textile paintings
Marketing
Tweek!
010 years ago
There has been a lot going on this week — a lot of great articles for Creatives were written (or recently found) — all of which I shared on my Twitter feed — and I finished my latest piece Worry. Today, I bring you my weekly wrap-up of my Twitter feed.
Remember, if you want to catch my Tweets in real time, you can find me at @vsgreaves — or hit the Twitter icon above the menu in the upper right. Also, if you want to see what’s going on in the studio, check out my Facebook Page by clicking on the Facebook icon next to that Twitter icon.
According to the authors, and I would agree, “we live in a “permissions culture,” which values copyright permissions above all else” and that “permissions have become such an issue that they’re interfering with professionals’ work — the ability to educate, to undertake scholarly studies, to make art.” It’s a different point of view from the endless discussions regarding the protection of copyrights.
“Are Art Professionals Afraid of Fair Use?” http://feedly.com/e/848QPDRN
“Creativity & Listening” — “What we learn from the creative process is that giving up control … is a necessary path to success.” http://feedly.com/k/1n8VHLD
I live in Atlanta — I was shocked that it made #1 on this list:
Best cities for artists: http://tinyurl.com/p9zvstx
This article on the ethics of altering photographs digitally is sure to inspire a lot of debate:
“Nature Photography: Objectivity, Manipulation, and Ethics” http://tinyurl.com/lewysue
I was so struck by this life-like statue of a man sleep walking in his underwear across the Wellesley campus — and he’s garnered a lot of public discussion — which I appreciate in the same way Banksy brings the discussion of art to the masses:
Tighty whitey’s take a stroll — “Artist Responds to Wellesley College Students’ Concerns With Sculpture: http://tinyurl.com/m37zq5r
This was just a grand idea — to replace huge sign boards in Paris with classical works of art. It made me realize how cluttered our modern lives are with constant marketing of inane things.
“Parisian Advertisements Replaced with Classical Works of Art” http://tinyurl.com/nykgu3f @mymodernmet
Bringing to mind the discussion of altering photos, Annie Leibovitz’s photographs (and resulting digital alteration) create the most stunning photos. The fact that she finds inspiration in Disney characters makes the work all the more relatable:
“Annie Leibovitz’s Celebrity Disney Dream Portraits” http://tinyurl.com/k8yuasb @mymodernmet
I made the point the other day on someone’s Facebook wall that one of the discriminations made in the art world today is towards abstract versus illustrative work — and although I was soundly flamed for such a ridiculous statement, the wonderful Winkleman, an art dealer in NY, wrote a post fairly exactly supporting my argument just this week:
“Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Abstract Paintings so Different, so Lucrative?” Winkleman wise words http://feedly.com/e/GaB3bl95
I didn’t know the the Olympics once had art competitions — did you?
“Back When the Olympics Had Art Competitions” http://feedly.com/e/yz3-cw31
This is about the importance of visual language, which is not valued in our current education system, and its effect on our brains:
“Why Einstein, JFK, Edison, and Marie Curie All Doodled” http://feedly.com/e/HGcJkmE6
I loved this article because he talks about making marketable art and going through the thought process of figuring out what will sell:
RT @ArtsyShark: Success for artists is not complicated … http://buff.ly/1dsUIQY Thoughts from Jack White
I actually went looking for articles on marketing art — and found this helpful piece from July of last year.
Selling Art: Is your artwork marketable? http://tinyurl.com/lpp3odt
A friend of mine posted this article on Facebook and I found it fascinating. I had never heard the controversy over whether Van Gogh committed suicide or was murdered — and I didn’t know that he died two days after being shot:
Van Gogh: murder mystery or straightforward suicide?http://tinyurl.com/jwhg56d via @maggieinsc
Tweek!
010 years ago
Another week has gone by — January is disappearing fast. I am hoping to finish my current piece by the end of the month — but I have a lot of personal roadblocks in the coming week — so that may just not be possible. I have finished all of the appliqué and I’m getting ready to start quilting it. Wish me luck.
I shared a lot of fun articles this week — and this is my weekly summary. Remember if you want to follow my posts directly on Twitter — I am @vsgreaves — or click the Twitter icon in the upper right above the menu. You’ll also notice the Facebook icon there next to it — that will take you to my Facebook Page.
