#djgnews

[artdjg]

THE DJGITAL THROWN

ENTRY00019 / FEB 02, 2023 / OBSTACLES 1 & 2

New year, new title for this news thing. I’ve had DJGITAL THROWN flinging about for about a decade now. It’s a play on my life (initials, luddite, etc.), and at one time it was going to be my “art name,” at least reserved to tag any collaborations. I think it’s still actually credited to a couple of projects. It’s also hoovering on some social media things, as well as employed as an identifier for my more “computer” or “design” based creations.

I’ve been slowly allowing the kittens to have run of the art room. Only because I’ve given up at their door busting, leaps over barriers I try to position (some large canvases I continue to neglect), and ultimately find success in that I’m a spineless pushover. I’ve been referring to Ricky & Buster as Obstacles 1 & 2. Notably when they stand on in-progress work, or start climbing the stacks of stuff ... and most importantly the record player. I draw the line at that. They don’t miss much and keep me on my toes.

I’m unsure I have much art news. This latest edition is more an excuse to create content, I guess (speaking of - sharing the daily path again, just not really my art). It seems that 2022′s bumps spilled into January. My favorite month was consumed and distracted me more than anticipated. Notably by the death of a close associate who was a great friend and a supporter of the things I create. Despite internal fog and fatigue, I managed to power through and make a decent pile the first month of 2023. I don’t always cite, sit around waiting, nor force-search inspiration as the driver to simply create, but sometimes she has a strange currency to cash-in. It’s just work ... the art of working on myself ... and I believe in just getting to it.

Fun Stuff: I’m trying not to take this golden era of Kansas City Chiefs football for granted. What a fun and special treat. Now to prep that Super Bowl spread. As well as see what our city’s finest statues look like in football gear. I suspect Europeans roll eyes at our “football” nonsense, but I can dig it.

-djg (Image: DJG / Bedroom Chiefs Art / Early ‘90s)

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00018 / DEC 23, 2022 / FLAP ARMS AND DELIVER

This year has been similar to that of misplaced hands on keystrokes. (Tgus tear gas beeb sunukar ti tgat if nusokaced gabds ib jetstrijes. - something like that) Maybe more where to end than where to start. They all have rocky bits, the years, but it seems once every eight to ten I get one in need of reinventing the training wheel. Details will be spared. However, the low blows have come in spells of great loss as a cat and an uncle move on to wait for us down the lane. Slight of hand hiccups have appeared in all shapes and sizes of illness and strife, stops and sputters. That’s just life and life only. At the end of it all we’re still truckin’ and treatin’ the streets ahead, sorting the bad with the good all the same strewn across the landscape. To siphon or trade in one for the other would tip the scales of suspect. Gotta keep meanderin’, count the creek turtles and make out the madness of asphalt squiggle drips.

It’s a time for lists. Laundry and other. Maybe I watch too many movies. Who cares what I like or say I waste limited waking hours on. And I’ve mostly got yet another pile of art to pin and parade. I’m still sussing out what to make of it all, yet equally happy while making it all. For the record I’ve been this way for a long time now. It’s not a manner of storing up treasure. The process is just that for me. However, I suppose I do need to turn a new corner before the walls dent and collapse. I spent 2022 retooling the idea of social media, at least in the context of myself and what I wish to share and be a part of in this grand experiment that keeps getting more and more problematic. (a prolific inspiration recently said it better / another has managed it well to coincide with the journey)

Here we are again about to cross over. I’m unsure where this is leading into 2023. I recently shot a well-received video (at least in the circle of a handful) of the kittens recently. The temptation to instantly throw it on Instagram for everyone had me curious. I may wait it out further and see if Ricky and Buster do something even more spectacular and side-treasure-tickling for my new phone to capture and store. Or, whatever. I’m running out of storage physically and DJGitally with the footprint. I’m too cheap to buy more space, but will keep doing my best to flap arms and deliver.

Updates: Books / Mail Art / Photography / Sketchbooks / Travel Notes / 2022 Art

-djg

PS: Here is my annual Best of mix of tunes that really did it for me in 2022.

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00017 / NOV 18, 2022 / DJGCDETC.

