Remnants from a visit with Pittsburgh's Ruth and Charque Newell.

Over the last couple of years, I've spent a considerable amount of time ruminating/focusing/stressing over what the future will bring and what role I might have in it. In response, I've tried a number of intuitive advisors around the country, researched methods of interpreting signs from the universe, and documented all of it in an ongoing series called "She saw me stuck in too much freedom. or I know at all times that in four hours I will feel completely different."

The universe told me I was on the path to spiritual enlightenment with this Queen of Spades. Thanks Universe!

I've found a number of really talented people, even more questionable types, and learned a number of ways to find guidance on your own. For example, using the radio scanner to answer questions or interpreting playing cards that you stumble upon in the street. I'm a gullible skeptic who is sincerely invested in finding and deciphering messages from the universe.

SO, to answer your question, I'm excited to share all of this on my MakerDate along with a custom guidebook featuring some of my tips for finding guidance and a list of Pittsburgh's best intuitive advisors. Some lucky soul will walk away with ALL of the answers. Ever. It's really a good deal for everyone involved. See you Friday...

Last week, Lenka Clayton and I were introduced to one of Pittsburgh's greatest collectors of artists books, manifestos, and magazines.  We spent an hour drooling over a tiny section which included a bunch of the Great Bear Pamphlets, Fluxus treasures, and some File magazines.

File was founded by the Canadian collective General Idea in the 70's and you can see the cover design is a parody of Life magazine. The magazine described itself as an “alternative to the alternative press.”

In the back of each issue, there was a coveted mailing list of artists and other subscribers. Among the names and addresses, there are tons of requests and offerings. (check out Sol Lewitt and Gordon Matta below)

The hope is to secure the future of this archive. If you have any thoughts on ways to make this available to the public or to secure funding for its preservation, send them my way...

Last summer I met this amazing woman Sayward Schoonmaker. We bonded over our love of text, jokes and gender-neutral names. Sayward mentioned that she was reading all of Maggie Nelson's books and that I should try out Bluets. So I found it and read it before doing the show in LA last October. If you scroll down, you can see the bed piece that I made, which completely co-opted Nelson's words. I've been carting this book around since then reading bits and pieces, again and again. Nelson has one of those encyclopedic brains that can reference anything under the sun, while also maintaining extremely personal moments. (She refers to her research process as "throwing crap in a cauldron") GAWD-- it's great. Go read it.

This is kind of how I felt after leaving the Creative Capital retreat that kicked off the Flight School Fellowship here in Pittsburgh. It was amazing and empowering and awe-inspiring... PLUS, practical. With tangible solutions and strategic planning, I walked away from the weekend feeling like a woman on a mission... or like a unique creature who can see beauty and possibility all around them. While this image may not be realistic, my new life vision is entirely- while maintaining the same amount of rainbows and sparkles.

A few of the tools we were given were unique to the workshop, but not everything. Jackie Battenfield came to give us some surprisingly new advice on dealing with the giant interwebs (a place with which you're obviously familiar). I was really excited to walk away from her talk with new ideas for this site and my presence online. Jackie's written this book:

I've just begun reading it, but already I am finding the same empowering and practical advice that I really respond to. So I just want to recommend it to the world. Enjoy!

Earlier this fall, I spent some time inhaling freshly chopped onions and then holding tiny vials up to my face to collect the tears. You see, I wanted those tears to be authentic, and they certainly are. Now you too can buy my record along with one of the vials and a custom sleeve from Iceberg and Sorcery.

Iceberg and Sorcery is a collaboration between myself and Rebecca Mir. After years of working together, we decided to put our art and magic into this online emporium. We typed our names into an online anagram generator to come up with the name. Now, this storefront is a place for us and a handful of guest artists, to promote and sell our wares, with a particular focus on artist books, prints, and other designed goods.

As I finished my rave review of the California Hotel on yelp today, I realized I hadn’t sent you guys any postcards. So as a token souvenir here is a brief summary of my stay. I spent the week exploring, tinkering, and eating at every taco joint encountered. In the end, I am leaving the hotel with a slight sunburn, lots of ideas, and a couple of projects (some finished, some not.)

Let me give you the juicy details:

1. I made the bed into a piece, which you could choose to set up for openings and such. The comforter has a quote from Maggie Nelson on the left hand side, “Loneliness is just solitude with problems” and one the right side of the bed there is a pillow with a permanent head indentation. A reminder of my presence.

2. The phone has several messages for all of you. When you arrive please press * twice (sometimes three times if you don’t press hard enough) to turn it on. When you’re finished listening –it’s around 7 minutes total- or if you need to go pee, just press * again to stop it. It’ll pick right back up when you return.

3. I started to create a video of the bed vibrating in morse code. It is not finished yet, but I hope to have it for you before the end of the show. I will mail it to Lauren when done, so that you guys can watch from the comfort of that bed.

4. Saturday’s open hotel time started off slow, but picked up by the end of the night. I made a little time lapse of the event… starting with the three of us watching transformers (most ADD movie ever, not a single shot over 4 seconds long and I have no idea what happened) and ending with us turning off the lights to head towards town.

I'm thrilled to be a part of this show. It's awesome to collaborate with all of you grizzlies, to work through each and every hair-brained scheme with Derya, and to be a part of Lauren's amazing space. Stay tuned for more photos and finished video. Enjoy November, and I’ll see some of you at the closing!

Sincerely,

Casey Droege