The Iowa Chronicles

My Last Iowa Chronicles Post

2010-04-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, this will be my last post for this particular blog, the reason being that I feel the original spirit in which this blog was started has evaporated, or evolved rather. Let's say it has evaporated and risen to the troposphere where it will turn into pretty puffy clouds shaped like bunnies and t-rexes. I still have a couple months left in Iowa and I'm still making art and will continue to, however my focus has shifted to illustration. My experience here in Iowa has been invaluable in learning about myself as an artist and I'm ready to move on to the next thing. So I will start a shiny brand new blog of the work I make from here on sometime soonish, and I will be sure to alert you when that has occurred. Thanks for following this blog to those of you that have and I hope it wasn't super boring or anything. Phalanges!

A couple thingies:

Fidel Castro Session One

2010-02-21T17:01:00.001-08:00

So here are the results of my first session with the Fidel Castro Deathlist 2010 portrait. It's off to an encouraging start; it just felt good to work large with big brushes attached to sticks and lots of paint. Click HERE to hear me thinking aloud about this piece so far.

A close-up, showing the fun things that are happening with the paint:

Oooooops Paint

2010-02-18T05:42:00.000-08:00

In an effort to save $$$ I'm considering buying "oops" paint from the Home Depot instead of accurate flesh tones. This may lend the painting more of an expressive quality with heightened emotion, depending on the colors I pick. I'll probably buy some of the paint today, cuz I just got paid HAAAAAAYYYY.

New series in the fetal stage

2010-02-14T16:48:00.000-08:00

This here be a Photoshop sketch of Fidel Castro for a new series that I will be starting soon. I am supa dupa excited for this series! I think it's going to be very fulfilling and will be a major turning point artistically for me. The inspiration for it comes from an interview with artist Jenny Saville, specifically the passage where she explains her painting process. Her manner of working is very physical; she is a fairly small woman and she likes to work on large canvases. The way she moves paint around is wonderful and I hope to see at least one of her paintings in person someday. I, on the other hand, hardly ever paint with very much energy, usually opting to sit in a chair and slowly, methodically and calmly apply my paint. I've always thought that this MO suited my personality. But you know what, I've come to realize that this may be very far from the truth. While I may have a laid-back demeanor, there exists in me... how shall I put this... a monster? An inner darkness? An evil monkey? There is indeed a turbulence within and I want to try to coax it out through this series. I'm going to work large, I'm going to attach my one to five inch brushes to broomsticks, and I'm going to use large quantities of house paint. I may even attach extra weight to the broomsticks to add extra physical challenge. I want this way of painting to be a work-out. I am a person who needs physical activity and if I were not to get it I'm pretty sure I would go insane. Seriously. So it makes sense that this new strenuous way of painting would suit me very well.

The series will be called "Deathlist 2010." Don't worry it's not a hitlist, however it is a list of celebrities who, as determined by this website, are believed to kick the bucket this year. I did not originally intend to paint potentially soon-to-be-dead celebrities; I was thinking about painting the mentally disabled/disturbed at first (which I still may go back to at some point). But after recently discovering that fashion designer Alexander McQueen had passed, the idea of painting large portraits of dead celebrities in the vein of Saville excited me. Then I thought why not kick up the freaky factor and paint celebrities who may be on their way out this year? Dark I know, but like I said I am trying unleash the evil monkey, capture it, tame it, give it a name and make it the family pet. And how creepy would it be if word of this series got out and celebrities new about it and feared that the next painting I made would be of them? It's kind of a twisted sense of power and superiority over those who are already the most powerful and superior. Anyway, that's the idea in a nutshell and I want to get crackin' asap. Thanks for reading.

Bald Fella

2010-01-31T17:06:00.000-08:00

Zoe and Biz

2010-01-28T20:32:00.001-08:00

Old Woman (who looks like a man)

2010-01-24T16:56:00.001-08:00

Moi

2010-01-22T21:10:00.001-08:00

Thingy

2010-01-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

Xarim

2010-01-17T18:29:00.001-08:00

Rollin' Up Wit Dem Thangs

2010-01-08T20:16:00.001-08:00

Here's a couple new things for me; I suppose my first "legitimate" ventures into the abstract (whatever that means). I just didn't want to concern myself with skin tones and anatomy and all that stuff for once so I just starting putting paint down and letting things flow. The first painting here was my first exploration and the second abstract rekindled a previous interest in making these kind of ominous shapes in a landscape that seem to exist only to cause trouble. I don't know, it looks a little like a horizon with some big, floating mass in the air to me. I'll probably work on it a little more and maybe explore the idea further. The third painting is just something I felt like doing.

