View Full Version : Artist's Circle
I've been kind of blown away by all the artists on the boards from the Winter Arts thread. I didn't realize there were so many artists here! I thought it'd be cool to have a thread where everyone can share their art, share their story and and have a sense of community. I would love to see eveyone's work!
I've always loved the arts and used to feel that art was something other people did - talented people, not ordinary people like me. But now I understand that we are all artists and that art can be found in almost everything and everywhere. I love painting, gardening, drawing, photography and someday I'd like to play the guitar. I'm very much a beginner in the arts and don't have much to share. But I'm going to see if I can attach a picture of my garden.
I also feel that living an intentional life is a creative act.
How about you?
As an Adult-onset Artist I really feel like I'm playing catchup, trying to learn what I should have learned all along had I known I was supposed to be an artist. My favorite medium is metals but have been playing a lot with fibers of all kinds and mixing them with metals to create small scale interactive art installations.
When I finally realized I needed to feed the artist in me I jumped whole-heartedly into anything art/craft related. A friend mentioned the Artist's Way and I signed up originally thinking it was just going to be some artists talking about art and well maybe I'd pick up a thing or two. Anyone who has completed the book will know that was a very naive thought and I got so much more from the class than I ever dreamed possible:)
Photos of my first victory in moving from small scale pieces to a fully interactive small scale art:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Metamorph-Us-Butterfly-Garden/90335642088
Since this project was going to take a long time to construct, I created the page as a personal check-in to ensure I was continuing to make progress
and stay on schedule. If I hadn't posted in a couple of days I had to reflect on why not. I'll start a new page for my new project when
the goal has been solidified. The almost daily 'check-in' posting of my progress & misadventures was a great help.
I no longer post on the page because the project is completed, but you can see photos and read about the project.
Your comment about living an intentional life is a creative act is a very apt for this board. It takes a huge amount of creativity to keep the balance between work, family, self, etc and not be dragged too far from that balance.
Looking forward to seeing what others have been creating =)
Dhiana
My husband started out in music and recording engineering and fell into glassblowing. He still plays music but glass is his life.
I started in 2D art (watercolor) and moved into 3D after marrying him. I started on a torch making beads and jewelry in the early 90's. Took a break when I had babies and then didn't get back on the torch when I realized there were way too many bead makers in the current market and I was way too busy running the husband's business.
We've taken a break the last year. We went from being in about 200 galleries and american craft stores to having a lot of stores close/bankrupt/owe us money. Glass at artshows also declined in sales over the last few years and expenses of the shows really increased (travel/boothfees, etc). We're still in break mode but selling from our backstock. Looking forward to getting our tanks turned back on and busy again when the market improves a bit. We'll be changing our wholesale line - we're kind of tired of making 1200 elephant sculptures a year and 3000 bear sculptures (though we'll keep doing those for our Alaska accounts) - DH wants to focus more on his blown work and less on the solid sculptures (they take a lot of glass).
Currently my artistic endevors involves taking bowls or vases that he has make and breaking them and refusing the pieces. Have some plans for some higher end jewelry once I learn a few other techniques but for now just making simple pendants. I also knit, crochet (two new things I just picked up last year), and sew.
Dhiana - what a cool project! I want to sit in it too! I have to run right now, but I'm going to pm you later about the Artist's Way class.
Float On - can you post pics of your pendants? I'd love to see them. I saw your bowl - it's beautiful.
It's great reading about other artist's stories! Mine is a roundabout one, too.
I always loved art, and natural history too, so being very sensible I majored in Biology in college with a minor in fine arts. 25 years of practical biology followed, having and raising children, when my only artistic outlet was decorating birthday cakes. But the little ones did grow up into wonderful adults and finally I was able to get back to art. I painted some, did a lot of drawing and ended up taking some courses in ceramics that turned me into a potter. I was able to fix up a studio in the basement and made my living selling the pots at art fairs for over 30 years. A couple of years ago I got a commission to make the funeral urn for a decorated WW2 vet who was to be buried in Arlington. I made it, the family was pleased, and now my pot contains a hero's ashes and will be in Arlington Cemetery for as long as the USA lasts.
The was the crown of my career as a potter, and shortly after that I sat down at the wheel one day and thought, "I think I'm done here!" I sold or gave away most of the pottery gear and supplies and never looked back! It was a wonderful change to work upstairs in the sunlight and get back to doing 2D art, mainly etching and block printing. Last summer I did 8 Midwest art fairs with the prints and won 4 awards, including a Best in Show, which is far better than I ever did with the pottery! It's been SO gratifying to reinvent myself at age 77, but who's counting?
I'm currently getting paintings and prints ready for the 2 art fairs I do on the Florida Keys in February. A shipment of metal sectional frames just arrived this afternoon, so I will be busy framing up the matted works for the next week or so.
Life is beautiful!
