Day 8 Of Delusional Optimist's Guide To Achieving The I'mPossible

Day 8

3D Resin Art Under Construction. Adding more layers of water to make it look like the waterfall on the left is closest and the one in the center is furthest. 10"x10" on thrifted wood.

Almost drank enough water yesterday and only printed out my photoshop villain (haven’t cut him out and put him on a stick yet); more props to make. Six 90 minute work blocks were completed. I got all caught up gluing water onto collages because I truly believe that I am a Fine Artist who happens to photograph her art on the street that just hasn't made any money yet. I added another layer to all of my resin projects so they’d be ready for a new layer today. I’ve been studying Street Artists for a few years now and finally realized that I’ve already found a legal way to be one myself. I must be able to travel internationally if I want to shine light on art all over the planet so breaking the law isn’t something I do. Technically, my art has already appeared in some of the most interesting museums and galleries in the world so anything is possible…

@TheRingOfDOOM and Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night at MOMA, NYC

@TheRingOfDOOM and Shepard Fairey art at Beyond The Streets in LA.

@TheRingOfDOOM and an Andy Warhol piece at MOMA, NYC

@TheRingOfDOOM and a Banksy in London.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what my big goals should be. Thinking too small is what holds most of us back. Since I’ve put myself in a position to try for any goal I wish and I’ve been hashtagging #dreambiggest, my idea lists are getting whoa. What if I put all my efforts into selling a piece of my art for more than a million dollars? This happens every day, why not me? If I think Etsy, I’ll get Etsy; if I think selling art at Christie’s Auction House where the most expensive painting in the world was sold, all I need is one sale to save not only myself from poverty and get some dental work but to also be able to invest in artists I believe in (my goal in this life). When YouTube researching “How To Sell Your Art For Millions,” the general idea is to think very big, do not limit yourself regionally, build up a good reputation, create demand, and to get your art in front of people who can actually purchase it. I’ll still work on small pieces and create art for those of us who aren’t millionaires yet but starting today, I will start sending my art to the people who are making the biggest stuff happen. There are links to the auction houses on their websites so why not try? I’ve got a few people in Seattle I plan on reaching out to as well but I won’t name them just yet.

Someone asked me how much I want to sell the piece I took a photo of at Gasworks yesterday and I told them $10,000. It seemed like a lot until I remembered that it is a truly unique piece that took over a month to make that is already worth millions. I have yet to hear a response. Since I’ve invested in photographing Street Art around the globe, I’ve been able to put myself on the radar of some of the most successful artists and curators in the world. I’m now able to post photographs of my art next to the water in Seattle alongside gallery, museum, and Street Art from all over the world. When I was taking photos of @TheRingOfDOOM at Beyond The Streets, a security guard let me know that I was already on their radar by way of saying… “when you go to Venice, tag us in those photos too. We love that stuff.” The only way they would have known I was going to Venice after Beyond The Streets was if they were already following my journey on Instagram; I’m on the right path. May as well try going in a straight line instead of taking the long way around imaginary obstacles. Musicians and artists all over the world will benefit when I actually pull this off; so why the f*** not?

Today’s Goals

1.     Drink 64 oz. water

2.     Go For A Walk

3.     Stretch at least 10 minutes

4.     One Post On Website… Shared (post on all blogs on Medium also)

5.     2-3 Instagram Posts Per Account @206liz @TheRingOfDOOM @MyDefOfCool

6.     Finish creating/collecting props for TheRingOfDOOM pilot.

7.     More layers of water on freshly resined projects.

8.     Emails to Christies and Sothebys with photos of art and links to this blog.

SONG OF THE DAY

Royksopp – “Remind Me” 2001  I listened to this song on repeat for at least an hour while working on and dreaming of selling my 3D Aquarium Collage at Christies for millions. My research showed me that Andy Warhol used to play songs on repeat while creating as well so I’m in good company there.

DID YOU KNOW? (I’ve done so many weird things you don’t know about yet)

Did you know that I’ve been sorting music videos into random categories unrelated to genre for years? I have hundreds of music video lists on my old website and on YouTube; they range from Music Videos with Special Effects, Horses, Blue Lighting, Elevators, Bathtub Scenes, and many many more; one of my favorites is Music Videos with Rotating Heads. The links here will take you to the original blogger posts and the YouTube playlists. Here’s a few of my favorites from the Rotating Heads list…

Stay weird y'all. I love you whether or not you're reading this and I hope you take the time to figure out what your big dream is. 

