August 2020: State of All Things {official Thing} (Patreon)

{patron-only}

hallo loves.

if you'e new to the patreon, WELCOME! this is the monthly EPIC blog ("althing") that we assemble and charge for, to keep the lights on and to the community enlightened about what we're up to in case you don't want to read constant posts from me.

greetings from havelock north, aotearoa new zealand. i have now been away from america for over a year. it's sunday, september 20th, at 7:23 am, and im sitting curled up in front of the fire with my laptop, because it's chilly, as wrapping paper, cake-covered napkins, and paper beer boxes from ash's birthday party yesterday blaze in the fire. he's sleeping in the next room, hopefully dreaming of beauty. today belongs to me and him, and he will get all my time and attention as soon as he's awake. i will try to tell him about ruth bader ginsburg, and why mama is still crying about a lady who died, a lady we never met.

since these monthly Althing recap posts can be long and endless, here is a little table of contents for what you'll find in this post, after i ramble a little bit about how i'm doing:

• HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED - a round up on projects and events that have happened in the last month
  
• AN UPDATE ABOUT THE NEW TOUR IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND (all dates have now been rescheduled and are back on sale)
  
• WHAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIKE - this is a lonnnnnnNNNNng list of projects that are currently in production.....and updates on where they're at. it is covid pandemic time, and my life just went through a whole tornado, and there's a ton of log-jam in project world, but we're trying. i am getting better and better at forgiving myself for late art shit and even better at taking the support this community is throwing at me. hey, i wrote a book about that!
  
• HOW THE PATREON ITSELF IS DOING - this is the nitty gritty numbers on the Things (or paid posts) released in the previous month. math nerds, enjoy!
  
• DISPATCHES FROM TEAM AFP - this is a space to all of team AFP around the globe to share what they're working on & how they're doing. my team are...real human people! don't forget: this patreon not only funds my art production and pays for life bills and collaborators and so on....it also affords me the ability to have a full-time staff - in COVID! - helping me (and all of you) to make this art community as wonderful as it is. i spend way more money per month on salaries and office costs than actual art making, and my staff is a critical part of my ability to work the way i do. i love that we are a family of art weirdos that talk to you.
  
• OTHER ARTISTS TO SUPPORT - this is a place where i share other patreons, crowdfunds, or other artist-undertakings who are making work i think you should know about.
  
• ART BEGETTING ART - there's always so many beautiful pieces of fan art, tattoos and art made inspired by my work, the dresden dolls and so forth... i always  like to include a little collection of some pieces to share with you each month.

..................................

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED IN AUGUST...

the most important thing that happened was that i released a song for patrons only.

i wrote it in lockdown. 

it is called "the man who ate too much", and you can read about and listen to it here:

 https://www.patreon.com/posts/40706236

this song is everything to me at the moment.

the fact that i was able to write, record and release it has given me some hope ofr the future.

i am thinking about making a video for it here in aotearoa, and if i do, i'll release the song publicly.

it is one of the best things i've ever written.

i like that i can still write music.

my ability to compose music with words hasn't gone away, it's gotten weirder, and more honest, deeper.

....................

i cried in public in august, quite a few times.

life has felt, often, like a bad dream gone bad.

life here in aotearoa has been really weird. i am so grateful and so homesick. 

my life has become incredibly mundane, and my weekly schedule has become more ritualitic and repetitive than it has ever been in my adult life.

every weekday morning i walk ash to school. then i go get a coffee in town and go tot he post office box. then i walk home. i usually call people from america while i walk. ash loves this school walk, it runs along a gorgeous stream with embankments made out of lush green grass, it's all very hobbit-y, and wizard of oz.

i work for about 4 hours a day, between 11-3. then i go pick up ash, and i spent the evening taking care of all the kid things. dinner. cleaning. bath. bed. sometimes i have help, and i love it. xanthea pitches in, though she's been spending more and more time working on admin stuff and the podcast, she's still ash's mostly companion. we have wrangled a few wonderful local babysitters who come over and pitch in with dinner and dishes. the house is always filled with music and candles, and i've been going to bed at around 8:30 pm every night. on good nights, i'm asleep by 9pm. on bad nights, i read the news until 11 pm. 

i often regret it.

i have wanted to write a whole post about ash learning how to ride his bike, and what happened when he broke his finger.