It’s interesting how things align. This fall I finally wrapped my epic book of music packages DJGCDETC., with a huge section devoted to old KC friends Elevator Division. Then, this week the band announced an old-new piece of art we’d scrapped nearly twenty years prior (above). I don’t believe I’ve ever shared it before, but it’s now available on a t-shirt. Message from the band:  “ We found a beautiful artifact this past summer hiding in a folder — it's a gorgeous design that our artist friend Danny Gibson (aka. ArtDJG) made for us circa 2004-ish, but was never used. It perfectly unifies the past and present for us. We have now printed this design on a soft, heather-black Bella+Canvas T-shirt for your wearing pleasure. We hope you’ll consider ordering one!”

In other news, we recently had a couple weeks away making marks and memories in the desert of West Texas (Abilene / Big Bend / Marfa) and New Mexico (Alamogordo / White Sands / Carlsbad Caverns / Roswell / Santa Fe). It was very beautiful, inspiring, even quite surreal. New art is starting to trickle out, but here’s some made along the way. That being said, after a dozen years of travel art and notes in the states and abroad, I’m pushing closer to putting together a full book of content, likely come next summer. Of course, it may all depend on where we go next.

Back to work! -djg

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00016 / OCT 27, 2022 / DJGCDETC. (Music Packages, 1997-2022)

Soaking the bulk of this year, the latest DJG archival monograph is now available for purchase at the online self-publishing store. Clocking in at a portly 220 pages, DJGCDETC. is a comprehensive and detailed journey through the vault of various music packages (CD-Tape-Vinyl-Digital) created and carved out from the years 1997 to 2022. 

Preview This Book   |   More Books

Side Note: As with my poetry collections (2015 & 2020) and poster books (2021), I tried to keep the production and selling costs of DJGCDETC. as affordable as I can, and without sacrificing any of the core content (other than writing essays for various projects, which I may simply produce as blog content to bore you at some point). I even considered releasing this book in several volumes, but decided on just one big one. For the record (pun intended) I self-publish everything, have to buy my own book(s), and receive less than a dollar for each item sold. (Be sure to look for coupons online!)

DJGCDETC. - Book Forward (Photo: MMG, 2008)

It can be as much a mystery to what makes a great marriage between visual art and music as it is to what artist or band actually gets "seen" or "heard." This magical fusion first thumped me as a small child with the apple on records by The Beatles. As a young designer later on, my sleeves skipped stones of creative influence ranging from the likes of Stanley Donwood, Vaughan Oliver, Peter Saville, Stefan Sagmeister, Art Chantry, Saul Bass and Push Pin Studio. In many of the cases herein, I can't say which came first, the visuals or the music. A lot of times I just followed my gut before even listening to or knowing much about the musician or band. There were times an idea would instantly appear fully to me, then I'd get to work. Other times a friend would say I should make something for "so and so's band," and then I would. Some were far more labor-intensive, "Big Gulp" projects. Other times it was a fun excuse to spend an evening or several. And in a few cases to eat junk food and inhale paint fumes. A bit of think ... mostly a lot of make. Even the ones that barely made deadline or had to be coerced out of corners hold a special anchor in my timeline - when I was creatively responsible with many a CD design for Kansas City, MO musicians (on a meager budget), as well as a handful on other shores. This collection of various music packages, initial sketches, stages and steps, multiple drafts and production, is arranged by preferred aesthetic, style and subject. Pleased to be included are a handful of handmade items cut from the cloth of high school and design school (1997-2001); others cut from the backs of everyday scraps; some that were cut and scrapped entirely; and finally a few on the cut path since swapping DESIGN for ART in 2011. The ETC. in the book title simply stands for everything else: vinyl record and tape projects, plus the slimmer visual footprints of digital singles. (There's even a long lost DVD package.) All are equally important in my development and trade as an artist at every stage. I'm as pleased with the outcomes just the same, no matter how ambitious the directional ebb and flow my interests and paths of exploration, excitement and expectation took me and others the last quarter-century. That being said, per closeness I can't fairly say each result is successful, nor flattering this far removed. There are certain designs that feel dated, flopped entirely or simply don't stick. I can also tell when I was out of gas, way off, or went for broke on an idea (broke is the keyword). Certain fruits of my labors are still bruised as the printer (most cases myself) botched the final design, or in other instances projects painted me into corners, or simply turned a corner without me. Yet all were a lot of fun (and a little stressful) trying to get there - into eventual eyes, hands and ears ... perhaps even onto shelves, under car seats, storage spaces and secondhand bins. Daily routine, process and my own private artistic journey is everything to me. It's also rewarding to see a stack of progress, and to share it freely. Even more, making friends because of it and finding my art buried in local shops and closets. Thanks to those who allowed and assisted me in putting sight to sound in our little plot of the underground.

