One of the clients I work for happens to be a humongous corporate entity who, at the time being, shall remain nameless. Over the years, I have noticed miniscule things that I want to share with you all, my faithful readers, that I believe speak volumes. I will start posting these little nuances as part of an ongoing series titled, The Conglomerate Chronicles.
Part 1: The Corporate Makeover
MARCH 2008 – PRE BAILOUT – Circa 1990 Cross Patterned ,Upholstered Tub Chairs with Circular, Glass Top Formica Based Table
MARCH 2009 – POST BAILOUT – Divina Italian Leather Lounge Chairs with Saarinen Oval Adjustable Height End Table
Suggested retail price of makeover – $5835.00
Found in a vending machine outside of a Brooklyn Deli. Two quarters and a turn of the crank later, these little religious rings were mine.
I threw my coin into the fountain and entered my recently christened Residential series in HEY, HOT SHOT! A JEN BECKMAN PROJECT.
Hey, Hot Shot! is a yearly contest that reviews entries from a diverse body of emerging and established photographers from around the world, culminating in the selection of five ‘Hot Shots’. The panel that reviews the work selects weekly ‘contenders’ and writes about their work on the Hey, Hot Shot! blog.
I am happy to say that I made the ‘Rocky -style’ contender status and my work was reviewed on Oct 8th. For you, my tender readers, who are fighting in my corner please visit the review here: Hey, Hot Shot!-Hey Hot Shot! Contender: David Ebeltoft.
Stay tuned for updates!
I’ve ‘blown away the cobwebs’ and updated my website with new color work, a new series shown at the APW Gallery in July and various tweaks and adjustments.
Check out all the new (and old) works and words at www.davidebeltoft.com.
Holiday Inn Express, Albany, NY
Employee Lounge, Kingston, NY
Closed Kinkos, Manhattan, NY
I just returned from North Dakota (although my bags did not) from a busy and inspiring week at Dickinson State University . I was invited by DSU and AATTA (Alcohol Awareness through the Arts) to give several lectures on screenwriting, film, passion, and how to translate your love for art or writing into a career.
I want to thank all of those who attended the 9/08 babbling session that Heart River Writer’s Circle held at Beck Auditorium. I truly appreciated the support, laughs, and questions. It turned out to be a wonderful experience, one (as my loving and caring wife will attest) that I worried about for quite some time. So thank you once again, hopefully I’ll be able to repay your kindness.
9/08 Heart River Writer’s Circle Lecture on Screenwriting
A wonderful part of the AATTA program, was working with creative students Amy Tichy, Troy Kuntz, Amanda Leftridge, Kyle Thiel, and DSU Alum, Aparna Subramanian to create BAAB, a blog dedicated to promoting the students ideas and creativity at DSU. Check out their imaginative films, photos, and words at www.baabdsu.blogspot.com.
I think that, among the countless highlights of the past week, there were three beautiful and amazing things that stood out.
I was able to stay with my generous parents during the AATTA week so the first highlight came from my mother, Gail, in the form of a note. My mother is a wonderful note taker and poster. Every morning, when we are home, a note is found on either the kitchen counter or table that explains the day (and the things my mother graciously does for us) and always ends with a little message of love. Below is the note I found on the kitchen counter on the night before my public lecture on screenwriting for the Heart River Writer’s Circle.
The second highlight was from my father, Paul. Preparing to be introduced by an English Professor at DSU, I was shocked, but overwhelmingly pleased, when my father was asked to come up to the podium and give a heartfelt and thorough introduction. I tried hard not to interuptt and scream after every line or compliment, “I got that from him! ” or “He inspired that!”
So to both of my parents, thank you. Thank you for your continued love and support and for letting me raid your fridge at all hours of the day and night.
And the third and final highlight was the love, support, and generosity of my beautiful wife Payal. Payal graciously allowed me to abandon her in New York for this week to pursue my passion with the arts and to hopefully transfer that passion along to other students. Her loan came with an extremely low interest rate (a few extra hugs at the airport) and was vital in making this week and my future work a success. I cannot thank her enough for being by my side!