This is Kathleen Loomis’s review of the book Thinking Through Craft by Glenn Adamson — sobering view of the art world — but I’ve definitely put this book on my reading list:
“Clawing your way out — or in” of the “art world” http://artwithaneedle.blogspot.com/2014/01/clawing-your-way-out-or-in.html
I’ve become a big believer in tracking your progress — even if you’re a studio artist and you’re only accountable to yourself:
““The Ostrich Problem” and The Danger of Not Tracking Your Progress” http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/The99Percent/~3/hy5rJbiMTIE/the-ostrich-problem-and-the-danger-of-not-tracking-your-progress
I’m always interested in marketing my work and finding new information that will help:
How Artists Can Make Art That Will Sell – Artpromotivate http://buff.ly/1i8N5DV via @ArtProMotivate
Lisa Call is textile artist that I started following a couple of years ago because she’s so successful at making a lot of work and selling it — so when she talks, I listen:
“To make it happen, I write it down” @lisacall http://tinyurl.com/nssckaj
Since I photograph my own work, I’m always interested in fine tuning my textile photography skills:
How to photograph textile art http://tinyurl.com/kdrjw6n
I liked this article — it talked about getting your brain into the flow and why critiquing can be harmful to that:
“Work First, Critique Second” getting into the creative flow http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/The99Percent/~3/FK_gfyT5D7I/work-first-critique-second
I share all of my in process work on my blog — which is ironic because I’m highly protective of sharing the work out of my studio. When someone comes to the house, I typically cover it up so it won’t be seen — because, as the previous article mentioned, criticism can be harmful to flow. There are only a couple of people that I’ll discuss in process work with — but I suppose my blog hasn’t contradicted that rule because I don’t typically receive a lot of comments. This article argues that sharing work with the masses can be harmful to the creative cycle and that special support groups are what is needed.
“In Praise of the Creative Support Group” http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/The99Percent/~3/CjJUNjy1SHk/in-praise-of-the-creative-support-group
This article is written from the perspective of a photographer but still has an important lesson — if you’re given lemons, make lemonade:
“Use Optimism to Avoid “Work Paralysis”” http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/The99Percent/~3/L1X6FzTnjao/use-optimism-to-avoid-work-paralysis
I found this discussion of ivory an interesting one. Ivory is typically used as a carving medium for sculpture — but its harvesting also typically results in the death of elephants and the subsequent elimination of free roaming elephants. The question becomes — does a piece of sculpture that is made of ivory constitute art — or is it only a sign of the slaughter of wild elephants — and should we grind down all ivory whether it is carved or not to dissuade poachers from continuing to slaughter elephants?
“To Stop the Illegal Ivory Trade, You Have to Stop the Art” http://hyperallergic.com/103288/to-stop-the-illegal-ivory-trade-you-have-to-stop-the-art/
Tweek!
010 years ago
Another week down and not a lot going on to share in this week’s Tweek of Twitter updates. I read a ton of articles but not a lot worth sharing. A few gems in the mix though.
As always, you can follow my live Twitter updates @vsgreaves or click the Twitter icon in the right hand corner just above the menu.
It’s hard to ignore the signs of burn-out going on in Western culture right now. Maybe shortening our work week would have a positive effect:
“Should We All Have A 4-Day Work Week?” … In a perfect world … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/The99Percent/~3/PkNyhxcYmJo/should-we-all-have-a-4-day-work-week
This article is about working in a series & why it’s important for artists to develop creative thought in more than one piece:
““It Doesn’t Matter if You Call It Art If You Don’t Have Anything to Say” – Creating Art in a Series” http://theabundantartist.com/is-it-art-working-in-series/
Seinfeld was a heavy iconic figure in the 80’s, and as only someone that can write a show about nothing, he is spot on about creative blocks and overcoming them:
“Seinfeld: Writer’s Block Is a B.S. Excuse for Not Doing Your Work.” http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/The99Percent/~3/4ymzcmE8cPE/seinfeld-writers-block-is-a-b-s-excuse-for-not-doing-your-work
Everyone likes to say that creativity is the new highly valued resource in corporate America today — and something we should be cultivating in our children — but the truth just doesn’t back this up. Corporate America looks for skills — not thinkers — and we constantly cut funding to the arts for children. And sadly, creativity is more a point of discrimination than a valued skill:
“Creativity is rejected: Teachers and bosses don’t value out-of-the-box thinking.” http://feedly.com/k/1iGm9iP
I can’t say this enough — if you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying hard enough. You have to fail — usually a lot — before you can ever win a race.
Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can Help You Win. http://tinyurl.com/nkasjgx
Beyond the sense of appreciation I felt at having Edward Winkleman mention an art exhibit in my hometown of Birmingham, AL — he writes a compelling post about the perception of success that artists need to emulate to become recognized in the art world (and how in reality, even the successful ones are working a day job to keep their art life alive):
“Looking Past the Smoke and Mirrors: “Living and Sustaining a Creative Life”” http://www.edwardwinkleman.com/2014/01/looking-past-smoke-and-mirrors-living.html
Tweek!
010 years ago
It’s time for my weekly Tweek! You can follow me directly on Twitter @vsgreaves — or use the Twitter icon above right above the menu.
I don’t tell you what I’m eating — or what I’m doing (unless it’s really exciting) — I mainly post about what’s going on in the art world and what I think other Creatives would find interesting.
Groundbreaking — the US congressional copyright office is reconsidering “droit de suite” which would give artists a cut on re-sales of their work:
Copyright Office Calls for Congress to Reconsider Royalties for Artists http://nyti.ms/1di4rem
As an artist, it’s time to review your year — and prepare for the next:
Your Year-End Review for 2013 http://feedly.com/e/bKMFLqF0 via @artbizblog
“No-one goes to bed at night and dreams of quality” — better to sell dreams:
Sell the Dream: Customers Want the Dream More Than the Product http://feedly.com/e/tGVizwHQ via @feedly
Expensive cities are killing creativity http://aje.me/1gDy7Ii via @AJEnglish
“What Big Tech Knows About Art and You Don’t” http://theabundantartist.com/big-tech-money-art-sales/
“Tina Seelig: The 6 Characteristics of Truly Creative People”-Truly creative people “are quilt makers” ❤️ http://feedly.com/k/1khJup6
This is about Russian photographer Leonid Tishkov who bought a light up moon and traveled the world with it taking the most fascinating pictures along the way:
“The Man Who Ran Away With the Moon” http://hyperallergic.com/99262/the-man-who-ran-away-with-the-moon/
“You Were Born to Sell: Dismantling the Myths of Self-Promotion” – selling & serving http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/The99Percent/~3/lA1BCX-Dnls/you-were-born-to-sell-dismantling-the-myths-of-self-promotion
“The Year of Rain and Cronuts” – the difference between art museums and amusement parks http://hyperallergic.com/99139/the-year-of-rain-and-cronuts/
Why is everyone surprised that Warhol or Farrah gave Ryan a painting of Farrah? And I find it confusing that the university that was bequeathed Farrah’s collection assumed that this particular piece should have been included. I suppose we are talking about a Warhol:
Ryan O’Neal allowed to keep Warhol portrait of Farrah Fawcett http://reut.rs/19gbzuU via @reuters
Tweek!
010 years ago
This is my weekly Twitter update. It’s been a rough week but I had a lot of time for reading.
If you want to follow my Twitter posts directly, I’m @vsgreaves — or click the Twitter icon in the upper right just above the menu.
This is a very fun video to watch. Brene’ Brown is hugely entertaining — and she gets creatives & what we have to do to produce our work. It’s 22 minutes long, but it’s worth the investment of your time:
Brene’ Brown does an amazing speech on “the sweaty creatives”: 22 minutes that all creatives should invest in: http://tinyurl.com/mwbx8qy
Don’t we all need guidance about how to price our artwork correctly:
A Guide to Pricing Your Artwork – http://buff.ly/19adxuE via @ArtsyShark
I have both an undergraduate & graduate degree in business and I’ve always wondered what you do if you’re starting with nothing. This article tries to answer that:
“The Secret of the Chicken and the Egg” : what to do if you’re starting with nothing http://feedly.com/k/IBfeHv
This is an video interview with a brilliant mathematician about how he approaches impossibility (he died a few days after the interview):
“How to Tackle Impossible Problems” interview with the creator of fractals Benoit Mandlebrot http://feedly.com/k/1ceBKgr
To find that our support of the arts in the US is dwarfed by our support of football is unsettling at best:
“Where’s the Money? US Arts and Culture Economy By the Numbers” does our culture in the US support the arts? http://hyperallergic.com/97423/wheres-the-money-us-arts-and-culture-economy-by-the-numbers/
Let’s face it — as artists, we are our own worst critics — and it’s good to hear that we’re in good company:
“Bruce Springsteen, Woody Allen, and the Long Tradition of Hating Your Own Work” http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/The99Percent/~3/uU23FDGkqcg/bruce-springsteen-woody-allen-and-the-long-tradition-of-hating-your-own-work
This is not art related at all but I found it fascinating because it explained a hole in history that I rarely see discussed — the decisions of the British & French & how they shaped the current state of the Middle East:
How the Middle East was shaped after the Ottoman Empire “The map that caused a century of trouble” http://zite.to/1dyunCQ
This is a photography article but its discussion of using the Golden Mean for composition is applicable to all visual art:
“Beyond Basic Composition: Line, Shape and Form in Photography” http://zite.to/191Of4a
Again, not an art article but a scientist interview about how having widespread technology without widespread understanding of how it works will lead to a controlled society:
“A Science Icon Died 17 Years Ago. In His Last Interview, He Made A Warning That Gives Me Goosebumps.” http://zite.to/19Hnnk7
“British Library uploads one million public domain images to the net for remix and reuse” http://zite.to/1kGOVLU
Tweek!
