As winter approaches us here in the northeast, winds change from southerly winds to cold Canadian winds. I usually take this time to either reflect on what I've done this past year as an artist, adjust on that, and move in some other direction. My show Left behind was a success, not in means of millions of people seeing but...the effect it left on people. That was my main goal this year. Finish the series, and give it a venue worthy of it's subject, and make an event out of the series. I did accomplish it all. The opening celebration, the artist talk, both the closing and the party afterwards were more than I had expected. People came, saw, absorbed the month. I am thankful and grateful to all those that participated.

As for next year, I am going to concentrate on building a foundation in which music and art combined create a non-hostile, friendly, and creative atmosphere for both artists and musicians to gather, talk, exchange ideas, work together on projects, create events, and build on a manifesto that allows all types of music and art to work as one. This idea I have been kicking around for a couple of years. Mainly because, I am more akin to musicians than artists ( no offense artists). I have lived with, hung out, traveled, performed, and made more friendships with musicians over the years than artists. Music is at times more of an infuence than that stark image of a starving child from the Sudan.

In doing the aforementioned I will be attempting to use multiple venues, including my home, to create a healthy creative, listening, and veiwing environment for all. I will also be utilizing not so main stream musicians, artists, and writers. Mainly because I feel they are at the heart of any good movement, the "Underground", the "free thinkers", the non paint by numbers artists. In this next year I am hoping to create a much needed scene here in rochester where no boards, no committees, no chair people, will be asked to make decisions, artists, musicians, and writers will make their own. I also would like to promote a more DIY approach to promotion. I will teach silk screening, booking, old school poster making and hanging, give info out on who to approach for publicity, and most importantly teach people when to say "No".

In closing I hope winter is a long and creative one for everyone who lives in the north, cause I'm digging into the trenches for this one!