-DJG, 2022

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00015 / OCT 04, 2022 / PRODS & PROJECTILES VOL. 3

About a dozen years ago an up and coming Kansas City company gave me a very promising shot at designing their identity. Let’s just say in retrospect I wish the word “shot” was something I knew going into the project. Unbeknownst to me for several weeks, many artists and designers had been approached to toss ideas into the barrel like a design competition (a tactic I’m not a fan of as a professional, and was even warned about in early design education). No wonder my seemingly elusive pizza parlor meetings took place. Needless to say the job ultimately fizzled. To be honest when boiling it all down, this project ended up being the final straw to break DJG Design. To which I’m quite grateful as it was a long time coming with internal wrestling, and I finally found peace in the pieces of this disaster I poured way too much time and energy into. At least I got a couple slices of pizza out of it. I’d come full-circle: paid in food in the early design days (and some in the middle) and I went out the same way. I’m not here to kick cans, but what’s a little humorous to me is right away I mentioned their chosen business name could cause legal issues down the road. Sure enough, a few years later they had to rename / rebrand. That would’ve come with its own design frustrations. Extra funny is I now drive by their operations almost daily. Looking in the rearview I probably wasn’t the best fit for the job anyway.

In other news ... my forthcoming music package tome DJGCDETC. (1997-2022) is very near the finish line. It will be self-released before the holidays. Speaking of identities ... initially I had plans to release a comprehensive logo book this fall, but it’s likely shelved until spring of next year. As with the music package book I’ll be including every single canceled and limbo project.

-djg

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00014 / SEP 26, 2022 / PRODS & PROJECTILES VOL. 2

As often is the case, where has the month gone? Another interesting and promising collaborative project that dissipated over the years was a fun little book on Penguin Park, a beloved Kansas City area playground for children and big kids alike. A poetic story was written by the author and I was slated to breathe life into unique illustrations based on the park’s iconic animals. Overall, I’m unsure what happened to this project, yet still very pleased with my side of the story. (Here’s more illustrations. I don’t believe they’ve been shared since I finished in 2018. Seems longer now.)

In related “park” news, here’s some travel notes and art from a recent camp and kayak adventure in south Missouri. We also made a quick lunch stop in the old design school stomping grounds of downtown Springfield, MO. Lots of good memories (now, with 25 years of dream-like edits) hunched along with me and a gelato through the new-old streets. Side Note: The university art gallery desk I sat behind for many semesters is now a sandwich shop. -djg

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00013 / SEP 01, 2022 / PRODS & PROJECTILES VOL. 1

While prepping a forthcoming monograph of music packages (roughly 80% finished) I came across some old art friends. No, not humans and/or former clients I thawed out of storage, rather projects that were put in a corner.

No matter the amount of success, award, positive feedback or great review, it’s the gut punch of a failure that yells the loudest. They are the hammer to the thumb. The sugar lump to the mug. At best I tend to tip a sip towards half-full, but in my defense it’s a Big Gulp. The yell-slap of failure is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s generally the crunch of process, put out and perspective that adds a pinch of wisdom so often accompanied in the wince of reflection.

Perhaps I’ve shared some of these projects over the years. To be clear I won’t go deep into the caverns of details, folks involved, etc. There is not much dirt to be had, and besides that route is a silly one to take, especially at my next-level of nothingness. I’m still happy with my end of the creative results and had fun getting there. With many extra miles logged, it simply felt an apt and fun time to share in the month of September. That, mixed with past anxiety, failure, etc. pecking in perpetuity at the bird seed husk of my inner lining. Enough introduction. 

