The Beat Goes On
almost 7 years ago – Thu, Jun 22, 2017 at 12:51:46 PM

Hey Zarmy - Mike Correll here with an update concerning the DY5TOPIA Field Guide, rewards and recent revelations! I visited Chet Zar in L.A. recently for our annual meeting of the minds, and we spent a good deal of time probing the further recesses of Chet's Dark Universe! During this excursion we realized some powerful new concepts concerning the overall make-up of DY5TOPIA, as well as some smaller more intricate details.

While visiting Chet I suggested that we take a trip to the Salton Sea, if he had not already been there, simply because it is a microcosmic dystopian world! Serendipity struck and Chet had not been to this modern wasteland, so we made a day trip out of it. Driving down into the "Salton Sink" - a vast, hot bowl surrounding by barren and jagged mountains - the temperature soared to the high 90's, and upon entering the recreation area, the smell of salt, sulphur and rot became quite prominent. The beach itself is an ancient seabed that is 235 feet below modern sea level, and is mostly composed of crushed barnacles, exposed coral and petrified fish bones. The waters of this 35 x 17 mile lake are 50% more salty than the ocean, and only two kinds of fish survive here. The petrified carcasses of fish caught in the toxic waters, some decades ago, litter the beach.

On the opposite side of the lake is an abandoned stretch of shoreline where the rich and famous of L.A. once vacationed, enjoying the world renowned golf courses, resort hotels and beach life. When irrigation waters from the surrounding date farms infiltrated the lake, carrying with them high concentrations of nutrients, the lake (which has no natural outlet) quickly became very salty. When coupled with flooding, drought and evaporation the waters became inhospitable and most of the fish and birds died, causing an incredible rotting smell which drove people away in hoards. Most of the hotels have been demolished, and it is illegal to approach the shoreline, but many abandoned vestiges of a lost era remain, including circa signs, decorations, and swiss-cheese buildings with birds roosting within! What better place to discover more about DY5TOPIA, while simultaneously getting great photo reference?!

Returning from this unsettling trip to the heart of the American dream gone wrong, we were both struck by some obvious conclusions, which we have since included in the field guide. As it stands, Chet is busy finishing the last few paintings for the book, while simultaneously creating a mock-up of the field guide itself. Chet is very visual and needs to actually see the book to pave the way to the finalization of design, with subsequent printing!

So, long story short, we are getting very close! Chet continues to ship rewards daily, while simultaneously painting the free monochromatic oil studies, many of which can be seen on Facebook and Instagram, as Backers receive them. This week I will be preparing the screen for custom printing the DY5TOPIA flags, so those will be coming out soon as well. A quick reminder about the book itself: we will be shipping it separately from all remaining rewards, so look to your mailbox for your others goodies first!

Thank you again for your support, and ongoing patience - we promise it will be worth your while!

Big Decisions - Rewards Shipping
about 7 years ago – Tue, Apr 25, 2017 at 10:46:45 PM

Hello Zarmy members - Mike Correll here with yet another update for DY5TOPIA, but first and foremost: Chet and I would like to thank you all for being so incredibly patience awaiting both the field guide, and your rewards! We often hear these Kickstarter horror stories of Backers coming unglued over even reasonable wait times on reward fulfillment, and we couldn't be more appreciative of our levelheaded and patience Backers, in contrast! With that said, Chet and I continue to discover more and more about DY5TOPIA on a nearly daily basis. For some time we have just been allowing the information to trickle in, instead of forcing it through, and what we have discovered has surprised us both. Had we rushed the book to meet the original deadline we would have been leaving out some vastly important, key elements and realizations concerning DY5TOPIA. So while we are frustrated at times with the pace of production, we are encouraged by our regular revelations. We are currently working with an editor on the core body of the field guide, while similarly allowing avenues for introducing the new elements we are uncovering!

We have also decided to go ahead and ship ALL rewards in advance of the actual field guide books, and companion sketchbooks. What this means is that Chet will be shipping every other piece of merchandise, from sculptures to paintings as they are finalized. Chet recently received all of the molded and cast sculptures (Heartbrokens, Softspots, DY5TOPIA Frames, etc.), and has been hard at work completing the Monochromatic Oil Studies. He is painting the sculptures in an "assembly line" fashion, so they will all possess a similar paint job, and be consistent for the series. His current shipping schedule will allow for approximately thirty shipments a week (conservative estimate), until all rewards have been shipped (in advance of the books and companion books). 

So once again, thank you for your patience, and if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us!

DY5TOPIA Solo Show Shirts
about 7 years ago – Thu, Feb 09, 2017 at 08:18:19 PM

We are excited to announce that the DY5TOPIA Solo Show t-shirts have arrived, and they look amazing! For Backers with packages on hold awaiting the arrival of the t-shirts, your wait if over! In addition Chet has been busy completing the 300 FREE Oil Sketches, which will also be packaged up as necessary (depending upon your reward tier)! 

Reward NEWS
over 7 years ago – Tue, Jan 10, 2017 at 10:52:38 PM

Hello Zarmy - Mike here hoping that you all enjoyed your holidays (however you may have celebrated them), and that your new year is going great! I am excited to announce that the DY5TOPIA Solo Show t-shirts have been sent out for production; once we receive a solid proof we will place our final order, and we are expecting a two week turn around time. The reason this is cause for celebration is that we have a variety of other rewards that are due to go out once the FREE t-shirts are in! Once we have the t-shirts in our hands we will be able to send out the Oil Studies (already glazed, framed and packed), DY5TOPIA Frame Corners, DY5TOPIA Magnets and the "Studio Items" (gifts from Chet's studio). As you all know, we are running slightly behind on reward fulfillment, but aim to keep you informed via update, so in the event that you have a question or concern, please feel free to contact us. Similarly, while the Field Guide is currently behind production schedule (which also postpones certain other rewards), we have chosen the final 11 painting designs, and all that is left is for Chet to complete painting them! We have made many important discoveries concerning DY5TOPIA over the past three months, and we can't wait to share them with you!

As always thank you for all of your support and patience! 

Reward Update - What to Expect
over 7 years ago – Wed, Dec 14, 2016 at 07:28:40 PM

Hello Zarmy - Thank you for your patience before and after the DY5TOPIA Solo Show at Copro Gallery. Reward shipping dates are now upon us, so we wanted to take a moment to provide some information. First and foremost, thank you to those Backers who responded to their Reward Surveys via BackerKit, as well as those who took advantage of the storefront. If you have not taken a moment to complete your survey, please do so.

The vast majority of the rewards ($25 and up) received the Monochromatic Oil Sketch, and those from Soldier ($35) and up also receive the Solo Show t-shirt. Chet is busy preparing the Oil Sketches, but the t-shirts will not be ready until January, as the production time has been delayed by the Holidays. The new DY5TOPIA Magnets are being cast tomorrow, and the DY5TOPIA Postcards will be in Chet's hands by next week. With that said, rewards will begin shipping early January, once the Holidays have completed. 

In addition, we are planning on shipping Backer rewards in rounds, many of which will be in advance of the Field Guide (if you included this in your bundle). Thank you once again for your ongoing support!