More photos from Fremont

Here is Grace showing one of her wonderful travel sketchbook/journals. She usually uses pen, not pencil, which was an "a-ha" for some people last night.

 I am going to include some other photos from last night and then tell you of a personal challenge I've been dealing with regarding photos, my iPhone, and blogging. I used to be able to hook my phone up to the computer and have an immediate link to iPhoto start up. My new photos on my phone were transferred to the photo program where I could edit them, name them, and store them for easy retrieval and use. But after a recent update to either the phone or the computer, things stopped being so easy. But tonight, I was able to get it figured out (yippee!) and get my pictures off my phone again. So that was a MAJOR step for me. The next one is to figure out how to manipulate the pictures and text consistently to do what I want to do, in terms of format and placement. It's all very hit and miss and never quite what I intend but I never have quite enough time to master it! At least I usually know what my next challenge is, right? Good night for now!

Tonight in Fremont...

...went very well. There were about 18 people in attendance and they seemed to enjoy our presentation about sketchbooking and journaling. People learned new things about making their own books, embellishing commercial books, and about the process of journaling with a pen rather than a pencil. I will share photos when I get home because I don't seem to be able to do it from my phone to my blog.

A New Project--Part 1

At Sierra Art Trails, Julie Mitchell and I talked more about a little workshop/demo session that we are going to do at Willowbridge Bookstore in Oakhurst in December. We did one there before and decided we want to make the next one much better. The first time, I planned to do a little collage demo and Julie planned to do a little make-it/take-it of paper clay faces. Well, of course, people wanted to do the make-it/take it, me included! So, next time we are going to do an interactive session together,  with each of us doing a part of the presentation/demonstration.

Julie will do the faces, hands, and feet and I will do the bodies and backgrounds. Our participants will  make a card or a little wall hanging.  I have been experimenting with some ideas for the bookstore session and here is what I have come up with so far. I'm sure Julie is doing the same in her studio in Coarsegold and once we both have some samples made, we'll coordinate our efforts in the final planning for the December afternoon.

First, I cut some old mat board scraps into 5 X 7 inch rectangles. The board was gold on one side (the front) and white on the other side (the back). I decided to work on 3 at once so I cut them, colored the edges with a black Sharpie pen, put a black ribbon loop on the back with double-sided tape, and then covered the back with a piece of scrapbook paper, applied with a glue stick. I had to do a little touch-up of the edge with the Sharpie when I was done.

 After the boards were prepared, I started looking through magazines ("Oprah!" is one of my favorites) for pieces to use for heads/faces and for bodies. Here are photos of the 3 faces that I clipped out.

This photo shows the prepared boards with the cut-outs selected for the bodies--which are clock or watch faces--and the 3 heads.

                                                                

In this photo, I laid down a body and a face on background and I also added some checks with a stamp pad and permanent ink, plus a piece of drywall tape to the lower left corner of the piece with the black and white stylized head. They will be glued down with a glue stick, once I have added some wings behind each figure--so they can be angels, though that isn't a necessity.

I decided that all of these little hangings will have a woman, some words, and some checks in them so that I can call them "Checked Chicks" or "Chick Checks" or some such. Working in a series appeals to me, and doing 3 at once means that I can think in similar terms for a period of time and be looking for similar things to cut out etc. I can also use the same materials for a little while and experiment with the same pallette, same supplies and same techniques on all 3 pieces. If I am trying out a new medium or a new technique, I have more than 1 opportunity to get it right, before it's all over for the day, so to speak!

That concludes Part 1 of the small project--Part 2 will soon follow!

Continuing to work on the extended aspects of "Presentation"

Preparing for a nice presentation takes a lot of time. It is really fun and rewarding, but it takes a LOT of time! I know why some people don't ever really get into making up a "Business Kit" or designing desktop publishing items or marketing tools. They all take time. And when you don't work with something for a while--like making label templates or printing envelopes--it's like starting over again to get back into the groove.

Well, I'm having fun updating everything and making some new things but right now, I need to spend my time on completing that project rather than writing a long blog post. So, I'm going to sign off for today and get back to that work. When I have things done, I'll share a list of items and some photos, I hope. More information very soon!

Groundhog Day!

And I don't know if he officially saw his shadow or not! Just like I didn't know until late today who won the Super Bowl! I admit to being VERY uninformed about some events at some times. It's just that they aren't my priorities so I don't pay a lot of attention to them. But I do need to do better about staying up with world news etc.

Last night, I added 5 photographs of paintings to the little "slide show" that's at the bottom of my blog. Check them out! I will try to continue adding more as I have more. I will include one of them with today's post also. It is called "Energized" and its' inspiration was the elements and principles of design. It started out as a full sheet painting--22" X 30"-- but I cut it down to somewhat smaller and incorporated most of the parts I cut off into the finished painting. It has some strips woven into it, some pieces collaged on and some other interesting textures and patterns. It can hang either horizontally or vertically, but I think that it is more "uplifting" with the triangle shape pointing upwards.

The current project that I'm working on, in conjunction with the marketing salon that I'm attending, is an update of all my "desktop publishing" items and the addition of some new ones. I've updated and reprinted my trifold brochure, my business cards, made new letterhead, revised my return address labels, made stickers, and am working on several other items. When I finish them all, I think I'll make a list of the whole "package" and see what might still be missing. As I said, or someone else did the other day, "presentation is everything"! I don't think it is EVERYthing, but I do think that it's a very important part of marketing and publicity and getting your name out there. Attention to detail in matters of presentation indicates (to me, at least) an attention to detail in other areas of both art and life. :)

Work and Play

Today was the second meeting of the Art Marketing Salon group in Coarsegold. We are meeting as a group, with a designated leader (Julie Mitchell) to follow the "plan" established by Alyson Stanfield,  Art Biz Coach. Her website is artbizcoach.com and her blog can be followed at artbizblog.com. There is a definite time commitment involved (which makes the process somewhat hard and serious work), but there is also a feeling of fun, playfulness, and developing collegiality. 

As I read Alyson's  blog today, one paragraph stood out to me. It started out by saying: "Presentation is everything." And then went on to say: "It's the small things that make a difference and distinguish us from others. As an artist, it’s your attention to the detail of your matting, framing, and display. It’s the care you give your printed materials and your Web site that announce to the world that you’re a professional. It’s the care with which you treat each person you run into because you know they might be a customer one day—that you show them respect and trust." And I know from personal experience that this really is the truth.

I am enjoying meeting with other like-minded artists to discuss common concerns and share our hopes and goals regarding our careers as artists. The process is causing me to focus on the critical pieces of marketing and public relations that I might neglect otherwise. Today, we had lunch together after the meeting and that was rather like one of Julia Cameron's suggested "artist dates". We're getting to know each other better and coming to respect each others' opinions and advice. I look forward to the next meeting in 2 weeks.