Posts Tagged “alyson stanfield”

Art Biz Coach, Alyson Stanfield, just released a short, but powerful video of affirmations as a tool for artists and craftspeople to use to respond to today’s belt tightening economic climate.  This is an uncertain time period financially and politically that has the potential to play with artist’s psyches in crazy ways and affect pocket books. The video includes a variety of art work in different media and I’m humbled that Alyson asked if she could include an image of a set of my nesting bowls in the video.

When times become difficult, it’s a natural instinct to batten down the hatches and abandon seemingly frivolous pursuits to get a “real job” that offers a steady predictable paycheck.  In my opinion, that is counterintuitive to living a fulfilling life and I think that if what you do is your calling - whether it’s pottery, painting, metal smithing, printmaking, photography - or even accounting, car mechanics, cooking, teaching -  now is the time to make a deeper commitment to yourself and your art (and I write that with respect to all professions - there’s an art to everything). I am not discounting being able to pay your bills, visit a doctor, being able to put food on the table and a roof over your head either; but letting the squirrels run amok in your brain is not the answer.

Rather, now is the time to get inventive to satisfy all needs and wants! I know it’s worth it because I spent 15 years too long in a 17 year career with an airline that strip mined my soul and made me miserable  - all for a steady paycheck and benefits.  The more senior members at the airline called it “the job with the golden handcuffs.”  Ouch.   I have committed myself to my chosen path and I’m so much happier - just ask my family.  My solution to the economic times is to evaluate my market, find ways to save money on supplies, tools and equipment, economize kiln firings, making smaller less expensive work in addition to more experimental work, looking at advertising & marketing message, and even trying to make my work better while not compromising my path or values.

It can be tricky to accomplish, but not impossible.  In some ways, my husband, daughter and I have already accomplished the tough work to weather leaner economic times years ago when I left my job after the events of 9-11.  We’re now planning for the moment when he will voluntarily leave his job to do something else.  It’s exciting and full of endless possibilities.

Another one of my favorite blogs is written by musician and public motivational speaker, Christine Kane - check out this post on whether it’s time to shrink or expand for a bit of inspiration and whose message goes hand in hand with Alyson’s affirmations.

Visit Alyson Stanfield’s website for information on workshops and subscribe to her blog for great tips and information about the business of art, a topic about which artists often learn the hard way.

Meanwhile, I’ll be spending the day glazing work for the Colorado Potters Guild Fall Sale and Show that opens on Thursday evening. I fired my last bisque load yesterday and think that I’m going to glaze everything just in time.

~Cynthia

P.S. It’s come to my attention that a few emails sent to my address sometimes bounce and is returned to the sender as undeliverable. I think I’ve taken care of the problem now, but if you receive a similar message, I can be reached at cynthiaguajardo at gmail.com (substitute @ for at)

Tags: alyson stanfield, artist affirmations, christine kane, colorado potters guild fall sale

Last week, Alyson had a short blurb on her blog about updating photos of oneself in action in the studio to add to websites or other marketing materials. I personally enjoy seeing photos of other artist’s at work and of their studios and know that this has been on my to do list for quite some time. My current photo was taken in 2002 while I was still a student at USM - and was taken by a fellow student and photography major, Lisa Emery (a quick search on the web revealed no website or other info). I loved the sepia tones of the image, but it might be time to upload a new one. So yesterday, I enlisted the help of my daughter to snap a few photos of me working on the wheel. So where do you come in? If you have time, please take a look at the photo on my “about” page to see the sepia toned one and the three photos below, and then vote for your favorite. I can tell you that I’m leaning towards the b&w because the background is very busy - but, I’m interested in a general consensus.

Black and white image

Working on pot in color

Looking up from work in color

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Meanwhile, I encourage you to visit AKAR to view the Yunomi Invitational Show and Sale. I tried yesterday when it opened and there were so many people visiting the site that there server crashed. I was a little disappointed today, that many of pieces from my favorite artists have already been sold - especially Cathi Jefferson’s work. I should have been more persistent. Don’t know what a yunomi is? It’s basically a teacup that is taller than wide with a foot - whereas, a tea bowl is wider than tall. There is even some work from some of my favorite ceramic bloggers in the show!

Have a great weekend,

~Cynthia

Tags: action studio photographs, akar, alyson stanfield, yunomi invitational

I spent most of yesterday in the studio and was pretty productive which felt great. So now you might be wondering where I’m going with this post given the title? Slowly, I’ve started adding inventory to my wholesalecrafts.com artist page, and was pleasantly surprised yesterday to receive an inquiry about my work from an upscale gift shop. My page on wholesalecrafts.com went live on March 13th - and I’m curious how long it might take to get a sale. The owner wanted to know if some of my pieces came in larger sizes - so my quest right now is to make a larger sized pasta type bowl, similar to the one above without excessive warping. It feels good to have a challenge & mission.

Speaking of wholesalecrafts.com, it is not free. It cost $395.00 for a year for artists to join, and is free for screened buyers. I figure a year’s time will be a good indicator whether it is a good avenue for my work. I do a few art fairs every year, and they are exhausting (and not exactly cheap either) - so if wholesalecrafts.com can bring buyers to me, it will mean less art fairs, though I do enjoy connecting with people in person who eventually take my work home.

When I finally came inside the house from the studio, it was almost 5:30 and I decided to take a bath - not something I do very often. It’s self indulgent and I don’t normally feel like I can afford to spend an hour soaking in the tub. Since it was Saturday night, I gave myself permission to pamper myself a bit and headed upstairs with an icy cold margarita and my copy of I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The artist’s no excuse guide to self promotion by Alyson B. Stanfield. I received it over a month ago, and it’s been sitting unread on my night stand since I can’t seem to keep my eyes open once my head hits the pillow. I started reading chapter 13, “Share, Don’t Sell” on building a mailing list. I took one of Alyson’s classes almost a year ago today, and I still don’t have an organized email mailing list - though I certainly have collected addresses. The good thing about Alyson’s book, is that you don’t need to read the book in order. You can jump around and find the information that you need - and there’s a ton of great information packed inside those pages.

Venus of Willendorf, circa 24,000 - 22,000 BCE

Meanwhile, I glanced down at my body while I was in the bath, and realized that I haven’t been taking care of myself lately. Naked, my body resembles the Venus of Willendorf. Okay, it’s really not that bad and water does serve as a magnifying glass. But, it reminded me that as artists, we really need to take care of ourselves. Art takes a lot of energy - both mental and physical, especially ceramics. I’ve gained a little weight over the winter. I think it’s had something to do with the fact that I couldn’t exercise like I would have liked since I suffered through a 5 week long chest cold that resulted in bouts of coughing if I did anything more strenuous than walking up a flight of stairs.

My running season is right around the corner - Denver Fit starts up on April 12th this year and I think I’m going to sign up for the full marathon this year, instead of just the half. Glutton for punishment? Most definitely. My husband once joked that he was going to buy me some Focus Factor since sometimes I seem to be all over the place. I think in tangents. In reality, running causes me to focus. I just realized that’s what I’m missing right now and why everythingl seems a bit off for me right now (and why I’ve put on a little weight). Remember my last post? Deepak Chopra also mentioned that exercise has the same effect as drugs when it comes to feeling happier.

So, what’s my point? Take care of yourself - your body, mind and career. If you don’t who will?

~Cynthia

Tags: alyson stanfield, denver fit, focus factor, i'd rather be in the studio, venus of willendorf, wholesalecrafts.com