Amarillo Ramp Rock, 2009

[Image from the artists' book Inventory by Nancy Douthey and Jacinda Russell.]

On 23rd June, I threw a rock from Spiral Jetty into Sun Tunnels; I tried very hard to make it land on top of one of the concrete tubes but failed.

On 28th June, I tossed a chunk of mud from Sun Tunnels into Double Negative from the top of the rim.

On 1st July, I flung a rock from Double Negative toward Roden Crater really wishing I could have dropped it from the airplane the day before during our fly-over.

On 3rd July, I dropped an orange stone from Roden Crater into Lightning Field on my walk around the perimeter.

On 7th July, I hurled a pebble from Lighting Field into Amarillo Ramp watching it bounce off the dry earth into the cacti.

TBD: This rock from Amarillo Ramp will be delivered to Spiral Jetty eventually completing the circle and ensuring a third visit.

Blurb Edit: Round 2

One reason why I can't seem to start this Blurb book edit (which is reminding me an awful lot of my aversion to packing early):



In addition to a cat in front of the computer every time I turn around, I can't understand why the aqua color on the cover of "Nine Swimming Pools..." printed bluish gray. I also think that I've procrastinated so long because editing is such a crap shoot in terms of how to edit. Do I lighten just five images or all the photographs? How much so when the one on the computer looks just fine but was printed so differently?



Love having "OK" on the pink post-it. It's a rare thing in this pile that must now be measured and chip board cut for the containers to be mailed to Nancy by Wednesday.

Texas Gallery But First..... Volume I (Nine Days to Houston)

Drive to Athens, Ohio and pick up two photographs from the "Rehearse, Rewind, Repeat" exhibition (if you squint you can see our two photographs - hot pink!). It's evidence of our first exhibition with this project! Nine hours round trip but at least it featured spending dinner with James (on his birthday) and Tanya in Springfield, Ohio.





Pack forty-seven "Wunderkammer" boxes to ship to Louisiana Tech University for a two-person exhibition. Avoid inadvertently packing cats playing nonstop in bubble wrap and cardboard.



Volume II features trying not to have a heart attack finishing everything by Wednesday night.

Volume III will feature the National Society for Photographic Education conference in Philadelphia and a train ride into NYC to see the Whitney Biennial with Alexis.

all within the next eight days!!! YIKES!

the real question is...

how much prairie underground will be in the house when i arrive at the douthey/correro residence. wait until you see Nancy's black feather dress for the opening! maybe i should look for one of these.
"Fly Like an Eagle...."

Two of the pedestals for the sculptures in the exhibition...

(thanks Chet for manufacturing all four of them)

These will house the sculptures: Amarillo Ramp Rock, Michael Jackson Soap, LBK Bell, and Red Lipstick. Also included: Michael Jackson Banner, Popped Balloons from Roden Crater Grand Opening Parade, and Can Phones.

These books of ours...

(a quick shot of the ten on my office floor before shipping them to Houston)

Well there are many things to be said about making a Blurb book. It's far easier when text is not involved (formatting is more difficult). We have to reprint four due to images printing darker than acceptable (but four is far better than re-doing all ten). The book I was least satisfied with on the computer is by far the popular favorite in print - Conversation Maps. Motels does not live up to my expectations. I am in constant debate whether or not these should just be made as one volume because it would be far cheaper to produce and the point will still come across (also when grouped together, they aren't as significant as I had anticipated and with one volume it could be a hardback with text on the spine). I will be constructing a chipboard holder to contain all of them once arriving in Houston (as Texas Art Supply has far more options on paper than Muncie, Indiana). Overall the print quality looks good especially in Nine Swimming Pools and a Fake Doughnut and Car Games I: Geodomes. As soon as Nancy and I sort out a few things about these in person, they will go public on the Blurb website. In the meantime... here's to finishing the four before next week!

Books Books Books: Our Blurb Book Inspiration

Ed Ruscha, Two Books, 2001



Ed Ruscha, Some Los Angeles Apartments, 1965



Ed Ruscha, Every Building on the Sunset Strip, 1966



Ed Ruscha, Twenty-Six Gasoline Stations (Drawing), 1964

Two weeks from today...

...I will be in Houston with Nancy installing the exhibition at Texas Gallery! We have been swamped editing the video entitled "A Chronological Film: Twelve Shorts and Twenty-five Short Shorts" (details coming soon!), contemplating pedestals for the small objects, shipping photographs, designing DVD cases, editing the exhibition postcard image, and some general PR. Things are coming together slowly but surely. We will even have a website devoted entirely to this project to be unveiled in early March. A lot more posts coming soon! We have another radio show, shopping for the perfect dress for the opening (oh boy this will be humorous), a few more studio/gallery visits (eeeeee!), more (one way) artist correspondence with Ed Ruscha and James Turrell, installation shots, and so on.



image via

The Blurb Books are Here! The Blurb Books are Here!

Better photographs coming soon (we only have to redo four of the ten).

Car Games I: Geodomes



Nine Swimming Pools and a Fake Doughnut