In 2011 I was contacted to create the initial layout and environment designs for a promising video game. Its premise: a steampunk style involving a strong female character traversing a universe of airships. I’m really unclear on the name and plot, but it was sold to me rather well and professionally. Overall, the vision appeared very legit to happen, and with the capital and knowledge to get off the ground (in other words, much more than the average project I was accustomed to). There were even work contracts and drafts for the potentiality of royalties. On the team there was a composer; a group of digital designers; script and code writers; project managers and directors, etc. It was a little daunting to consider the task of designing the environment of the game (as well as compute my ideas with the guys “building” the game as I know nothing about video games), but a very fun challenge to wed the way in which I make things to the screen world. (The project would turnout to serve as an early blueprint in the way I’d eventually construct music videos.)

A nervous meeting with the project leader over coffee and sketches quickly turned into excitement (not to mention a lost parking ticket for him - the garage was paid far more for this project than I would ever be). After bulking up on research, I soon set up a corner of the basement cranking out large handmade airship collages, structures and game level environment examples (above). Shared email files were well-received. Then ... then ... (as often the case with ambitious collaborative endeavors) ... crickets entered the frame. After a long stretch it had turned out that I (and the composer, I think) were the only ones who’d actually created anything. Life got in the way. Life faded from the project. Similar to the experience raked with a former romantic lean-to, weeks later I finally anxiously asked if this was actually ever going to happen. NO. Down with the ship I went.

Hours: Incalculable. Let’s just ballpark it at A LOT. Payment: 1 cup of coffee.

-djg 

Image 1: Core Airship Docking Station Image 2: Core Airship Docking Station (w/all ships docked, ships = levels) Image 3: Production Process (large cut paper collage) Image 4: Example Level Design (a ship interior)

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00012 / AUG 12, 2022 / SUMMER NIGHTS

Well into its second decade, my creative partnership with veteran Kansas City, MO band (and former roommates who helped lure me into what it is I’m still kind of doing - whatever that is) Elevator Division continues with Summer Nights. It was another easy, no-knee-skin project for me to simply “OK!” a photograph I snapped many years (summer nights?) ago. Honestly, I don’t know the date-setting on the photo, but should probably do that eventually.

This is the third in a series of new singles from the band in the last couple of years (after something like fifteen years off!) that I’ve been fortunate to merge materials / share the band with. (The mostly complete Eldiv2.0 design archive.) That reminds me, I still need to get my limited vinyl copy of last year’s excellent Words and Pictures / Torn Apart.

In related news, I recently tracked down a bunch of buried art files from the initial creative sessions for Eldiv’s 2004 album Years. Some of this art will finally see the light of the internet, light bulbs and potentially the sun ... very soon.

What’s next? I’m nearing the end with an unplanned hiatus on a book planned for this winter. Meaning: I need to build it. If you’ll do the math (?), you’ll understand its premise by the partial working title DJGCDETC. The book will have a bit of a companion as well. So, that’s the beans on a couple more chips in my own private archival series. I’m also piling up some more special sketchbook projects (like earlier this year). I’m still unsure if I wish to produce “actual” books out of these, or offer the original compilations for “X” sum of money. New-NEW art posts on this site may slow a bit. I’m still stacking stuff up daily, but may not be as regular with online updates. We’ll see how I feel.

BONUS CONTENT: KCMO’s famed Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art gets a fun namedrop in Eldiv’s Summer Nights. It brings back a lot of memories!

PS: Here’s a little something I wrote in honor of my late uncle.

-djg (Photo: DJG / Layout & Design: Elevator Division)

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00011 / JUNE 22, 2022 / DOLDRUMMER IN A BAND OF OUTSIDERS

