Another Etsy Try…
I started these 2 fabric ACEOs last week and just got around to finishing them this week. I like to work on a lot of projects at once, so that I can bounce around as time and energy permit.
I haven’t offered anything for sale for almost 1 month now and decided to give Etsy, an online craft market, another try. I probably didn’t pick the most convenient time to do this since Etsy just upgraded their site and the bugs are still being worked out. But, I feel better about this decision since I can ask a set price and it doesn’t hurt that the fees are lower than EBay.
I posted a notice on my Ebay About Me page yesterday, directing all my previous customers to Etsy. I wonder if there’s any cross-over or not? While I love bargain hunting as well as anyone else out there, I have to place a higher value on the work that I make, and this includes not allowing my work to be given away. I might not sell as much, but I will be happy to keep some of my items in the event that they do not sell.
I received some really great feedback yesterday from my previous post. Paula Manning-Lewis told a story of how she had a goal one year of collecting 100 rejection letters from art galleries she submitted work to. While initially, that might sound defeating, it really isn’t. She went on to say that she never made it to 100, because, guess what? She received some yes answers to her queries, mixed in with the no’s. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I was telling my SIL, who used to be in sales, the story and she told me that the average is 1 yes for every 10 no’s when approaching businesses. Interesting.
In regards to motivation, another blogger, Anulla wrote about a writing seminar she attended with writer/artist Lynda Barry who advised the attendees to write and doodle without regards to an ulterior motive. Here’s an exerpt, “Finally, Lynda said something like, When kids play, they don’t say “Why am I coloring this picture? I can’t sell it. Why am I telling my dog a story? It’ll never be published. Why are we playing hide & seek? There’s no money in it.’ Kids don’t look for a purpose in playing; you can’t even stop them from playing. Stop thinking about drawing & writing as work and start thinking of them as play. Have fun with it. Don’t look for a purpose. Don’t worry about whether or how to use it. Just do it to do it because it makes you happy.”
Finally, I visited Jessica Torrent’s blog this morning who wrote about art and visualization. Again, I am left with some great ideas to mull over. Is it possible to visualize a path and make it happen?
This is really good stuff…Thanks so much! Meanwhile, my daughter and I are off to see the movie Flushed Away, which ought to be real inspiring too, teehee. Always a sucker for potty humor.
These 2 ACEO are available for sale in my Etsy shop.
Found Art
A Few Months ago, Jafabrit wrote a post about a group called Found Art and I was intrigued. The artist who started Found Art sought a way to heal the world by leaving art in public for others to find that she had made. Read the article here. There are now thousands of artists who have joined the project including me.
I haven’t released any art into the wild yet, though I had intended to do so when I constructed my smallish shrines back in August. Then a few days ago, I posted the first of my shrines and linked back to the original post where I wrote that I would be using these as Found Art. After I posted Jell-O Girl, Janvangogh asked if I intended this to be one of my Found Art objects. However, I’ve formed an attachment to my recent work and decided that instead, I would make mini artist sketch books. This is the first of them…an a accordian style book with 20 useable pages front and back. 3″ x 2″, handmade paper, print, faux jewels and Arches 140# paper. When I was in school, I took a book making class that I loved! I have been meaning to make myself a custom sketch book and it felt good to take out my beautiful papers and book making tools.
Now, I have to decide where it is that I’m going to leave it. Thinking….
Meanwhile, I received some disappointing news, my quilt did not make it into the Kitchen Goddess show. I was a little down, but had to ask myself, what exactly is my motivation for making art? Is it recognition? Money? Happiness? At this point my motivation is the sheer joy that I get out of being creative. I won’t lie to you though, I do get a kick when other people like my work well enough to buy it.
When I first received the news, I wanted to crawl under the covers, but then I re-read the prosepectus and I don’t think my entry quite fit the theme. I am going to go see the show in January to see who I was up against and what kind of work was selected. I did have to remind myself that one of my goals for the next year is to enter more juried shows. This is a start, however, I need to develop thicker skin!
So, this weekend I went to a fine craft shop in Denver and asked for their submission guidelines. I need to do this more often. Fear of rejection might be holding me back!
In the works…3 mini quilted ACEOs and a take out box constructed with fabric! I hope to post photos within the week.
Painting on Fabric Experiment
I haven’t spent much time in my studio the past few weeks for a number of reasons. Today, I decided enough is enough, I must do something creative. I’m afraid, however, that I may have created some more UFOs! I wanted to experiment with paint on fabric with no expectation of a final product, and thought why not today? I have a few textile paints but they’re mostly metallics and pearlescents. So, in addition to those, I decided to use some acrylics as well. My thinking is that artists paint on canvas, so it’s really no different to paint on regular old fabric, right? There may be a color fastness issue, but then again, I don’t really plan on running these pieces through the wash. Actually, come to think of it, most of the acrylic paint that has ever inadvertently made its way onto my clothing, has stayed there through many washings despite my best efforts to remove!
Anyway, I collect a number of everyday items to use in making art inlcuding, styrofoam meat trays, plastic netted fruit bags, aluminum, and basically anything with an interesting texture. I started by cutting out the checkered waffle part of a styrofoam tray and using that to print on the fabric. I used a couple of different colors for this and painted on 2 pieces of fabric, one pink and the other orange. This morning, I had also collected some maple leaves. I painted these a turquoise color and printed these on fabric. I dyed some cheescloth and then arranged some cut bits and pieces on my background fabric.
My first finished piece morphed into an ACEO, probably since I’ve been making these for the past few months and they’re relatively quick to put together. This particular one didn’t photograph very well and is a little busy, but overall, I enjoyed the experiment. Once I took out the paints, my ideas expanded from there. Plus, while one thing was drying, I could work on another piece. I have some larger pieces that I’m also working on right now, in addition to 2 6″ square paintings that I started a month ago.
What have I been up to the past week? I have been considering getting a license to teach and attended an informational session at the University of Colorado for people who have a degree but not in education. I also applied for a substitute teaching license which required getting fingerprinted and submitting to a background check. I’m not quite sure if I want to get licensed to teach art or possibly forgo that all together and get an elementary license. I’ve been talking with a lot of people including teachers and let’s face it, art teaching jobs are few and far between. I have been volunteering at my daughter’s school every week now and I have to say, I have really enjoyed working with all the children.
Meanwhile, thank goodness election day has come and gone. I stood in line for 1 1/2 hours to vote yesterday, my husband was in line for 2 1/2 hours after he got off work. I’m not sure about other states, but Denver, CO tried to go from 300+ voting precincts to 55 “voting centers”. Imagine the log-jam!
Finally, I can share my good news!
Several weeks ago, I recieved an email query from the editor of a new magazine devoted to the art and craft of ACEOs (Art Cards Editions and Originals). She asked if I would like to have my Mini Art Quilted ACEOs included in the premiere Winter issue of ACEO Cards Magazine which will hit newstands in December. Absolutely! Of course I would like some free publicity!
She saw my work on Wet Canvas, an online artist’s forum. The funny thing is that I haven’t posted regularly on WC in awhile, even less so in the ACEO/ATC forum. So, I was pleasantly surprised to have received an invite. I mailed her several images, and am not sure which one/s will be included yet. The editor had posted a call for submissions on WC in the ACEO/ATC forum. So, for other artists who make ACEOs there are submissions guidelines posted on the website for future editions of the magazine if you would like to have your work included.
I finally feel like the time I spend online is starting to pay off. I would be interested if anyone else has had a similar experience.