that reminds me to mention something that's been creeping up so beautifully and slowly that there's never really a good time to address it, so i'll do it here:

i am wanting to write. i am wanting to write more than i think i ever have.

i am wanting to write a lot, and often, and i am wanting to write about what is happening to me here, and what is happening in my heart, and what is happening in the world, and what is happening with ash....i am wanting to write WORDS.

if you know me, you'll know that i never bothered much with the ceremony of official books and publishers. i could have saved away all of my blog writings and just published a memoir of selected writings every few years and made a lot more money, but i never needed the world to see me as a writer. 

i just like writing, because i like sharing feelings, because i like knowing that i'm not alone.

that's why the internet has been so wonderful. writing something and publishing it 16 months later doesn't help you to feel less alone. but writing something and publishing it five minutes later?

yes. that helps you feel less alone.

that's why i write here instead of in books.

i just read the draft of jack and gaby's last installment of the "there will be no intermission" international tour correspondents piece. it's a crie de couer from jack about the nature of celebrity and authenticiy, and the pain he went through being in the wake of the tour controversy. it's a hard read for me - which of course means it's really good - and it's inspiring me to write around the same topics. 

looking through the lenses of TikTok and cameo and zoom lately, i really do find myself wondering more and more about social currency, fame, friends, time, connection, and what it all means. there's a lot to say. i just wish i had more time to say it. ash needs to come first, as always. so he will.

.........

i also really want to do anything and everything i can in the next few months to make sure all americans VOTE. i have been giving money to a lot of different candidates and organizations, but i feel like i should be doing more to organize this community to make sure biden gets elected. my dad, a vietnam vet, wrote a wonderful thought-piece for me to share on the patreon and i'm hoping to put that out this coming week. 

i feel powerless a lot of the time.

i often don't know what to do with myself. which task to tend to. i figure this is normal being homesick in a pandemic and i just pick up a dish and start fucking washing it. 

i have been saying yes to random things.

i went and played music and talked to a bunch of students at woodford. which is like a high school for girls. i loved it.

the janitor said we could take some daffodils, and so i did. 

this is another visit to another girls' high school in the area; this one is called iona.

they are not allowed to wear jewelry to school or dye their hair.

i played music to them (after casting here for suggestions) and the next day, new zealand went back into level 2 lockdown, which meant this gig would not have been possible, since it was for about 200 people. 100 is now the limit. maybe until monday, tomorrow. we don't know.

this is ash and his friend, izzy.

i held a caption contest for this photo on instagram and the winner (@pacyficzny) was....

"And that's how you self-isolate. Easy, see?"

............

ash loves the beach and playing in the stones with his friends. it's only about a 20 minute drive from our house, and we try to get out there often. this photo is by eva wunderlich.

ash visited the grave of a dead neighbour-rabbit, named chewie. chewie is the first big death in ash's life. we talk about her a lot, but not as much as the week she died...we miss her.

....and i took ash to see his first librarian drag queens, erika and coco flash. erika and coco also performed at ash's birthday, and it was fucking dlieghtful.

that's rosheen.

.....

KELLY'S MASKS VIDEO

my friend kelly (aka liam sullivan) released a new video, the first in 8 years...

kelly went massive on the internet with her video for "Shoes" which went uber-viral before the term "viral" existed in the very beginning of YouTube in 2006.

i made a cameo in her follow up video "Let Me Borrow That Top"  and kelly returned the favor by making a cameo in the dolls' Shores of California music video. it was fun as fuck.

now she's back to raise money for doctors without borders with a new video that's a psa for masks. check it out....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gbT_QG75Z4&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=LiamKyleSullivan

here i am, in the middle of the bottom row sporting a handmade mask made by my friend rachel jayson (she's at @musychyk on instagram, where you can get a mask of your own):

here is a better picture of my mask:

.....

SWANS DOCUMENTARY 

i was interviewed for a documentary about SWANS, a band that influenced me a ton as a teenager. the movie came out last week, you watch the trailer, rent or buy it here on vimeo on demand:

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/swans

(i managed to wangle a bunch of free links to the video for the $75 and up patrons....so watch for those, you guys).

if you want to listen to a beautiful album by SWANS, may i recommend this one.

heavy, hard, lush, very good for catharsis.

https://swans.bandcamp.com/album/love-of-life

....

