Artists Passion

If you think teachers are underpaid, you should try working in the art world. My sister in law is the Curator of Education at a non-profit museum here in Texas. Non-profits have little money to spare so their staff is even more underpaid that other types of museums. They have no benefits, no health care and low salaries. The people who do those jobs do it as a labor of love. It’s a shame, though, that someone with a master’s degree working in a place that gives back to the community, should pay so poorly. Prior to that, my sister in law worked at Barnes and Noble managing their Starbucks. She had a Bachelor degree at the time and believe it or not she made more there than she could have made as a teacher. Sad, isn’t it?

Sadly, things are going to get worse before they get better. Due to our current economic downturn, the museum industry is taking a hit. At a time when Americans are spending less and actually more likely to visit museums, the museums themselves are losing donors. Traditionally museums are often sponsored by wealthy donors and foundations but with the economic crisis many are investing their money in organizations that provide food and shelter for those hit hardest.

Major museums across the country are laying off staff, freezing recruitment and tossing out plans for expansion. While it may not seem like the end of the world, it takes a lot of people to maintain and care for our museums. This money is not made up by visitors. Visitors cost a museum approximately $23 per person while apparently bringing in an average of only $6.

So, the next time you visit a museum, thank the staff. They deserve a pat on the back!

Hi, my name is Kyla and I am the new writer for this blog. I am very excited to get the opportunity to write about art. I inherited my love of art from my mother who dragged me and my brothers through endless museums as small children. Mother also taught us many types of arts and crafts. We did leather tooling, drawing, painting, sewing, needlepoint and ceramics, just to name a few. I carried that love of art into my adulthood and I am now forever taking a class in one thing or another. In fact I just recently started a stained glass class with a wonderful local glass store here in Austin, Tx, Blue Moon Glassworks. I’ve taken several glass bead making (or lampwork) classes from them in the past but this is my first stained glass class. Check out my other blog, Getting Crafty, to follow along with that class.

In addition to the stained glass, my other passion right now is cake decorating and sugar arts. I’m the President Elect for Capital Confectioners of Austin. Each year we hold a big cake show in February. This year’s show will take place from Freb 28- Mar 1st and will have around 300 cakes and 3000 attendees. We have some amazing artists lined up. We have Debbie Brown coming in from the UK. Debbie is the most prolific writer of cake decorating books in the UK. We also have Nick Lodge coming, who is British but he lives in Georgia and Elisa Strauss from Confetti Cakes as well as Jacquy Pfeiffer, the founder of the Chicago. It’s going to be an amazing show! Visit out website at www.thattakesthecake.org.

I’m interested in all forms of art so please feel free to share your passions with me!

In searching through the internet, I’ve noticed quite a few events coming up across the country. Some of them are museum events, some are gallery events, but all support the art world. I’m hoping that with this keen category system, some people from the actual cities will be able to find these events. Here’s hoping.

Don’t 3, St. Petersburg, FL, NOW

The Studio @620 is presenting a multi-media performance piece by Alice Ferrulo of Black Horse Theatre. The set designer is Frank Strunk III, one of my favorite artists. The photo is by Michael Conway. The show runs until Jan. 19, so catch it while you can.

Charles Banks Wilson: An Oklahoma Life in Art, Tulsa, OK, NOW

As I reported yesterday, Charles Wilson was an Oklahoma artist. The Gilcrease Museum of the Americas is holding an exhibit through March 9.

Lights: A Photographic Exploration, Bellevue, PA, JAN. 19

The Pittsburgh, PA blog reports that Creative Treehouse will be holding this one night event of poetry and photography. The Shutouts, Andrew James, The Dream Intended, and The Jim Dandies will be providing music.

Art for the Heart Silent Auction, San Francisco, CA, FEB 7-9

I read about this auction on the blog Diary of a Crafty Chica. The auction benefits the Encantada Gallery; the auction preview is Feb. 7-9. The auction isn’t until the evening of Jan. 9. Due to setbacks caused by a house fire, the owner of the gallery, Mia Gonzalez may have to close shop. The auction is designed to keep this from happening.

