Where am I?

This image represents the panels which have been purchased to date in the nearest (N1 to 16 and W 1 to 16) northwest quadrant. I figured out how, with the help of my Open Office software, to set up this grid and load scans into it. Hurray! This was a big breakthrough for me. Now if someone will just set up a similar grid on the internet we can begin to assemble the whole map there.

I'll add other quadrants as eBay sales are made.

My other life

Contrary to the general conjecture in the vimeo comments I am not a recluse or a hermit but lead a pretty ordinary life. If you'd like to know more about it my wife, Meg Staley, has a blog, too, and that's a good place to start: right here!

Thanks again for your comments and please keep letting me know what you'd like more of!

What's in the cards....

Here are the last nine cards drawn in the process of making The Map. As you can see, there is a lot of emphasis on scanning since it is such a daunting task. I tell people that it is like painting the Golden Gate Bridge- it's never finished. However, I do let myself change the instructions on the cards. I make my execute the current instruction and then change it for the next time that card is drawn.

In the deck somewhere is one card which reads, "Shuffle the deck and add one new card." The deck gets shuffled three times and then cut. The new card's instruction comes from a wait list of tasks that I want to see incorporated into the making of The Map.


And the winner is......N1/W14!

I drew the ten of clubs today and moved ten more panels down in the stack. That put me at N1/W14. The instruction was to make map blanks, the patched together heavy paper panels I use as a base for the painting and collageing. I have been doing this since the fall of 2009. You will start to see beer, pretzel, and cereal boxes as well as ticket stubs and old shopping lists.

You may be relieved to know that I put in a new cartridge today, and the print colors resemble reality. Yay!

Back in the saddle

I got back to my studio in Cold Spring, New York a couple of hours ago from our old farm in Northern Michigan. On the way back I resolved to try to give you more insight into The Map via this blog. I'll try to do a post every day and explain the steps as I go. I will also try to put a new panel on eBay each morning.

So.......I drew the next card- the four of clubs with an instruction to either make a new sheet of reduced (1/16) images or, if I didn't have the scans I needed to do that then to do more scans from where I left off last time. I haven't checked yet to see which will happen.

Then I counted down four sheets in the current stack I am working on (N1 and N2). That took me to the sheet above, N1/W24. I made two copies. The original  (a generation II) will be archived, one copy will become the new generation III, and the other copy will be offered on eBay soon. The colors came out way off from the original, but part of the random function of my rules dictates that the miscolored print must be used as is. Tomorrow I will try to resolve the printing issue.

I am working now on adding collage to N1/W24 and adjoining panels. I work in a clockwise manor along the periphery of what had been painted in generation I. Had the card been a red suit I would have worked counter clockwise.

Any questions?





Let's try again.......

I was reading some of the comments on The Map video last night and realized that some of you might want a Map print. So, I have started to re-list a few on eBay to see how it goes. The ones I had on there recently didn't sell. This time around I will put them out to auction. So...take a look!

And send me your questions......

Thanks!


Wow! Thanks, Vimeo!


Greg Whitmore, the videographer who made the short film of me and The Map, called me this afternoon to say that the editors of Vimeo, the website where we posted the clip, had listed ours as a "favorite" on their homepage. Now over 50,000 people have seen it. Wow!

You can check it out by searching "Jerry Gretzinger" at vimeo.com. (Sorry I am not organized enough to give you a simple link.)

But a huge thank you to Greg and to Vimeo and to son, Henry, and to the folks who have posted very nice comments after seeing The Map!


A new Map collage

UICA in Grand Rapids is having an opening show in July, and I am submitting some Map prints. But, because the request is for works that measure 7 by 11 inches (and my panel prints are 8 by 10), I have patchworked some prints together into the new format.  I found the results so satisfying that I may offer some of these collages on eBay. I will let you know! What do you think?

ArtPrize 2011 is coming!

ArtPrize 2011 opens in Grand Rapids on September 21. I have registered and am hoping to find a venue big enough to accommodate the entire Map (on the floor). This is no simple task since the current over-all measurements are about 40 by 40 feet. The last time the whole thing was assembled was in our loft in New York in 1982, and it only comprised 800 panels back then.

I visited the lobby of DeVos place the other day, and that would be perfect! There are balconies on two sides which would allow viewers to see the entire project from above. The next step will be to contact the person in charge of that venue.

If we can come up with a venue like that one,  our friend, Greg Whitmore, will make a trip out with his video equipment. He's the guy who made the video that is linked to this blog. Now he wants to film the entire Map to incorporate into a documentary which he would like to show at film festivals. It will be great for me, The Map, and Grand Rapids if we make this happen!

Here we go!

Real Estate Sale!

The Map is for sale again! I have posted several prints on eBay recently. They are 8 by 10" (the original size of the panel) and are inkjetted onto 110-pound paper. Each one is signed and dated and can be mounted easily in a 10 by 14 frame. At $19 apiece you can't go wrong.

Start your collection right now!

Thanks!

Before......

This is the latest panel to come up for re-working in my random selection process. It's part of the heart of Ukrainia, the largest city on the Map. I will do my overlay on this sheet and then show you the "After" image when I am done.

The Map Factory


Ever wondered what my studio looks like? Here it is! Housed in my basement in Cold Spring, New York, the area is relatively tiny. But, since I work on only a few of the 8 by 10" panels at a time, it works. What you see in this picture is my work surface, my paint collection (to the right of the surface), a stack of collage material on the left, the stacks of current panels (behind and above the surface), and the master map tucked into the storage area below.

If you are in the area and want to visit just email me! I love to have visitors.

Or, if you have time to spare and want to help me in my project, let me know. I can't pay you, but I'll give you lunch!

ArtPrize 2010

I have finally figured out what I want to do for ArtPrize 2010: the entire Map! But there is a catch: I can only do it using the 2 by 2 1/2 inch Map "tiles". It will still cover a 14 by 14 foot wall. Now I just have to register and find a venue that will host me. Anyone want to volunteer to help me mount it? That will be a job; there are now over 2200 panels!

C'mon Down!

A big section of the Map is now mounted behind the bar at Right Brain! Come down this Saturday night and say hi. The artists' reception is from 6:30 to 8:30 at the brewery on Garland Street in Traverse City.

And, if you want to OWN a piece of Map real estate, the original panels are $240. Signed prints can be had for a mere $22 each. Just ask anyone behind the bar....

See you Saturday!

Why I Do It


A recent eBay customer complained about the quality of the Map "postcards" which he purchased and asked to return them. I will, of course, honor his request, but I feel compelled to explain a few things. These cards are not commercially printed glossy reproductions. They are color photocopies which I have hand mounted on recycled cardboard of varying thicknesses and quality. They have been hand-cut, dated, and signed by me. They are miniature works of art. I don't do this to make money or rip off the general public. As a matter of fact I lose money on every one I sell and ship. I do it because I want people to be able to own a little piece of this project without paying the $240 I get for every original 8 by 10-inch panel. Maybe I should explain more in my blog! I do it because the people who have them love them. They love them as simple little paintings. Or they love them because they imagine the stories behind them. Or they try to decipher the messages on the inscriptions, or like the colors....or...or.......