Raz Does Newsletter - Raz Wrapped 2022
Hey yall,
with each email I rly feel the need to find an intro tagline but today - thats not wats gonna happen lmao. The year is coming to a close so I wanna take a minute and j talk abt everything ive managed to do, in an attempted bullet point format
-drank water/ate food/improved sleep. v important in the art making process
-built strong routines. from my daily walks to morning meditations, it rly made me reprioritize making art from something that was an addiction into something that supports me
-quit smoking! I went from vapes, to cigs, and back to vapes since like 2018 but now im chillin w some clean lungs. I will still happily hookah if anyone is down o.o
-¾ done with grad school! the burden of a capitalist reality looms over me, but now I know how to UV unwrap things in 3D modeling software!
-made some cool ass art! ive been counting the hours spent on pieces since ive started woodworking, and as Im finishing this piece ill be at 882hrs :D
-experimenting! focusing on: mixed media (chains, gold leaf, thrifted jewelry, AI integration), woodworking techniques (buffing the wood, taking care of tools, using water, styles and motifs), and other things (post production, cyanotyping, varnishing pieces, shipping)
-stopmotion is back! finally! ive been going a lil crazy w it but thats only cuz im excited to be doing it again. Im thinking its gonna be more important in the coming year and should get some spotlights soon
-a gallery in NYC! an interview! another interview! a showing in Miami during art basel! there were some galleries that fell thru tho - licensing issues in Chicago, gallery issues in LA, but fr we won in the end
-met so many ppl online its nuts. ill meet yall in person one day (next year (claiming)) dw dw. i will probably b shaking bc nervous during it but itll b fun
-sold a bunch of nfts! ill b covering that in an email later on, but im v proud of myself for that and thankful for the support i received
-so many reels. so many tweets. love them or not, im glad i put myself out there and showed the ins and outs of my craft/life/back problems. its the start of my documentary
-newsletter!!! this was rly fun, and will be happening forever. unfortunately Revue (the newsletter platform) has decided to shit itself and shut down in mid January. ill figure out where to put all of these cuz i like archives but idk what to do :c
-a good time. I was pretty isolated when I got into my art, and it gave me the company I needed. Im thankful for this route and the ability/finances to be able to make it like this.
And thats the most of it! some roadtrips and journaling are also huge, but it was a very simple year overall. theres always ups and downs, but the rises and falls just means i’m moving forward.
2023 is for we :)
much love
Faraz