DAY 7 OF Delusional Optimist's Guide To Achieving The I'mPossible

Day 7

Failed on the water goal again… weak. Accomplished all the other goals in four work blocks. I got distracted by mindless scrolling and wasted hours I’ll never get back but today is another day. I decided to make the villain for my pilot on photoshop instead because as you may have noticed, my clay skills are NOT on fleek. I did make a few other props and I’ll be taking it all outside to shoot the video in the next few days.

Today I’m doing stuff in a different order because I just had to take my art on a photo shoot first thing. The water collage under resin looks so awesome in the sun, I’m becoming addicted to taking it on photo shoots. I’m not a Street Artist (because I watch Orange Is The New Black while gluing tiny water pieces) but I couldn’t be more inspired by the artform. I can’t just stay inside making art all day in my comfort zone if I hope to actually find a buyer for my work. I do not want my life to be the pursuit of money but I do need some to maintain my humanity. 

TODAY'S GOALS

1.     Drink 64 oz. water

2.     Go For A Walk

3.     Stretch at least 10 minutes

4.     One Post On Website… Shared (post on all blogs on Medium also)

5.     2-3 Instagram Posts Per Account  @206liz @TheRingOfDOOM @MyDefOfCool

6.     Add a layer of water to all resin projects

7.     Get my photoshop villain printed out and put it on a stick, finish accumulating props for the video shoot

SONG OF THE DAY

Primal Scream – “Movin’ On Up” 1991  One of my favorite life experiences so far is making the lead singer of Primal Scream laugh while driving him from the venue to his hotel. I used to borrow the Screamadelica cassette from my Mom as a teenager so that was pretty fucking rad.

Day 6 Of Delusional Optimist's Guide To Achieving The I'mPossible

Day 6

I completed all of yesterday’s goals aside from stretching. It’s too easy for me to get all caught up in starting the next 90 minute work block instead of taking care of myself because I know how much can be done in one day when I really try. I could definitely move a bunch of stuff to make it happen but my studio is so small that there really isn’t a place to lay on the floor in here so it never really feels like I can stretch all the way out. That said, I always feel lucky to wake up in this 10x10’ box (that I’m not supposed to wake up in) because even though I’m more in debt than I’ve ever made in a year, I’m in a better place than most of the people on this planet.

3D Aquarium Collage just before adding another layer of resin. 

As each day passes, I’m loving the progress happening on all of my projects. I finally tapped into the self-discipline required to get up every day and make my own work schedule. Even though I can see exactly how few people are reading these blogs, documenting my process helps motivate me on a daily basis. Still considering trying to get a job or becoming available for the catering gigs again but the system is broken; working these jobs feels like treading water in one place forever. The knowledge that even if I work every day in a “safe” job, I still won’t be able to pay my bills and would remain in debt is less than inspiring. Prove me wrong! There are lots of people in Seattle I’d love to work for but I respect them too much to run off to Europe for two months after they’ve spent time training me. When a single piece of art can be sold for millions of dollars, spending eight hours a day doing anything else at this time feels pointless (delusional optimism at its finest). My blind faith in my own potential is causing me to make some very interesting choices these days.

Yesterday I storyboarded @TheRingOfDOOM pilot for Adult Swim, fleshed out the dialogue, made a list of props I need to make, and a list of places I’ll shoot. I’ve only storyboarded one other video (shown below) and I still think its one of the best things I’ve ever made. Most of my other videos were made with random iPhone footage that I weave into a story during the editing process. Pretty sure I’ll be doing all the dialogue in my own voice because I’m terrible at reaching out and everything moves faster when I do it myself. Definitely nervous about that but I’m nervous about a lot of stupid things. The process of making this video will be hilarious and the end result will have infinite potential to reach everyone I hope to reach. Hoping to finish it this week so I can send it to Adult Swim and DOOM with my series proposal. How many people do you know that have written a series proposal after reading a how-to guide and sent it to a TV network with a completed pilot episode? If I’m not just gonna taco about dreaming biggest, these are the things I must do.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the improbable questions I should be asking and I now realize that I should be asking more than ten (or even 100) people A DAY instead of just one if I really hope to make something happen in the next forty something days. Still haven’t added it to goals for some stupid reason. At this time, my legit plan to get my art in front of people who can help me is to walk right into museums and galleries with my best work and ask them what they think about it. Most of my favorite pieces are still unrefined because I haven’t tackled the mission of figuring out how to make the over-resined edges pretty as shown below. Any guidance on that one is welcome.

