I got a bit of a break from the blahs last week. I wanted to start writing for my new website folios and decided to start with the one about the University of Washington. But before I could write a word, I had to think about what my first project was there. I thought about it for minute and thought it Meany Theater in the late 80s. I did some good stuff for them and realized photos were not represented in the collection I had gathered up. And none were on my computer as they are all black and white film, and I had not ever scanned them. When I went to search for the negs, I couldn’t find them and hoped I hadn’t trashed them. First search, the wall of film. Nope, not there. But thought that was because I didn’t start organizing film in binders until the mid 90s. Prior to that they were in folders in file cabinets. I switched because it was easier to retrieve film from binders on shelves in chronological order. But the old stuff stayed in file cabinets. I still have one in my studio full of old film. Had to be there. Nope. Now I am getting bummed, thinking I had accidently trashed them or given them away. Then I remembered one box of miscellaneous film. When the basement was flooded 10 years ago, I grabbed whatever what laying out and threw it in a box just to save it. Rarely looked at it since because it was such a mess. The box has just sat there on a chair for the last ten years. I rummaged through it, and the film was there, at least most of it. I found exactly what I was looking for and pulled stuff to scan. It was fun and lifted my spirits. It made me realize that while I am in a slump to create new work, it was uplifting to preserve some good vintage work. It was good to see that even then I knew what I was doing
