gRAPHICaNATOMY

MWFA is proud to announce a closing party for Sam Thorp and Lauren Toohey. The closing will be on Friday Feb. 26th, from 6pm-11pm. This show is the MOST successful show in MWFA tenure. We are so pleased about the turnout on the worst night ever to have an opening. If you have not had a chance to see the show, please stop by this month.
I hope to see you at the closing party!



Saturday February 27th is the night of the next Sinferno and Hanging Garden dance night extravaganzas at Remedy Lounge in Lawrenceville.
$5 gets you in to two spectacular dance clubs.
Sinferno (2nd floor) will feature DJ Zombo spinning his wild mix of glam, new wave, punk, disco, and more for your dancing and listening enjoyment. From 9-10, Zombo will host EXTREME Bingo and trivia for special mystery prizes.
Janim will enchant you with her sultry and seductive Egyptian Caberet style belly dance moves at 10:30. Plus, Mahoghany will drive the crowd wild at 12:30 with her outrageous and theatrical drag show. In addition, Biilzebub will display original artwork, jewelry & lamps made out of bones in the pool room.
On the 3rd floor, the Hanging Garden will feature DJs Miss Amber and Radu spinning the best ever dance mix of your favorite goth, industrial and new wave music. Also on the 3rd floor, there will kick-ass multi-artist erotic art on display for your retinal delights.
Remedy also has GREAT food, and there will be food and drink specials all night long.

Every month will feature different odd ball and freak performers and a rotating mix of DJs spinning a wild assortment of music.
Please see myspace.com/sinfernohanginggarden for more info.

note: I did not write this, but I totally agree with what it has to say. I saw this on Digg.com today and Craigslist has already taken it down, read it and take it to heart.

The Post
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Every day, there are more and more Craigs List posts seeking “artists” for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they’re NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are “seeking artists”, let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?

More than likely, you don’t know any. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be posting on craigslist to find them.

And this is not really a surprise.

In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?

Would you offer a neurosurgeon the “opportunity” to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him “a few bucks” for “materials”. What a deal!)

Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?

If you answered “yes” to ANY of the above, you’re obviously insane. If you answered “no”, then kudos to you for living in the real world.

But then tell me… why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.

A few things you need to know;

1. It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen on your car/’zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a “great opportunity” for YOU to have their work there.

2. It is not clever to seek a “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to get work for free. It’s ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”, but that does not mean they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a “student” once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.

3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their “portfolio”. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It’s not compensation. It’s their right, and it’s a given.

4. Stop thinking that you’re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

5. Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the “experience” they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother’s house when they were seventeen?

If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to “submit work for consideration”. They may even be posing as some sort of “contest”. These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the “contest”, or be “chosen” for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or “spec”, work. It’s risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on this subject, please visit www.no-spec.com.

So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are “spec” gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.

And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free… please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you’re accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.

James Ray has been arrested.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/us/05sweat.html

the deaths are very unfortunate.
if anything, let this serve as a chance to learn for others who want to "experiment" with Native American sweat lodge ceremonies, or vision quests, or sun dances or whatever.

James Ray and his staff were not properly trained, and that was dangerous. The lodge was built improperly and it was dangerous.
If someone is NOT an actual card carrying tribal member then likely they are not trained properly. (yes, they have cards)
the only way to be trained is face to face with a tribal elder. Not through books, or websites, or youtube videos. And these days tribal elders are rather picky about who they pass the knowledge onto. Because they really don't appreciate an outsider taking their most sacred beliefs and ceremonies, mixing them with whatever is fashionable at the moment and charging thousands of dollars to exploit their culture.
so please keep that in mind next time someone offers a Native American style "whatever".
you can find more info at: http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php