I offer a window into my working process.

I am curating an exhibition at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts (Michigan City, IN). The show will feature photographers who ‘make’ pictures before ‘taking’ them. While this falls under the category of still-life photography, I am only seeking work by artists who create photographic tableaux—images that display some sort of handwork (cutting, breaking, folding, painting, mowing…).  While there is nothing wrong with pictures of flowers in a vases, people making funny faces, or tilt/shift landscapes that create the illusion of miniature dioramas, they don’t ‘push the envelope’ far enough and will not be considered for the following categories—tabletop, staged portraiture and altered landscape/interiors.

Criteria:

• Work should have been completed within the past 5 years.
• All work must be created in-camera. No post-camera work (e.g. Photoshop manipulations) will be accepted.
• Photoshop and other image editing tools can be used for correcting color, cropping, sharpening, etc.
• There is no ridiculous entry fee. I’m on the exhibitions committee at LCA and am volunteering my time for this.
• All work will be insured.
• Lubeznik Center for the Art is a non-profit organization so, unfortunately, there is no budget to cover shipping costs.
• All work must be framed (with plexiglass) and ready to hang.
• No colored mats.
• If you have an alternative presentation method, please send me a description with jpegs.
• No decorative frames unless they’re an integral part of the work.
• The space I’m filling is on the main floor and can accomodate large scale work.

Submission Process—PART I (via Dropbox):

• Send an email to thomasallenonline[@]gmail[dot]com expressing your interest in submitting work for review.
• Make sure to include your first and last name.
• I will create a Dropbox folder for you and send you a shared invite.
• ‘Drop’ up to 20 of your best low resolution jpegs into the folder.
• EMAIL DEADLINE : MARCH 15, 2013. (If I receive requests on March 16, I won’t be crass and shut you out!)

Submission Process—PART II

• I will review work as I receive it and reply with my decision  no later than March 17, 2013
• If selected, I will edit your Dropbox folder and leave only the images selected for exhibition
• In turn, you will replace the jpegs with hi-resolution tiffs for print/publicity purposes.
• Include a resume, artist statement (if you have one) and a short, entertaining bio!

Submission Process – PART III

• Ship your work to LCA (specifics and proper paperwork will be sent via email)
• I’m quite the shipping crate builder so if you need advice, I’ll offer it freely.

I’m sure I’ve missed something and may have misquoted some things. Bear with me. This is my first time putting together a show of this magnitude so please forgive me if I make sudden, unexpected changes!

While I would love to include everyone who submits, I know that it would be physically impossible. If your work is not selected for CONSTRUCTION SITES, please do not take it personally. I’ve received more than my fair share of rejection over the years so I know how it feels. Since I cannot estimate the number of  people who will be submitting work, I don’t want to shoot myself in the foot by promising to provide constructive feedback to all who are not invited to participate.

Finally, if you have any questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m looking forward to seeing your work.

In addition to being an artist, I’ve been recruited to teach science to my daughter (nearly 9). My wife decided that we needed to become secular homeschoolers this year (for reasons I won’t go into). I wasn’t too happy about it at first — mostly because I’m such a flake and a total scatterbrain. Regardless, if I’m going to teach science, it needs to be visually exciting. Here’s the first image in what I hope will become a time-lapse video capture of capillary action (just need to keep two kittens from jumping on the table while I wait). If this one fails, I have more Paperwhites that are just about ready to bloom.