We're in the thick of another summer slog. It's a never ending nothingness that I never warm to. It's rather gross. Even the artificial wave-like-Wurlitzer air of an average indoor office ice box is exhausting. If you know me well, bones are less brittle and fat is far more welcoming during the winter months of Kansas City. I rarely feel "just right," but I'm accustomed to acceleration of emptying the tank this time of year. In addition to the season, we've been shoveling a lot of extra piles of emotion. This adds to the benefit of hiding out and hunching over even more, as well as feeding from a joyful bounty that a couple of three-month-young kittens bring. Nearly two months with the brothers and they are far more my keeper. As for the art, I'm still creating at the same clip, just in-between said scratches I'm perfecting some internal archival housekeeping and external online scrub-dubbing. It's a marathon process I'm trying to better digitize and document over the last few years as quickly deteriorating disc media reservoirs dump into oceanic hard-drives. I'm doing this before "the cloud" inevitably IV drip dries soft-drive spells straight to "the brain." OK (Computer), you ask. What does this all mean? No clue. At least the stuff you can't see. I'm not on social media much, though it can be argued Tumblr fits in there, rather I'm enjoying my own curation and pace in a pick 'n' choose paint-by-number (emphasis on the numb) make and model. Of late I've added a new "ART SPACES" section to my core Tumblr site. After 20 years of many make spaces with little space in which to make, I thought it was a fun way to share my time spent in various bedrooms and basements. It's really nothing special and lacks vital ingredients to say much more than pinpoint a time and a place. I personally fill-in the rest. Or, perhaps it's a refresher for any visitors of the era. I'm omitting some, such as brief couch surfs, interim catch-alls, etc. There's simply just a date and photo for each main location / configuration, and maybe I'll get the want and guts to share more nuts and bolts and connectors as time passes. I love the challenge of making a space work (at least the what and the where of those I've worked in and worked with), as well as the actual work put into it. And let's not forget the work trickling out lends itself to each. The thread may be similar, but the inspiration, mileage and results can be surprising. As mentioned in my previous update, online sharing has now spilled into utilizing the voice of Medium, and I kind of dig it on a personal scale of "medium-rare" use. I've recently flooded my page with favorite 2015 poetry releases, and working towards those I self-published in 2020. Not to mention a few other writing samples, tributes, etc. It's good to have a better umbrella for this stuff. As with all of my creative activity over the years, if others get something from it, then that's the cookie jar at Grandma's. -djg (Photo: My current space in 2013 before completely filling it.)

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00010 / JUNE 07, 2022 / THE FAMILY LITTER BOX

Other than continually chipping away in my little corner, there’s not a lot of art news to report. I’d also prefer to advance a little further on another slow moving noteworthy archival project boulder (or two) before putting it out into the wild web. I guess I did recently update the mail art site with a new simple skin and shipments from a few months back. Oh, and here’s the archive of a sketchbook I mostly compiled in April titled ‘A’ Book.

The biggest update is two new members to the family litter box on Memorial weekend, 7-week old (and growing fast) brothers Ricky Baker and Buster Bluth. Born on the family farm, they are now lapping up the luxury as city kitties. I’ve yet to introduce them to the art room (”NO CATS IN HERE PLEASE”), and the late-great Porchie’s “CAT BOX” sits still with scraps, but I’ll surely have paw prints on the art pieces once again. As for teenage sister Gangy’s involvement with the little ones, she’s none too enthused, yet curious at a distance ... her fortress of solitude no more. 

-djg

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00009 / MAY 03, 2022 / ACROSS THE CONCRETE PRAIRIES

Growing up in rural Missouri I popped more blacktop bubbles with bike and shoe tread on country roads than skateboard ollies on urban concrete. Regardless, this didn't steer me from participating in a Kansas City, MO skateboard design show two decades ago. It was a fun challenge to tackle a different medium other than posters at the time. I'm still pleased with my results, even if the final product and production was never usable. I spent an afternoon photographing various construction markings on downtown KC streets. Then, I pieced it all together for the final image in the photo above. Unfortunately, I have no clue what happened to my board piece after the exhibition closed. I assume it was chuckled or has been rotting away in a Kansas City Crossroads crawlspace. It was more prototype than final product, anyway. That's okay. I've still got the photos and digital files to prove it. Maybe one day I'll have an actual board made? "Skate or Die" they say? I'll try not to trip on stay-put surfaces.

