Showing posts with label artists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label artists. Show all posts

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Unstill Life

Fanfare please!!!  Announcing our next Side Work project:




































There will be visual art, live performances, free wine and cheese, and tons of great art available for purchase!  It's not your average gallery show.  Come out and support local art - you definitely won't want to miss this!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Teaser

Can you guess what we're putting together for your entertainment pleasure?  Here are some hints...



Any ideas?

AND stay tuned for an announcement about the maybe exciting, definitely unexpected location of this next Side Work venture...   All I'm gonna say is, you're gonna love it.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Energy Begets Energy

Jamey again, doing my late night musing.

I'm utterly amazed at what's been accomplished in just the last three months, let alone the last three days! It 's maybe a bit of hyperbole and a bit of arrogance to continually heap praise on what we're doing here, but dammit, I'm just thrilled to be doing what I love with such awesome people.

I was looking over my schedule for September and shaking my head at all the things happening for me this month. I'm quite certain that all of us in Side Work are looking around going "Good GOD! How do I handle all of this abundance?" (Well, maybe they all word it differently...maybe it's more like "Good GOD! How am I going to edit this by Saturday?") And that's not even counting the projects we're working on away from Side Work. I hope when Side Work 1.0 wraps, we'll all remain committed to pushing one another to keep this intense creative drive going, because what I'm witnessing here is unlike anything I've ever seen. I used to be this way in high school and college, but I usually did everything alone--and burnt myself to the ground in the process. It's so much better to have some fellow drivers ready to take the wheel when I'm feeling a bit weary. I hope I don't come off as too laissez faire. I just know our vision is in capable hands no matter who's at the helm, and that at some point each of us will need to step up and deliver everything we've got.

I can't wait for audiences to see what we've put together, yet I doubt they'll ever understand the scope of what has gone into bringing Side Work to fruition. The editing sessions, the script revisions, the countless hours spent on media and promo material, the immense focus needed in order to paint or compose or choreograph, the photo shoots, the film shoots, the memorization...

I'm tired just writing about it. Or maybe I'm tired because it's 3:30 AM. Honestly, though, wow. I'm only patting everyone on the back here so non-Side Work readers can see that it's possible--albeit challenging--to function as normal, working adults even while every extra drop of time and energy is being poured into labors of love. Lack of time just can't be an excuse for putting off your passions, unless you're an EMT or particle physicist or something.

I've always believed that energy begets energy. It's like that first day back in the gym: you drag yourself there reluctantly, accomplish half of what you intended, and stare blankly down a long road to any real results. Yet the second day is much easier, the third even easier, and by the fourth day you wonder how you ever stopped wanting to feel this good. While natural highs aren't quite so handily packaged as the pharmaceutical, fermented, or herbal ones, once you get on one, they're just as addictive.

Let's keep this high going, even out beyond September 20th. Hey, we need some Vitamin C!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Focus People!

Gosh it feels good to be rehearsing for something.  Haven't done that since college.  And no, that was not a few years ago (I do look younger than I am).  That was 8 years ago!

Mary here.

I am very delighted to be apart of this project.  I got to see the theater space today and it just gave me a rush of excitement!  

I plan to see you all there.  (Mostly because the people reading this are all in the show.)

Thursday, August 6, 2009

little love note

Hi everyone!

this is nikki. i want to give a HUGE thanks to jamey for setting up this blog; he and todd both are just productive as hell (it really puts me to shame some meetings :) ) and i really appreciate all of the hard work you guys do to keep this group moving forward. thank you.

i'm also really proud of all of us for really devoting our time & energies to this show - remember when a meeting consisted of 2 hours of us each talking about what we were working on outside of side work? now our meetings are firework displays of brain power & creativity, and we've gotten so much done, not only on the artistic side of it but, especially yesterday, on the business side of it as well. to quote jamey from monday's meeting, "i love ideas." :)

and on a more personal note, this group has really done a lot for me. before we started, i was burned out & was seriously considering turning my back on creative endeavors, getting a "real job" and possibly moving away from LA. i felt like my career & success was out of my control and i hadn't felt the joy of creating for a long time - auditioning for casino commercials and poorly written student films and no-chance-of-getting-picked-up pilots just wasn't cutting it. i felt like an "actor for hire" not an artist. then i got jamey's email about putting this group together, and
that very first meeting at aroma cafe was the first time in a long long time that i felt inspired.

during my time in this group, i've hit quite a few mental brick walls and felt like i was really putting my creativity to the test; it hasn't been easy for me. but the ideas that have come out of me through this process have been well worth the struggle. not since college have i felt the freedom to explore my ideas, the comfort to to make suggestions, and the cohesive nature of a true team like i do in side work. thank you all for treating me with acceptance and respect; you've made me feel like an artist, and that's something i don't ever want to lose sight of again.

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." ~ Picasso

xo, Nikki

Stone Soup

Jamey here.

Just finished a terrific meeting with Side Work. I'm always inspired and invigorated by our sessions, but tonight in particular was a really generative convocation of artistic visionaries. We named a restaurant, watched the work of three members of our group on film, and went away with definitive missions to accomplish. Amazing.

I kind of feel like the proverbial hungry traveler stirring up some stone soup, tricking my fellow artists into throwing their bounty into an ever more marvelous brew.

The little kernel of imagination I nurtured through the Self Expression and Leadership Program is ripening into a true masterpiece, thanks to the assembled bright lights. Each time I return to examine Side Work, something new and wonderful has grown. Tonight, Johnny's short film with Todd's performance and Nikki's set decoration was another miraculous example of the latent genius that is unleashed when artists are immersed in collaboration and accountability.

I just can't wait to see what comes next.

Find Side Work online at http://twitter.com/sideworkonline and at www.facebook.com/sidework

Email us at sideworkonline@gmail.com

Until next time!

Jamey


"Greater than the tread of mighty armies is an idea whose time has come."