DCS "Change Must Come" <link>

[coleslaw]

http://www.drowningcreek.com/index.php? ... e&Itemid=1

Change Must Come
A chapter in the Studio's history is now closing. It's not a sad thing, but one that hopefully will bring meaningful change to the work we do.

I know that Judy and I have been telling everyone that there is a major change coming at the studio. Now that things are progessing along quickly I want to let you all in on what is taking place.

First, for all my subscribers and Preferred Buyers Club members, your "bonus" print is being worked on at this moment and an announcement will go out shortly letting you know all the details. Everyone will receive this at no charge for the print or shipping. I think you all will be very, very happy. Sorry for the delay, but I'll explain in the coming days.

We are extending the PBC club members privileges through next June due to the lack of prints produced so far this year. There will be many, many art prints coming starting later this Fall. Several are ready to be printed, but are on hold so I can finish out my deadline work. I only have a few more to complete before I fully refocus my attention on a new direction focusing on DCS art, not custom work for clients.

For the past couple of years I have grown weary of working on custom poster jobs in the music industry. The corporate agency work has also driven me crazy at times. Blame it on my age or design fatigue, but I have finally gotten to the point of wanting to make my art do something more important than just be eye candy. The art industry is a fickle lover. It can treat you really good one moment, and drive you totally crazy the next. To put it bluntly, I had finally had enough of the roller coaster ride and I'm deciding to make a radical change in my career. It's for my sanity and I also must do the thing I feel I was meant to do, and that "thing" is using my art for a higher purpose.


http://www.drowningcreek.com/index.php? ... 9&Itemid=1

Change Must Come
Written by Jeff Wood
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
A chapter in the Studio's history is now closing. It's not a sad thing, but one that hopefully will bring meaningful change to the work we do.

I know that Judy and I have been telling everyone that there is a major change coming at the studio. Now that things are progessing along quickly I want to let you all in on what is taking place.

First, for all my subscribers and Preferred Buyers Club members, your "bonus" print is being worked on at this moment and an announcement will go out shortly letting you know all the details. Everyone will receive this at no charge for the print or shipping. I think you all will be very, very happy. Sorry for the delay, but I'll explain in the coming days.

We are extending the PBC club members privileges through next June due to the lack of prints produced so far this year. There will be many, many art prints coming starting later this Fall. Several are ready to be printed, but are on hold so I can finish out my deadline work. I only have a few more to complete before I fully refocus my attention on a new direction focusing on DCS art, not custom work for clients.

For the past couple of years I have grown weary of working on custom poster jobs in the music industry. The corporate agency work has also driven me crazy at times. Blame it on my age or design fatigue, but I have finally gotten to the point of wanting to make my art do something more important than just be eye candy. The art industry is a fickle lover. It can treat you really good one moment, and drive you totally crazy the next. To put it bluntly, I had finally had enough of the roller coaster ride and I'm deciding to make a radical change in my career. It's for my sanity and I also must do the thing I feel I was meant to do, and that "thing" is using my art for a higher purpose.


Most artists who practice in the visionary realm understand that we basically channel visions from whatever that grand creative energy field that exists out there in the ether. Some may call it "God". I tend to think of it as the "collective conscious". I believe, we all as creations of the "consciousness", are gifted with the ability to experience that feeling of creation in the ability to make art, crafts and anything else we bring into this world from our mind's eye. As someone who has made creating his purpose in life, I believe it is my job to worry about the quantity of art I produce, I'll let the "consciousness" handle the quality. It's my job to keep the channel open and keep turning these internal visions into visual art. Trying create someone elses vison is a mind numbing and frustrating process at times. In the future, I will be illustrating my own visions of what I want to see on posters and less what someone else wants to see.

With all this in mind, I have been struggling with my dislike of the day-to-day working of the corporate art world and my love for the poster art form itself. I love poster art. I love creating poster art. I don't like the business of custom poster art. I needed to figure out a way to balance my desire to do the art and my need to do something more meaningful in my life. I think I have a way to make it all happen. It will involve lots of posters and art, so never fear. There is much more to come from DCS.
I have a few more custom jobs to complete this year. I have taken on only a couple of these custom jobs for next year. There will be some regular loyal custom art clients that I continue to work with, but very few new custom clients. The future for DCS is to be focused on art, DCS art.

I will post more in the coming days....

~Jeff

[arodri70]

so in a nut shell...no more gig posters?

[phishbeatles]

Sonds really cool to me. He can actually create the art he wants to create instead of having restraints put against him on what the image should look like and must contain. Good for him!