That’s what struck my fancy this week. If you know of any events going on in your area, please feel free to let me know about them.

This is just an idea I’ve been kicking around. Here are five interesting items I’ve found in the art world in the last few days. Every week, I plan to feature five more, from projects to artists to interesting art spaces. Rather than things I see in my day-to-day life, these will be things I see in the virtual world.

Oklahoma’s Charles Wilson

Charles Wilson is the topic of a recent Tulsa, OK blog post. The blog focuses on Oklahoma life, and Wilson, as one of Oklahoma’s native sons, is a perfect fit. The post gives a brief description of Wilson’s career and provides some context as to why his work is important in Oklahoma and beyond.

Tom Toles illustrated the sexist backlash against Hillary

The Washington Post cartoon shows the double standard stacked against Ms. Clinton in pretty straightforward way.

Pat Oliphant shows a more conservative view of her chances and leadership abilities.

Another comic in the Post shows an entirely different view Hillary’s now famous emotional reaction.

Summer Minor gives instructions on how to make paper

In a post geared towards home schooling moms, Minor gives a how-to and a brief history on making paper.

Shopdropping

Web Urbanist provides an explanation of the urban trend of shopdropping along with a guide to who’s doing it and a breakdown of their projects, complete with pictures. The most interesting to me was a project by Zoe Saldana, where she takes cheap clothes by Wal Mart and recreates them by hand, using the same fabrics, notions and stitches, then puts the tags from the originals on them and returns the homemade clothing to the store.

Here’s what I have planned for this year:

Interviews with comic book artists.

I’m going to a few conventions this year, and I plan to take advantage of my press passes. I’ll be talking to comic artists, set designers, and the regular artist and author folks who come out.

Fashion designer posts.

I’m going to interview more fashion designers for posts this year. I have a few under my belt already, and I will be working on more as time goes by.

Posts on premium artist supplies.

From hand-dyed yarns, to hand-made canvases, to hand-woven fabrics, I plan on writing a special series of posts dedicated to getting info on the best artist and crafting supplies out there.

Posts on special-effects and professional makeup artistry.

From makeup for model shoots to monster magic, I’m going to highlight artists who are living out their dreams.

Regional hotspots.

This is where I’ll showcase the best of the best in different cities around the country.

The best on the web.

The best of artist and art-related Web sites.

General 451 mishmash.

I always keep my eyes on the 451 network for tidbits of information that interest me. I usually end up finding crafting challenges and recipes. You may have noticed italicized sections at the end of my posts where I add extra info I find, like a link to a recipe for Italian bread lasagna or get political and link to a post about gay rights. This will continue; it’s just a way for me to add a little bit of news from the network, since I browse through the new posts every day. Since there’s usually a couple of new posts every hour, there’s a lot to read through.

This is all in addition to highlighting artists, giving basic advice and keeping people up-to-date on my own progress.

The past few weeks have been very busy for me. My insane schedule has forced me to make a choice. I can either spend a good portion of my time of writing about my art, or I can spend a good portion of my time making art.

I’ve chosen to make art.

First there were the holidays followed immediately by working extra hours. In addition, I’ve had to block in time for eating, bathing, sleeping, spending time with friends and religious obligations. The result has been a large decrease in blogging. I hope to remedy this soon.

Because I’ve had to make some hard choices, I realized that the majority of people out there have to make the same exact choice every day.

There are accountants who keep an art studio for the weekends and stay-at-home moms who write when their children are down for naps. In our modern society, everyone has to compromise to truly be happy.

In a new year’s post, Jummie writes about setting craft goals; the advice has helped me balance out my life and my hectic schedule. Every night after work, I sit down, turn on the TV, and knit for a set time. I try to write a minimum amount each day and once a week I get a few hours of improve acting under my belt with friends.

For 2008, I’m setting a challenge for everyone: look at your schedule and find the spot set aside for playtime. It might be oil painting. It might be reading a novel for a half hour each day. It might be taking pictures of the world around you. Is there even such a spot in your busy week? Is your schedule so rigid there’s no room for a spontaneous walk or sketch?

