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Create Art For The Right Reasons

Sunday, May 25th, 2008 by Alyice

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I love creating and it doesn’t matter if anyone else likes what I create or not because right now I am not creating to please someone else’s idea of art but rather creating to learn and grow as an artist and to relearn what it means to absolutely be in the moment. But I also have a dirty little secret: If I start a project with the intention of selling it, I almost never like it and I rarely complete the piece.

I couldn’t put my finger on the cause until today. After interviewing Linda Cain and listening to her talk about the importance of staying true to one’s self when it comes to creating, I realized that every time I sat down to create something with the intention of selling it, I hit panic mode. I began thinking, “What if they don’t like it? What if it doesn’t sell? What if they ridicule the piece?” You see, I was going about it all wrong!

Linda believes that “when it comes to art, it’s important to remember that it’s your time and your money; do what YOU like. (Of course commission pieces are different.)…Save yourself time and energy and just do what makes YOU happy if you can. If others truly don’t like your art, there’s nothing you can do about it anyway.”

When it came to creating with the intent to sell, I was truly creating for all the wrong reasons. I was creating to meet someone else’s expectations, not my own. I was creating with some preconceived notion that what I create has to be a certain style or look a certain way for the public to be interested enough to buy. I was creating with the wrong person in mind.

And that’s when it hit me: For gifts, for personal use, or for sales, create what feels right first and foremost. It is funny how you know things in your head but it takes awhile for your soul to catch up.

Until next time,

Posted in Artist's Life | 1 Comment »

The Book Shop

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 by Alyice

Here in the Edrich household we hate to see our hard-earned dollars go to waste so in the past, when we grew tired of a book or video we purchased we passed them on to family members and friends. Then when we moved away from our family and friends, we began donating our used books and videos to local libraries and thrift stores but this weekend we discovered a neat little used bookstore in the heart of downtown Sioux Falls and now we have a new philosophy: resell the used books first, then what doesn’t get sold can be donated.

It’s actually a great idea considering we’ve had to cut back on our new and used book (and video) buying thanks to the higher cost of living due to outrageous gasoline prices.

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The Book Shop has a new owner. She’s pretty reserved as far as personality; especially when it comes to greeting, meeting, and mingling with her customers so don’t expect Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) in “Youy’ve Got Mail” to come greeting you at the door or the cash register. But she’s nice enough.

The process of turning in your used books is rather simple, too. You arrive at the shop with your bag or box of used books. You meet the owner at the counter where she informs you that it will take awhile to look up the books, decide if she can use the books, catalog the books, and print you out a receipt so you can either browse the bookstore or do a little shopping downtown.

You’ll then be asked to fill out a little ticket with your address and phone number, along with how you’d like to be paid: cash or credit. And that’s where you really need to know what you want because once you make a decision you cannot go back (even within 10 minutes of receiving your receipt) and ask her to change your payment method.

If you opt for credit, you’ll receive 50 percent of the store price so if she decides to resell your book for $7 you will receive $3 store credit. But there is a catch: when you decide to buy a book from the bookstore you cannot use the full credit to buy the book. You must split the difference 50/50. In other words, 50 percent of your purchase can use the store credit but the other 50 percent must be paid for in cash. (Credit cards and checks are also accepted.)

If you opt for the cash, you’ll receive 25 percent of the store price so if the book resells for $7, you’ll receive $1.50. Not a bad deal at all! Especially considering you can spend all day hosting a garage sale only to walk away with peanuts for the same book and lots of wasted time.

The store credit is good for an entire year so if you don’t see something you want when you turn in your books, you can always return later in the month or the year to use your store credit.

Oh, and one more thing, the owner says she prefers books that are in “like new” condition.

My daughter and I arrived at her shop with about 15 books ranging from youth novels to photography to decorating and left with four books which the local library gladly accepted. An hour after arriving in the bookstore, we left with $34.95 in store credit. We opted for the credit because my daughter wanted to do a little book shopping during the summer. All in all, not a bad return for an hour’s worth of our time.

If you’ve been contemplating getting rid of some of your used books check out the The Book Shop, I highly recommend it—just make sure you know whether you want cash or credit before you turn in your little slip then drive to 223 South Phillips Avenue, Sioux Falls, South Dakota or call 605-336-8384.

Until next time…

Disclosure: This is “my opinion” of this establishment. I was not paid to give a positive review.

Posted in SD Transplant | Comments Off

Sponge Painting

Thursday, May 15th, 2008 by Alyice

Can you really make beautiful art with everyday household sponges and a few acrylic paints? According to Terrence Lun Tse you can! And that’s just what he proves in his exciting book, Sponge Painting.

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I originally went to the bookstore to find a few books on painting backgrounds as I have a few ideas that could use a little polishing but when I found Tse’s book, I had to buy it. It’s amazing what he does with an ordinary household sponge and how many beautiful effects you can create with nothing more than a rectangular sponge, a little water, and acrylic paints. In fact, I think it’s a great book for beginning collage artists who want quick, easy, and fun backgrounds for their collage work.

There are 20 projects in the book with 14 quick sponge painting demonstrations and four pages of getting started instructions.

The projects start with a photo of the actual painting you’ll be making and a description of that painting. It’s followed by a list of acrylic paints you’ll need to complete the project along with colored squares to help you match the colors correctly. Next you’ll see a few photos of the painting in progress and step-by-step instructions on how to achieve certain effects. Finally, you’re given instructions on how to critique the piece so that you can give yourself constructive criticism and make the changes necessary to go from “okay” to “wow”.

After showing the book to my daughter she asked if we could do a few projects together this summer. I can’t wait! It’s the first book I’ve shown her that she actually thought she’d have fun doing as a “mother-daughter” activity.

Order Sponge Painting Today!

Disclosure: I purchased this item to review. This is “my opinion” of the product. I was not paid to give a positive review.

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