[coleslaw]

so in a nut shell...no more gig posters?

well this I know, there will be no subs next year

There were 20 in 2005, 40 in 2006, 40 in 2007 & 40 in 2008

If you are interested in buying #16 from all four years you can contact Judy (I read)

Let me try to find the link to that...

http://www.drowningcreek.com/index.php? ... 1&Itemid=9


The Motherload: 4 Complete Subscriptions
Written by Judy Gex
Wednesday, 03 September 2008
Well, we really are getting to finally look at cleaning some stuff out of our flat files. I've been adding damaged posters to the Scratch and Dent section of our store over the last year, but I'm going to switch gears and start focusing on more unique items and higher end & one of a kind type stuff for a while.

When we started the Drowning Creek subscription series, we had 20 sets in 2005 to sell. All of them were spoken for, and in 2006 we raised the number of subscriptions to 40. I held a couple back starting in 2006 due to fears that one would get lost in the mail or damaged beyond recognition, but the same person who wanted the 2005 #16/20 sub also expressed interest in #16/40. I held #16 for them.

Sometime during 2006, it became apparent that this person was not going to follow through on their purchase so I put the 2 subscriptions in a drawer to be dealt with later. When 2007 rolled around, I decided to keep #16 to put with the others, and in 2008, yup, I put aside #16 again.

Because our work situation is evolving, we've decided to discontinue the subscriptions in 2009, leaving the 4 years of subscriptions to live on in infamy.

I am currently compiling a list of prints in each subscription and will follow this post up with a contents post of all the prints in all of those subs. It's something I've needed to do for some time now, but have always been too busy with other stuff to justify the time.

The 4 Subscriptions will be sold as a set. If anyone is truly interested, they can email me through the site. Please... this Instant Poster Collection is not going to be cheap, so serious inquiries only.

[triporfreak]

"...the rules have changed today, time has come today!"

[EADG23]

I think this is great news, not only for Jeff who is following his {huge} artistic talent where it takes him but for me too because in most cases I'd prefer an art print to a gig poster. I've been lucky enough to be a DCS sub holder for two years now and as stunning as the gig posters are I wish most of them were available as art prints. I buy a lot of prints for the art, and not necessarily the band. I will miss some of the great lettering that comes with a gig poster but Jeff's work is so inspired that it stands up VERY well all on it's own. "Mindbender" and the Asian inspired art prints are great examples and if that's what we can expect to see more of in the future then I say "Hell Yes".
Plus whatever makes really great people like Jeff and Judy happy is more than OK with me.

[Kdh12]

I agree this is sweet news, cuz I love the DCS art but don't care for the bands they work for....

[jojobadass]

well, there goes the last good hippie band poster artist.

[MJBuck]

I'll give anyone credit for following their passion and not necessarily a paycheck. Hopefully the two will find themselves with the new direction DCS is taking.

This is by no means a surprise to anyone who has listened to what Jeff & Judy have been saying the last year or so.

[Grateful69Phish]

well, there goes the last good hippie band poster artist.

World is changing, and it isn't all good-

This makes the 3-D Rothbury extra special to me- glad I have it.

[Kdh12]

well, there goes the last good hippie band poster artist.

no as long as there are hippie festivals and Emek keeps whoring himself to do festival prints there is still HOPE

[moe.ron]

Maybe I read this wrong, and I didn't re-read it, so forgive me if I am WAAAY off, but I read this as they will no longer work with clients that limit Jeff's artistic vision. I in no way took that to mean no more gig posters, I took it to mean, they'll work with those they trust, and trust them (presumably UM, P-Groove, moe. Mule, etc...) and any subsequent gig poster projects will be done with no approval from the commissioning body?

While this will lead to a lessening of the gig poster, I don't think it eliminated it....Am I wrong?

[Kdh12]

Maybe I read this wrong, and I didn't re-read it, so forgive me if I am WAAAY off, but I read this as they will no longer work with clients that limit Jeff's artistic vision. I in no way took that to mean no more gig posters, I took it to mean, they'll work with those they trust, and trust them (presumably UM, P-Groove, moe. Mule, etc...) and any subsequent gig poster projects will be done with no approval from the commissioning body?

While this will lead to a lessening of the gig poster, I don't think it eliminated it....Am I wrong?

the fact that he is ending subs

and

he is only taking on a few clients next year

and

that he has quite a few art prints lined up but has been unable to get to them because of corporate custom orders

says a lot about what he will be doing...

[pvecchi]

I wish Jeff and Judy all the success they deserve in the future

Jeff's talents are beyond compare imho....I can't wait to see some of the art he has in store for the future now that he will have time to concentrate on what he wants to do

Oh if only I had 1/10 the vision, skill and talent as Mr. Jeff Wood....

Paul

[Grateful69Phish]

I don't think it eliminated it....Am I wrong?

greatly reduced would be my guess

Any one of those bands with sticky poster politics will be looking for someone else soon