Sandra Williams of Parenting Under the Stars blogs about balancing spontaneity and scheduling. Though it’s aimed at parents, the advice is universal.

Spending time with fun, mind-expanding activities is high on my priority list and keeps me happy, I think it would work for you, too.

I’ve been more than super-busy the last few weeks.

I’ve been working about 40 hours a week at my job at a bookstore for the semester break. I’m processing internet orders for textbooks for the upcoming semester, and next week I’ll be working even more, starting tomorrow.

I’ve been trying to catch up to my future classmates in a graduate class I’m taking. I have to learn web design and HTML; the class deals with multimedia journalism, i.e. making Web sites, writing television packages, writing online and print articles, and tying everything together. I bought a book and am taking baby steps; I’m unsure as to whether or not I’ll catch up sufficiently before the class starts, though. I’m nervous about it.

I spent five or six days from the last two weeks with my family. We did the whole “Christmas” thing, and then my aunt and uncle came to visit from Michigan. I’m am definitely family-stressed out.

I spend two or three days doing things with friends. We saw Sweeney Todd on Christmas day, and I went to a Christmas party that involved me getting presents and playing Nintendo (yay).

Sweeney Todd= Merry Christmas!

I worked like crazy to finish up making and wrapping holiday gifts, and what I didn’t get done I made up for with store-bought gifts. Next year, I hope to do a better job on keeping on-task. Television helped me complete the gifts that did get wrapped and given away, although I’m not sure I’d ever want to watch so much Tila Tequila again.

I also bought the Dexter DVD and watched the entire first season in two days. Way to spend some quality time right there. I plan to start in on the Heroes DVD soon, even though I’ve seen the entire series so far.

For next year, I have some plans. They include starting an office hours tradition for writing, attending FX 2008 (for comic book artists and some actors/ creators/ designers I want to interview) and Megacon (for more of the same) and seeing the movie Juno. I’m also toying around with starting my own Web site and Etsy shop. I just hope 2008 is as fantastic as 2007 was.

To say the holidays can be stressful is an understatement.

To the hobby artist or professional crafter, they can be a nightmare.

Some people work full time, have kids and a social life, and create art in the spare time, because it completes them.

Some people mass-produce crafts, on their own or with small staffs, to meet quotas for the stores selling their art. Much of the time, they’re also trying to juggle their family and social life at the same time.

With pressure mounting, artistic endeavors can fall behind. Projects sit half-finished on easels, pottery wheels collect dust.

Creating eases stress and keeps the mind active. Making art is a great way to take a breather and protect the soul.

On days you can’t dedicate the time to finish a full project, stop the rat race you’re caught in for a half hour or an hour. Work on a painting, sculpt something small and fun, or write a bit in your journal. Even if you’re behind, it’s important to stop the stress before it reaches your breaking point.

If the muse refuses to come, or you just can’t dedicate the time for what you want to do, go for a short walk outside or read something you find uplifting. Look at your favorite masterworks. Even better yet, flip through a magazine or pictures you find inspiring and file them for later.

Taking a hot bubble bath with a glass of bubbly and a good book or lighting a few candles and relaxing for a few minutes can also help.

Remember, when you’re stressed, the rest of your life can fall apart, which can lead to a block. It’s easier to keep creating when you don’t break the flow.

When I get stressed, I eat more sweets, can live for days off of Cherry Coke, and am lucky if I get a shower scheduled in every day. Everything suffers until I sort myself out.

If you guys have any tips on staying de-stressed for the season, let me, and the other readers, know what they are!

At the worst, mindless internet distractions might help a bit with the holiday frazzle. Check out the PacMan Christmas tree. Or, veg out in front of the new Deelishis video.

Imagine it. A television landscape full of reruns, reality TV, and bland news programs.

With most of the jokesters, creators, and snarksters on strike, this may be what TV looks like at this time next year.

In the movie realm, we may have low-budget indie type creations in about two years.

American Gladiators, American Idol, Big Brother.

No Heroes. No Ugly Betty. And, no Pushing Daisies, which is by far the most innovative and artistic television show I’ve ever seen.

