My Life as an “Emerging Artist” Pt. 5
Since earlier this year, I ’ve been thinking about participating in local artists markets or fairs. Art fairs can be costly and time-consuming. Most art fairs cost an average of $150-$250 to participate. There also the costs of display equipment, marketing materials and tents. Furthermore most art fairs are 2-3 days long and require an artist to stay at a booth for 8-10 hours each day. While I have been doing research and looking into participating in some local art fairs in 2012, I heard about a local artist market that was a very affordable price and only required four hours of my time on a Friday evening. So I thought that this smaller venue would be a great opportunity for me get my feet wet.
I reserved a booth space near the front entrance in hopes of making a great first impression on the people attending the event. Unfortunately (for me), my booth sat next to a talented jewelry maker and across from a well-known local artist who attracted most of the incoming traffic. While I was able to meet some potential customers and pass out postcards, I did not sale any work. But, I did learn some valuable lessons. Lesson #1-Having a booth in the right space is critical to how much you sale. While it is important to be in a great space, you do not want to be overshadowed by the artists booths that are adjacent to yours. Lesson #2- Bring lots and lots of work to display. Quantity is as equally important as quality. Lesson #3- Make sure you have professional display equipment to exhibit your work on. I still have not made a final decision as to whether or not I will participate in any more art fairs in the future; yet I am glad that I had this experience.
My Life as an “Emerging Artist” Pt. 4
On the 16th of September I attended my first official gallery showing in a group exhibition at the Avisca Gallery in Marietta, GA. IT WAS SO EXCITING! The show was entitled ”Shout” and explored the aspects of gospel music in the United States from a visual perspective. In the picture above I am standing next to one of the pieces I created entitled ” Granddaddys’ Prayer”.
The gallery owner and other exhibiting artists were so gracious and supportive. They gave me wisdom and advice about navigating the “treacherous waters” of the art world. I left the show feeling inspired and invigorated.
My Life as an “Emerging Artist” Pt. 1
When I made the decision to focus on developing my career as a full-time visual artist, I was optimistically naive. I thought “my work is strong, so surely gallery owners and collectors will see my vision and want to display my work”. Wrong! I quickly found out that I fell into the category of being called an “emerging artist” which is basically an artist who is still looking for a core audience of collectors and gallery owners to support their work/ vision.
Once I accepted this “revelation” , I embraced it. I began working on developing a networking system with various artists, learning about the business of being an artist, and taking my artistic skills to the next level. So far, I have become apart of a great social network for artists and collectors, secured a business mentor who is giving me business education 101 and began creating better crafted pieces.
I am more focused and determined to accomplish my goals as a visual artist. From time to time, I’ll update where I am on my journey.
A fun way to encourage visual learning
Over the years I have looked for creative ways to teach art history. As you know any type of history or social studies based lesson can be very boring if it is not presented in an interesting way. Meanwhile, I have created and purchased various art games as a method to encourage my students to pay attention to the basic information about a particular artist. This video is one example of how I am able to achieve this goal.
The Gift of Family
I’ve always been a little different. I guess “eccentric” or “black sheep” are terms that some of my family members might use to refer to me. But that’s okay. I love my family. As I get older I appreciate how blessed I am to have such a supportive, wonderful, crazy, and drama filled family. They do not always agree with my decisions or sometimes “weird” perspectives on life. Yet they accept and love me unconditionally.
Recently, I was blessed to go home and spend a couple of days with some of the core people in my family. Each person is dealing with some major issue or situation; however, they sacrificed their time and money to minister to me. Having been extremely homesick lately, being blessed to go home was the medicine I needed. I am especially thankful to my best friend who is my other sister; she paid for my trip. God is sooo good. Sometimes we focus on things we do not have instead of seeing the blessings we already contain. No matter how crazy or dysfunctional the people in your family may be, be thankful because they are one of the greatest blessings you have.
How can I use what I learn in art, in the real world?
Have you ever taken a class and thought ”Will I really use what I learn in this class in the real world?” This video answers that question for the student who thinks that going to art class is a waste of time. Enjoy.
“You Can Draw”
Over the years, I have had so many people look at my work or discover that I teach art and say, “How did you learn how to draw? I can’t even draw a straight line.” Or they say, “I am terrible at art.” I think anyone who says or believes this notion is misinformed. If you can see and write your name, you can draw. Drawing is simply about seeing. In kindergarten, we learn about the basic geometric shapes; we color and try to draw them. Every thing is composed of simple shapes and lines. When you begin to see things in these terms, then you will be able to draw them. Grab a sheet of paper, pencil and follow the steps in this video. You will see that you can draw.
A Teachers Art Heart
Every since I can remember I have always wanted to have an art related career. When I was in elementary school I wanted to be a book illustrator. In high school I thought I wanted to be a fashion designer. But, by the time I graduated from high school I felt unsure about what my career path should be.
It wasn’t until I entered my first year of undergrad that I learned about Art Education. I thought that sounds like a good major. It involves art and teachers get to take the entire summer off. So, I declared my major and graduated four years later with a B.S. in Art Education. I remember my peers asking me if I was fearful about getting a job and I would always respond with the same nonchalant reply. “I”m not worried, I’ll get a job”. My plan was to teach art for five years and then work full-time as an artist or vocalist. (I was so naive.)
Two months after graduation I was hired as a full-time art teacher for a local elementary school.The first time I walked in the art studio, the students were standing on the tables, yelling and throwing art supplies at each other. I thought “what in the world did I get myself into?” In a short period time I had the art studio cleaned, neatly decorated and the students under control. In the beginning, I enjoyed my job and loved my kids, but things started to change as the years progressed. Before I knew it over 11 years had passed and I found myself feeling burned out. I guess my five year plan was unrealistic.
I was tired of the unneccessary paper work, meetings, disrespectful students and parents, being blamed for the plight of the public school system in America, health issues from stress and on an on and on. So I took a break from teaching in the classroom because I could not give the students the best me. I was totally depleted.
Now, that I have had time to replenish and reflect, I realize that I truly enjoy teaching art minus all the other stuff that comes along with being a teacher in a public school classroom. Thus, I am going to begin sharing art info and ideas on my blog. From time to time I will share a short art video. While this is not exactly the same as teaching in the classroom, it will be a great outlet for me. I hope you all enjoy the videos.
Hello world!
WOW! This is exciting and a little scary at the same time. But, I love new adventures, so let’s get started.
