Prints and boxes

One thing that has been (and still is) important to me as an artist is getting my name out to the world. There are a number of ways to do this, especially nowadays with the internet, Facebook, and any of the social media sites that exist. But my favorite, and maybe the one that has the most impact, are personalized portfolios.The portfolios that I make up to send out have always gotten good feedback. I think that is because, as much as I have been told I should just send a web link, people appreciate receiving something that took time to make. I think it makes the receiver look twice. However, the problem with making up portfolios like this is it takes a lot of time. So, after all of the obligatory Christmas travels were completed, it was time to get back to putting portfolios together.

The two series

The portfolios that I send out are groups of 4×5″ contact prints packaged in used film boxes. Inside the boxes are prints that represent two small bodies of work, along with statements about each body of work and installation shots. All together there are 36 prints in each box. Other than time, this requires a lot of paper.

My first stop was an odd little shop in Arlington Heights. I was looking for a certain type of paper, and there are only two places in the midwest that it can be bought. I bought 900 sheets of 4×6″ paper. Then the printing began.

The images

I had enough paper to print off 27 portfolios, and like I mentioned before, it takes a lot of time to print off that many prints. I am not finished yet, but the break gave me a great start.