SPACE CADETS AND SPORTS FANS!

It’s been a little bit. I’m trying out a new newsletter platform. We’ll see if it sticks ; )

I Hope you’ve enjoyed the spooky season and thinned veil as much as I have. My favorite season has peaked, but I’m here to remind you that every day is mysterious and we’re all made of stars. It’s in that spirit that I present my newest limited edition art basketball, arriving on the scene with depth and dimension… the distant cosmic cousin of last year’s SEA BALL… 

BEHOLD. STAR BALL!

STAR BALL is my second conceptual basketball, featuring designs from Fall River’s “Cosmic Court” at Talbot Middle School. Your STAR BALL package comes with a regulation size, durable, playable/collectible basketball, signed + editioned Cosmic Court sticker, and Senda/Sedna Zine.

This ball has beautifully printed graphics, a nice grip-y texture, and embossed imagery- including an iridescent foil comet, Libra and Aries star constellations. For all y’all Halloween Madonnas and Sexy Aliens, check out this “music video” I labored over with my talented friend Ash Capachione- STAR BALL in all her glory. 

Senda/Sedna expands upon the ball’s concepts via 2 essays written by myself and Abigail Smithson- about Senda Berenson (founder of women’s bball) and Sedna 90377 (my favorite Trans-Neptunian Object). As Senda thought basketball was more than a game, STAR BALL is more than a ball! But if you’re just in the market for a zine, you can buy them separately ——> SENDA SEDNA ZINE

Thanks to tech glitches, I’ve extended the “Birthday-Bird” STAR BALL discount through November 6. All price points are currently under $200, but consider joining my Patreon, for as little as $3.33/month to get a discount on your STAR BALL and the rest of my store.

Scroll to the bottom of this e-mail for STAR BALL price/discount guides.

WHAT’S UP ON PATREON?

Besides store discounts, supporters of my Patreon get all kinds of goodies including creative writing, glimpses into my research, global travel tips, studio process, access to private video artworks and lectures, artwork giveaways, seasonal card readings.

There are currently 3 Tiers. A Sampler of recent posts from each tier include

TWO SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1.The Kickstarter pre-launch page for my project Counting to Infinity: Stelle Scopa Deck of Cards is now live. Sign up to receive updates when the project officially launches. I decided to use this platform to sell my new “Scopa” deck of original playing/ divination cards because Kickstarter has become quite the hot spot for creative cards. I’m hoping to diversify my audience, but this isn’t really a “fundraiser”. It’s a presale and easy way for me to organize all of the cool artwork I made for my shows in Nashville and Venice in 2022. More soon on this, but it really helps boost the project if you sign up : )

2. I am pleased to announce that, after at least 15 years of applying for Boston/ Massachusetts-based artist grants, I have finally received one! I am the proud recipient of this years Prilla Smith Bracket Award offered through the Davis Museum at Wellesley College. It is this grant money that I’m investing in new distributable, conceptual products like basketballs, publications and playing cards. This is both in response to repeated requests to make my large scale and ephemeral public artworks accessible and purchasable. It’s also an experiment to see if I can supplement my income by selling artworks. After a very trying year/many years for my health I’m grateful for this gift and the ways it allows me to take such risks. 

And huge shout-out to Allison Maria Rodriguez and Lynne Allen who were the other two finalists for the PSB Award. Their work is incredible and you can check out all of our artist interviews as well as my award ceremony lecture on their YouTube

Thanks so much for following along and being interested in what I’m up to in the world. You can always unsubscribe or let me know if you wan to opt out of my newsletters, but they’re pretty infrequent : )

Take care of yourselves and PLEASE TURN OUT TO VOTE NEXT WEEK!!

👻 Maria

As promised, below is the breakdown of STAR BALL discount/order options through Sunday! And if bball’s not your thing, please consider forwarding this to any baller buds! Your support and enthusiasm is deeply appreciated <3