Sometimes Life seems to stack the deck against success.
Improvising on an art plan that did not work out. Much to the disappointment of the 7 year olds and myself.
Trying to stimulate some creative writing in 12 year olds who only see writing as a chore and the concept of organizing thoughts as stupid.
Some days I find it quite difficult when faced with set backs. Especially when I am doing my best to help stimulate the creative process in others.
I have been thinking about what I will do first when it finally gets warm enough for me to be out in my unheated studio space.
Photography will probably be it. I recently asked a professional photographer about how I should take pictures of my art skulls. And his advice was to just try different things. different lighting, different set ups, different cameras, different exposures... And take notes. figure out what works best so that it becomes second nature to get the right set up every time I want to take a shot of a piece I have done.
I admit I am one of those people that always resented the process of learning. Practicing clarinet, practicing hand writing, practicing throwing, kicking... I just hold some tiny hope that one day I will try something and I will be perfect at it. I won't need to figure out why or how or go through the process of getting better.
It is difficult to excite others to the process of practice and improvement when I resent it too.
So i find myself opting for those processes where control and perfection are not part of the final product. Haphazard or maybe serendipitous would be a better word.
I have had the opportunity to watch some folks I know wade ever deeper into the business of creativity.
One friend, Lizzie Newell is a writer. She explores a world with its own sexual and environmental situations. But in addition to the pure writing there is the whole editing and marketing process.
She is blessed with the talent to design book covers for herself and a few others, but the effort she takes to understand self publishing, because her stories do not fit into a neatly defined mass market box that publishers push on unsuspecting readers is amazing. There are places for independent sellers and small scale publishers to get their product made and on the shelves, but it takes a lot of hustle.
Other friends have opened businesses as the outlet for their creative endeavors. Happily Carol at the Screaming Weasel in North Pole has recruited other artists (including me) to sustain and diversify her inventory.
I have also seen the efforts of other artists who network continually to get shows and their name out to galleries and businesses to hang their work for first Friday art walks or in pop up shops. or marketing through Facebook groups, Etsy, Ebay, Craig's list, and their own websites.
I find myself wondering if I would ever really have the energy and drive it takes to follow any similar paths. Because as many hours as they spend marketing their work they still find time to create new works for the public to enjoy and desire and buy.
And more than anything I would need the confidence in what I produce to market at the intensity that I would need to to make it pay me.
The first rule of dumpster diving is try to avoid it if you can.
If you see something out on the curb or in the back alley that is going to be thrown out you can either just take it or politely let the former owner know that you restore furniture, create art from found objects, have a specific purpose in taking the object if they are ok with that.
If you happen upon a house being renovated ask what they are going to do with any of the materials they remove. Things like older counter tops and cupboards may still be usable for you. Wood scraps can also be a great resource. The more you can take away the less haulage fees the home owner will have to cover.
If you actually see something in a dumpster that you really want you might also let the owners know. You should also make every effort to remove things without actually climbing inside. Sticks, rakes, something that will let you hook onto an object and draw it towards your arm's reach. And remember all that glitters is not gold. Wear gloves and old clothes to protect yourself from the icky things like wet food scraps, bodily fluids, dog or horse droppings...
Today I drove through some amazing scenery. Snow capped peaks, glacier fed rivers, wildlife in all its glory and dotted here and there were houses.
Some of them were quaint cottage size cabins, others full blown mcmansions, rambling ranch styles nestled by old time A frames. And I though about how the home was so secondary to what it would be like living in these settings. Some of them were pretty remote or at least back on roads that would not be fun to drive daily in the middle of winter. But OH my! The view from the window/deck/balcony was amazing!
So if I found myself living in such a place I know there are some things that would have to be in place first.
1. No job. Like I said those roads would suck after a storm
2. Capacity to hold a month's worth of food and supplies so I could enjoy each day without thinking about milk, eggs and waiting in line anywhere.
3. Art supplies and electricity. I want to be able to let the inspiration take me in any direction. fabric, paint, carving, glass, metal, clay...
4. Space to work and seclusion. If my place was right on the road there would be a constant stream of noise and lost travelers. If my lot was too small any neighbors might complain about me running an angle grinder at 2 am.
So do I expect to ever find myself in one of these perfect settings? Of course not, but I can bring some of these ideas to where I do live. and it may not quite as spectacular but it is pretty damned nice.