If you’ve never seen Pushing Daisies, check out Pushing Daisies, the blog, which has write-ups of each episode.

The show centers around a pie maker who can raise the dead, for a minute at a time. If he goes over a minute, someone else dies in the deceased’s place. The show has lush photography, musical numbers, quirky characters, and superb writing.

But, who wants a masterpiece when they can watch female mud wrestling or a bunch of hopefuls compete to win some sort of nationwide singing title?

While TV will suffer, movies might get better. I’m very excited about the upcoming release of Sweeney Todd, but I love indie films more than most mainstream releases. If more indie writers got into the business of film writing, I would probably be happy with their diverse view of the world more than I am with explosions, bland sexual encounters, sappy romances, and trite, generic animation.

Many people probably believe the studios will eventually give into the writers and the world will be fine again. But, with the internet, hundreds of cable news channels, and video games taking up so much time, I have a feeling the average Joe out there isn’t too worried about the face of the nation without the striking writers. This is a horrible time for such a union, because they don’t hold as much power as they did before the cyber boom.

I know, I know, it’s all very depressing. Quick! Look! It’s a cat in a Christmas Tree!

The available days to send out holiday cards are dwindling. Christmas is 13 days away; if you haven’t finished making those cards and gifts yet, you’re behind. Fortunately, there are some quick and easy card and gift ideas out there for those of us who procrastinate.

At Getting Crafty, there’s a whole slew of ideas to work from. The idea: use brads, fabric, stitching, and papers to make the best card out there.

And, at Bead Arts, they link to a pretty great beaded gift card project.

I have a couple of ideas to expand upon these cards. I love decoupaging; just take some varnish or glue (ask about supplies at your local craft store) and use it to attach magazines or personal art to card stock before applying the brads and other extras that will give your cards a touch of glitz.

Even better yet, create a beaded and wearable work of art, then string a necklace or bracelet through the card and wire it down. Or, attach a pair of earrings as a glittery decoration and gift. Think about how happy the recipient will be, expecting a simple card and discovering their own, personalized gift.

Some other ideas:

Instead of cards, send out a small booklet of your work. Other people send out boring holiday newsletters, why not send out something chronicling your best projects?

Use spare fabric to make your cards. I know a few fashion designers, and they always have yards of scrap fabric lying around, taking up room.

And, even though it’s a little late, next year consider making this Advent calendar. It wins on every level; it’s bright, whimsical, and super-creative.

Just make sure to mail everything out before your time runs out.

Try to think of the most dangerous jobs there are. What do you come up with? Firefighter? Policeman? Construction worker? All deal with an above average level of risk in their normal work routine.

But, there are a group of workers who deal with much more. These are people who balance on wires stories above the ground, do back flips from swings that consist of mere rope and a single rod, and shove swords down their own throats.

Circus performers.

Thanks to my interesting habit of acquainting myself with a host of oddballs around the country, I know a few.

Circus performers work on their craft with little-to-no support or compensation. Whether it be juggling or firebreathing, there just isn’t much demand for circus acts these days. There’s Cirque du Soleil, a few large family circuses like Ringling Bros., and a handful of indie organizations, but that doesn’t amount to much when a kid is trying to desperately learn to eat fire without any guidance besides what he might read in books, glean from the internet, or watch on TV.

My friend, The Amazing Kenny, is slowly making a name for himself in Central Florida, with a variety of juggling and firebreathing shows he puts on. Many are for no pay or tips, making a living through his job at a coffee shop.

In his show, he includes tricks with contact juggling (like in Labyrinth), Chinese yo-yos (like the little Chinese girls in La Nouba), and juggling balls and pins. He includes cheesy one-liners in the act and sets some routines to music. All of his hard-work barely pays off… He does it for his love of the art.

Before the end of Chanukah, I figured I’d include a quick reference to Food History, where Gillian Polack gives a how-to guide for frying foods. Jewish people generally make fried dishes, because the oil has significance for the holiday.

On Tuesday, I received two giant boxes of yarn from a friend who is moving to San Francisco.