In other news, I missed National Poetry Month in April. Aren’t they all? I did slap some on my new Medium page. Maybe I’ll add more in due time. And if talking collections of poetry, I’ve got ten books at the ready over on Blurb. In recent weeks I’ve rounded up and written enough for another book or few. We’ll just have to see where those go. -djg (Photo: MMG, 2003)

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00008 / APR 14, 2022 / A THREE ACT LECTURE SMASHED INTO ONE

In April 2007 I drove myself sick with anxiety concerning my first and final lecture. In conjunction with this glimpse of my brief art and design life, I had a retrospective art exhibition - all five years of it! Nothing short of filling up a car and gallery space, nonetheless, and doing all of this in the span of 24 hours in Springfield, MO. Grateful for the opportunity, as well as those in my stompsteps who helped curate and lure me back to my former design school (and in the same theater I once dozed during art history class), I truly dreaded this moment and find that my personal critique still borders on cringe at best. Whereas, I think my public performance was received with grace, I've personally needed many years to get over the event - fifteen and counting. Over the years, and several studio spaces since, I've continued to shuffle around the digital files and discs housing and haunting "DJG's One Eyebrow." Aside from needing major editing, I'll say that I'm largely pleased with how the "slides" turned out. I’ll find a more permanent home for them all in due time, but here’s something I shared five years ago. What’s in your rearview? -djg

PS: In conjunction with these slides, I was commissioned by a friend in 2011 to create a “Pictorial History” project of my life up to that point.

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00007 / APR 04, 2022 / HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF LENTICULAR GRAPHICS?

I've always had a day job, but never one involving actual art and design. Nonetheless, I had some scheduled interviews to appease particular parties (i.e. parents). So, between band poster slings and toilet bowl cleans, I had a "real" design job interview in Spring 2002. It was at a very old printing house on the extremely high and darkened second, maybe third, floor of what I had perceived to be a bombed out building. (For the record, much could be said of many blocks of downtown Kansas City, MO twenty years ago.) Narrow stairs ascended to a frail, middle-aged man (likely my present age, yet seemed ancient to my cracked vocals, then and now) hunched over a desk, who looked as if he had never accepted sunlight, reminding me of a Miyazaki or Coen brothers movie character. Sweating, looking around at archaic machinery, I had no clue what kind of "design" was being done here, nor if I'd even be granted permission to leave the premises alive, but this guy seemed about right for the part. He flipped through in about 10 seconds (barely enough time for me to unzip the case) the portfolio Kinko's had just milked from me. I was rather proud of its contents, he was not. Quickly, he jumped to the point behind a thick mustache, inky frame and sinister voice, "Have you ever heard of lenticular graphics?" I gasped and gulped a bushy tailed beet red fib of, "Oh yeah, totally!" as he flashed me the back ‘n’ forth magic in a Harry Potter trading card like it was a top / Topps secret. I thought I had the job. I looked around again and thought I could easily “fake it ‘til I make it” quite comfortably here. He then said I could go. With relief I flew down the stairs. I'm still waiting for that call back, even though I could tell he didn't like me. Not to mention I believe the building was demolished years ago. (I’m pretty sure it’s the building pictured above, but my memory could be playing lenticular tricks. I do know this building no longer exists. Did it ever?)

Anyway, there's a bombed out block of my blog partitioned for (almost) all of my art and design Innerviews from the last couple decades. It was an early pandemic project I finally got to, yet I don't think I ever shared it publicly. With the addition of some miscellaneous odds and ends, most of these long winded expressions of excess involve me answering the same questions over and over from the first decade of DJG Design. As for the last ten years ... it’s mostly me talking to my middle-aged self, hunched over a dimly lit desk surrounded by archaic machinery and whatever kind of “design” it is I have done or sometimes do.

-djg (Photo: Save the Lane Building - Facebook Page, 2014)

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00006 / MAR 25, 2022 / NO CATS IN HERE PLEASE