THERE WILL BE NO INTERMISSION ARTBOOK, the DIGITAL EDITION....

at long last, the digital version of the There Will Be No Intermission artbook was shared with all patrons. this is the same book that's available in my online merch stores and was at the merch table on tour, but updated with HUNDREDS of links and annotations.

read the whole post here, and download it at:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/39853779

...

THE NEW AMANDAPALMER.NET!!!!!

https://www.patreon.com/posts/drum-roll-new-40558303

after working on it for YEARS, not kidding, years, it's out.

we are still working our bugs left and right, and we are open to ideas.

once it's in great shape, well start posting about it to the public.

....

AN UPDATE ABOUT THE NEW TOUR IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND....

ALL the shows had to be pushed back because of the government's restrictions and level changes. it looks like some of these shows may end up being cancelled or changed again. 

here is the current update, as screenshotted from the fancy new https://amandapalmer.net/events/

the AUCKLAND show on october 2nd has been postponed, and will be moved to november, and ill announce that all here next week. ticket-holders should also get an email from me.
.....

i feel weird about touring. 

i am out of practice.

i am also looking forward to it more than anything.

it is holy.

i also now go to bed at 8:30 pm.

WHAT THE FUCK?
....

WHAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIKE

in previous althings, to avoid being repetitive, since most of our projects in production are still in the pipeline, i started to list upcoming list upcoming projects by title only and if you'd like more information or to see an in progress picture, click here to view this section of may's althing....since news hasn't shifted much on some of the longer term projects. 

https://www.patreon.com/posts/state-of-all-may-37552735

• THE "CONFESSIONAL" DOCUMENTARY WE SHOT IN TASMANIA....
• LOOK MUMMY NO HANDS MUSIC VIDEO...
• THE BACKSTAGE TORONTO INTERVIEW PROJECT
• JACK AND GABY'S FINAL TOUR ESSAY/PHOTO PIECE
• OTHER VARIOUS FILMS IN PRODUCTION
• A DRESDEN DOLLS SURPRISE....

in addition to these, here's what's moving at full speed....

THE ART OF ASKING EVERYTHING PODCAST! YAY.

at long last!!!!! it is finally getting released. it will be available EVERYWHERE you listen to podcasts. i'll share more info soon, but get ready, mofos. 

we are going public about it the 22nd!

the trailer is going to be released soon, so that you can start subscribing and we can start spreading the word about it, and then the first episode launches on september 29th.

and, because A LOT has happened since these conversations were first recorded, i'll be doing a patron-only webcast with each guest a few days their episode airs. if the guest cant make it, i'll still hold a chat about the content of the podcast. 

we'll catch up and you can ask us questions. i am also working to start a book club (!!!!) for patrons to converse with me, the guests, and one other.

i am truly excited about all of this.

here's me and elizabeth lesser, the first guest:

....

THE DRESDEN DOLLSY SURPRISE....?

this was a sweet zoom screenshot from the ol' dresden dolls touring crew...we all got on the zoomphone for a reunion the other day:

2020 marks the TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY of the dresden dolls. 

we are still in awe of that number.

brian and i had planned to be making music together this whole last half of the year and we were lining up epic shows to celebrate, but the world had, er, other plans. 

so instead, we're whipping together something very special for you.....watch this space.

long live the punk cabaret.

.....

THE SHADOWBOX

as election season ramps up in the usa, the "Anarchy & Other Politics" forum is bubbling with conversation and info....

the numbers on the shadowbox are strong, we've had over 3,000 active users within the last month.

in the month of august, the most pageviews (number of visits) came on august 30th and the most post likes were given out on august 17th.

"capybara" is still the most popular search term

heehee.

....