Unrefined edges on resin projects needing a solution.

5 Ways I Could Potentially See This Europe Trip OR Getting A Real Place To Live Actually Happening (roughly same amount of money): I'M ATTEMPTING THE TOP 3 FIRST

1.     I sell enough of my own art at a good rate to make it happen with my own money.

2.     I get a series offer and they pay for the trip.

3.     I pitch the idea to publications and they pay me to document my journey

4.     Patreon and offer actual vlogs to people who contribute

5.     Get a loan or another credit card (WORST POSSIBLE OPTION)

Today’s Goals

1.     Drink 64 oz. water

2.     Go For A Walk

3.     Stretch at least 10 minutes

4.     One Post On Website… Shared (post on all four blogs on Medium also)

5.     2-3 Instagram Posts Per Account @206liz @TheRingOfDOOM @MyDefOfCool

6.     Resin pour on all projects and start some new pieces while it is drying

7.     Make the villain required for my pilot episode out of clay and other props

SONG OF THE DAY

Bjork – “Human Behavior” Directed by Michel Gondry 1993 

So many ways to be a human…

Day 5 Of Delusional Optimist's Guide To Achieving The I'mPossible

Day 5... 

I completed almost all of yesterday’s goals but I failed to drink all the water (one glass short) or spend any time stretching. I am still surprised that I got so much done yesterday in six work blocks even though I didn’t do the easiest things. While on my walk, I wrote an entire Seattle-based pilot episode for my non-existing Adult Swim show to send along with my series proposal. It’s such a lofty goal but it is Plan A at this time so I at least have to try. If I don’t shoot my shot, I’ll always wonder. The show could potentially help ALL of my favorite artists have sustainable art/music careers so it’s a damn good ask.

Poorly lit set of @TheRingOfDOOM & Eddie's cardboard box apartment in Seattle.

The pilot starts out in @TheRingOfDOOM’s cardboard box house in Seattle with his roommate Eddie The Eight Headed Mink Snake who was the costar in my Sun Ra Tribute video I filmed in the desert (as seen below) last summer while attempting to figure out what I most want out of life. I completely realize that my iPhone videos are pretty terrible but I am learning a ton while also shining light on art, music, and doing the stuff that makes me smile. I’ve given up on the videos so many times over the last year because I know I’m bad at it but I gotta start somewhere and they are hilarious to make. When everything goes as planned, I'll be able to pay my ridiculously talented peers to make the videos pro-style.

Since the only Monday-Friday 9-5ish job I’ve ever held was a summertime camp counselor job in Lake Tahoe about fourteen years ago, all seven of the days of the week are work days. I’ve heard that Sundays are supposed to be for relaxing, showing your allegiance to organized religion, and/or watching sports but I’m gonna glue more water onto my 3D aquarium while half-watching movies from the library and YouTube videos about people who kick ass… again.

Current Library Score; love that you can leave the library with everything you want for free.

I keep reading things like, “the answer is always no if you don’t ask the question,” so I’m feeling inspired to start asking at least one improbable question every day. At the encouragement of @garyvee @timferriss and @chasejarvis podcasts, I’ve already asked some crazy questions. For example, I asked D*Face in an email if I could interview him while he was in town or when I go to London in a few months (no reply of course), I asked MF DOOM’s team if he’d like me to stop using his likeness and if it was okay to sell @TheRingOfDOOM zine I had just made (they asked me to send them the zine via email, no reply cuz it was my first zine and it sucked, still haven't printed), and I reached out to JR of the Faces & Places documentary etc. if he thought I should make a documentary instead of a series via DM on Instagram (no reply). The funny thing is that I remain afraid to ask the people in my own city who I already know to do the same thing. I 100% believe that interviewing local musicians in the woods and posting on YouTube could lead to bigger opportunities than getting paid less than $100 to play a small show in Seattle but I still haven’t reached out. The possibilities are truly endless if I dare to ask ALL the questions. *Note I have not added it to daily goals cuz I’m still scurred.

