Okay I've sat down to write this blog post at least three times, I think, and the damn thing doesn't want to get written. I don't know why. But here it is:
I have this thing I'm working on; it's called SpaceCat! (That's all one word, in case you didn't notice.) At various times I have described SpaceCat in the following ways: Ziggy Stardust+internet cat videos+ street art, my alter-ego, my artistic identity, an interdisciplinary web installation, Facebook art. SpaceCat comprises the following things sometimes referred to as the Five Faces of SpaceCat: Zaphod in all his many photogenic moods, a stencil I designed of Zaphod as I imagine he would look in a spacesuit, shirts on which I have painted said stencil, me and my girlfriends (or boy friends - ahem Josh Tolle) wearing little to no makeup and posing in SpaceCat shirts, videos of me dressed up as a feline impersonating Zaphod (I'm imfelinating him, get it?), me dressed up as a superhero named SpaceCat, the Facebook page (SpaceBook page) I created to act as a home for all this.
Okay, I feel better having that all off my chest. Sometimes I have to get out of my own way and just write it down without making it too complicated. I'm going to save this now.
Okay, good, it's saved. So what's left to tell? What is the point, you may ask? I wrote a response to that question a few weeks ago, but I have to admit that it is a valid question. Well, I'm hoping to push my career further with this thing. For a while there I was experiencing no joy in my art, and SpaceCat is nothing if not joyful. I think ultimately by doing all this: making my weird videos, creating a story about a superhero named SpaceCat who fell to Earth, and painting shirts and putting them on my friends, that I am exploring and displaying a much rounder version of myself as an artist. My hope is that I can really bring everything to the table, and ultimately have more success in my career as an artist.
So how? Aargh, that's another good question. The two things I have in front of me right now are my videos and my shirts. For a while now I've been exploring with paint and used tee-shirts (a great excuse to go to the thrift store) and my stencil, and having a lot of fun making designs. I've been posting pictures of my process (along with all the inspiring things I see on my way about the world) on Instagram (you can follow me @nerdgirl). So far I am really pleased and touched by the responses I've gotten to my SpaceCat shirts. I have a pretty good variety at this point, and made my first sale last week. Now I need to start really selling them, and also think about how I want to continue with my little business. Things under consideration: Etsy, silk-screening, buying wholesale tee-shirts. The important points for me are that they be affordable and fun, and ideally that I get to photograph everyone in their respective SpaceCat shirt. This aspect of SpaceCat is called Imperfect Woman, but I'm not going to get into that right now. After all, I've got to keep you interested, right?
As far as the videos go, I am currently working on the second one: SpaceCat and the Cone of Shame! I am so excited, and I really hope you'll like it. And again, I totally, TOTALLY appreciate the support we received for the first one. Thank you. I have ideas for other videos after that - some about SpaceCat, some about Chatty Cathy (hooray!!) and some other totally unrelated things. The videos are important to me because even if they're low budget to begin with, I'm creating the habit of making my own work: following through with ideas start to finish, doing what I say I'm going to do, learning the skills I don't have, and putting art out into the world regularly.
So that's what I'm working on. Something that should hopefully bring in a little money, and something else that should hopefully get me a little more exposure. I don't know if this clarifies at all for you what SpaceCat is. But you can follow the process and see how it develops if you're interested. And of course, if you like what you see: 'like' my SpaceBook page, share it with your friends, contact me about buying a shirt, offer me your input, suggest a trade, smile.
I am eternally universally infinitely lovingly blessedly happily star-brightly sun-shiningly sweetly goofily thankfully joyously grateful for your continued presences in my life.
SpaceCat loves you.
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