HOW THE PATREON ITSELF IS DOING...

and now...NITTY GRITTY TIME.

as of this writing there are 14,750 patrons pledging about $49,078 for the first Thing each month.

i go over this stuff every month, but if you're new to all this....patreon charges you monthly & retroactively, meaning that you get billed on the 1st of the month for all the Things released the month prior.

because people have their pledges capped (HOW MANY TIMES CAN I SAY THIS....if you are on a budget, you should cap your pledge please: here's the tutorial again), the first "Thing" raises the most money by far, and anything released thereafter raises less and less. I LIKE THIS! THIS IS GOOD! it means i never feel too guilty!!!!!. really. do it. cap cap cap your pledge if you are on a budget. 

the numbers below are gross. they are not net. meaning: it's the money raised before fees were deducted by patreon and is not the total deposited to me. patreon takes a 5% fee (which they use to build and sustain the platform, which is GOOD) and then there's a payment processing fee, which varies on a ton of factors and is usually between 5-9% of the total collected. 

also, none of this reflects the money i SPENT MAKING THE ART, running the business, paying the office rent, getting myself around, getting the team around and fed and slept,....all the collaborators and my actual staff payroll, etc. 

i don't share that level of nitty-detail-stuff with you because i assume it would bore you to fucking tears. but you can trust me: paying for a full-time staff, office, manager, accountant, and massive team of art-collaborators ain't cheap. sometimes we barely break even, especially when we do a lot of charity projects.

back in July, i Thanged ThreeThe Things:

June 2020: State of All Things was the first Thing and it earned about $55,289 from 15,056 patrons

"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" with the BBC Symphony Orchestra was the second Thing and it earned about $24,041 from 8,739 patrons

The "There Will Be No Intermission" digital artbook was the third Thing and it earned about $14,694 from 5,556 patrons

(we say "about" because patreon may be still trying to process some pledges that have yet to go through...we never know, you know.)

them's the numbers.

i believe in the ebb and flow. so the patreon has dropped a bit $$-wise, but the number of patrons has stayed pretty steady, which is really great. it means that people are adjusting but sticking around.

......

a patreon housekeeping note from hayley, team afp's resident patronator:

A few new patrons have written in to patronhelp@amandapalmer.net recently asking about why they are unable to access select posts on Amanda's patreon, so I wanted to take a minute to clarify how Patreon's post-filtering system works, and give you a little insight on the new way we'll be sharing download links when we have multiple posts going out for a Thing to $3 download patrons and $5+ random surprise tier patrons. If you are pledging $3+ you saw my note in your download post for "It's A Fire", but I'd like to take a moment to share this info with all patrons here!

On Patreon, you can pledge any amount equal to, or in excess, to the reward tier you have selected. This was great, except that it lead to difficulties managing reward tier fulfillment. See,  Patreon use to allow creators to filter posts to patrons based ONLY on the amount of money they were pledging, regardless of what reward tier they selected. This actually caused what we called "loophole patrons" - folks who were pledging $100 in lower tiers like the $10 tier, so they met the monetary threshold to see posts Amanda wrote to $100+ patrons that were intended specifically for patrons in the limited $100 Old-School Postcard tier. This meant folks who weren't technically eligible for a postcard miss out on receiving postcards (and other perks) without understanding why. We worked with these folks to identify them and provide them with the same reward perks of the $100 tier, but it made it difficult for us to keep track of fulfilling rewards because these "loophole patrons" were never listed in the back end of the creator dashboard as being eligible for the $100 reward tier and it created confusion and a less than ideal experience for all of us as we tried to keep everyone happy. This also meant that if we wanted to send downloads, we had to send a post to everyone pledging  $3 or higher, and if we had a random surprise we wanted to send out to $5+ patrons, we had to send a THIRD post (and third email notification) restricted to people pledging $5 or higher. This was clunky and not ideal.

NOW, Patreon lets creators write posts (and therefore, send email notifications to patrons)  to specific reward tiers. It looks like this on the back end:

note from hayley: please don't share this image around, it's exclusive for your patron eyes only! 

This means if we have a random surprise to send patrons pledging $5 and higher, we can release a Thing and have patrons receive at maximum two emails to receive their rewards/the Thing,  rather than three. It looks like this:

1st Post - Paid-Post aka Thing

Who Can See This Post?
Public OR Patron-Only
- ALL PATRONS pledging $1+
This post usually has a link or way for ALL patrons to stream or access the Thing. This can be restricted to "Patrons Only" or "Public" and in some instances, includes a download for all patrons.

Example:
It's A Fire - Public Post  
..