Tweety, we use to spend about 10 weeks in FL doing shows from Mid-Jan to March. Earlier this week when the wind was blowing and cold I was wishing I was down there. We had friends in Englewood we could hang out with during the week and then make weekend runs to Tampa, Bonita Springs, Naples, Sarasota, and others. In your state we usually do Broadripple and Penrod (Indianapolis). We don't have any shows within 5 hours of our house (other than Kansas City). St Louis was always our 'starting point' to get to anywhere. 360,000 miles on the truck - all show related.
Watergoddess - I'll add a photo to the album.
Float On, isn't it great how many friends you make at art fairs? I will stop with 2 different art fair friends on my way down to the Keys, and hit some family on the way back. In the summer I am a stopover point for the FL friends when they do fairs up here. The only Indy show I do is Talbot St. I thought of applying to Broad Ripple this year but chose one in MI instead. They are all getting SO expensive, my bank account took a huge hit this month when I sent off 5 applications! Congratulations on your truck's mileage...my Ford Focus wagon "only" has 120,000. I don't like to travel more than 150 miles from home for a show, with the exception of FL in Feb. and Cape Cod in August, and those destinations are as much for the fun of it as for business.
Simplemind
1-7-12, 12:41am
I've been inspired...... I start a watercolor class next week. I always found it difficult and I want to stretch myself and try something outside my comfort zone. I'll keep you posted.
There are a lot of artists here, aren't there?
The artist workshop to which I belong has the most beautiful large upstairs space in an old factory. It has been a treasure to visit for classes, open sessions and simply a place to meet and make like-minded friends. When life got too busy last year (2011), I simply had to stop going in but it is one of my 2012 resolutions to get back to my art, finish some of the graphite projects and explore some new ones. Graphites seem to let me have my drawing, shaping, sculpting and colouring with shades of grey that I find very peaceful and demanding at the same time.
Tweety - Yes, all our best friends are art friends. We are quite a breed unto ourselves. We did Talbot one year (maybe 4 years ago) and didn't have great sales (seemed like the huge crowds of people were in a hurry to walk down the street and back up). BroadRipple is a great show - one of our favorites. If you ever do it ask to be in the field (1st choice) or parking lot (2nd choice). The grove gets much less traffic. I love the MI shows too Krasl in St Joe is my favorite. It's it crazy how expensive they've all gotten since Zapplication came along? I wish we had good shows within a few hours drive. I've been after DH to move further east but he isn't interested in packing up the glass studio.
razz - I recently picked up some new graphites to give it a try again, it's been probably 25 years since I last used them in a college class. I'd also like to give pastels a try again. I've been stalking a few websites/blogs of pastel artist that I've met at art shows. I love the vibrantcolor and the hands on approach.
Enjoy your class Simplemind and keep us posted.
I've been meaning to join a nearby arts center for years. Maybe this year I'll do it. They have a large workspace and set up still life displays as well as providing human models. Their main focus is fine arts, which really isn't mine, but there is also a regional polymer clay group available to help fill in the blanks.
You can see my work via my website: www.inkhatchings.com (http://www.inkhatchings.com)
I am a juried pen and ink artist living in NH and showing in galleries and venues in both NH and MA . I have a BA in art with a focus on illustration.
You can see my work via my website: www.inkhatchings.com (http://www.inkhatchings.com)
I am a juried pen and ink artist living in NH and showing in galleries and venues in both NH and MA . I have a BA in art with a focus on illustration.
Stacy, your work is beautiful!
I love and have doing tried pen and ink several times using Claudia Nice's instruction books but I need to develop more patience because each line is important.
Great thread, hopefully I'll have time to keep up with it!
I do digital photography and art, graphic design, colored pencil, and beaded jewelry. The last two have been impacted by the arthritis is my hands, but hopefully things will get better. Everything got interrupted when my mother was ill, and things have been crazy ever since, unfortunately, but I'm trying to get back on track.
Helen
cow-hi
My Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/fireandmoonlight
My photos and digital patterns/textures: http://helenkpassey.zenfolio.com/
General portfolio: http://hkpassey.designbinder.com/
This is so much fun! I love seeing everyone's beautiful artwork and reading your stories. I tried to attach a pic of my garden (my most creative endeavor so far) but was unable to. Patience is not my virtue. I'll try again one of these days.
Stacy, your work is beautiful!
I love and have doing tried pen and ink several times using Claudia Nice's instruction books but I need to develop more patience because each line is important.
Razz,I learned a lot from Claudia Nice in regards to basic pen care and technique. I also am a Rapidgraph artist so her lessons were a great launching point for me. I believe she has some tutorials that are available online as well now. I must stay that taking your time is vital and I often take up 3-5 weeks to complete one drawing (depending on the details and size of the work).
I'm currently working on building my portfolio for a four person pen and ink show in Massachuessets to be held in October and November of this year. So lots of new works to produce, matt and frame.
It's great to see so many amazing artists here!
AND amazing websites to support your visions.