I’ll be chatting with Merrill Piepkorn, host of Hear it Now, a regional talk show airing on the Prairie Public Radio network on Weds 9/02 at 4pm EST.
Listen in if your able and have some time on that Wedensday. I’d also check out the show on a daily basis. Merrill talks up a variety of folks, ranging from authors to biofuel experts to quik-picking banjo players.
Listen to the interview here: http://www.prairiepublic.org/radio/hear-it-now/.
I am proud to be one of the visiting artists for Dickinson State University’s 2009 Alcohol Awareness through the Arts (AATTA) Program.
Founded by Pattie Carr close to 7 years ago, AATTA has managed to address the problem of binge drinking and drunk driving through the beauty and power of the creative arts. Pattie has been, and continues to be, a gracious and enthusiastic collaborater and I salute her promotion of this wonderful program and the creative arts (everything from writing and dance to theater and painting).
In the early phases of this project I went through several artistic ideas that tried to tie in my photography and my screenwriting. However, I had trouble molding the alcohol awareness idea into my current nighttime and presentation themed photography as well as my quirky and darkly comedic scripts.
So, in the end, I decided to step into new mediums and territories, ultimately designing the following accessories.
The pendants, that come as a necklace or a keychain, are designed to be shared with a friend. In splitting up the pendant, you split the responsibility and share a commitment to drink in a sensible manner. Made from laser-cut acrylic, with silver findings, these accessories (150 for the first run) are being given to students at the 2009 AATTA event at DSU.
I will also be involved with the following events at DSU during AATTA.
9/08 @ 7pm @ Beck Auditorium, DSU – Heart River Writer’s Association Lecture
I will be babbling about screenwriting and how I found the story for my script, You Were Once Called Queen City. Against the advice of my inner editor and in the hopes that this might inspire some more folks to come, I would like to share the tentative title for my lecture on 9/08:
Have Mercy On Me Dear Listener, I was Once a Blank Page
- or -
The Aural Tale of How I Learned to Write a Script
9/11 @ 7:30pm @ Stickney Auditorium, DSU – AATTA 2009 Performance
If any of you, my faithful readers, are in the Dickinson area on Friday, 9/11, I highly recommend you stop by and check out the AATTA Performance being held at Stickney Auditorium at DSU. One of the other visiting artists for the 2009 AATTA Program is Charlotte Boye-Christensen, who is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and artistic director at the Ririe Woodbury Dance Company in Salt Lake City. While I have not met Charlotte, I know that she will be working with DSU dance students to create an awe inspiring piece set to debut that Friday.
Stay tuned for AATTA updates and subsequent happenings in the weeks to come!
Payal and I went up to the Catskills last weekend to channel our inner Swayze. We managed to have The Time of Our Life.
A few photos from our humble lodging, the Starlite Motel on Route 28 (Sorry, I ran out of Dirty Dancing references).
Last weekend, Payal and I went to St. Louis for the Hindu-hitching of her good friends Jon and Jyothi.
We lodged at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Clayton, MO which, if you ever have the chance, I would recommend going. It’s dated opulence, gilt-gold everything, heavy wood accents, and marble tiled floors, gave us a glimpse of how Parisian decor once met with lavish-Midwest design (crystal chandeliers hanging from drop ceiling tiles!)
This wonderful 80’s time capsule also came with a still-working cigarette machine (covered with a tarp until 8pm….as to not entice the kiddies) and a grand piano, that was once played by the local Clayton key-tickler-talent. It is now, due to the (I suppose) rising costs and needs of MO pianists, refurbished with an player-piano attachment that soullessly but accurately plays each tune.
While it was a whirlwind of a weekend, we managed to have a wonderful and buddy-filled time.
And what would a trip to St. Louis be without a trip to the Arch? I guess we wouldn’t know, as we found an hour to make the journey to Eero Saarinen’s architectural marvel.