110 years ago
I had every intention of having some creative time this week. Although my girls would be home from school — and my mom was arriving late Wednesday — surely I would have some studio time — right? I didn’t factor in keeping the girls entertained or the huge meal I had to prepare. I converted my studio into a guest room and didn’t look back.
Now that my guest is gone — well . . . .all of the Christmas decorations had to go up. Two days. No studio time.
The good news is that the girls go back to school tomorrow and I’m hoping for some studio time.
And sadly, I didn’t get to read much — so I didn’t Tweet much either — all sucked into the time warp that we call Thanksgiving.
My mom is an impressionist oil painter, so from the time I was very young, I’ve been fond of Impressionist work — so I could this article about Imelda Marcos’s assistant interesting:
“Former Imelda Marcos Assistant Convicted in Impressionist Art Fraud” http://hyperallergic.com/94182/former-imelda-marcos-assistant-convicted-in-impressionist-art-fraud/
“Artists Auction Their Facebook Profiles” http://hyperallergic.com/93799/an-auction-of-digital-artists-not-just-the-art/
“Branding Your Art Business” http://www.artbizblog.com/2013/11/branding-for-artists.html
Sadly, there is a German law that will probably keep the original owners of the Nazi stolen work from every retrieving their property:
“Weekend Words: Law” 1938 German law makes return of Nazi stolen works unlikely http://hyperallergic.com/94714/weekend-words-law/
Shipping Demystified
010 years ago
At some point along the way, I started entering exhibitions far away. My quilts have always traveled better than I have. I always have some trepidation when I drop them at a shipper, but I have know that shipping them is the best way to show them to large numbers of people.
At home, I either store my pieces on the wall or rolled up and placed in a pillowcase. At one time, I only wanted to ship my pieces rolled, but not only were round shipping containers hard to find at the time, the shipping charges were MUCH higher. My more conservative nature took over and I learned how to ship my work folded. Even though I quilt my pieces tightly, 1/4″ apart or less, folding them for a couple of days in this way does not cause drastic wrinkles.
This week I was shipping Lincoln and The White Raven to IQF: Houston. I have small boxes for one quilt, but for two, there is a great box at Staples that is 14″ x 14″ x 14″. The depth is too high — but I can cut the sides of the box down to 10″ — and this particular box all ready has crease marks at 10″ — so it’s a very easy adjustment to make and I don’t have to fill the box with extraneous materials to keep the pieces from floating around in a box that is too big.
The goal is to fold the piece into a square that is 14″ x 14″. For Lincoln, I laid it out on the floor and crumpled up some tissue paper on the top.
And then I made my first fold — from the top to the middle. I then put more tissue paper in the middle.
And then made my second fold. This is now just under 14″ wide.
For this piece, I’ll need to make one more fold in the middle so I crumple up more tissue paper in the middle. It doesn’t have to be a lot. The tissue paper gives enough volume that the crease isn’t too small and won’t cause a nasty wrinkle on the top.
And this is what I looks like when it’s done. I then folded my second quilt in the same way so that I had two squares just under 14″. Some shows ask that you place the work inside a pillowcase with your name and other information written on it and then place it in a clear plastic bag. IQF does not want the pillowcase or muslin — they only want your work in a clear plastic bag.