Could not be more inspired by Bobby Hundreds ⬆⬆⬆

My previous experience as a show booker under the guidance of a Superhero Talent Buyer taught me that you can make truly epic things happen just by tapping your fingers on a keyboard. The questions I have asked others via email in the past have brought thousands of people together. I couldn’t be more proud of the events I curated and the people I brought together via typing questions. It’s kinda funny that we can be afraid to tap our fingers on a keyboard. I’ve mostly worked with musicians in the past so reaching out to visual artists is new to me. Every to do list and/or collection of ideas I’ve made over the last few years has interviewing people written right at the top. I’ve circled back around to the idea of filming interviews with artists in nature on my iPhone every few months for the last five years but have still only interviewed one person. Maybe I’ll do it now because I told the internet about it… we shall see.

Today’s Goals

1.     Drink 64 oz. water

2.     Go For A Walk

3.     Stretch at least 10 minutes

4.     One Post On Website… Shared (post on all four blogs on Medium also)

5.     2-3 Instagram Posts Per Account @206liz @TheRingOfDOOM @MyDefOfCool

6.     At least 2 x 90 minute work blocks on big water collage & others

7.     90 minute work block storyboarding Adult Swim pilot I’ll film shortly to send with my proposal

SONG OF THE DAY

Aim – “Cold Water Music” 1999 – I’ve been addicted to this song for weeks now.

Day 4 Of Delusional Optimist's Guide To Achieving The I'mPossible

Day 4

I completed ALL of yesterday’s goals in seven 90 minute work blocks and a field trip. My walk was only to and from my car and at art shows but I left HQ for a bit and I’m making the rules here; sometimes getting outside your box is good enough. Feels weird to photograph @TheRingOfDOOM in Seattle galleries where people may recognize me from my previous incarnations which is exactly why I should be doing it. All of my life experience has led me here and I should be proud of my journey even if I’m a broke 40 year old woman with a clay figurine and a tech deck in my pocket. Still convinced that by studying the Visual Art world and learning how to promote my own art, I’ll be able to help musicians and other artists get out of struggle mode and into a place where their infinite potential is within reach. I’ve been in struggle mode for six years due to my upside down car loan/working in the music industry/trying to live alone in Seattle (Happy Recent 100,000 Mile Birthday Car!) and have only been able to make my life work with the overuse of credit cards which my delusional optimism can justify as investments in myself with truly terrible interest rates. Can’t wait to see what myself and others can do when we’re not in a constant panic about Bezosian Rent Warfare and the state of our country.

@claude206 Art as seen at Photon Factory

@acodd03 as seen at Photon Factory

Since I’ve stopped applying for the very few jobs I actually want out of fear that I’ll lose respect for my heroes when they fail to recognize my genius… again and I no longer can stomach working alongside people who falsely assume they’re permanently trapped in their current reality, I have no choice but to be my own boss. If I work even half as hard toward my own goals as I have for evil corporations, I will get everywhere fast but since I must start somewhere, I started with Etsy. I will be cutting out the middleman and selling art on my own site very, very soon but for now I’m selling belt buckles, patches, and zines on my Etsy page (90 minute work block win).  I haven’t paid a bill late yet but if I don’t start bringing in some fundage in the next couple weeks, that is a strong possibility. I’ve been cooking up some crazy ideas of how to creatively sell the artwork I created for #100DaysOfTheRingOfDOOMCollages and can’t wait to show you how they develop.

Yesterday’s curiosity about how to get to five figure art prices was explored with this video about Kaws and his empire while gluing pieces of water… Complex’s The Blueprint series has so many gems.

In my seventh 90 minute work block yesterday, I poured the resin on another layer of collages which always feels like a win; metaphorical and otherwise. One of the hardest parts about being single for so long is making decisions alone. For most of my life, I let others choose my destiny and I spent decades following others around but when I finally started making decisions for myself, my world got much more interesting. To me, every resin pour means that I’ve made a bunch of creative decisions and ran with it. Taking the time to discover what I must run toward has been truly priceless and I now find myself happily sprinting toward my distant destination in confidence I will find health insurance, financial stability, and like-minded optimists along the way.

