New In The Studio - November 2019

Howdy neighbors.

It's been a wild an exciting month at Chez Kimbrell. There's been lots and lots o' activity in and outside of the studio. First up, these little collage pieces (like the one pictured above)have been keeping me plenty entertained in between grad school research, homework, etc. and day job duties. In fact, I'm currently a guest artist at Dallas' Maestri Gallery showing off some of the new compositions. There's about 75 collages to see and acquire. (I don't remember if I mentioned this previously, but these collages will serve as the next volume of "5x7" book series.) Not sure how long the collages will be available from the gallery, but I'll keep y'all posted if things change.

In other news...

I recently made it out to Los Angeles for the Making Vinyl conference, an industry conference devoted to the production of vinyl records. I was awarded a "Best Record Store Day Packaging Design" award for my work on the Alice Cooper "Live from the Astroturf" RSD release, the second time I've scored a Making Vinyl award for this project. I'm super-stoked by the response has received, and has only lead to more album packaging design work. I'll proudly hang my gold record on the wall like a rock star. Can't disclose any of the current design jobs, but I'm pretty excited about them.

Speaking of vinyl records...my grad thesis presentation went over well, and I'll be devoting the next year and a half of my life working on research toward collecting, archiving, and preserving Texas Roots Music from the 1920s-1960s on phonograph records. It'll take way too long to explain what the research and design solution will entail, but I can tell you it'll involve a lot of crate digging for rare records. I still can't believe record collecting will be the basis of my thesis research, but I'm as pleased as punch to get to do so. There is a lot of rare Texas blues and country music out there, and no archive devoted to the preservation of those recordings. This is where my work and research comes in. Don't be surprised if that is all I talk about for the next few months.

Lastly, I might be a nuts in doing this, but I'm changing jobs in the middle of grad school craziness. I'll finally be working as a creative director for a Dallas-based arts company. I'll have a bit more creative freedom in the role, not to mention polishing my resumé a bit. More work and more responsibility. I welcome the change, even if there might be a little added stress to an already crazy work/life schedule. However, it's a challenge I happily accept.

Other than making collages, I really haven't had much time to devote to painting or printmaking, lately. Once the holiday season is over, I think I'll have a little more time to do some of my own work. But, we'll see. Some of these collages are inspiring me to make some screen prints, so perhaps you'll see more of that stuff coming out of the studio, soon.

All in all, life is pretty good right now. I'm ready for a break, some turkey, some mashed potatoes and gravy...maybe some pumpkin pie, too. Work/school/life is rocking and rolling, and I'm looking forward to reaching the light at the end of the tunnel. Keep your eyes peeled to this space for more news.