I was going to pile skeins of yarn on my bed and take tons of glamorous photos, but that idea was shelved. There’s a yellow jacket in my car.

I usually don’t mind bugs, but yellow jackets sting. Yellow jacket stings make me woozy. It’s a no-brainer. Plus, I don’t know how long they live, so my yarn might stay in my car until I absolutely have to leave to go to my mom’s house tomorrow. Then, I’ll probably drive the entire way looking over my shoulder for an angry yellow jacket, starved and ready to eat my flesh. (Yes, yellow jackets bite. I’ve had gaping holes in my arms from the phenomenon in the past, because I was too afraid of their sting to stop them from chomping on me.)

Instead of glorying in full frontals of a bunch of fuzzy yarn in different textures, weights, and amounts, I’ll say “Thank you” to Marti for providing me with enough yarn to get me through the next year (or at least a few months).

As for turning trash into treasure, I’m a big fan of reusing trash over recycling. Recycling takes up a lot of energy and resources; men and women in the generations before ours didn’t have problems reusing old containers, fabrics, paints, pretty much anything you can think of. Even paper and plastic disposable cups can be washed out and reused, but we throw them out without thinking about it.

Summer, of the Creative Mom Cafe, shows readers how to make candle holders out of tin cans. While she considers them great gifts, I’d be more likely to make them for myself as luminaries. When I was in high school, I volunteered every year for my home town’s holiday walk, which included hundreds of paper bag luminaries, filled with sand and a lit candle. We were considered the fire patrol; we constantly walked up and down the street with extra luminaries, candles, and a lighter, in case luminaries caught fire or went out. Tin cans are a much better sidewalk luminary idea.

Of course, art doesn’t always have to have a function. Thanks to Globally Green Living, I just discovered the art of Shari Elf, who uses found pieces from yard sales and the like to make her pieces. She also earns a lot of money doing so; it’s just a thought. If you don’t have an overabundance of tin cans, consider scouting out flea markets and thrift stores to use other people’s cast-offs in your art.

‘Twas the third night of Chanukah and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Okay, my cats were probably stirring last night, just without me.

I was volunteering my time to an arts and crafts booth at a local holiday event. Not the selling variety of arts and crafts booth, but the children-do variety. I helped a bunch of children glue foam leaves to paper plates for three hours, scarfed down a cold hotdog and a flat soda, and wished the line for Santa wasn’t so long, so I could take a picture with him for my mom.

Why, in the name of all that is good and pure in the world, why would I subject myself to babysitting somewhere around 500 kids wielding bottles of glue and tiny red berries made out of what looked like lint?

The answer: I’m selfish.

The building we were in for the event was set up like a castle. Bubble “snow” fell from the ceiling. There were costumed characters, a small train set up for young passengers, games all over the place, and a store set up with toys and trinkets usually overpriced in the stores at the perfect prices for the little ones to buy with their allowance. In addition to the arts and crafts area I was in, there was a coloring book station, a scrapbooking station, and a cookie decorating station. The food was served in a huge, fairy tale ballroom where The Polar Express was playing on theater-sized screens. Everywhere I looked, faces were filled with wonder.

I highly recommend for everyone reading this to volunteer somewhere this holiday season. It’s a much better high than overeating or unwrapping an iPod. I always try to volunteer at an event with children, because they get the most out of the holidays. They still believe in the magic of the holidays, whether it be Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, or the secular Santa Day.

Unfortunately, I never did get that picture with Santa.

Here are some more holiday themed posts: with Chanukah almost half over, Christmas is just 18 days away. For the most part, my own Christmas-type presents are wrapped and ready to go. And, Cyndi at Bead Arts has listed some sites with suggestions for gifts that sparkle with creativity.

NaNoWriMo crashed and burned for me this year. While I typed out a few of my best writing scenes, they were few and far between. It’s too bad I don’t have a version of this graphic on fire or in ashes; that’s how bad it got this year.

Sometimes creativity is like slogging through quicksand. We can’t get out of the hole we’re in, and when we try, we just keep sinking deeper.

