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The Business Side Of Things

Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 by Alyice

Have you ever wondered how some artists are able to make a nice living doing what they love? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, “How do I get there, too?”

Art is such a subjective thing in that what one considers to be art another does not. And so, in order to succeed as an artist, one must be willing to be susceptible to the criticisms of others. That’s no easy task for an artist. Artists create with their souls and their works are an extension of who they are on the inside. It’s like that expression often used when someone is transparent in both body language and words. But instead of saying “She wears her heart on her sleeve” we say, “She wears her heart in her work.”

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I suppose that’s why you often hear artists of every gender, age, and media say, “I’d rather be in the studio.” It’s hard to be told how to create something. It’s hard to be told that something you created, in which you thought was simply brilliant, was missing its mark. And yet, those are things an artist must endure when building a business around their works.

That’s why I was excited to discover Alyson B. Stanfield’s new book, “I’d rather be in the studio: The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide To Self-Promotion.” It truly is jam-packed with thought provoking questions designed to make you think about your art in a whole new way.

Are you a hobbyist or are you an artist on a mission? Do you want your art to replace your income or do you simply want it to supplement your income? And if you do want to make an income from your art, how are you going to get there? These are questions you’ll ask yourself as you delve into Alyson’s book. And these are questions you’ll find answers to if you use her book as the home study course it was designed to be.

As someone who already runs a successful online business, there’s a lot of information I already knew, like using the Internet and the press to promote my business, taking advantage of blogs, websites, e-zines, and utilizing online networks. But there were so many other things that pertained specifically to the art industry that I did not know and that’s where I got the most bang out of the book. Like did you know that an “Artist’s Statement” could mean the difference between getting into a gallery showing and being turned away—even if your work was good? Did you know that too much talking during an exhibit, about your work could turn buyers off, but just the right amount could actually get you the sale? And did you realize that you can actually begin following up with past buyers—even if it’s been two years from the sale?

Seriously, if you are thinking about making money with your art, increasing awareness about your art, or taking your current art business to the next level, you’ll want to pick up a copy of “I’d rather be in the studio.” There’s some solid advice in the book. In fact, I have several pages earmarked for future reference.

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Is It Art or Is It Trash?

Thursday, January 31st, 2008 by Alyice

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Have you ever wondered what happens to all that trash you throw out? It ends up in landfills and becomes toxic waste. And although our country has improved in its efforts to recycle there is still so much more we can do. That’s why I applaud artists who take materials that would ordinarily fill up our landfills and turn them into art that can be displayed in our homes or used for another purpose, like jewelry, furniture, and landscaping.

Today found art, also known as “trash art” or “junk art”, is making a comeback and I couldn’t be more thrilled because that means publishers will be publishing books on found art techniques and consumers will be more willing to purchase these one-of-a-kind creations.

Speaking of books, I just received Junk To Jewelry by Brenda Schweder and can’t wait to try my hand at the watch ribbon bracelet on page 30 (my daughter has a busted watch that was once her deceased Nana’s and she wears it!), the drawer pull charm bracelet on page 28, or the junk drawer miscellany watch on page 44. They are by far my three favorite jewelry pieces in the entire book.

Junk To Jewelry is a rare combination of childhood craft ideas and eccentric trash art. In 96 pages you will discover 31 projects. Each project is given one page for instructions and a materials list and one page for a close-up of the completed piece. There are also two pages of information designed to help newbies understand things like knots, crimps, looping, swings, and how to use pliers and beading wire.

I do wish, however, that there would have been instructions for some of the pieces in the gallery section. I guess I’ll just have to do a little trial and error creating because I really want to make one of the yard stick bracelet by Susan Dyer on page 88 and the tea ball necklace by Carla Sikorski on page 90 (which reminds me of my Russian ancestry).

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Embellishments For Scrapping and Wall Art

Saturday, January 26th, 2008 by Alyice

After a year of dedicated scrapbooking in the fastest, easiest cut and paste methods available, I am venturing out into something a little more creative—which means I get to read lots of scrapbooking magazines and books.

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A few months back, I received a copy of Easy Scrapbook Embellishment by Heidi Schueller, to review. I had planned on reviewing it ASAP but it got packed away with many other things due to a projected “move” and I forgot about it. Long story short, the house we wanted to buy fell through—major plumbing and electrical issues and a bad chimney—and I just wasn’t ready to admit defeat so boxes of things stayed packed.

Imagine my delight when I opened up a box to re-discover Easy Scrapbook Embellishments. I have to tell you that I really love this book, and if you love scrapbooking, you will too! It’s so easy to read and so easy to implement the tips.

There are several projects within the book, but each project only focuses on one embellishment technique. There’s a large photo of a scrapbook page, followed by a “what you need section” that gives a complete list of what was used to make that particular scrapbook page. Then there are step-by-step instructions for making a specific embellishment on the following page. And since I am pursuing a side business in mixed media art, I find that several of these techniques will transfer over quite nicely!

You learn to knot hemp cord, bead spirals, design letters out of French knots and beads, make a stitching template, add photos to small charms, use rolled patterned paper to frame photos, use positive and negative chipboard letters, use microbeads to accent pages in small but powerful ways, and so much more! There’s 65 scrapbook layouts in all, with 15 bonus tips to take the technique from scrapbook to art project.

As far as scrapbooking goes, I love that the embellishments won’t weigh down the paper too much, or interfere with putting the pages into plastic sleeves for added protection. As for the mixed media aspect, these quick and easy tips sure did give me a few great ideas for a few wall art projects I am working on for relatives!

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