Back on Track

Storytellers Continue Their Narratives, to Delay the Inevitable Moment When Everyone Must Fall Silent. 2016.

Greetings Everyone,

Long time no hear, yes? The print studio I was a member of when I returned from my residency was deep in debt when I joined. After several months of mediocre fundraising and a few building break-ins (we were in the warehouse next to the regional soup kitchen), we were asked to relocate. Unable to find a place to set-up, the equipment went into storage. And now, with me being the only former member paying off the debt, the equipment is being reclaimed by the original organization.

Hurray.

As you can probably imagine, after that burn to my art practice I had to take some time off from stressors. I got a stable job as a large-format printer operator. I joined a few arts organizations (the Sanctuary, the Redwood Art Association). I bought a bicycle, went into therapy, and started what I affectionally called the "Katy Self-Improvement Project."

And now it is time to finish Phase 1 of the UPL.

There is now a functional printing set-up at the Sanctuary Arcata, where I volunteer every Friday as the lab monitor (http://www.sanctuaryarcata.org/). All the lightbulbs in the light box finally light! I can washout screens at the car wash four blocks away! All of these things seem like miracles now after struggling for a few years in my post-graduate slump here in Humboldt. Where life is cheaper, but no one wants to pay an artist like they do in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The first donor phrase printing has been completed, with 7 or 8 designs being planned. I will update again when I start mailing versions out to those who donated enough for a custom phrase. Attached is the template draft of the following: "Storytellers Continue Their Narratives To Delay The Inevitable Moment When Everyone Must Fall Silent."

Thanks to you all for patience and continued support.

XOXO,
Katy Warner

Reality Check

I do believe that, in the process of learning art at institutions I became, well, SPOILED. I am use to facilities that are fixed when I am away, and having the time to learn my equipment. Having classes that teach me to anticipate what goes wrong. Oh, what luxuries those were!

The Ink Annex is not that way. I am almost always the only person in here screen printing. The wash-out station is a shower with a hose. Everything leaks. The fridge I bought still freezes our emulsion. It is not easy to get from concept to print - transparencies are made at the FedEx 20 blocks away, the studio itself is two towns away from where I live, and I don't have a car. Insert whining noises here.

My latest progress report was show at Kala for one day, but I was dissatisfied with the results because of all the mistakes I made (that's why no picture yet, sorry). I couldn't afford to continue to dig into my savings to improve my equipment without a job, so I was sort of stuck. BUT THEN I GOT HIRED! And now I can manage to buy a power washer, better screens, machine cut paper, my own chemicals. Ah, the future is bright.

All of you who have been wondering why I went AWOL, that is your answer. I wanted to finish the perks I promised donors before I continued tabling, and I couldn't effectively work on the perks. I was struggling paying bills instead of buying supplies, I had IOUs piling up. Long story short, I was no longer a student with ample art-making time on my hands. But now I can afford to be in the studio all weekend, and make this studio just a little better. It is a glorious feeling.

POWER WASHER HERE I COME <3

The Ink Annex and all its facets.

The Ink'll Set You Free...

The Ink Annex, the community arts center through which I have been getting my printing all in order has been having a few... mishaps. First it was the sink (my fault), now it is the refrigerator (its fault). All the emulsion has been uncooled for days, and we needed to get a new fridge. But, since I have plenty of funds available thanks to all my fab donors (that means you), I was able to buy one today and get this train back on track! This hopefully will give me enough time to create a print of the current UPL vocabulary to show during the SGCI Studio Roulette when it hits up Kala Art Institute on March 28th: https://www.facebook.com/events/560209470716877/

I'll keep you all in the loop, and invite you over to my blog to add your two cents to the debate over the glyph for "WE:" https://katywarner.squarespace.com/debate-central/2014/1/22/words-of-the-week-we-me-you-yall
Cheers!

-Katy Warner

Forward

It appears that I have disappeared for the last two months. The truth be told, I have been sick with a combination of an impossibly virulent flu and the Humboldt Crud. Instead of using my wee bit of energy towards creating art, I’ve been looking for a job. I know, lame right?