I was in interesting discussion the other day about education. It started by talking about the way budget cuts are affecting education and what the future will bring. They are dividing the majors our state university system offers to different regional branches. so if I want a degree in English I might have to go somewhere different than if I wanted to get a degree in engineering.
Rather short sighted as students in this state can go out of state for the same tuition and it is probably more to their benefit to get their degree from a bigger school that is equally distant from home but has a better cost of living.
Distance education might be more prevalent in the future with more on-line classes making up for the lack of specific local opportunities. But as someone pointed out (a school teacher) there is a huge difference between what you learn in a static environment (IE: books and computer screens) compared to a dynamic environment with living people who can respond to questions and guide through touch and praise in a public forum.
And as I thought about it I thought about some of my most effective learning experiences. They were not merely visual or even auditory experiences. there was touch and smell. the feel of a pencil the scent of the teachers perfume, the sound of a pencil being sharpened. These things all become part of that learning. They enrich the experience and enhance the information being learned.
When my dear friend Sue taught me about marbling fabric there was so much more to the experience than learning what to mix and when to do this and that. There was getting splashed by the hose as I rinsed out the tray, the sound of birds and the breeze on the back porch were we worked. The creaky stairs to the basement where the washing machine lurked. Petting cats and fun conversation about her life and mine. All of it made the experience way more than just the information about how to do something.
The class room experience for students is not even just about socialization, its about cheerful bulletin boards, the smell of red geraniums, the scent of a cup of tea cooling on the teacher's desk, the sound of pencils on paper or even the clicking of 20 computer keyboards.
Many times when I am recalling information I learned even very long ago I recall more than just the fact, I recall the setting in which I learned it. The third grade classroom where I learned my times tables is the wrapper that surrounds the act of multiplication for me.
How-to videos and distance learning have a place in the education process but there is so much more to school than just the information.
(Thank you Sue, RIP)
Finding people who like what you like or do what you do can be difficult if you get too narrow in your focus. Some of you maybe asking why you should care about the support of other people doing similar things in your area. There are a myriad of reasons.
Competition: if you are showing or selling your work it is good to know you else is competing for the attention and the money.
Cooperation: you can share tips about where to find supplies, how to market and how to avoid having side by side booths at the county fair.
Support: its good to know other people have the same thought processes and they may have experienced many of the same hurdles you have.
Introduction: you can share information about other people in you local crafting community.
So how do you find these like minded people?
Networking.
Be social when you are at vendor venues. Talk to the customers, but also the other vendors. When you are not a vendor at a venue go and look around and introduce yourself. Almost everybody appreciates making more connections to people.
Have a card. Having business cards (even if you are not a business) means people can invite you to events you do not hear about through the usual channels. Hand them out and make sure you have an email address that people can use. if you have a webpage or FB page let people know. You do not need to have a physical/mailing address or phone number on the card. But and image and a few words that describe what you do is a great idea.
Pick up cards too. This gives you a way to start looking at how other artists are marketing themselves. Maybe this can lead to a discussion or the discovery of a class about marketing for the artist.
Have an on-line presence. You do not need an extravagant webpage to grab people's attention and Facebook is only one facet you should consider when developing your on-line space. Be careful though not to let the on-line pages become your focus instead of your art. Static pages that are rather like a super version of your business card but that do not need constant updating, unless you want to add to your gallery is a good plan. Make sure your business card and your fb page direct people to you webpage as well. On-line markets are also important to connect to all your other on-line media.
Go to events. The more you are seen the more you are known. Marketing at local craft bazaars and shops works great when possible buyers can meet the artist. Gallery walks and such get you known in your own communities.
We should not be afraid to make connections. We should not fear that what we do will lose the mystery or the magic because we are in touch with our communities. Reach out and find more reasons to make connections.
When you think about it I bet most of us picture an artist as a rather solitary figure alone in a room with their muse and maybe a model.
There are a few exceptions. When I think of "schools" of art, I think of places where there is learning and demonstration and a social aspect to creation. There are also street artists who paint, draw... in the public eye, interacting at some level with the world as is it.
But being in a room filled with the busy hustle of people creating and interacting and talking about what they are creating and why is not a typical "art" scene.
I just spent a weekend with quilters. Many of them are more about pattern assembly, but others (myself included) choose different paths. Using fabric and thread to bring visions we have to life.
While I enjoy the contemplative solitude sometimes for my creative time, I love having the occasional rooms full of excited and creative people hard at work all around me. The energy pushes me to do more than I would alone.