Today’s Goals

1.     Drink 64 oz. water

2.     Go For A Walk

3.     Stretch at least 10 minutes

4.     One Post On Website… Shared (post on all four blogs on Medium also)

5.     2-3 Instagram Posts Per Account @206liz @TheRingOfDOOM @MyDefOfCool

6.     90 Minute work block of Adult Swim series proposal

7.     90 Minute work block of @TheRingOfDOOM video set building

Song Of The Day

James Blake – “Put That Away And Talk To Me” 2016

Day 3 Of Delusional Optimist's 48 Day I'mPossible Mission

I accomplished all of my goals for yesterday in six 90 minute work blocks. Woo! After looking into the Vice IGTV Contest, I realized that once again, using MF DOOM’s likeness is holding me back from pulling the trigger on too many things. I’ve been waiting to email the Gas Drawls team again until I finished my Adult Swim series proposal (add it to my daily goals maybe?) to ask if it is okay to sell @TheRingOfDOOM art. I am fully aware that many others profit from the use his likeness, even most likely the artist who created the ring itself, but since my end goal is to help artists make a living with their craft, I would feel douchey profiting from his likeness without permission. I’ve been procrastinating the launch of my newest character because it doesn’t fit in my pocket. After reading all the rules, I decided to make IGTV @TheRingOfDOOM movies anyway but not enter the contest. 

Went to see the D*Face show at Treason Gallery, Shohei Otomo at Statix, and a few other galleries last night before coming back here to work on my own art. No photos taken because unless there’s room to put @TheRingOfDOOM on the ground and back away, I prefer to photograph art outside. I would really love to learn exactly how D*Face reached the point of five digit art prices because selling one piece of art at that price would fund my Europe trip, pay all my bills until I get back, and buy me some much needed dental work in Spain. Just throwing this out there… when I do get into the six-seven digit art sales, these pieces I’m making now will be $$$. Invest in living artists pretty please; we don’t have health insurance. Feel free to contact me to make an offer. 

First layer of 3D aquarium collage under curing resin. 

I finished the first layer of waves on the water collage AND poured a layer of resin on it as well as a few others shown above. Due to my limited space, I wasn’t able to get a good video of the resin pour itself but I decided to unearth an un-uploaded video I had fermenting on my iPhone and share that instead. The newly uploaded YouTube video includes the resin pour of @TheRingOfDOOM belt buckle I’ve been wearing every day. While museum crashing at the Hirshhorn in Washington DC with @TheRingOfDOOM, the security guard told me he liked my belt buckle more than most of the art in the museum; 🙌.

Today’s Goals

1.     Drink 64 oz. water

2.     Go for a walk

3.     Stretch at least 10 minutes

4.     One post on website

5.     2-3 Instagram posts per account; @206liz @TheRingOfDOOM @MyDefOfCool

6.     Add new water to resin projects (At least one 90 minute work block)

7.     Go to Untitled; the art show of @acodd03 @leo.shallat @claude206 at @PhotonFactory and the Pirahna Shop Vice & Virtue Opening

8.     90 Minute Etsy Belt Buckle Work Block (haven’t done one since I started keeping track)

Art Show poster that is better than yours.

Song Of The Day...

Day 2 Of Delusional Optimist's 48 Day Mission To Europe

Day 2… 47 Days To Go

Yesterday I mostly completed all six of my goals but only posted one post on each Instagram account. It’s so easy to tell yourself that it isn’t necessary but every single thing we do to work towards our goals will get us closer… even if it’s just an Instagram post. I’ll do better today! I had not been drinking enough water lately so that surprisingly felt like the biggest win. I accomplished this productive day using the 90 minute work block system I borrowed from Chase Jarvis. The Instagramming and my blog post were completed within two 90 minute work blocks and the other four work blocks all were spent gluing tiny pieces of water to my 3D aquarium collage. When you wake up and make your own schedule every day, structure is key. See below for my crude system that works… I started this board to keep track of all my personal projects on January 21 and currently am in the 224th 90 minute work block. I do not factor in the many, many hours of walking and taking photos or any of the social media stuff I do on tour. Like the FREE Duolingo app for learning new languages, it's truly on some Mary Poppins ish because it made my "work" into a game. 