Sometimes anything looks better than the project we’re currently working on. Why not do the dishes? Clean out the kitty litter box? Or, even better, take a nap?

I’ve had paintings languish on an easel at my mother’s house until she’s threatened to reuse the canvas for one of her paintings. If creating is so much fun, why can it be so hard?

There’s tons of psychological mumbo-jumbo to explain why we procrastinate, but the truth is, everyone does it now and again. And, the why isn’t as important as the how. How we can climb out of the quicksand hole we’re in. Here are five hows to get you through.

1. Start a routine.
Routine is the natural enemy of procrastination. Set up a routine schedule and stick to it, even if you have to strap yourself to your chair and stare at a blank canvas/ sheet of paper. Theoretically, you’ll get so bored eventually you’ll start working. This is best implemented in a location without a lot of distractions. For example, strapped into your chair you’d have no problem trolling the internet for hours, if your laptop was in front of you.

2. Make a to-do list.
This one usually saves me. I love checking items off of a list; it makes me feel industrious. Of course, you have to write the list in order to check things off, which can lead to procrastination about the list itself.

3. Work in smaller time increments.
If you have problems getting started for an hour of work, take the time down to 30 minutes. If you’re still procrastinating at 30, move the time down to 15. Even five minutes of work is better than no minutes of work. Set a timer and keep going if inspiration hits and you can’t tear yourself away from your chair.

4. Check your muse.
Do your best ideas come to you on the can? Do they come after watching your favorite horror movie or reading your favorite book? As a writer, it can be strange thinking that part of my job was reading books, magazines, and newspapers. But, it’s true. Allow yourself to do the most important part of your job, sowing inspiration.

5. Take a break.
Procrastination might be a sign you’re burning yourself out, which is the kiss of death to whatever you’re working on. Depending on what you’re doing, take a day or two off. It might give you the rest you need to start up again, this time gung-ho and ready for action.

For me, NaNoWriMo failed this year because I had too much going on in my schedule. I was happy when I could type out an entire scene; all of my writing began to suffer because of the pressure I was under from all sides. Now that school’s winding down, I’m back at the game, better than ever.

I wonder if JM would consider me a writer’s block whiner… Or, I guess, an artist’s block whiner.

I’ve already written that many choices are available for artists wishing to sell their wares, and the best way to go about choosing is doing a little research.

However, even after the research, the choices can be confusing. What really is the best way to sell art?

Galleries
When looking at a gallery for wall or floor space, it’s a good idea to see what kind of art they already have. Then, check the prices of the pieces, the fees they charge for their space, and how much they’ve earned in sales for a specific time period (the month, the quarter, or the year) to decide whether or not you want to show there.

Coffee Shops
Coffee shops and cafes are good places to start out, but art galleries will have the manpower, money, knowledge and drive to really promote your art.

Art Fairs
Arts and crafts fairs are also a good place to get started; you only have to commit to a day or two of selling, and you’ll be in charge of selling your own work, which will give you more control. There is usually a one-time fee, and most of the time you don’t have to give organizers a percentage of sales, so you might come out better than you would at a gallery or even a coffee shop, depending on how much you sell. Plus, there’s instant gratification; your work won’t be sitting around for months before someone buys.

The Internet
Thanks to Myspace, Etsy, personal Web sites, Ebay, and social networking, it’s become easier than ever to sell works of art and find a community to share with. With a personal Web site, you can build your own space, start your own store, and promote any events you decide to join. With Etsy and Ebay, you can start your own store and market your art to millions of viewers. With Myspace and social networking sites, you can build your own portfolio, list events, and link to your stores. The biggest cost to you will be your time, although Ebay and Etsy charge small fees for posting items.

I hope this all was at least a bit helpful.

In a totally unrelated strain, many of you probably know I have a weakness for sweets. And, I keep ending up back at Elementary Chef, where there are now going to be 12 cookie recipes up for Christmas. The first up is Peanut Buttercup Cookies. I’m already making up my shopping list. It’s either going to be a very good holiday, or a very naughty holiday depending on how you look at it.