Hwhup The Deans List? The Jason Dean here, bringing an end to the Weekend like it was a 100 day art project. You were super excited at the beginning of it, settled into a nice groove, had a wonderful experience, and can’t wait for the next one!
Anyways. Let’s get into it.
Terrestrial Poems Kickstarter update
Before we get into the retrospective, I do have an update on the Terrestrial Poems Kickstarter.
It’s fully funded!!!
That means that later this year, the Mad Space-Poet JJ Brinski will be releasing an incredible volume of nature-based poetry into the world and I am 💯 here for it. Can’t wait to read it 😎
If you’re still interested in contributing to the campaign and getting the Jason Dean ‘Seasons’ photo pack and other campaign goodies, I have some good news- you can still contribute! The Kickstarter runs through June 4 and additional funding could unlock an audiobook version of Terrestrial Poems and…home…made…t-shirts???
LFG!!! 🔥 🔥 🔥
Spring, from the ‘Seasons’ photo pack
Housekeeping
I’m pausing the Tuesday night live streams. I do still plan to do editing videos, but right now, doing weekly streams on Tuesday evenings is proving more challenging than I had anticipated. More information in an upcoming The Weekender.
The 100 Day Project Retrospective
Here is a little daily progress video I put together of the project:
Where do I begin? How about with this- ‘We, The Songs We’ve Sung’ is the fulfillment of a vision I’ve had for a long time. For almost as long as I’ve been an artist, I have wanted to do something pairing my work with music. Music has always been a huge part of my life and plays a significant role in my creative process. It breathes life into me that I then try to exhale through the art that I create.
Initially, I was going to pick an impactful lyric from 100 songs and take a picture each day inspired by that lyric. I may still do that at some point, but earlier this year (around mid-January to be preciseish) I was struck with a different idea. I sent an email to Kate, the Gallery Director at Bonifas, about what I was thinking. Here is what I said verbatim:
I've also picked 100 of my favorite songs, and a lyric from each of them. Each day, I'm planning to write that lyric in some sort of marker on a canvas. I want to get a big enough canvas where I can comfortably write the lyrics but small enough so that I have to write over the top of previous lyrics. The idea is that each of us, in any given moment, is an amalgamation of all of the things that have happened to us in the past; a sort of song put together of all the songs we've sung before. I have no idea if it will look 'cool' or 'good'; but I'm listening to those songs right now and pulling out the lyrics in preparation and I think the process is going to be incredible :)
Project=success, then!
People participate in these 100 day projects for many different reasons. For me, the allure is capturing difference over time. In ‘We, The Songs We’ve Sung’, I wanted to explore how events shape the course of our lives despite (or even because of) the distance of time. Most things in our lives happen and then immediately fade away. Some things have an impact but eventually become fleeting memories. A small number of things will completely reset our foundations, yet even they fade in intensity and visible presence, shaping who we are in the moment without an obvious trace.
This is what I was chasing in ‘We, The Songs We’ve Sung’.
I structured the lyrics in order of the five stages of grief- Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. I did not pick songs or lyrics based on those concepts, but as I was culling it was pretty obvious that these were dominant themes and I thought it would be interesting to explore them in that order.
Here are some of my favorite writings from the project.
I’ve mentioned it before in this space, but this creative process really strengthened the neural pathways between how music makes me feel and how I express those feeling and I will be doing more of this kind of creating in the future! It showed me that even a guy with handwriting like a doctor doling out prescriptions can create written art with intention.
‘We, The Songs We’ve Sung’ will be on display at The Bonifas Art Center in Escanaba from June 12-August 6. If you’re in the area, stop by and let me know what you think!
Waves are Wednesdays Preview
Behold: the wave photo I will be sharing on socials this week for Waves are Wednesdays.
Picture taken on September 10, 2025 at the Black Rocks in Marquette
I just can’t say enough ‘thank yous’ to fully capture how grateful and blessed I am that you are a supporter of my work. It means so much, folks, and I appreciate each one of you!!!
Tomorrow is June 1st, which means grease has officially started to be applied to the 2026 skids. I know this summer is going to fly by in the blink of an eye, so I resolve to be present in every moment and enjoy them as much as I can.
Next month, you can find me at these places:
June 14, Castle 906 Market in Negaunee
June 17, Marquette Farmer’s Market
See you around,
Jason
