Introducing The Art Stand

Our first brick-and-mortar, without the brick (or mortar)

Since starting our newsletter in June 2023 we created new photographs that we released as an art drop on the first of each month, for 26 months.

Art drops #26 to #1

Each release was accompanied by some writing and all of that work took time, brainpower, effort and energy, and some stars aligning just right. It was an accomplishment and what we say next should not diminish that.

You see, around April we hit the wall. We pushed through for a few months but just couldn’t continue when it came time to release our art drop on August 1st. Or September 1st for that matter.

There was nothing to release.

The intention with the art drops was to push ourselves to create for a deadline, leading to work we wouldn’t have made otherwise – and that indeed happened. The art drops we enjoyed the most were ones where the photography and the writing flowed easily and either complemented each other or were a perfect whole. But it was less satisfying when we were not entirely happy with the photography, or the writing, or both – which is no doubt true in so many creative fields. Surprise, surprise – inspiration didn’t abide by our schedule!

As a result, Writing with Light will see a few changes. Art drops will become more occasional, but photo essays, liveblogging photo walks, projects, zines, and general reflections on process and life will step up. Okay? Okay. Let’s get to it then! We feel good about what comes next and we’ve actually been working on something pretty cool…

The Art Stand

Farm stands are everywhere but have you ever seen an Art Stand?

We hadn't either, so we made one.

We had big ambitions of building the art stand of our dreams, largely as a result of imagining all the potential problems with displaying art outdoors. What if it rains – do we need a roof? What if it’s really hot – how do we keep it cool? We were inspired by local farm stands like these below:

Two of our favorite farm stands here in the Berkshires, MA.

Tom had been diligently collecting free scrap wood whenever he saw an opportunity, but designing something with walls and a roof and the prospect of constructing it became this daunting thing that delayed us. The idea of spending time and money to build a grand art stand didn’t make much sense when we weren’t sure how big it needed to be, or how the concept would be received. Would anyone even stop to check it out? So instead we opted for a lo-fi setup that we’ll just adapt and improve upon when we need to.

We repurposed some saw horse legs made during construction of our home, and bought some plywood that we sanded, primed and painted for the top.

You might think it looks nothing more than a table, and you’d be right. To protect the artwork we are using styrofoam coolers that do a decent job of preventing the contents from overheating.

What’s in the box?

We put out an ever-changing selection of our photography prints every day in sizes from 4 x 6” up to 12 x 18”, with some postcard sets, instant prints that can stand on your shelf, and glitch art too. On some days we also have flowers and garden produce available too, like serrano peppers. No tomatoes though because we need all of those!

We began with all the artwork priced individually but have now transitioned to a pay-what-you-want approach instead. Ultimately we want anyone who takes the time to visit to be able to walk away with something they like.

Have we had any print sales yet? Absolutely not! But we have barely promoted it, and yet people have still visited. Someone did stop to buy some flowers on her way to a baby shower. Our art stand is this new, weird thing on the street and we fully expect it to take time for passers-by to get used to seeing it. We see people drive past and then crane their necks to look back at it, but time needs to pass for that curiosity to grow and for the art stand to reach its fullest expression.

So V1 of our art stand is now very much up and running in West Stockbridge, MA (when the weather allows). Drop in if you are ever nearby. More info at pappasbland.com/artstand.

This is one of a number of ventures we have been developing that are very much of a hyper-local nature. We intend to be rooted in this new-to-us community and for us it is all about meeting people, leaving gifts of free art and zines in the information booth in town, displaying our art drops in the library, and now even a roadside Art Stand at the end of our driveway. More to come!

Diana & Tom

---

---

We don’t paywall our work here, so your support means a lot (if you are able). Until Substack finds the will to launch micropayments, one-off tips/donations can be sent via Buy Me A Coffee. If you’d prefer to support us with Bitcoin you can send some sats via the Lightning network here. Better yet, add some art to your space with a print from our Permanent Collection.