Well, well, well, long time no see...

2010-01-06T12:49:00.000-08:00

Hiya peoples, it's been a while since I've done anything to this here blog and it may have been a while more had a friend of mine told me to get my act together and put some new stuff up. I have been painting a lot lately; I have many works in progress but only a few finished pieces. I'm starting a new way of working in which I give myself six hours max to complete any one painting, just to keep me moving along. I have more things to photograph and I will try and do that sometime fairly soon. For now, here ya go:

Radio Interview

2009-11-04T18:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to recent radio interview Liz and I had. I haven't listened to it and I'm not sure if I ever will but you should and if I sound more smart than a fool let me know and maybe I'll give it a chance.

RADIO INTERVIEW

"Muddle" Progression III and Trippy Self-Portrait Progression IV

2009-10-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

"Muddle" Progression II

2009-10-13T23:02:00.001-07:00

"Muddle" Progression I, a self-portrait, and the DepARTment Store

2009-10-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

I know it doesn't look like much now, but just give it a chance!

Also, a self-portrait I just finished. I think it's kinda neat:

Also also, I guess our studio is called the "DepARTment Store" now, because it used to be a department store back in the 70's and hasn't been anything else since. We put the ART in department store. That doesn't make much sense but whatever. There are now seven, count 'em SEVEN, artists in the space. A lot of energy is circulating which is really nice to feed off of. Delicious, in fact. Here's the space as of today:

Cuddle II

2009-10-01T20:04:00.001-07:00

The second of the "Cuddle" paintings.

Self-portrait progress II and new Meat painting

2009-09-13T13:23:00.001-07:00

I don't know if the meat painting is quite finished yet, but it's close.

Ken in Repose Prog 3

2009-09-12T21:54:00.001-07:00

New Progress Shots

2009-09-11T22:40:00.000-07:00

Ken in Repose:

Self-port:

MEAT

2009-09-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

So here's something a little different than what I normally paint. Lately I've been struggling to find inspiration and was getting really freaking frustrated until I got a job as a meat clerk at a local supermarket. After about a week working there, I found myself suddenly inspired by the colors and textures that I saw in the meat and became eager to make a meat painting. I wasn't so much trying to make a still-life, but instead wanted to create forms that suggest meat, throw paint thickly onto a surface and make something tactile and really interesting to look at. Here's the first of these paintings and I have a couple more on the way:

Davenport's 2 new artists-in-residence get a big public studio

2009-08-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

Here's another little write-up about the residency. Click on ME!

Press Release

2009-08-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a little tidbit about the residency program. Click right HERE to see.

El Diablo II

2009-08-05T20:43:00.001-07:00

German Santa Satan

2009-08-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

I've run out of types of corn to share with you (NOOOOO!!!) but I have found something, believe it or not, more interesting. There's this crazy German dude who looks like Santa and calls himself "El Diablo" who makes the nuttiest bikes you will ever see! For the next several days if I don't have anything very interesting to share with you in regards to my experiences I'll post one of his schaffungen. Here's the first:

I like this guy.

"The Happy American Family II" Progress 1

2009-08-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

GB Progress 1

2009-08-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

Bucktown Art Show

2009-07-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

Heyo! Just got back from the Bucktown art party/show that Liz and I were in, and I'm pleased to report it was a success! We both sold a piece and had some pleasant discussions with very lovely people. Business cards were exchanged, stories told, tummies rubbed. Here's the space we were in:

As you can see it was a great spot, and I only wish I had more work to show! I had a splendid time and I'm sorry to say that if you were planning on buying "C U D D L E," well, that baby's been sold. Actually, there were three separate parties interested in purchasing the painting, so I guess now I know what sells. You might be seeing a lot more paintings of couples cuddling with their doggies.

