So this month I've been cutting my teeth on a simultaneous old and new goal: animation.  When I originally decided to go to art school, my dream was to go into animation, leaving computers, Disney and all the trite, sappy kids movies behind and create works of art.  My ultimate goal was to start an independent animation company all my own, with the resources and a group of talented animators that would work on a few projects to pay the bills that would allow us to delve into the lesser used mediums: glass animation, cut out animation, and whatever ideas and concepts we'd love to make for the fun and love of the craft. 

Of course, when I got to art school, the allure of painting was a siren too lovely not to behold, and I've never looked back.  I've talked with a variety of different painters and animators over the past couple of months about painting, animation and art.  Animation is an amazingly flexible and fun medium, and I'm starting to develop a couple of ideas of bringing some of my paintings into a new medium to see what it sparks in terms of space, color, and story.  I think it'd be a worthwhile experiment, and the results could be as interesting as the full process. 

In the meantime, I'm heading up to Kansas City this week for a ten day visit to the land of BBQ.  I'm looking forward to seeing some great friends, my old college stomping grounds, and getting away from the exhausting Austin scene for a little while.  I hope to do some painting up there, some small experiments I've had in the back of my mind for some time, as well as collaborating with some friends to produce a comprehensive document of my travels.  When I get back I'll be thrust back into the fires - I have a pile of wood waiting to be made into stretchers, as well as a couple side projects that I hope will bear fruit before the end of the year. 

I'm always excited to have seemingly extra time on my hands, because even when I have nothing to do, it seems I'm always at my busiest.  I haven't made a 100% firm decision on hosting a follow-up to last year's Unicorn Art Show, but I'm leaning one way right now, and I'll come up with a final verdict once I arrive back in Austin.  With the EAST tour and the Blue Genie Art Bazaar now on the radar, time towards the end of the year becomes much more condensed, so enjoying the dog days while I can becomes of the utmost importance.