ArtSpirit7

Three Tips for Emerging Artists

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I was sitting about four feet from Oakland-based artist, Ines Kramer, as she spoke to group of artists preparing to become more visible in the art world. Her short dark hair and features reminded me of a younger Billie Jean King, the tennis pioneer.

Kramer had a calm confidence about her as she expressed her passion for art. She said wants to be like Henri Matisse (1869-1954) who painted to his last days and continued to create though he was bedridden in his final years.

It was more than a decade ago when Kramer had a job that ended and she then found herself able to produce enough income from her art to cover her monthly expenses. So she kept going. Gained more recognition. And kept going.

Among the wisdom she shared are some tips for an emerging artist:

1. If you’re looking for art galleries to sell your work, pick places you like and check them out first. Walk in and see how you are treated when you walk in. Are you treated with courtesy? And be up front with the gallery, don’t act like a customer if you are an artist. Don’t interrupt the art gallery personnel if they are in the middle of a sale.

2. Don’t jump at the first chance to show your work. First produce a few bodies of work to see who you are before you have the pressure to sell.

3. Find or form your own regular critiquing group. Ween yourself off of the automatic support system provided by school’s structure and classroom environment. Kramer has consistently been in critiquing groups since she left school.

Coincidentally, Kramer studied art at one of my favorite places, the Art Students League in New York. You can see her work at www.ineskramer.com. She definitely exudes the Art Spirit!

Where Do Opals Come From?

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Yesterday I was scanning a feed I get from allbusiness.com and “Create a Memorable Customer Experience by Telling a Story,” by Glenn Ross, caught my eye. In this article Ross shares how he used to manage a mass market retail jewelry store. When customers would ask where opals came from he told an entertaining story about how the Universe was created instead of going into the factual contents of opals. Ross ended the article saying many purchases are based on emotion, not logic.

Best selling author and business blogger Seth Godin emphasizes the power of storytelling in his book “All Marketers are Liars, The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World.” But he says marketers also have responsibilities within these stories that include being true, to make a promise and follow through.

The opals story is another in a series of many that emphasize that storytelling is an important part of not just marketing, but any kind of human interaction.

In “7 Best Pieces of Advice for People Who Want to Move Past a Rotten Childhood,” Tracy McMillan’s (a television and film writer who recently wrote for the Emmy Award winning series Mad Men) first suggestion is to get a new story.

Is it time to rewrite your story?

4 Tips for Creating Your Own Cookbook

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Do you have a collection of recipes you’d like to make into a book? Yesterday I participated in a webinar: How to Create a Great Looking Cookbook with Blurb, sponsored by Blurb.com – a terrific website that offers many solutions to publishing your work. The webinar was hosted by Samantha Howe, who stepped us through the process of creating a cookbook on-line. Here’s four tips I garnered from the presentation:

1) If you don’t already have your own images, is to use Getty Images for royalty-free pictures.

2) Blurb.com offers software called Booksmart you can download to create your book. With this software you don’t have to worry about custom-fitting the text since the software will flow text for you.

3) There’s several book formats to choose from including 8” x 8”, standard landscape or standard portrait. Howe suggests using the standard portrait hardcover since cookbooks fare better in the kitchen if they are hardcover.

4) Check out these food blogs for more ideas:

laraferroni.com
smittenkitchen.com
orangette.blogspot.com
mattbites.com

And for inspiration with food photography: ryanmatthewsmith.com

May you find comfort in your favorite foods!

What Defines a “Real Artist”?

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True artistry is not about paint brushes and canvas says author and business blogger Seth Godin in his best-selling book, Linchpin. “You can be an artist who works with oil paints or marble, sure. But there are artists who work with numbers, business models, and customer conversations. Art is about intent and communication, not substances.”

Godin continues “An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo. And an artist takes it personally.”

In Linchpin, Godin explains one of his key concepts about a true artist’s consciousness: “Art is a personal gift that changes the recipient.”

A cook is not an artist. A chef who creates a new type of dish is an artist.

In what ways are you an artist?