New Worky Work

2009-07-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

To tell you the truth, I've been very frustrated with the work I've been doing here. I think starting off on the wrong foot by working on canvas kind of set things in motion, not to mention that my brain has been snoozing for the past month or so. I just gotta get back into the right state of mind, which is happening a little more every day.

I finished this pretty ugly painting today, entitled "The Happy American Family," which is the first color image I've done in my series relating to the disintegration of the American family (if you don't know what I'm talking about click HERE to read my artist's statement). I didn't use color in the most effective way with this, in fact I was kind of lazy, and I think my drawings are stronger when they're just the line work on white paper. Here it be:

I would definitely like to do some large paintings on the subject, but lately painting hasn't been working out, however, I think I may have had a breakthrough today with this little fella:

It's a different method from what I'm used to as far as painting goes, but actually is similar to how I did my old oil pastels, which were on black paper. So with this painting I laid down a black ground and painted on top of that, allowing me to bring some line into my paintings. Line is something that I've felt my paintings have been lacking and I've been trying to find the best and most enjoyable way to introduce it, and I think this may be it. I like the feel and I am eager to do more landscapes, townscapes, figures, etc. in this way.

One more thing, I have a new idea. It stems from a running gag between the people I've met out here that Liz and I can paint anything we want except for naked people God forbid. I'm not exactly sure how serious they are, and I wasn't planning on doing any naked people anyway, but today I got the idea that it might be fulfilling to pursue this avenue of nudity. Actually, it involves porn. That is all I'll say for now.

Pod Corn

2009-07-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

Pod corn isn't grown commercially, but it is used in studying the origin of corn. It resembles varieties of the primitive corns. Every kernel is enclosed in a pod and the whole ear is also enclosed in a husk.

Art Supplies!

2009-07-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, the supplies came in today. 'Twas like Christmas in July! Or Chanukkah in my case. Actually it was Christmas AND Chanukkah in July for me, yahaaa! We got an assortment of oil paint, several brushes, and a BUTTLOAD of turp. We also got some long rectangular canvases and some art boards. There was also a little Mexican baby. Joy!

There's also a picture of my studio set-up. It's a work in progress. I'd like to eventually get some lounge furniture so I can have friends and whoever come over and hang out, maybe smoke some opium.

Some Drawrings

2009-07-28T16:31:00.000-07:00

S C U F F L E

2009-07-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

Man, am I rusty with the painting and what-nots. I was a little frustrated with how this was going, but it actually doesn't look too bad (I actually like how it looks like the one dude smashing his face looks to be armbarring a big hunk of cow meat; reminds me of Francis Bacon a little bit, if I may be so bold). It's okay, I'm remembering how I paint and I'll get it. I will say this, I think I'm getting faster, though. I'm trying to get three new paintings done by this Friday for a party at Bucktown art gallery in Davenport, where Liz and I will be introduced to the artistic community, along with some of our work. Pictures will be taken and shared with you beautiful people of course.

Bix Pix

2009-07-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

Here's those pics of the Bix I said I would share with you as promised. It was quite the event, a little like Comic-Con with the costumes. Everything from a dude in a kilt to the party-pope:

Waxy Corn

2009-07-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

These kernels appear waxy. Chemically, it has a different type of starch than normal corn starch. It was developed in China, and some waxy mutations have occurred in American dent strains. Very little is grown, and that which is is used for producing a starch similar to tapioca starch.

Illinois Loves Poop

2009-07-25T19:01:00.001-07:00

I started three more paintings today, and will most likely scrap the one I posted yesterday; it just isn't doing it for me. I didn't take pics of the new ones cuz my camera died, but I'll take them tomorrow.

Today was also the big Bix race, but I'm too tired and impatient to upload the pics and videos I took, so I'll do that tomorrow.

I also went for a nice little family trip to a nice little town in nice little Illinois, of which I forget the name. Ate some food, walked around, and discovered Illinois is bonkers for poop! Observe:

Oh yeah! That's my kind of place! Now I must bid you adieu. Nighty night.

Finally, a New Painting!

2009-07-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, thank Jeebus. Here's the first two progress shots. This isn't the first thing I wanted to work on, but I just needed to get started on something and get my painting legs back again. Only about seven weeks until the first show. Gotta start makin' something, ya heard?

