"Art Through Pain" Spring 2009

I know it's been quite a while since I blogged, and I apologize for that. In the last two months, I have:

• Moved out with M from my apartment in Queens and all the packing involved
  
• Moved to a bigger apartment in the Bronx and all the unpacking involved
  
• Got more steady work (a lot more)
• Had no Internet connection for about a month as I waited for Verizon to transfer my connection to my new apartment
  
• Begun to start my own catering business with M, purchasing supplies, designing the website myself and dealing with all the government paperwork

But let me get to the point...

I am holding the first semi-annual Art Through Pain contest from now until June 1, 2009. I will only allow submissions that express one's bed bug experience.

The categories for artwork are as follows:

1. Written word (essays, poetry, short fiction)
   
2. Visual (photography, painting, sketches, photos of sculptures, graphic design)
   
3. Video...nothing more than five minutes. You can upload it onto Youtube and send me the link. (sketch comedy, short film, dancing)
4. Music..Follows the same rules as video submissions (original music or parodies of existing songs with a bed bug theme.

Winners in each of these categories will receive a prize. Due to my current budget and the fact I poured my entire tax return into this apartment, I can only afford $25 for each winner. Each winner will receive a $25 gift card for whatever they want. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, calling cards, Applebee's, etc. Just tell me which one you want and provide me with an address to send it to. If you live in New York City, you can also request a $25 Metrocard.

Once the four winners are determined a second contest after June will consist of those four winning entries to win the grand prize, which is....
another $25 gift card or Metrocard.

Voting for your favorite entry (sorry, you can only pick one) will be available after June 1.

You can send your artistic expressions to artthrupain@buggedout.org

Good luck, and have fun!