We didn’t make our comic in time for Comic-Con. In fact, we’re still working on finishing it, though more enthused than ever over its potential.

Also, we’re trying to make the whole serializing process more fun and efficient. In the meantime, I finished up a sound composition: the first of an eventual 40. This is for the sound project called AES AGE (which sloppily translates to “Move, bronze statue” in Latin).

An mp3 is ready to be downloaded. There’s also a bit of information describing the project in our SOUND section. Probably in a few days there’ll be a lot more text up fully explicating the conceptual underpinnings of the whole endeavor. And lyrics too, Latin ones.

There’s so much to do between now and the Alternative Press Expo in November, it’s pretty staggering. Handmade shirts, handmade paper, handpulled prints, carefully handling all our possessions during an inevitable move to Oakland. I hope it doesn’t go too fast.

Just a quick note to those who might still be interested in purchasing swatches from Veronica’s Bonus Map show: there is a limited supply still available, selling for 3$ a piece. Send a note to Veronica for details on which specific patterns are left.

Veronica’s Bonus Map show is all done, the purchased swatches have all been mailed out. If you bought some and your squares don’t show up in the next couple days you should email us somehow.

Both of us are working on several things now. Most forthright, a new comic called SCAFFOLD: a joint prospect the first depiction of which will be ready by the end of July. Then come November we’ll have home-made/printed shirts for sale, as well as miscellany, at the Alternative Press Expo. In the interim it’s pet projects galore.

For now, documentative images of the Bonus Map installation have been compiled in a new photo set.

To view the space contact Veronica directly and make an appointment.

The reception was very encouraging. Despite an incredulously last-minute scheduling debacle, things turned out pretty well. We were especially pleased that so many people partook of the swatch-hunt purchasing system (pictures detail this in the BONUS MAP RECEPTION photo set). Also, very much thanks to TREASURE NEST and CHEN SANTA MARIA for lending a beneficent aural aspect to the visual presentation.

All in all about a third of the map was sold off; over 100 bottles of beer and a dozen bottles of wine are gone. A large consumption.

There are a few photos of the May 8 event. More high quality shots of the installation will be viewable after Veronica buys in to the prosumer digital camera class.

Focus will now shift to bookmaking, illustration and T-shirt design/manufacturing.

RECEPTION MAY 8, 8PM AT CELLspace (2050 Bryant St., between 18th & 19th)

This is the poster for Veronica’s upcoming installation. All the details are below. There’s also a bigger version viewable in the “Bonus Map Prep” photo set.

Here’s the (abridged) Press Release:

CELLspace Opens “Bonus Map” Installation on May 1, with a Reception to Follow on May 8

The new installation by Veronica Graham is to be housed in the CELLspace gallery at 2050 Bryant Street (between 18th and 19th) from May 1 through May 25. A reception will be held on May 8 at 8pm, during which the artist will be on hand to answer questions and to bask in the reassuring evidence of her labors. Several musical acts will also help enliven the mood.

The planned work involves a laborious tiling process requiring the production of over 2000 hand printed cloth swatches. Each one of these will be painstakingly arranged within the framework of a room-encompassing landscape mosaic. The squares will be on sale for 1$ each. (An ingenious system will be in place to help precisely single out the buyer’s chosen purchase amidst the thousands on offer.)

“Bonus Map” is grounded in an appreciation of golden era video game pattern mapping, though to the sharp observer, a pavonine conflux of influences should be readily apparent. Japanese woodblock prints strongly inform the graphical style of the work and set a precedent for the environmental subject matter. Ms. Graham has also paid a lot of attention to Exploration Age cartography, particularly the fictional embellishments often found flattened against the dark geography of unknown territories, intriguingly not to scale.

About CELLspace

CELLspace aims to provide a safe and supportive public environment for the exploration of art, education, performance and community building. Operating hours are M-F from 3pm-10pm and Sat/Sun from 10am-10pm or so. It’s best to call before visiting, and Fridays are the very best days to call: (415)-648 7562.

You can find more general information about CELLspace here.