Day 30
The days that I go to my storage unit usually feel like a big waste of time. It can be tricky to get down to business and just put stuff on eBay when you’ve just been reunited with your long lost CD collection or music machine you thought was broken. The question that keeps making me actually list the items is, “if I end up finding a way to stay in Europe for a year or so via Patreon (or however it works out), will I be glad I’ve got this CD in a box across the world?” Or ”in what situation would I actually ever use this” (works great for old CDs). Some of the CDs I actually kept because (the opposite of delusional optimism) after the apocalypse, streaming music services may be dead but we can rig up bicycles or rivers to make energy to power CD players. I actually pictured myself smiling next to a fire listening to a Jenny Lewis CD in a post-apocalyptic setting yesterday, so I’m keeping that one (among many others).
Taking these Pez dispensers and paper cutout Of Gandalf to Europe to use as props in @TheRingOfDOOM’s movie about returning the ring to MF DOOM cuz if I don't do it, no one else will.
Yesterday I mailed my first order of this round to someone I realized I already knew. I love that it’s not surprising to me that I would know someone who would buy 90s rap cassettes on the internet. I seem to have used up my free auction listings so I started listing CDs at a Buy It Now price to see if they moved faster. I sold Kanye’s College Dropout for $2.99 just a few hours after it was listed and will be mailing that off today. I am raising some money slowly but I’m thinking pennies so that’s what I’m getting. When you start using the apps that pay you two cents for watching 20 minutes of videos, you know you’re on the wrong track. Most of us wouldn’t even take two seconds to bend over and pick up a penny but I still made $1 on Swagbucks yesterday without really trying. Upon further reflection, since most of the things I sell on eBay will likely only sell for a few dollars (if at all), it is a much better use of my time to see if the bookstores, music stores, and clothing stores want to buy my items, get rid of the rest, and get back to making art. I haven’t made any new art in over a week because I’ve been so focused on raising money a few dollars at a time. This is how poor people stay poor. My time would have been much better spent marching around Seattle’s artsiest areas with my creations asking galleries if I could put one of my pieces in the next Art Walk (way too late on that one but may still try). Yesterday’s efforts (including my one eBay sale) totaled $74 AND I relieved myself of three boxes of books I’ll never have to carry again.
All that said, since I have yet to sell any art (because I haven’t really showed it to any one), the best way for me to make money right now is to work. So I said yes to the random job offer that floated my way yesterday via email. While I resisted working Bumbershoot at first because I vowed to never help make the evil corporate music empire look good again, I said yes to the offer yesterday to be a PA for the team doing the video at Bumbershoot. Since I’m being paid by someone who is being paid by AEG, I’ve justified it morally but the truth is that I’d be in a way better situation financially if I wasn’t so romantic about how I make my money. It is important how we make our money and I have chosen to vote with my dollar AND my labor against corporations (steps off podium). That said, I’m sure I will have a fabulous time and learn a lot. I love that I get to learn from a professional video team again in the weeks before I head to Europe to make movies on my iPhone. The only other time I’ve worked for the video team at an event was when I was randomly offered to work the Tom Petty Show last summer a few days before taking @TheRingOfDOOM on a credit card funded video tour of the US (one of my duties that day was to stand next to someone in case they needed something while filming Tom Petty in the hallway/blessed). Still amazed by the people that pop into my life and when they choose to appear. Shoutout to a former boss lady for the recommendation.
Ultimately, it will be great to see the hundreds of people I expect to see again at Bumbershoot this weekend and the paycheck will take some pressure off. I always have fun working festivals and love to see how many miles I walk throughout the weekend. Sometimes I forget how good I am at this sort of work and how flattered I used to be when asked to work alongside my heroes. It still hurts sometimes when I see the show calendar of people I won’t be working with but then I remember that the best people will hire me directly if it was meant to be. Nothing felt better than being hired directly by Tyler, The Creator’s team at Sasquatch and those are the jobs I love to say yes to. All inner turmoil about morality aside, my favorite memory from the last time I worked Bumbershoot was when El-P did a double take when he saw my Quasimoto shirt (it’s the little things, still never met him even though we have mutual friends).
A few of the too many imperfect belt buckles I’ve made.
The only goal I did NOT complete yesterday was working on setting up my Patreon, likely the one thing that will help me the most. I have been studying the art of Patreon and believe I have come up with some great rewards people may actually want. The video portion, as expected, is the part I’m slacking on the most. As of now my rewards are looking to be…
$1 - Access to photo feed of images not on Instagram
$5 - Access to vlog (I’ll be seeing too many beautiful things to not do it)
$10- Included in the polls about photos to be printed, destinations, zine themes etc
$25- Collaged Postcard mailed from wherever I am at that time
$50- 6 photo prints mailed
$250- Original handmade collage photo zine mailed
$500- Local snack pack of 12 items – one of a kind analog collage
$1000- photo book of city/theme of your choice
$5000- large framed collage shipped to you
The higher priced tiers would include all the items of the lower tiers. I love this idea of a collaged postcard so much and would really love to get something like this from a traveling artist. When I market it in the right way to the right people, it will work. Any feedback on this is welcomed! I thrive in situations where people are expecting things from me and would genuinely love to be a working artist traveling in Europe. And so it will be…
My daily blogs will be shorter and my goals will be limited for the next three days while I work the festival but they’ll probably include some great photos and interesting stories. Then on Monday, I'll get to mail off whatever has sold from this round of eBay sales.
TODAY’S GOALS
1. Drink 64 oz. water
2. 10 Minute Stretch
3. Go For A Walk
4. Two Posts On Website… Shared (post on all blogs on Medium also) – 2-3 blocks
5. 2-3 Instagram Posts Per Account @206liz @TheRingOfDOOM @MyDefOfCool
6. Go to Sonic Boom, Buffalo Exchange to relieve myself of more stuff I don’t need.
7. Email two favorite Seattle gallery owners about showing them my work for feedback and to Museum Crash with TheRingOfDOOM
8. Find out if I can pro-rate my last month in my studio so I can pay less if possible.
9. Tidy up studio so I can move around well again.
10. Make some art dammit!
SONG OF THE DAY
Gerry Rafferty – “Right Down The Line” 1978 I’m having a revival with this song after doing the final edit on my Adult Contemporary playlist. I see the ideal scenario for playing this song is with the windows down in the desert (this may have actually happened). Haven’t listened to this song enough yet to notice what it’s about, I’m usually too busy swaying my head and holding my heart.