Today is already looking to be even more productive because I woke up earlier and Art Walk days inspire me more than most to get my shit together. This week, the London Street Artist D*Face has been in Seattle painting murals and prepping Treason Gallery for his art show that starts today. Since I once made a video for @TheRingOfDOOM in Las Vegas that invents the sad love story of the characters in his murals, I could not have been happier to see the lovers reunited on the streets of my very own city. Curious to know if he has seen my ridiculous YouTube video (very unlikely at 57 views) but I do feel a Part Deux coming on. Looking forward to checking out D*Face’s show at Treason Gallery tonight as well as Shohei Otomo’s show at Statix and then coming right back here to make stuff so I can be in their shoes someday.

D*Face's New Mural On 1st & Lenora In Seattle

Today’s Goals

1.     Finish first layer of water on 3D Aquarium Collage

2.     One Post On Website

3.     2-3 Instagram Posts On Each Account @206liz @TheRingOfDOOM @MyDefOfCool

4.     Drink 64 oz. water

5.     Go For A Walk

6.     Stretch For 10 Minutes Plus

7.     Research And Storyboard Vice IGTV Contest for August 6 Deadline

3D Aquarium Collage Under Construction

The Delusional Optimists Guide To Achieving The Impossible... Day 1

48 Days To Departure...

Close proximity to greatness has shown me that hard work, blind faith, a contact list, and the courage to use it will get you everywhere.

In 2009, I started a music blog to show off to the world what good taste I have. By the end of 2015, I had worked with a third of the artists I blogged about and found myself in some jaw-droppingly star studded situations on a daily basis. I worked in as many positions in the music industry possible to learn as much as I could about how I could best help the musicians that inspired me. The experience I had acquired working for independent and corporate music venues, hip hop promoters, and record labels taught me that what I really want to build would look more like a media company with lots of merch and an amazing soundtrack. Since the realization that the corporate music industry must be overthrown and I will help make it happen, I vowed to never work for corporations again and to only work on teams whose missions align with my own. For the last year and a half, I’ve been unsuccessfully scraping together a living as part of a catering team and a freelance Merch Manager for touring underground hip hop artists while also declaring myself to be a Traveling Street Art Photographer.

As an unemployed, over-achieving, workaholic, 40 year old single divorcee, my situation could go many ways. Due to my delusional optimism and saturation of entrepreneurial podcasts, I am currently in the eat shit for a few years so I can have caviar for the rest of my life phase(Gary Vaynerchuk metaphor…I prefer sushi/tacos). I couldn’t be more confident that the ROI on investing in myself will be priceless and that all of the knowledge I’ve acquired over the last 40 years will lead me somewhere totally amazing… like Europe for two months starting this September 17.  It is this quickly approaching deadline that inspired me to take extra steps to make sure I succeed via the potential of public humiliation for quitting before I’ve even tried. My mission is to figure out how to go from negative $0 to two months in Europe photographing Street Art and filming my fictional character having epic adventures. I’m leaving for London in 48 days.

I have many, many lists of ways to reach my goal but all of them require the courage to reach out I have yet to find within myself. My greatest fears include looking like a moron in front of people who don’t care about me and actually creating the world I’ve envisioned for myself. When all of my To Do’s are checked off, will I even be able to handle the light being shined in my direction? All I know for sure is that if I don’t reach for this seemingly impossible future, I will ALWAYS wonder what could have been.

Fueled by the determination to art my way out of this tiny box I stay in and to create opportunities for the artists that inspire me, I’ve decided to share my progress toward creating the Intergalactic Art Bridge I believe is possible. Instead of over-analyzing how much of my story to tell and procrastinating, I will stop looking backwards (ha) and just get to work. At this time, I feel that going all in with my own art will take me everywhere I want to go so I’ve been making the art I will display when I finally get the courage to ask for an art show and succeed. I’ve yet to sell any of my own art so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. 

Today’s To Do List… (I’ll let you know tomorrow if I did it)

1.     More work on the first layer of my 3D aquarium collage.

2.     One post on my website… shared on social media accounts

3.     2-3 Instagram posts per account; @TheRingOfDOOM @206liz @MyDefOfCool

4.     Drink 64 oz. of water

5.     Go For A Walk

6.     Stretch 10 Minutes Plus

Today’s Art... 2’ x 3’ paper collage of water