I've been ignoring the scrawled art studio note for almost a decade. It's more for the humans around when I am not. This certainly did not deter Porchie. She typically yelled at me with the widest range of emotion (those eyes, that voice) to open the door. Of course, this came after flop-bounding down the stairs, and often with far too much momentum for such a tiny thing. Equally concerning were my legs going out from under me. Then, with grit and determination squeezing through the door I attempted to open with words exchanged and beverage nearly spilled. It didn't matter how many mornings or evenings (for years) we did this dance, Porchie still reacted as if I would not let her in. Once inside she'd slink around the shelves and plop-vault from a crate of vinyl records to my tabletop, and only if my desk chair was positioned just right - it was known quickly when I failed her mark. Pending on mood or season, she'd nest tucked away in the underworld of the desk chair. On most visits she'd make way through the odd maze that is my workspace of knickknacks, junk stacks, supplies, computer stuff, boxes, etc. She became rather skilled at "Floor is Lava," even if that little ungraceful body bulldozed many items to the floor. Quickly, I learned to relocate fragile keepsakes, to place a layer or two of protective cardboard on top of the records, to hide the watercolor mug. Any art in process was fair game for Porchie paws, and she seemed to have a sixth sense for paint and pastels on paper. It was my fault if I was in the middle of something and couldn't clear the workspace fast enough when she made the rounds. Especially if I'd been in my room solo on extended weekend time and subject to sneak attack. She could not contain her sirens to my startle. Sometimes her soft tortoiseshell body would roll around on the table, basking in a cuteness unmatched. She'd notify me with voice and paw if I invested elsewhere, often forcing me to watch, to work around her. The best were the epic yawns that included a high-five to the air with an outstretched paw - a leg once so tiny now extended towards the light. At 4am on Monday morning I found her sitting once again at the door. This after many days of staying put on the couch, fighting sickness and drained of energy. No longer able to vocalize, her still big eyes said it all. Bittersweetly, I obliged and she managed a wiggle of excitement as I turned the doorknob. She wobble-waltzed inside and for a few minutes positioned under the desk chair. I told her she could do her thing, that I'd be right here. Somehow enough energy was mustered to jump on top of the records. She paused and looked. I was told to put the chair just right so she could now jump onto the table. One last time she crawled into the chair to rest. -djg ( Porchie Art - 2022  / Porchie Rolling on Art - 2010 )

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00005 / MAR 07, 2022 / SKELETONS STILL SURVIVING AND SPEAKING

Knowing I appreciate and collect interesting art and design samples, a friend gifted me something from her recent travels. I thanked her and she then said that if I liked that, I could take whatever I want from a bedroom closet. OK?! She opened the door and on the back were taped a handful of band posters, three of which I was already quite acquainted with from nearly twenty years ago (see above)! I perked up and pointed, “I already have those three ... because I made them!” It was an odd coincidence as she had no idea I’d designed them. In fact, I’m unsure she knows of my complete design history. I kind of think she thought I was joking. It turns out her daughter had collected them from Kansas City, MO venues and stores back in the day (2003). What a fascinating time capsule. It made my day, as well as had me tickled in wonder of my skeletons still surviving and speaking behind closed doors.

Inside digital closet door news ... I’ve updated the mail art site with a couple batches of last month’s Valentine’s cards, as well as another round to my pals in Brooklyn, NY.

Keeping a contained sketchbook, not to mention coloring inside a preset, isn’t something I’ve been great at over the years. I guess I like to assume everything I do-make-say-think as part of my on-going “sketchbook,” so to speak. In attempt at an artistic tune-up, I spent a couple weeks in February filling cover-to-cover a book gifted to me the previous month. I knew if I didn’t fully commit, it would likely find itself buried in a growing pile of empty bound pages. I’m pleased with the results, and once I got going I couldn’t stop. Perhaps I turned a new corner after all these years (or found another way in which to drain pens and empty scrap bins)? If interested, checkout The Thick Walls of Sell-you-low-ss, as well as 2020′s Unseasonably Warm.

Here’s art I made in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

-djg

[artdjg]

ALL THAT’S FIT TO DJGITALLY SPIT

ENTRY00004 / FEB 14, 2022 / EIGHTIES INNOCENCE LOST & FOUND

The Slider I fell from a slide like a saint from a horse I think I could have died on life’s obstacle course Blacked out for a bit looking lonely at the world My place my name my face eclipsed Awoke a little sore in a backseat fit I was smiling and grinning with a youthful fat lip I fell from a slide it wasn’t gravity’s force A conversion or transition it could have been worse

From the book That Tingle You Feel is God Pulling Loose Threads, 2015 (more). The above imagery and poem is based on a significant moment in my life. I often come back to it in reflection. Here are more highlights from that year. -djg