I keep the plastic bags I get back from shows and re-use them, but if you’re just starting out, you can buy XXL Ziploc bags in the grocery store.
I stacked them one on top of the other and folded the remainder of the plastic bag around the work. They fit perfectly into the box.
For any show, I always have an envelope. At the minimum, the envelope should have your name on it. Inside I put an index card with my name and other contact information. For IQF, they also have some paperwork that they want included. Since there are two quilts in this box, I have included two separate envelopes. I tape the tops of the envelopes to the bag.
If I close the box as it is, I would have extra room, so I merely cut down the four corners with some scissors.
Then I fold the sides over and tape them with clear packing tape — once on the top, then the two sides, then across the top again. (By the way, this is exactly how I tape the bottom of the box as well.)
I don’t reuse boxes. They can be reused to be sent home — but I don’t keep them beyond a round trip. It’s the least I can do for the safety of my work.
I have one more piece going to Houston to be in a special exhibit — Firecracker — but I won’t send that one for a few weeks.
I have had Amelia Earhart accepted into the La Conner Quilt Show — so I’ll be shipping that one out soon as well.
And finally, I have Jacks Are Wild and It’s All Relative (which I’m finishing now) to be included in a local show that Rebecca Reasons Edwards and I are curating. Those two will show in It’s All In The Cards at The Art Place in September and at the SEFAA Center in October.
Designing Business Cards for Artists
110 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Marketing
As I’ve mentioned, I have a couple of openings coming up soon, and one of the goals that I listed for this year was to produce new business cards. I had made some a couple of years ago — printed them on my inkjet printer using tear-able sheets — and comparing them to the professional ones that several artists have given me & I’ve saved for posterity — they are truly tear-able / terrible.
With literally a week to go, I needed to come up with something fast. I had been toying with the idea of using a non-standard size. I googled best cards for artists and came up with oodles of original ideas. The biggest take away from that was that one of the easiest ways to make your card stand out was to either make it a different size from a standard card — or make it out of non-standard materials. Knowing the enormous amount of time that could go into making cards out of fabric — like mini Artist Trading Cards — I decided that the mini-moo’s were probably the best way to go with my limited time table.
The mini moo’s are from moo.com — they are half the size of a typical business card (in length). I debated using someone local — but in the end, I was able to design a card using their template in a short amount of time, upload it, and still get them back quickly.
I knew that one side would have my information. I debated adding a QR code — I had actually convinced someone else to use one recently & researched how to make one — but it just didn’t make sense in terms of size on the mini-moo.
The other side would essentially be part of my brand — so I had to think carefully about what I would use. It would stand for my work as a whole — but it had to be small enough to look good on a mini-moo.
In the end, I went with a small closeup shot from a piece I made a few months ago — an eyeball. I am fairly proud of this eyeball — I love the color and it gives you an idea of the depth that I put into my pieces while still being small enough to fit on the card. I did end up trimming the sides with black to even it up with the template and help make the picture pop.
I’ll concede that I also used an eyeball on my last business cards. The majority of my work in the last few years has been portraits so it makes sense to me to use an eyeball. A full portrait would not have stood out on a mini-moo — the eyeball seems just right.
I used rush printing but regular shipping. I was ordering on a Thursday & moo.com printed them on Friday & shipped them out. I received them, surprisingly, on Monday.
The picture is dark — but I expected that. Monitors use the RGB (red green blue) color model — and printers use CMYK (cyan magenta yellow key or black) — and my Photoshop Elements isn’t advanced enough for me to use professional printing standards. I still think it looks fine.
It is also matte. I wanted gloss — but that isn’t available with rush printing. C’est la vie. I still think they look professional.
Notice I used different fonts. I think that mixing fonts can be an effective way to draw the eye. The font for “textile paintings” is more drawn out than the one above it. My name at the top is in bold & in a larger font. The combination draws the eye to the name.
The email address & website are variations on the name so they’re in the same font as the name at the top. The phone number is in the same font as the subtitle “textile paintings” — I think it makes the numbers easier to read.
For a long time, I had “Fiber Artist” as my subtitle — both on my cards and on my website — but I’ve come to see that that is not as accurate a description as I should have. I work in fiber as a medium — and I am an artist — but my pieces have a strong relation to paintings and I think it’s important to acknowledge that. I am often told by people that glance at my pieces that they think that they ARE paintings. “Textile Paintings” describes my work better.