Studio updates and current projects

Nothing gets you more exhausted than the holidays. In spite of the energy being expended towards the last month of the year, I have a handful of creative things sustaining me as we spin towards 2023.

Free Static Live at Epic Seconds, December 9th,

With the Eugene Difficult Music Ensemble and Juice Machine, $8 at the door, time TBD.

All ages show! Thanks to Epic Seconds for providing such a dope poster.

Free Static (myself and Chris Ruiz) performed back in October and had a great set at the New Music Festival. We will be at it again coming up next Friday, upstairs at Epic Seconds record loft in Eugene. Look for more info on my Instagram, follow Free Static on Bandcamp, and check out Epic Seconds and EDME’s Instagram channels for more information. I love playing live so I’m stoked to get out again so soon after the last gig.

Free Static live at the New Music Festival in Eugene, OR — Free Static at the New Music Festival, October 2022, Eugene, OR. Chris Ruiz (L) and myself (R).

New work, new website

I had been using a platform for my art site that gave me way too much control over everything. It ended up slowing me down to the point of not updating it for many moons. Sometimes having all the options is the worst thing you can do for yourself. I’ve moved to a new platform, and added a lot of recent work from the last few years. Check out the new digs here: https://courtneystubbert.com.

Updated shop

I’ve put out merch that features visual output from my design brain off and on over the last several years with minimal consistency. I’m giving myself 2023 to try again. I’ve got such an overwhelming backlog of Illustrator files that if I’m not successful I will just trash all of it just to unburden myself from the mental backlog. I’m keeping my expectations low. Your expectations for me should be very high. Expect nothing but total success and market dominance. I’m working on a new shop and new things to put there. For the time being, you can see my current shop here.

My son Max learning to carve and grind at the Ashcan bowl in Eugene. I’m so proud.

New Index of personal effects post coming

The purpose of this blog was to be a place to dig deep into my own work and share some of my studio practice with you. It still is, but the post I’m currently working on has taken me a while to write. It is funny how the meaning of an artwork changes over time. Going back to look at the history of my own image language charts things that have happened in my life, which in turn has affected how I approached making the images over time. Read past posts about my work:

DESTROY ALL DESTROYERSIndex of Personal Visual Effects: 0003 - GhostsGhosts. Dead. Undead. Stuck between worlds. True. Not true. Residuals of 1890s seances and 1990s tabloid television. My favorite ghost was always Charlie Brown having “a little trouble with the scissors” with his costume at Halloween. It was sad because he was the embodiment of sincerity and failure at the same time. He was on brand though. He stood out…Read more3 years ago · 1 like · Courtney Stubbert

DESTROY ALL DESTROYERSIndex of Personal Visual Effects: 0002 - Artifacts of Grammar: Words and Letters In my work you will frequently see broken letter forms, half-written sentences, or sentences that may sound like a common phrase or misspoken piece of pop culture. Like a new kid at school trying to say something cool to fi…Read more4 years ago · 1 like · Courtney Stubbert

DESTROY ALL DESTROYERSIndex of Personal Visual Effects: 0001 - Broken StructuresOld, heavy things that might drift away I like broken architecture and abstract structural forms. Currently, these appear as unfolding, origami-like shapes that often look like they acknowledge the presence of gravity or perspective, but then don’t go through with it. It’s not that they don’t like gravity. (I mean, it…Read more4 years ago · 2 comments · Courtney Stubbert

Work research

I’ve been researching the intersection of new Web3 technologies (blockchain, NFTs, DAOs) and user experience design. Compared to the many Kool-aid drinkers out there I know very little about crypto and the blockchain. But because I learn by doing I’ve begun publicizing my research and thinking on a new blog called “Nobody wants to use this”. If you are interested in such things you can read and subscribe.

We went xmas tree hunting Thanksgiving weekend. Didn’t find a damn thing. But it was beautiful.

Some right-wing billionaire purchased my favorite social media platform and I’ve been watching everyone lose their minds about it. Some people have left for good. Others are sticking it out to see what happens. I’m in the latter camp. It’s felt like a bleak place to hang out for the last few weeks. I decided to set up on the Mastodon to get a feel for deceintralized social media. It’s been good so far. Not sure how things will shake out. I don’t need another platform to occupy my mind, but I’ve really liked Twitter over the years and will still want a place to share and connect with others if Elon continues to make the “birdsite” a miserable experience.

Find me on Mastodon: https://indieweb.social/@whyisthisbroken

October poll results

screenshot of October poll — October poll. No actions will be taken.

Our October poll “You make me feel…” turned out to be a tie between “like dancing”, and “punching a nun.” I’m a complicated person, and so are you. This seems to line up with how my relationships are going at 48 years old - I’m somewhere between a party and a fist fight.

We need a bigger sample size, so I need more of you to participate or our data will be weak and no one will trust the results. So here we go:

If you don’t like polls, then leave a comment below. Tell me about a book you’ve read, and album you’ve listened too, or a piece of legislation you are mad about.