Day One of the Bix

2009-07-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

So I started the day off with finishing the floor of my studio, a project that became an obsession, but I'm happy with the results. Check ma style:

Afterwards Liz and I went to the pool and relaxed and chatted about artsy fartsy things. Then it was time to head downtown to check out the Brady Street Uphill Sprint Challenge and get some free beer and Twinkies. It was a nice kick-off event to the Bix with an outdoor party which had a live band playing old, parents music. Here's some pics and videos of the whole dealio:

Hm, based on these pictures this looks like a pretty lame party of about five people, but there were actually a lot more humans behind me. I guess I thought these made better pictures.

The guy bending over had just gotten kicked in the balls by the other guy in the white shirt talking to the lady in black, whom I assume is their mama. I was hoping to catch his ball-kicking retaliation, but lady said "nay" to that. Darn.

And here's some high schoolers running their asses off.

Bix Mania!

2009-07-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Ooh it's about to get CRAZY all up in the Quad Cities, dawgs! An internationally renowned seven mile run, known as the Bix7, is this weekend in downtown Davenport, accompanied by fun and activities for the whole family, so it should be a pretty neato time. The festivities start tomorrow and go until Sunday I think, so I'll make it a point to get some pictures. Actually the starting line of the race is literally right outside the studio, so I'll see thousands of runners run by. I wonder if the ground will rumble. I'll definitely have to get a video of that; it's going to be EXACTLY like the stampede scene in The Lion King, but hopefully no one will die. Ha ha morbid. Here's a link to what the Bix is all aboot:

http://www.bix7.com/2009/bix.php

I also met Bill Rodgers tonight at a fancy-schmancy Bix dinner, who I understand to be a legendary runner. Let's check Wikipedia here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Rodgers_(athlete)

Oh yeah, he's famous alright. Cool beans! He was a very friendly guy; pretty quirky, too. I liked the cut of his sleeve. Here are some pictures of him just for the heck of it:

Sweet Corn

2009-07-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

Sweet corn has an almost clear, horny kernel when it is still young. The kernels become wrinkled when dry. The ears can be eaten fresh or can be stored in cans. The only difference between sweet and dent corn is that sweet corn has a gene which prevents some sugar from being converted into starch. It is grown a lot as a winter crop in the southern U.S.

Rudy Gutierrez is One Cool Cat

2009-07-20T21:05:00.001-07:00

Man, I just got a great email from my old Professor, Rudy Gutierrez. Check out his work, really sick stuff, and by sick I mean awesome, not, like, gross or twisted:

http://altpick.com/rudygutierrez

Just a really encouraging email and, you know, it's little things like that that make you want to give it your all and inspires you to do the damn thing. Thanks, Rudy!!

More painting of the floor in the studio today, coat numero tres. Tomorrow I'll hope to be verrry close to being finished if not completely so. I shall post pictures and all will be merry.

Hey! Look at this lovely picture I took at a baseball game the other night! Our team lost! 4-12! Yeah!!!

And here's some work by Rudy just to get you interested:

Flour Corn

2009-07-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

So yeah, sorry to be bombarding y'all with such thrilling news, I promise I'll try to restrain myself and cut back. Well, I'm getting my studio space all squared away (it should look pretty pimp by the time I'm done, but that may not be for a while) and I plan to start working on some new stuff this week which means new and exciting things for you to look at. Yayyyy! Until then, brush up on your knowledge of flour corn:

Flour corn contains a lot of soft starch and has almost no dent. Though it is not used much anymore, it is grown in the drier sections of the U.S. and in the Andean region of South America. It's an older type of corn, and is found in a lot of graves of the Aztecs and Incas. Since the kernel is so soft, the Native Americans could make it into flour.

Popcorn

2009-07-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

Popcorn is an extreme form of flint. It has a very small proportion of soft starch. It is a very minor crop, and is gown mostly for humans to eat. The reason it "pops" so well is because of the horny endosperm, which is a tough, stretchy material that can resist the pressure of steam, which is generated in the hot kernel until it has enough force to explode or "pop."

2009-07-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

Hey hey hey party people I've got some sweet news! I submitted some of my work to be considered for a group show in the Quad Cities and I just heard back tonight that I'm on board! I don't know too many details about it yet, except that it's not going to be until sometime in 2010, probably near the end of the residency. I believe I'll be having more shows prior to, but this one will probably be kind of the grand finale art event. Super duper!