2nd Post - Download Link
Who Can See This Post? $3 Download Tier OR $3 Download tier AND HIGHER
- Restricted to $3 Download tier only OR restricted to $3+ tiers

This post is always sent to patrons pledging in the $3 Download tier.
Sometimes this post is also sent to all patrons pledging $3 or higher so folks in the $5, $10, $25, $75, $100 and $250 tiers will also have access to this post, however, if there is a "random surprise" attached, this post will be for the $3 tier only

Example: It's A Fire - restricted to $3 tier ONLY
here's your download for "It's A Fire" {$3 download patrons-only) 

..

3rd Post - Download Link + Random Surprise
Who Can See This Post? $5 Random Surprise Tier AND HIGHER
- Restricted to $5 Random Surprise Tier + (includes $10 Webchat tier, $25 Art In The Mail tier, $75 Signed Art In The Mail tier, $100 Old-School Postcard tier and $250 Everything in the Mail tier)

This type of post is only made if there is a bonus material to share with the $5+ Random Surprise tier patrons, it may contain the download link so these patrons only get notifications for two posts (instead of three) if it's related to a Thing, or it may be sent on its own without a Thing associated with it.

Example: It's A Fire - restricted to $5+ tiers
here's your download for "It's A Fire" + the full blackbook interview {$5+ random surprise patrons-only}

If you happen to look for a post on patreon (http://patreon.com/amandapalmer/posts ) and see that it's locked, look at the subject of the post - Amanda usually says which reward tiers have access to each post she makes, whether it's public or patron only. 

Currently, if you try to view one of these reward tier locked posts if you're pledging in a different tier Patreon will tell you that you should "join patreon" to view the locked post and that's silly because you're already a patron. We've been in touch with them and they are working to fix that messaging. A number of folks have written in confused about why they couldn't access tier-locked posts and this is why - you can access ALL public posts, ALL all-patron posts, and ALL posts specific to your reward tier perks. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at patronhelp@amandapalmer.net. 
the tl;dr is if you encounter a message on patreon telling you to "join patreon" while trying to view a post on Amanda's page, first make sure you're logged in to your account, then read the subject of the post you're trying to access to see if it's accessible to your reward tier. If you're in a tier higher than $3 note that we have changed the way we are sharing download links and you may be looking at a post for the $3 tier only.

okay, enough patreon business, onto the rest of the Althing!
-Hayley

....

DISPATCHES FROM TEAM AFP.....

from hayley:  

This last month has been quite frankly one of the most challenging and busy Thing months for me in quite some time. I was the point person directing traffic and hustling two very large projects out the door, nearly back-to-back: The There Will Be No Intermission Artbook Digital Edition and the re-launch of Amanda’s website AmandaPalmer.net. I am exhausted simply thinking back about what it took to get these huge beasts out the door, both out on Patreon in just the nick of time – with the artbook out on July 31st and the website out on August 31st.

With the website, I wrote a lengthy, detailed history of the project, the evolution of what it took to make it happen, and it was shared in Amanda’s Thing post. It was a privilege to be able to tell that story in my own words, and to give you a glimpse of what it’s like on Team AFP. 

Often you see Amanda’s perspective about her artwork, and while her perspective is often the most illuminating and valuable, with such a collaborative team project as the site, where Amanda was very top level involved in decision making and iteration, this was the type of story where those of us on the team working in the day-to-day coral of making it happen could shine a light on just how big and expansive the project was. I am so happy to have shared that with you all, and I’m so happy to see you all enjoying the new site. There’s lots of work to go there, it’s not done and may never be done, but for now, it’s up live and can grow and change and adapt as we work for it to be the best resource it can be to serve Amanda’s art, and all of you.

August has been hard, as mentioned in the website Thing post, we parted ways with a team we were working closely with for a long time, and with that, the long list of Things To Do, Tend To, Keep An Eye On, and Think About has gotten even longer for me. I have felt like one person doing many jobs and wearing many hats has now become one person doing many, many jobs and wearing many, many more hats. To say I feel stressed would be an extreme understatement. And yet, the show must go on, the podcast must be prepped to be released, the website must still function, the Art In The Mail must proceed and this patreon must stay on top of all the things in Amanda’s universe. I need a nap just thinking about this all.

