Some more information about Strange Weeds This is a more detailed explanation of what we're doing at Strange Weeds. We are a loosely formed artist collective (for lack of a better word) where people can participate in myriad ways. Among these are local/national exhibitions, fairs, advertising, contributing to The Seed Catalog project or a combination of the above. For the Catalog, we have had an enthusiastic response thus far - and now plan to launch it at Bridge Art Fair . Chicago . April 26-30, 2007. A rough estimate of how many artists we want to handle for this project at a time would be 60. There are no hard deadlines - and since we anticipate work will sell - we cannot entirely predict how this will unfold. If we experience overflow - then newer artists may be waitlisted, or larger spaces sought. Some will want to end their participation after their first three panels sell, and some may want to continue . The Catalog's income will help sustain the expenses of exhibitions, fair applications, promotion, administrative & other. It also allows us to bring along a larger range of artists wherever we go. Commerical galleries, while representing 30-40 artists can only take a fraction of them to each fair. We want our artists to have a chance to be at least a modest part of every fair we attend, along with our featured artists. It's an opportunity for us to practice more inclusion while having some help with the financing - which can get rather steep. Highlighted artists will, of course, incur more expenses. These may be collected up-front by paying reduced admission fees; on the back end by our taking a commission - or a combination of both. We're also wanting to bring in young, emerging artists and expect they will require more of a sponsorship situation. Fairs are looking for diversity: a range in age, ethnicity & work for admission and our Catalog can provide that. The project is fluid and will undoubtedly change as time goes on - but we do commit to show each artist for approximately a year. All is by invitation only: there is no open submission or application policy. We've asked people whose eye & reputation we trust to help us find the right folk. If we eventually find the Catalog isn't working out - we'll finish our commitment for each artist and close the project. We went to Miami Basel in December and many of the ancillary fairs had booths of artists' collectives. They had some of the most interesting, innovative work to be seen and it made us realize that the time was right for Strange Weeds to also pursue inclusion at art fairs. We are confident that we have a strong & unique presence - and with persistence - will make our way into this arena. We look forward to attending Bridge - our first art fair - in April. We realize it is hard to anticipate every direction Strange Weeds may take. In many ways, we are breaking new ground. This is an experiment and we are dedicated to seeing it through. We have a commitment to represent the artists well and allocate funds wisely in order to move the group forward. We're not taking any salaries for our hard work - but when we do collect a commission - we'll be confident that we deserve it. Hope this answers any questions you may have. Best regards, Beverley Ashe . Mary Bennett & the crew at Strange Weeds