Written by the illustrious Jay Swanson
I made this weird transition where I lost my job five months before my contract was set to be up and found myself writing in a coffee shop nearly every day. This was a pretty glorious change. I even managed to finish a post-apocalyptic book last month and, if we’re being honest, there’s a part of me that relishes few things more than the freedom to sit and write all day.
We won’t go into the inherent stressors inversely correlated to one’s income stream.
I would argue that the most comfortable spot to sit and write in Spokane is at Coeur Coffeehouse – their coffee is delicious and the baristas are both talented and friendly. It’s pretty darn close to perfect.
After taking up space for over a month, I asked if they would like to host the launch party for my upcoming Kickstarter for Journal Three of Into the Nanten [MARCH 4th!!]. They said yes and when I mentioned that I’d love to hang some art, they asked me how quickly I could get it up.
I was two days away from flying to Taiwan.
Of course I couldn’t waste two precious weeks of wall-space, so I told them I’d get it all up Friday night. It was already almost noon on Wednesday. I grabbed a tape measure and got to designing a display, drawing everything out in my little red notebook before prepping the files to be printed and mounted. I got everything from the printer at 5:30PM on Friday.
Thankfully I had help from some great friends and my dashing brother-in-law. Then my dad showed up at 10:30PM like a champ and helped take the final brunt of the process. It was a good workout, as benign as hanging art sounded going in.
It took us six hours to put everything up (I forgot price tags), and I got about two hours of sleep before heading to the airport. Command strips do not make for quick hanging, something of which I was totally unaware before this experience. Combine that with standing at the tops of ladders and crumbly walls, and you have a recipe for a long night.
It’s both surreal and amazing to see the art from my world mounted on the walls of a coffee shop that I’ve frequented for years. Above all, I’m really glad it turned out well and that people seem to enjoy it.
It’s fun to hear the reactions both in person and through the grapevine. I’ve even had a couple of people tell me they either know the guy who did it all, or are friends with his sister. I always ask them what they think before I say anything else. So far it’s all been positive.
If you’re in Spokane, nearby, or passing through, be sure to grab some coffee and check out my display at Coeur. Pick up a book and some artwork on your way out. If you time it just right, I’ll be there to sign it for you.
I’ve put some of the pieces up online, and will be working on a pricing structure that makes reprinting easy. Basically I’m willing to print (and mount) any of the pieces from Journal One at whatever size you like. Illustrations from Journal Two will have to wait until after the Kickstarter – which launches on March 4th, so mark your calendars!
If you’d like to order one and you don’t see it online yet, just shoot me an email and we can work something out in the meantime. Prices range from $20 for the small 8×10″ pieces to $950 for the frickin’ huge stretched-canvas print of Naline (I’ll post a picture so you can revel in the glory):
So to recap: You can find Coeur Coffeehouse here.
The Kickstarter for Journal Three launches on March 4th.
You can order any prints you want from Journal One in any of the sizes seen here (20% off for unmounted items – I won’t be shipping mounted items, either, so this will be your main option if you aren’t in town).
Drop me a line if you have any questions, and I hope you enjoy the display!
The post Artwork from Into the Nanten on Display: Coeur Coffeehouse appeared first on jayswanson.me.