So with that glimpse of my internal scream, I’m going to get back to work on this very Althing so it’s in good shape for Amanda to tackle and write her text, then I’m going to work more on the Patreon posts launching the first episode of Amanda’s podcast, build out the crowdcast draft for the first podcast live chat, help Amanda troubleshoot her TikTok log-in issue, reply to patronhelp@amandapalmer.net emails that came in and continue to help folks on TheShadowbox.

Until next month….

Hayley

P.S. here is a screen cap taken from one of our regular team zoom call check ins, on August 6th. they happen around 7pm ET in New York, so Michael and I are seen here with our respective high lifes, while Amanda, at 11am NZST raises a sippy cup of water.

........

from alex:

Hey folks!!

UK Merch Queen still hanging in here over in London... And merch-land has started rumbling back into life again with a couple of exciting things in the pipeline! 

First of all, as many, many, MANY of you know, we launched the initiative to save a whoooole bunch of CDs from landfill, and goddammit you guys saved every last one of them, way more than I thought, and way faster than I ever thought was possible. After sitting through the past 6 months with a slooow drip of merch orders coming in online, seeing this greeting me from the backend of the store makes my heart start pumping again :)

Those 781 orders include a whole bunch of bulk orders, all in all there will soon be 3,300 CDs arriving on my doorstep, so next month expect photos of me drowning in CDs and packaging materials. JUST LIKE THE GOOD OLD NORMAL DAYS!!!!

The second exciting merch thing - you may remember I mentioned a couple althings ago about starting to work with small artists to produce some hand-crafted artisanal merch for you lovely people (and also to provide some work for artists within our community). We've got a couple of ideas in the pipeline, and as a little sneak peek, here is what the wonderful Lucy at LMWDesigns has been cooking up, and will hopefully be finished and up for sale within the next couple of weeks!!

And as a reminder - we'd *love* for this to continue to be a Thing, so if anyone else has any crafty skills and wants to get in touch to discuss future merch collaborations, my inbox is always open at alex@amandapalmer.net !

And as a final note for this month, on an entirely personal-professional note, I finally got myself a desk and an office chair, and now for the first time in 18 months I can work at an actual desk instead of the sofa, like an actual real adult person!!! HOORAY!!! I also got a whiteboard so I can write down my to-do lists (both work-related and DIY-related) instead of having a billion and one notes on the Mac notes app. HOORAY ORGANISATION!!!

take care of yourselves, be good to each other, etc etc etc.

-alex

xoxo

.......

hayley, you're a hero, and i know the workload has been especially gruesome lately. your website post was a work of art. and alex, on the flipside, it's so nice to see you back at work and making new things (and those necklaces are so beautiful and i cannot wait to see them on necks). michael and jordan are taking a deserved breather from the althing this month....the whole team has been very wonky and feeling the ongoing pain of my distance from their time-zones. everyone is going through what they are needing to go through on all corners of the planet. i'm proud of us, this rag-tag bunch of weirdos just trying to keep our shit together in a global pandemic...i think the fact that we have survived, period, is a miracle. we're all HERE!!!! 

.......

OTHER ART TO SUPPORT

BRIAN VIGLIONE of THE DRESDEN DOLLLS is...ON CAMEO!

if you haven’t heard of cameo yet, it’s a lovely new app that lets you “book” someone for a private video message or chat. it’s really cool. i’ve actually had a few friends gift me private cameos from people i admire and it warms my heart. new ways to connect. 

here's a note from brian:

Send one to a friend, or treat yourself to a special view surprise. Birthday wishes, pep talks, whispers for your pets, short drum videos, sing-alongs, who knows what else might happen…

GO TO IT! 

.......

and i couldn‘t help myself. i had to see what brian was going to do, so i ordered a cameo for michael for his birthday, and one for hayley because life is hard. 

brian made my day. here is a screenshot of both of those videos.... michael‘s:

and hayley’s....

i think some of you may need this in your life. just download the cameo app and search for brian. he’s the only brian viglione :) 

......

RIZO, THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS LADY RIZO, IS ON PATREON!

she JOINED!!!

my long-time pal and mama-sister, amelia ziron-brown, aka RIZO, cabaret songstress extraordinaire, is now on patreon....here:

https://www.patreon.com/rizolove

i asked rizo if she might like to share a note....and here we go:

Tidings to the incredible AFP Patreon Family!

Rizo here, aka Lady Rizo.

