Today, on Small Business Saturday, I’m launching part three of Artists In Jackson – the Magazine edition: 96 big, full-color pages, soft-bound and larger than the hardcover edition, and at an affordable price of only $35.
And here’s a deal: use the code CREATIVE40 until Dec. 1 at checkout for 40% off the price. Get yours at artistsinjackson.com/book.
Hardcovers are also still available! Use the code art517 for $9 off the price.
“Every little snapshot reminds me of something. It reminds me of the music playing that day, or something we did earlier. It helps me remember and relive my life. It’s a sensory thing.”
Read Ashley’s profile at Artists In Jackson.
“I don’t want to be a ‘company.’ I want to be underground.”
Read Andrew’s profile at Artists In Jackson.
“Putting the energy into my work – dying fabric, taking the color out, ice dying – there’s a lot to it. The process is a good focus for me. It helps calm me. And I really enjoy the product I get.”
Read Justine’s profile at Artists In Jackson.
“It’s a good outlet for depression. I’ve always been able to show myself something solid and tell myself, ‘You’re not a bad person. Look at what you can do.’”
Read David’s profile at Artists In Jackson.
I’m super proud of how my Artists In Jackson book turned out. It’s 100+ gorgeous pages of artist profiles and portraits.
As a part of the package, I also made an eBook version. I created it as a more portable companion piece to the book, and it’s available as a PDF and Apple iBook now on the Artists In Jackson website.
I created both the PDF and iBook using Apple iBooks Author. The template format made it super easy to transfer the photos and text from an InDesign document. Plop photos in the picture spots, copy and paste the text, and work on a few formatting things like pull quotes and the table of contents, and you have an eBook. All pretty easy, as long as you’re okay giving up some formatting control.
Just export the iBook as a PDF and you have a format that anyone can enjoy. It really makes it a one-and-done online publishing option.
The book is still the objectified end-point of the portrait project. It’s the artifact, the thing that (hopefully) will last for decades. It’s also, at $89, a bit of a luxury item. Not everyone can afford almost $100 for a book, and I recognize that. The book is still what you should buy, but I get the affordability issue.
So the eBook is only $9. Much more affordable, and priced so just about anyone can read the profiles and view the photos on the go.
Buy the eBook and support the project!
Thanks to Jacksonopolis for the feature and Q&A.
A deeper dive into the how and why of my Artists In Jackson project.
Today I’m releasing my portrait project Artists In Jackson to the world. Since June, I’ve interviewed and photographed 15 Jackson-based artists about their talent, their challenges, and their hometown. The final product is a beautiful, 100+ page book featuring stories and portraits from the artists.
You can learn about the project at artistsinjackson.com. And the book makes a great holiday gift!
Thank you so much to the artists who participated. Through painting, or photography, or metalworking, or tattoos, they’re making my hometown of Jackson, Michigan, a more beautiful place. Support them!
And thanks to all of you who have supported and shared this project.
For the past five or six months, I’ve spent a lot of time getting to know the artists, creatives, and makers in Jackson, Michigan, as a part of my Artists In Jackson project.
The culmination of the project, I always figured, would be a book. Photos and profiles of the artists, an explanation of the project, and a beautiful artifact of all the work I’ve done.
I love photo books. I’ve become a bit of a collector in the past year or so. That, and (as @alesserphotographer advocates) paper is what you keep for 100 years and give to your grandchildren.
So the Artists In Jackson book is now available for sale. I couldn’t be more proud of how it turned out.
This first run of copies (about 25) are going to get some special love and attention from me before they ship out. After that, I’m doing a buy-on-demand system from Blurb, the book publisher.
Also, the project’s artist profiles are now live on the website, along with a selection of photos from each artist’s portrait shoot.
It feels mighty good to have this project out the door and into the world. I’ve received lots of great feedback from family and friends, and lots of support from the community. Thanks to everyone for their time and attention.
I made something. It shipped. And away we go.
Here they are: the 15 featured creatives in my Artists In Jackson portrait project.
They are 15 people that are making my hometown of Jackson, Michigan, a more beautiful place to live. And so generous with their time and attention – I can’t thank them enough for participating in this project.