Fashioned By Jaye -- a little update

It's been about 4 months since I ended my occupation of 212 S Campbell, and while in some ways Fashioned By Jaye had a good run it's left me somewhat burned out (thus the lack of activity in 4 months). However, it's occurred to me (as I'm sitting here working on my tax return) that there are a lot of loose ends left to deal with and I haven't even posted an update on what's happening with the company.

In short, not a hell of a lot.

I'm not sure where I want to go with my little endeavor at this point, although I am sure I don't want to let it die. The absolute honest truth, though, is that FBJ turned into something that I didn't enjoy by the end of it. I made a lot of compromises to keep things running, and before long the person who ran the company and the person who created stuff under the FBJ label might have shared the same body but were two different people. The Jaye that many people met at the shop was a sanitized, artificial version of the real me, and it's not good when you don't feel able to be yourself in your own store.

It's not a huge leap from Business Owner Jaye to the regular version (sounds like I should be made into collectible dolls), it's just little things. Business Owner Jaye was so worried about paying bills that she was afraid to offend anyone. She didn't play the music that really inspires her in the shop because it wasn't radio friendly. She nodded and smiled when customers talked about controversial opinions with which she didn't agree because she didn't want them to feel uncomfortable about buying something from her. She referred to her girlfriend of almost six years as her roommate. She kept her personal life segregated from the business.

Bleh. Enough of that.

I started FBJ because I wanted to make a living making and selling my art. That's not what it became. At this point I'm not even all that concerned about the money part. I have a job I like, and my art doesn't need to be anything but a hobby. So if I'm going to keep FBJ alive as a means of creating and getting my creations the hell out of my studio where they're just going to collect dust, it needs to be an honest, enjoyable endeavor.

So...

What does that mean for FBJ? It will live on, but it won't necessarily be as warm and fuzzy. No promises about update frequency, amount of work produced, or content thereof. I will probably merge fashionedbyjaye.com, the long-neglected bits-of-paper.com, and my blog into one site. I might do more vlogs. I might do a lot of things. I'm just going to see what happens.

If you want to see what happens, too, stick around. Subscribe. I might send out newsletters. I might not.

I will be lending my magazine weaving abilities to the Black Owl Bread Company, which is the brainchild (ovenchild?) of a good friend of mine. She makes awesome bread, and you should order some. Seriously. It's fucking good.

Some new stuff

Tomorrow is the First Friday Art Walk, and Kourt and I are doing a joint show of digital work. So I've got some new stuff done:

Yep, that's right, I'm permanently on display in the bathroom.

If you ever find yourself in Poplar Bluff, Missouri looking for something to do, there's a little museum in an old house on, I believe, Main St. It's called the Margaret Harwell Art Museum. When you're done looking through the two floors of art, head down through the gift shop on the first floor and visit the restroom.

Yeah, I'm serious.

I've used the username "jayetheartist" on various websites in recent years, and it's not just something I thought sounded cool. Not only do I actually create artwork, I've also sold a fair amount of it over the years. A while back I even sold two pieces to the Margaret Harwell Art Museum for their permanent collection.

So after you've seen all the other exhibits and are using the restroom, just look up at the wall across from the toilet, and there you will find one of my works. Yep, that's right, I'm permanently on display in the bathroom.

Another A-ha! moment

No, not the 80s group.

I discovered today, in trying to define some of my recent work for an artist's statement, that a lot of what I do artistically has definite roots in Surrealism. That came as a bit of a surprise to me, though I don't suppose it really should. It's a recent development, I think -- my early works were so very PLANNED. In the last few years, though, I've gotten into the "let's just start putting stuff on paper and see what happens" approach, and I like it. Not that I'm abandonning the planned stuff, mind you -- I just spent the last half of August finishing the series I started based on pictures I took on my college trip to France, and there's nothing at all about those that taps into the subconsicous. I guess only time will tell if I eventually decide to ditch one process in lieu of the other, but it seems that for now my subconscious mind has more interesting things to say than my conscious mind.

Okay, enough art geeking.

The store plans, though still on hold waiting for permits and such, are coming closer and closer to completion. I talked to Bob the other day and found out that occupancy permits will be forthcoming, the lease is nearly ready to sign, and the neighboring store will be a vintage clothing store. I'm especially excited about the clothing store, since we'll definitely be sharing a customer base. Hopefully the couple who owns the store are nice and like the idea of collaborations -- to me it seems a natural idea to combine our promotional efforts.

Opening dates, however, are still in question. If I can get the keys to the store next week, I'll schedule Grand Opening Week for the 26th through the 30th. I'd open that Monday, but I'll be in Branson for the Autumn Daze craft festival from the 21st to the 24th, and I really want to have a down day inbetween. However, if I can't get the keys until the week after next, my GOW will be October 2nd through 7th.

Speaking of festivals, anyone in the Springfield area is invited to drop by Cider Days on Walnut Street, which is September 16th and 17th. I'll be there in a tent with my artwork. Then there's the Autumn Daze in Branson, where I'll be peddling my crafty wares like purses and jewelry and such. It's behind Dick's 5 and 10, from what I understand. If you're from the OTHER side of Southern MO, I'll also be at the festival in Poplar Bluff on October 7th, out there on Main Street, where I'll be peddling all sorts of arty and crafty things. Please come by if you can. I need to see some income. Seriously. I'm not too proud to beg.

Exhibit

I've been working on a few art projects this month. I finally pulled the last collage off the scanner bed just a few minutes ago and thought someone might be interested to see what I've been up to.

First off, I finally finished the "Icons" series I started back in 2004. Okay, so I have a habit of getting too many projects going at once, but at least I finished this one.

And then, some more traditional collages. There's an International Museum of Collage in Mexico, linked to an internet community that does a collage exchange by mail every year. Artists send in 13 collages, the museum keeps one from each artist, and then everyone gets 12 collages from other artists back in the mail. My "Baker's Dozen":

And finally, an entry for the Margaret Harwell Art Museum's annual Mail-In Exhibit. I'm in love with this one.