Greetings from the not-quite-yet-but-definitely-getting-there dog days of Summer! It's hot and mostly muggy, but it could be a lot worse. It could be August.
I've got nothing against August, I've just felt a special affection for the month of July since I got to know it so intimately last year...
Though it's hard to believe that anything could be more mellow than tanning on a rooftop in Queens, this July has so far been one of the mellowest I can remember. There's hardly any news to share, but here's what little I've got:
- Civic Engorgement is going moderately well. People have been excited about it and having fun interacting with it. I sold out of the first batch of "product" much more quickly than expected, but there hasn't been too much "consumer followup" so I don't know how many people have really put the pieces it into action. Still, I'm putting a little bit of work into it every week and will continue to through the Summer. If you're reading this and haven't sent in documentation of the edition you acquired, please do!
- I'm excited that two video pieces of mine are scheduled for inclusion in international programs later this year: one in a gallery exhibit in Berlin, and one at a conference in Melbourne. I'll fill in more detail later because I'm still waiting for a lot of confirmation around both of these opportunities. (And fantasizing about finding a way to accompany the piece going to Australia...)
- I've got no new projects on the horizon exactly, but am developing two ideas very incrementally. One is a long-duration performance piece that I've got all figured out but which I'm kind of scared to actually do. I am also not sure what the right venue for it would be. Here's the working title: And Just Like That, You Die. 'Nuff said.
- The other, which gets its own whole separate bullet item because it has a little story, is a long-term, large-scale project that I would like to do someday, but probably not any time soon due to the scope, likely expense, and possible impossibility. I won't tell you the working title because it's extremely offensive, but I will tell you that it involves working with naturally produced scents and that this July I've begun a very low key apprenticeship with a professional perfumer in an effort to develop the skills I would need to undertake it. I'm sure I'll apply them in some smaller scale way once I feel a reasonable sense of mastery. That's it. That was the little story.
So maybe I had more to say than I thought. Next time I'll probably have less. In that case, I'll tell you what my Summer reading list has been. That was my fallback plan for today.