Oh, and the Quad Cities by the way are this link, just in case you were perplexed. It be where I live, yarrr...:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quad_cities

Artist Statement and Bruno's Schlong

2009-07-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day since I've been here where I didn't have any meetings with the fancy people involved in the residency, so I was able to just take it easy, and by "take it easy" I mean feel antsy all day about not being able to do any work. Liz and I are biting our nails and chewing our cuds waiting for the Frankenstudio to get new lights installed, and we can't really start working until that happens. So we did all we could to feel productive today, which involved going to The Home Depot and buying crap to clean and paint Frankenstudio. Tomorrow we will get started on all that and blah dee blah dee blah, this is boring.

Oh, here's my artist statement for the work I plan to make while here:

My current body of work is dedicated to two concepts, the first being intense physical interactions between two or more figures; these images are violent, peaceful & loving, or strongly emotional in nature. The second concept is concerned with the disintegration of the family unit in the United States.

Previous work of mine focused heavily on the individual portrait and I have the need to expand my imagery to where there are not only multiple figures, but they are physically interacting in intimate and visually impacting ways. The intense physical interaction works are meant to emote a range of emotions from the viewer, whether it be discomfort from a tussle between two figures, or contentment at the sight of cuddling lovers. These images are somewhat visually convoluted, mocking reality and touching on the abstract through the distortion of the figure and disregard for perspective and real space.

The works devoted to the disintegration of the American family are ironic images, depicting smiling, seemingly happy families, yet the distortion of the mothers, fathers, and children as well as symbolic imagery suggest that all is not well. This concept is especially interesting to me because the majority of my friends have divorced parents, and many of my friends' friends come from families that have split up. This is not merely coincidence, for the average of American children growing up with both parents is around 63%, the lowest figure in the Western world. I might add that although my parents are thankfully still together, I grew up with a fairly intense anxiety about them getting divorced when they would have fights, making this series of works particularly significant to me.

Addendum! I have recently come up with a new concept, inspired by a website with photos of parents interacting with their children in irresponsible, stupid ways. I am very much a believer in the idea that whatever happens to you as a child determines who you are for the rest of your life, and I would like to create absurd images of children being put in precarious situations by their parents that will have a scarring affect on their lives. These images are meant to be humorous and unbelievable, but at the same time shed light on the serious fact that there are indeed many, many morons out there who should not have children. You know who I mean.

I also saw Bruno yesterday. Don't pay to see it in theaters unless you have the overwhelming urge to see a massive, movie screen sized penis. Well, I guess who doesn't want to see that, huh?

Flint Corn

2009-07-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

Flint corn kernels are hard and smooth and have little soft starch. Columbus and his followers reached some countries that grew a lot of flint corn. Thus, flint was probably the first corn Europeans ever laid eyes on. Flint corn is not grown in the United States as much as it is in Asia, Central America, Europe, and South America. In temperate zones, flint corn matures earlier, has better germination, and the plant vigor is earlier than in dent.

Dent Corn

2009-07-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

So yeah I'm very tired tonight, and not too much happened today. Well, I did meet a bunch of the people who are involved in this whole residency program and they are all very nice and passionate, like all midwesterners. We've got some thangs to figure out but anyway, you should learn about corn now:

Dent Corn

Dent corn, getting its name from the dent in the crown of the seed, is grown more than any other type of corn. Millions of tons of grain are produced from dent corn, and is used for human and industrial use, and for livestock feed. The starch reaches the summit of the seed, and the sides are also starchy. The denting is caused by the drying and shrinking of the starch. The dent corn grown in the Corn Belt came from a mix of New England flints and gourseed (an old variety of corn grown by the Indians in southeaster North America).

When I don't have anything interesting to say I will teach you about corn, because THAT is really interesting.

Le Studio de Monstre

2009-07-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

Alright just a little quick entry tonight; I just got back from a baseball game and boy are my arms tired!

As you can see the studio is out of control. So much space for such tiny little artists. I guess the sensible thing to do would be to get some elephants and let them lumber around in it all day. By the way my co-pilot on the shuttle Davenport is Liz Bartel. Here's her portfolio, check it yoz:

There will also be two other local artists sharing the space. I don't know who they are yet but it'll be nice to have someone else in the studio.