This week the good people at Kala Art Institute suggested that I hang a print for the SGCI Studio Roulette Event and Conference on March 28th. And then I HAD AN IDEA! Why don’t I catch up on our UPL glyphs in order to get a print done in time? I have a month, that’s doable! It is, as I love to say, killing two birds with one stone. Which might be very offensive to the visitors of my other website, but whatever.

Below is my plan for my poster, using the dimensions I already have planned for the UPL dictionary. I AM WAY TOO INTO PLANNING, IN CASE YOU’VE NEVER MET ME. Since y’all can’t read it, a translation:

UPL
Universal Pictorial Language
Progress Report Poster Design

Each square is an official 3 inch square glyph, meant for the UPL typeface. Below that in the lower righthand corner is a calligraphic version in Katy’s hand.

Each glyph will be color coded, printed on white bristol and then mounted. Each positive will be kept for the UPL dictionary printing as a 4 inch square transparency.

Glyphs are in alphabetical order, and the color code is as follows:

Green - Approved
Blue - In Contention (people have complained about it, or Katy can’t draw it!)
Orange - Derived (inferred by Katy from other glyphs)

To see why I feel the need for an “in contention” category, enjoy my attempt to do a progress report as quickly as possible last night. Hands are hard!

So, that makes my goal a total of 35 unique glyph graphics printed, cut-up and set on paper. Their color will be determined by how far I get with approval via tabling and web surveys at the time of the printing. And then I can keep the transparencies to reuse for the dictionary printing if they are approved. And the multiples I create can be sold or given as gifts!

Now I have a quandary - I haven’t been able to standardize the approval process. Not only is it time consuming to table, but it’s harder to do it in Eureka than it is in Oakland. Less people, less public transit, more rain. Luckily, the folks of Giant Squid are getting back into the mix of things and may participate in North Coast Open Studios. And I might be lucky enough to piggy-back on other art events like Arts Eureka and Arts! Arcata… or run Ink People Center for the Arts meetings… or meets at Old Town Coffee. I don’t know yet, logistics are hard to do without knowing my future schedule.

So in the interim I am asking for glyph submissions and votes online, and then I’ll revisit the process. If you bunny-hopped here from my newsletter, I thank you for catching up with me. The next word for approval is BUT, followed by WE and AND. Send me a glyph or two if you’re feeling adventurous. I’ll also be asking for input on Facebook, so follow me if you would like to vote for glyphs there instead.

Hugs and Kisses,

Katy Warner

P.S. I’m also making the prints for donors at the $50 level or higher, don’t worry. I need to buy and reclaim screens like mad first, and Ink Annex has no power washer :(

Catch-up, go go go!

I have the formatting of my new UPL section down. Click around to see what's up, won't you?

Time for a new TO DO LIST, GO!!!

1. Email $25 dollar donors about their digi-reward. 
2. Improve tagging system / search engine. Be prepared for the entire Swadesh list.
3. Email all donors at $50 or higher level what they need to know for their prints. 
4. Buy supplies for the rest of my perks.
5. Print perks and dictionary thus far.
6. Arrange with the Ink People to have a weekly venue for UPL, and a spot at Arts Alive!
7. Arrange with Old Town Coffee & Chocolates for UPL debates, bimonthy or monthly.
8. Create blog rss feed for http://conlang.wikia.com/, send rss link to http://aggregator.conlang.org/
9. Apply to at least 5 funding opportunities.

Also, I abandoned a ton of art in the past two weeks. "Pulls" was found by a park ranger, who asked that I not abandon in Patricks Point any longer because of the hazard to the animals and children. So no more there, sorry. "In" was found a mere hour after abandonment by a lass named Kara.

#36, "I Will." Trinidad State Beach.

#02, "Pulls." Patricks Point State Park.

#13, "Becoming." Arcata Marsh.

#33, "In." Arcata Marsh.