2018 was a busy year! ...And apparently I was a little too busy to stop and blog about my adventures (something I'll be working on in 2019), so to fill you in while also preserving memories for my own selfish reasons, I present to you (us?) a lengthy (hang in there!) recap of twenty-eighteen.
To kick off the year, I took a trip to upstate New York where I had the opportunity to assist @Eusheen while teaching a class at The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass. We collaborated on one of his signature Energy Loop recyclers as a technical demonstration, which was extra special because it meant a certain level of acceptance of pipemaking from an institution that had largely ignored us pre-legalization era. I hope to see this trend continue in 2019 and beyond, and I can only imagine the day that our functional pipes make it into the prestigious museum alongside other prohibition glass items that maybe once seemed too taboo to talk about, let alone have on display. After extensive trips to both the museum and library, I left Corning feeling totally grateful to be working intimately with such an important and special medium.
March kicked off with Space Jam 3, a solo exhibition featuring new work alongside my third and final concentrate release with Olio. I had so much fun with every facet of this collaboration, and I can't thank everyone enough for their support thru the entire project. I get asked what 2019 has in store as for myself and cannabis collabs, and I honestly don't know yet. I strive to one-up myself versus run the same formula over and over, so whatever it is, you know it'll be an attempt at raising the bar once again by creating another memorable experience of sorts.
4/20 has come to be synonymous with Wook Show in Denver. Originally hosted in the privacy of our studio, the event simply outgrew our space, so we rented a warehouse and kept the location word of mouth, which was a fun social experiment of sorts. It paid off, and the show was a success! A video recap by TheTerpDon can be found here. Wook Show is on for 2019, and we're already gearing up, with the intent to make this year more inclusive of the community. Follow EverdreamStudio to stay in the know.
In May I flew out to the Armadillo Art Initiative in Texas and worked alongside a gaggle of glass artists towards one great cause. Hosted by GravLabs in Austin, together we raised over $80,000 towards the Meals on Wheels of Central Texas. If you ever have the chance to help out with this cause I highly recommend it; Austin has an extremely lively night life and the artists down there exude southern hospitality.
The DFO was back this year in a new location outside of Portland Oregon. This event is such an epic reunion of the core artist family, making it hard to miss. Abe of Northstar did a great job picking this event up where it left off only a couple of years past, and I'm excited to watch it evolve with our ever growing community of (maturing) degenerates.
Later in June, Everdream Studio, DreamLab Glass, and friends, held Camp Wannamakaheady at our studio grounds in Evergreen Colorado. We hosted around 50 students over three days of classes, demos and camping, and it was a treat to share our accumulated knowledge and host students and friends alike in our creative workspace.
I left camp and flew directly to Ziggy's Smokeshop near Huntington Beach California to be apart of the Molten Art Classic. Now an annual mega-collaboration, this year included 26 artists working together on one 40+ pound space station themed functional pipe. With large collaborations there tends to be a point where there is too much dis-organization to be pleasing to the eye, however imo, this piece was the most cohesive piece involving a large number of artists I've ever seen or been apart of. The Ziggy's crew did an amazing job of both hosting the event and documenting the entire process to later have it compiled into a book which is available here.
In July I flew out to the Michigan Project in Detroit, another fundraising event, this time to benefit the arts programs in the greater Detroit area. Together the artists and sponsors raised over $125,000 for Art Road. This was my first trip to Detroit, and my longtime friend and Colorado Project founder Blade, who has been assisting the Michigan Project since inception, gave me a tour of the city and eats. The event hosts did an amazing job all around, and I'm really proud and thankful to have been a part of the event this year.
For the duration of August and September I spent most of my working time making murrine for a special collaborative project with my homie and fellow Everdream team member ElboGlass. Elbo then hosted a successful pop-up on Melrose Ave in LA where he released various fashion-inspired pipes that he had been working on, including our Murakami project. This is most worth noting here because I especially want to being attention to how important it is to surround yourself with people that are always evolving and making big moves. Elbo is constantly inspiring me to do more, and do it better than before. #bromanticsentiments
In December, Everdream Studio hosted a slightly impromptu Heat4DaStreetz in Denver Colorado. We hosted around 20 of our close artist friends at the studio starting around Thanksgiving. The pre-show hustle is always a great and rewarding time; to share time and space with so many talented people, freely trading ideas, knowledge, and philosophies, is truly an amazing experience. The show went as well as we could hope, with some of my personal favorite pieces from all year on display. Additionally we held a toy drive and fundraiser to help the Denver Children's Home, bringing them three carloads of goods, gift cards, and cash donations all generously donated by the wonderful patrons of the show.
If you made it this far, congratulations! You win a FREE...nothing, I've got nothing. Let's be honest, you probably already have all of my old merch, so until that new-new drops this spring (soon I promise, wink-wink), all I can give are my gratitude and genuine appreciation for your continued support. Many people only get to do 1/10th of what's listed above in a given year, and I'm beyond grateful to live such an active and rewarding life. Much Love! -N8-