The Upstate Book Project 2.0 seeks artists

PRESS RELEASE FROM EVENT ORGANIZERS:

The Upstate Book Project 2.0 is now accepting applications from local visual artists who want to contribute both 2-D art and storyline text to a collaborative book that will publish in Spring 2017. This project is headed by Spartanburg, SC artist Bailie, who published the first and similar book in 2012. This new book is larger and seeking 30 participants, each of whom will contribute visual art to illustrate the story, as well as 200 words of text to continue the storyline that has been started by Bailie. To apply, please visit TheUpstateBookProject.com. The deadline to apply is Oct. 29, 2016.

To be considered for the juried (judging) process of selecting the artists for the project, each applicant must be at least 18-years-old and live in Spartanburg County or a county that is adjacent to it: Greenville, Cherokee, Union, Anderson, Laurens, and Pickens in South Carolina, and Polk and Rutherford in North Carolina. In addition, each applicant must complete the application, submit three jpeg (computer file) images of their current work, a statement of interest, and pay a $25 application fee. The applicants will be reviewed and selected by Bailie, potter Jim Cullen, and artist Brandi Dice.

“‘Here we go again’ is the catchphrase I’ve been using to describe this project,” Bailie said. “A small group of my friends and I did this back in 2012 and produced a nice magazine-style self-published book for the artists and the public. It’s a unique twist on an old idea. A great many books have been published when a group of writers are given a storyline to contribute to. This is the same concept, except the artwork is probably more important than the text. I have painted the first image and written the first 200 words to get things started. Where it goes from there is anyone’s guess. And that’s the beauty of the project. No one knows what the finished product will be like until the last artist draws or paints his or her image and writes the last chapter.”

Once the project starts, it will go quickly. As each artist receives his or her assigned portion of the book, they will be given access to the entire storyline that has been written so far. However, they will not be given access to the images completed so far. Once the artist receives the incomplete storyline, he or she has 48 hours to produce both the work of art and the 200 words of text. The selected artists will start the project on Nov. 1 and it will end on projected date Jan. 18, 2017. Once the book is assembled and printed, a reception will be held at the Tap House in Spartanburg on a date yet to be determined in the Spring. At that time, the book will be available for public purchase. In addition, all of the original art will be on display during the reception. Ownership of the original art will remain with the artists, who are free to sell their work during or after the reception.

“Once we get going, it goes really fast,” Bailie said. “That’s the exciting part.”

Bailie is owner of Bailie Studios in Spartanburg. He is well known locally for his mural work across the Upstate and his technically tight canvas work. He has painted more than 600 murals, as an arts educator on the South Carolina Arts Commission’s roster of approved artists in education and the former Assistant Director of the COLORS program. In his 20 years as a professional artist, he has taught workshops, classes, and residencies in mediums ranging from calligraphy and sculpture to mosaic and figure drawing.

For more information about this project, please visit online TheUpstateBookProject.

First Chapter by Bailie:

Seven was a special kid, not like the other children; cavalier in thinking but shy in action. Coming from the lower side of the tracks, Seven was not well-off, or popular, and poorly dressed to boot. On a lonely stroll through the train yards one day, looking for a match to a single roller skate, Seven came across a bundle of canvas bags laying half-covered on the ground by the train tunnel. Curiosity arising within, Seven discovered the bags were filled with old money from the 1920’s. Vaguely remembering the long ago heist from the Bank of Salem, Seven realized that crime was never solved.

“How cool is this!! Or is it?” thought Seven. “I could become somebody with this money. I could go to private school. I could … Wait! I can’t do any of that. Even if I was very discreet, everyone would notice when I showed up with anything new, especially clothes. A skate to match my single one would be a red flag. Just going to the movies would be noticed. I have the keys to the kingdom, but I can’t walk through the gates. What should I do with this money?”