What a whirlwind experience! Part of it had to do with being swept away in the magic of A&H's Participation, but most of the whirlwind effect was caused by how much I had to do to prepare. I was one of 21 featured artists in charge of designing and hosting an artist table. The result of my table design is a 9 foot long star book titled "Old Friends".
This was the second Participation I've been to, last year I was one of the volunteers, and it was just as spectacular as I've come to expect. I loved where my table was- I was right outside the window to my studio and next to the fantastic Nathalie Chikhi as well as the Macaroni & Cheese food station. I realized when I saw the event layout a few days before that I may have been a little too emotive about Mac & Cheese station at the Participation artists' meeting.
I also ran a "creation-station" during the evening where I helped guests print their own print to take home with them. I've done this set up before (1st Thursdays, art festivals, etc..), but I made a special linocut for this one. I used oil based ink, so hopefully everyone who came by heeded my warnings and no one ended up with a circus tent on something other than Arches.
Preparation was a week of long nights (and sometimes long mornings) and I've still got aches and pains a week later to remember it by. Apparently my self-loathing was at an all time high as I pushed off production until the Monday before the event. This is the largest book I've ever made. The back layer alone is a 12 foot hand printed linocut.