Now I just gotta wait for this video to upload. I'm gonna go smell my finger in a corner.

Miss Iowa and A Creepy Sports Announcer Yelling at Cub Scouts to Eat Pie

2009-07-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

My first full day in Iowa had a surprising amount of highlights, more actually than most days in my life. They came later in the evening when I went to a local arena football game with my blood family and Iowa family. My host dad I guess you could call him, Ken Croken, who by the way is the one that hooked me up with this whole dealio and to whom I am forever grateful, is determined to match me up with a nice Iowa girl. A few minutes after we settle in to our booth at the stadium (hollaaa pimp-pimp!!!) ken tells me he's got a lady he'd like me to meet. I was surprised that he was getting to work so soon but I was cool with it. Turns out the lady he brought me to meet was Miss Iowa of all people, and I must say she was very lovely and pleasant and we had a nice little chat about corn and John Deere. The Miss America pageant is coming up in January and I don't know if the American public can vote like in American Idol (or as I like to call it "Banana Squid Monkey") but if you can you should vote for her because she's uber cool. I didn't get her number or anything but at least I talked to pretty much the coolest girl in Iowa.

The second highlight followed soon after, with a halftime show Cub Scout pie eating contest. Four kids sat down at a table with pies of course and the announcer, who had the generic kind of "let's get ready to rumble" voice, emceed the pie eating goings on. His appearance was as follows: long strait hair under a plastic cowboy hat with thick glasses and a t-shirt and shorts. Once the scouts started chowing down he was saying the funniest shit my perverted mind has ever heard. He literally said:

"Come on! Get your face in there, open your mouth and suck it down!!!"

and:

"Keep your head down! No, don't look at your buddy keep going!!!"

My brother and I seemed to be the only ones that found this impossibly hysterical, and maybe you think we have some problems, but come on, that is REALLY funny.

Well in the end the home team won, and the locals were pleased. GO STEAMWHEELERS!!!!

I Have Arrived in the Land of Corn

2009-07-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

Holy hell I've never seen so much corn! People aren't kidding about the expansiveness of the fields out here. Unfortunately, I think they're haunted by the ghosts of baseball players.

My first impression of Davenport is it seems to be impeccably clean, populated enough to be interesting, and there is at least one asshole here who likes to fly out in front of traffic and almost cause a ten car pile up. There's also a casino near my studio so it looks like I'll be doing a looot of gambling. I'm excited to move in and see what's the dealio around here. Here's a link to some pictures of Davenport if you'd like to see what I see:

http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com/egov/apps/slide/show.egov?cPos=&id=78

It's Go Time!

2009-07-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the Iowa Chronicles. Allow me to introduce myself...

My name is Zach Sawan and I am one year and two months to this very day (I think) out college, that college having been Pratt Institute, locale Brooklyn, New York. I graduated with a B.F.A. in Communication Design with a concentration in Illustration (wicky-wicky erra-errr...). Pratt was an experience much akin to eating a bag of Jelly Belly jellybeans; sometimes you get a delicious watermelon flavored bean, other times you get one that tastes of puke. It was an interesting and challenging time for sure, but I survived, most body parts still intact.

About six months ago I was presented with the wonderful opportunity to be an artist-in-residence through the Figge Art Museum, located in Davenport, Iowa. The whole thing was somewhat tentative for a while but it is officially a GO and tomorrow I saddle up and head 'em out to the corn fields of dreams. I am supremely excited and although I don't know what to expect I welcome the future with open arms.

On this blog I will primarily track the creation of my art while I'm in Iowa for the next yearish, and probably post a few other things relating to my life if I think they are interesting enough to a stranger (not that I consider you a stranger. Let's go with "friendly acquaintance" instead). A word of warning, however: I love dogs (the picture above is my main man Charlie and myself. Can you guess who's who?), so you may find some relatively pointless and maybe uninteresting things relating to them, but it's my blog and I do what I want! I also love cycling and volleyball, so you might get some of that as well.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you stop by often. I encourage critiques, opinions, and just general dialogue, too, so don't be shy about sharing your thoughts.

Peace, love, and puppies,

Zachary Louis Sawan