UPDATE 12/17/13: Thank you to everyone who helped.  All 98 funders made this possible.  If you are looking for the new Activity Books, you can find them here at the Kcymaerxthaere Exports store.  The prices are a little bit higher than the early adopters got by supporting the project during the campaign--but still a great value. If you missed the campaign, the other perks are available at the Exports store too, but at their standard prices. Visit Kcymaerxthaere installations and tell us about it on Facebook or twitter (@kcym). AND: sign up for our Newsletter--at the bottom of the page--to learn about events, future campaigns and possible discounts.

UPDATE 12/3/13: Excellent Online Article on Kcymaerxthaere.  Now, back to our regularly scheduled program . . .

My name is Eames Demetrios and I have a parallel universe.  Creating it continues to be an amazing journey--and a whole lot of that fun comes from sharing it with other people.  This activity book is the next step.

For the past decade I have been traveling the world--installing markers and historic sites that honor events from that parallel world in our linear world.  So far we have 98 sites in 22 countries, with more on the way.  I call this project Kcymaerxthaere and it is a bit like a novel with every page in a different place.  Where you read such a page out in the landscape (doesn't matter if it is remote or urban), it influences how you visualize that story. It may sound a bit unusual, but it is so rewarding to see how many people enjoy conjuring up another reality without a single digital enhancement--all by themselves in the real world with their minds.

I have a background as a filmmaker and have written several books on various topics (this will be the fourth from Kcymaerxthaere), but ultimately I think I consider myself a storyteller. I have even done a number of TED talks--on the TED Mainstage and at quite a few TEDx venues.

Putting it altogether, one of our key goals is to help people look at the world fresh, to start to see what's not there.  First, that is a great space in which to tell a story.  But, even though it sounds crazy in a way, I think it can help us come up with new ways to help ourselves and our world.  After all, most of the really important things in our lives--relationships, careers, businesses, families--DIDN'T exist before they did.  So what's not there is often the stuff that is our very essence. 

Before we get to specifics, here's more about the project in general: 

Ultimately I think that is what crowd funding is all about: to connect people with beautiful and unexpected projects that they can then help the artist or creator bring them into the world.  This will be my third IndieGoGo--here's what we did with the last one!

SO WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?

One of the most rewarding aspects of watching people enjoy the stories and installations of Kcymaerxthaere over the years has been observing the different interpretations of the stories and characters they've created.  Even though we have physical installations, I always wanted to sketch the characters, creatures and stories into people's minds with words and implications, so they imagined all that for themselves.  And, from the beginning, I looked for ways to go further.  And so I started to ask people to draw what they thought things looked like.  In this way, we could tell the audience what the creatures MIGHT look like, but at the same time kind of take it away--by pointing out we are not sure that the renderings are exactly right. In Kcymaerxthaere, we call such interpretations Disputed Likenesses.  

We've done workshops around the world based on this idea.  And it is time to take it to the next level by creating a way for people to play on their own and share their images as well. 

I have to add that as a kid, and then with my own kids, I was never a huge fan of connecting the dots or coloring books (yes, I know there are a couple cool ones!).  It could be a fun puzzle sometimes, but it always seemed like the person who made it had already had all the fun!

That's why we've created an activity book we call Please DON'T Connect the Dots. It catalyzes thinking and creativity from the stories of Kcymaerxthaere.  And even though kids love the challenge, we find that adults have a great time on the journey too.  So not only it is a great holiday gift for the kids in your life, it is a pretty cool business gift too (and not just during the season).

WHAT ARE YOU ASKING FOR?

We aren't asking for a gift.  We are asking you to support this project by buying the book (or the other things) in advance.  And also we are offering some of the other amazing Disputed Likenesses we have done over the years-- all of which come with a complimentary activity book. 

In return, the shipping is free (see our note at the end about timing), the book is discounted and you will be the first to share this great Activity Book with your community.

And if you get some of the bigger perks, we are offering a discount as our show of appreciation of your support.

HOW DOES THIS HELP THE PROJECT?

For the Kcymaerxthaere project, there is another benefit as important as the financial one: seeing different Disputed Likenesses of the same creature (or character or story) is sometimes the best way to understand what something in Kcymaerxthaere might have looked like.  Because there are many dimensions of Kcymaerxthaere, it is tricky to represent aspects of the parallel world precisely in our world.  Your interpretations put into drawing is the best way to help share Kcymaerxthaere's stories with others and connect them across the globe!

So we are currently encouraging people to share their Disputed Likenesses from our workshops through our Flickr groups, but we believe Please DON'T Connect the Dots will take it to a new level.  All those groups of Disputed Likenesses accessible through our portal website disputedlikeness.com.  

Thanks so much for hearing me out.  And we sure hope you'll consider supporting our Activity Book.

Eames Demetrios

Artist and Geographer-at-Large for Kcymaerxthaere

*important note on shipping-all perks will be mailed free of charge by USPS first class by December 17.  Our goal, based on USPS parameters is for each shipment to arrive by December 24 on all domestic orders.  If your order will be an international shipment please allow 10-14 business days for your order to arrive. We would be happy to accommodate you with rush shipping if requested using Fedex (extra payment will be required) to allow delivery on or before Dec. 24 please contact info@kcystories.com to arrange this shipping option.