Oh the love we feel, I wanna start this post out with a THANK YOU to everybody that has motivated us along the way. We couldn't have done it without the efforts and acceptance of everybody we've been involved with.
Now onto the future!!! We completed our MainX24 install without a hitch, Strung Like a Horse even finished their set within 7 minutes of the last piece of paper being pasted on the wall. 380 sheets of paper, aka 400+ sq.ft., later we pleased an estimated 500 MainX24 go-ers and worked our way into two amazing articles in the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Our Life section headline article was written by Casey Phillips with photos by Jake Daniels, and the MainX24 article was written by Shelly Bradbury.
Our next few projects in order are with: Tim Hinck and his
Cyclopaedia project (also a 2012 MakeWork Grantee) in February, the Better Block hosted by Glass House Collective in February, and finally Tour de Noog which starts in March. Totalling around 20 new murals by PPRWRK will be seen in Chattanooga by the end of March, and it feels good.http://www.423braggingrights.com/
Starting on Monday, we will be gathering our walls for Tour de Noog. Campaigning on foot to our most desired canvas's across Chattanooga, asking permission for up to 12 walls from Frazier Avenue to Main Street. The first Tour de Noog showcase in March will be photographs from our other project 423BraggingRights, paying homage to a couple handfuls of Chattanooga local musicians. The second Tour de Noog showcase will be of Mary's illustration work, she plans to adorn the same walls with an imaginative and playful journey through Chattanooga, and will release in June/July of 2013.
Currently we are gathering video for an IndieGoGo campaign we plan to launch in the next few weeks to raise the rest of the money we need for our large format printer. I know what you're sayin', "Didn't PPRWRK receive a grant from MakeWork to purchase a printer?". Yes we did, but I was weak on my researching skills putting us under budget by about $6000. Sounds like a made up number doesn't it? Well its not, the printer I budgeted for when researching for the 2012 MakeWork grant process simply would not be able to do what we needed it to do. I quoted for a Canon ImagePrograf, not paying attention to it being ink based which will ALWAYS run and smear, when we needed a large format 'toner' printer. These large format toner printers start at $8000, we initially received $2500 towards the purchase of a printer, leaving us with a $6000 need. For incentives we plan to offer stickers, t-shirts, photo prints, posters, original artwork, mural installs of all kinds, etc. Should be fun.
We'll see ya'll around town soon.
-David Ruiz