Some of you may know me as one of Amanda’s wild int’l band of performer pals. Perhaps you’ve seen me at a ninja gig in the UK or for Amanda’s bday zoom from her magic palace.  I’m a chanteuse, singer, comedienne, performance artist, a diva for the people. I make songs and write shows about things that I’m personally wrestling with. 

I use the yummy trappings of the nightclub cabaret vibe to corset up my thoughts, rolling all my crusty edges in glitter to let some light into the room.  I’ve also started a podcast where I get an artist’s salon vibe going over the airwaves with some of my favorite writers, thinkers, artists and musicians and encourage them to wear something silky and drink something nice while we pontificate about how to survive and thrive.  On Patreon, in addition to the podcast I’m offering songs, music videos, and excerpts from my column Showgirl Tips for Survival. I’ve been part of this very special community on Amanda’s Patreon for a while - and inspired by the quality of souls that are gathered around her torch.  

Of course AFP has been her champion-self in encouraging me to launch my own for several years.  The pandemic has revved up my need to connect with people differently; social media leaves me feeling weary and all the meat-space gigs have been cancelled.  SO we march on!  I’d be honored if you would join me over in this corner of the house party —i’ve laid out a chartreuse velvet floor cushion for you. kisses and hugs like we will once do again, 

xRizo

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KIRSTEN VANGSNESS' CREATE-A-THON....

if you're a fan ok kirsten vangsness (who you may know from "criminal minds"), or wanna be, she's doing a fundraiser here:

https://create.theunusualsuspects.org/fundraiser/2851617

her tweet:

https://twitter.com/vangsness/status/1294727354888024064?s=11

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ART BEGETTING ART

a color pencil illustration from @akaneswonderland on instagram...

inspired by photography by charlie clift....

see what i wrote about it HERE.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFNo6M_lVv6/

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this gorgeous drawing by @jorelishe on instagram...

turned into this tattoo on @sanckee drawn by tattooist @jecoart ....

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gorgeous watercolor art by @pradypaints on instagram...

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and this one too, by @ashleysketchy ....

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MOOD, from @kristenthekill....

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it really was all about the shirt.....from @wojciech.karol.rzeszut....

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last but not least....one of my favorite artists, makers, directors and overall human beings, steve bogart (you may remember him as the director of the "cabaret" i was in back in 2010) has created a really powerful piece of work. 

he's making limited prints of this painting done on wooden board - "protest ballerina" - and he's donating all of the proceeds to #BlackLivesMatter. i know i'm getting at least three of these. i posted this up on instagram yesterday and the prints are selling well, which makes me really proud of this community....here's more from bogart, via his IG feed:

I’m launching the fundraising project for BlackLivesMatter. I am running an edition of 100 prints, 12” x 18” on fine arts velvet paper, of “Protest Ballerina from the oil painting I made. Each print will be signed and numbered. If you purchase a print for $50. I will donate 100% of the profit to BlackLivesMatter. If you would like to purchase a print please send me an email to skbogart54@yahoo.com in order to arrange payment, your shipping address, and any questions you might have. FYI, the print is not framed.

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i love you all, more than ever.

thank you for supporting me.

thank you for holding my hand in the dark.

x

a

------THE NEVER-ENDING AS ALWAYS---------

IF YOU'RE IN THE USA.....DON'T FORGET TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN THE NOVEMBER 2020 ELECTION. DO NOT BE CONFUSED!!! help is there: you can register to vote, find your local voter registration deadlines, update your voter registration, check that your registration is still on the books, find your polling place and other important election information HERE at http://headcount.org

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1. if you’re a patron, please click through to comment on this post. at the very least, if you’ve read it, indicate that by using the heart symbol. that's always nice for me to see, so i know who's reading. 

2. see All the Things (over 100 of them) i've made so far on patreon:  http://amandapalmer.net/things

3. JOIN THE SHADOWBOX COMMUNITY FORUM, find your people, and discuss everything: https://forum.theshadowbox.net/

4. new to my music and TOTALLY OVERWHELMED? TAKE A WALK THROUGH AMANDALANDA….we made a basic list of my greatest hits n stuff (at least up until a few years ago, this desperately needs updating) on this lovely page: http://amandalanda.amandapalmer.net/

5. general AFP/patreon-related questions? ask away, someone will answer: patronhelp@amandapalmer.net