This is a copy of an article that just went up on Coilhouse. It’s important for me to post it here, as well, with the new year just around the corner. To what lies ahead!

It’s been a fun-filled, illuminating, topsy-turvy rocket ride, but over four incredible years since we launched Coilhouse, the time has come for me to move on. The need to focus on creating versus curating has been nagging at me for the duration of this endeavor, first softly and then louder, until it grew into a din which could no longer be ignored. And why should it? It’s been an amazing four years and six issues – years and issues I’ll always be proud of, especially now that our fated Constructivist installment is out in the world. Listing all my fond Coil-memories would take ages, but here are a few that immediately stand out:

  • The fateful meeting of The Three at SDCC 2007, while I was posing for Dr. Sketchy’s
  • Brainstorming nights at Nova Express [RIP] and celebrating at The Edison
  • Me wheat-pasting Coilposters all over LA under the cover of night
  • Cracking open the first box of fresh Issue 01s
  • Sticking home-made Coilhouse labels to bottles of two-buck-chuck at our launch party after taking a dive from my roof onto my balcony to make it there in time
  • Climbing over the velvet rope at The Edison with Nadya to assail Ron Moore for an interview
  • Wandering through Clive Barker’s home studio, and plopping into his canopy bed overlooking a blooming hillside
  • Over-caffeinated red-penning of massive Kinko’s printouts before going to print
  • Merch design marathons
  • Three-hour conference calls devolving into fits of cackling and fart jokes
  • Receiving LA’s Best Design Aesthetic award with Courtney Riot
  • Grant and Kristan Morrison’s photo shoot with Allan Amato for Issue 04, which resulted in a beautiful friendship
  • Tea and Cookies with Coilhouse over at Whitechapel
  • At the risk of death by pigeon poop, exploring a beautiful crumbling Downtown building with Andrew Yoon for our Issue 05 Shoes shoot
  • Carpal tunnel-y signing of I-don’t-know-how-many issues of #05 on our Circulation Director’s floor
  • Hours upon hours of fevered Googlemancery, always

In addition to being an immensely emotionally rewarding experience, the Coilventure was an invaluable learning experience of everything from the thorny path of publishing to the intricacies of collaboration. I’m leaving a different person than when we began, with vastly expanded horizons, vocabulary and skill-set, for which I’m grateful. And while we’re on the topic of appreciation, I want to extend a heartfelt Thank You to the entire Coilhouse family – my co-editors, our brilliant design team, our steadfast interns, our dedicated ad manager, our circulation director, our numerous, generous friends and the entire Coilhouse readership for their encouragement, insight, contributions and when need be, honest critique. Your support through this experience means more than I can express.

As for The Future, it’s open wide. I recently returned from the Amazon jungle, where I taught an art workshop and created a mural at a school. Now I’m weighing options, regrouping, and, much to my heart’s relief and gratitude, finally working on a new series of paintings dedicated to beastly flora.

So that, as they say, is that. I wish Mer and Nadya the best of luck in keeping the Coilship a-chuggin’ while I board a rocket of my own and zoom into uncharted worlds. See you all in space and/or the future!

Zoetica Ebb by R Stevens