A Huge Part of My Life: Justseeds Artist's Cooperative
If you know me well, you know this: since 2007, I've been involved in a sprawling, 29-member artist-owned graphics cooperative called Justseeds. The connections which led me to this group go back to my spry early twenties, starting with meeting founder Josh MacPhee at a zine conference in 2002 in Ohio and being drawn in by his still-growing Celebrate People's History poster series. Justseeds wasn't always 29 members, and we didn't always claim homes around the entire continent - but we've grown a lot in nearly a decade, and so has my involvement, dedication, and my friendships to these folks. I can say (without sarcasm) that this group has become something of an auxiliary family to me.
Being involved in Justseeds has had a profound influence on what I do, how I do it, and why. I remember years ago thinking that I wouldn't have much to contribute to a collective of printmakers, because I myself wasn't focused enough on printing on paper. Seems a superfluous concern now, because I can't imagine what direction my practice would have taken without the kind of critique, politic, communication, world view, frustrations and victories I've experienced working in league with these people!
In Pittsburgh, I've been running the online store back-end for about five years, along with member Bec Young (and formerly also Mary Tremonte). We pack orders, do ye olde customer service, and keep the collective wheels greased on the "economic engine" that is the business side of the Justseeds project...
Anyhow: the big news for us right now is that we've just launched a new website! We'd been hobbling along for years with a site that was slowly falling apart, and in which we had little control over content and design. This year a small subcommittee worked directly with the designers at Partner & Partners to overhaul our site, and to see what they could come up with that would better communicate the totality of what Justseeds actually is: we're not just an online store selling political prints, posters and books - we've also been involved in countless international exhibitions, have launched all kinds of collaborative portfolios, and have put together projects which take intriguing and inspiring directions. I'm proud of how well this new design showcases the breadth and reach of my auxilary family!
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