Stella & Helen:
Did you hire someone to create the website for you?
Or did you do it yourself? If so, how?
I have a website from when I created jewelry that I did through iWeb on my Mac but it really isn't a good fit for what I want to do with it.
Helen - Etsy was a great venue for me when I made jewelry, you have made some very beautiful pieces and have great photos of your work. That was the hardest part for me, trying to get good photos!
Dhiana
Nice article with a nice list of books to help spark creativity...
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/01/03/the-best-books-to-spark-your-creativity/
[QUOTE=Dhiana;61451]It's great to see so many amazing artists here!
AND amazing websites to support your visions.
Stella & Helen:
Did you hire someone to create the website for you?
I know this wasn't directed at me but my husband designs artist and small business websites on the side. www.gregsearle.com (http://www.gregsearle.com)
My husband was against having a website for the longest time. I finally set one up a few years ago on Weebly.com and it is really easy to use and mostly free. I pay for our domain name through them every couple of years. http://www.kennethmarineglass.com/index.html I've got an Etsy page but it's not active right now. We also have a fan page on Facebook which I've actually made more money off of than Etsy.
It's great to see so many amazing artists here!
AND amazing websites to support your visions.
Stella & Helen:
Did you hire someone to create the website for you?
Or did you do it yourself? If so, how?
I have a website from when I created jewelry that I did through iWeb on my Mac but it really isn't a good fit for what I want to do with it.
Helen - Etsy was a great venue for me when I made jewelry, you have made some very beautiful pieces and have great photos of your work. That was the hardest part for me, trying to get good photos!
Dhiana
Oh, I hear you about struggling for good photos! I'm pretty good with vision and composition and all, but still a dodo when it comes to actually operating my camera in a thoughtful manner. My new place does have a very nice north window where I can take pretty good natural light shots when the weather cooperates. Oh, right... Seattle in winter. Good luck with that. ;)
I'm afraid I cheated on the websites. The Zenfolio site is one where you simply sign up for a gallery and can sell your work through it. It's free for a basic gallery to sell print-on-demand, and you have quite a lot of options for layout. I pay about $8 a month so that I can also sell digital downloads (of which none have happened so far). I may use it as the download site for my planned second Etsy shop, which will feature digital scrapbooking and crafts products. The designbinder.com portfolio is a template site that comes as a free perk with my $24 annual premium membership on DeviantArt. You can set up a number of separate portfolios, each with four galleries of up to 18 works. The layout options are fairly limited, but I've been satisfied with them as a place to easily display some of my different kinds of work separately.
!Splat!
As an Adult-onset Artist ...
Photos of my first victory in moving from small scale pieces to a fully interactive small scale art:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Metamorph-Us-Butterfly-Garden/90335642088
Looking forward to seeing what others have been creating =)
Dhiana
Love it: adult-onset artist. At least you skipped the "that weird kid who's always drawing on things" stage. lol.
I just "liked" your facebook page from my facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Helen-K-Passey/181091045277595). I used to be a knit/crochet pattern designer back in the 80s (Leisure Arts even established an online library of discontinued designs in part because of demand for my signature afghan), and I'm still fascinated by fibers. I was thinking at one point of doing jewelry work combining freshwater pearls and crystals with wire crochet, but the problems with my hand are making that difficult at the moment. I gave away all my yarn years ago, then got interested in what I call "chaos knitting" (and crochet), so I keep buying interesting yarns at the thrift store. The idea is that you knit/crochet small units of various yarns, shapes and sizes, then assemble them into your final pattern. I've been fascinated with what some artists are doing with larger-scale sculptural art with wire and fibers like your project, so, you go!
Then there was my polymer clay phase that never got off the ground (hand problems plus chemical sensitivity), so I gave it all away in a New Year's purge of the storage unit.
Helen
cow-hi
My husband was against having a website for the longest time. I finally set one up a few years ago on Weebly.com and it is really easy to use and mostly free. I pay for our domain name through them every couple of years. http://www.kennethmarineglass.com/index.html I've got an Etsy page but it's not active right now. We also have a fan page on Facebook which I've actually made more money off of than Etsy.
I'm such a sucker for glass art. If I were ever to collect expensive things (yeah, right), it would be glass and ceramics. Your/your husband's work is fantastic. I (briefly) considered doing shows and fairs, but did one test of a one-day show and it was so hard on me physically that it was obvious that wasn't going to be an option for me. Haven't sold anything on Etsy yet, but I'm sure that's at least partly because I haven't gotten any marketing going as yet. I spend far too much of my time dealing with the financial fallout of losing my job three years ago... the gift that keeps on giving. (Yup, rest of today is reserved for another collection agency situation.) Sigh.
I've been meaning to join a nearby arts center for years. Maybe this year I'll do it. They have a large workspace and set up still life displays as well as providing human models. Their main focus is fine arts, which really isn't mine, but there is also a regional polymer clay group available to help fill in the blanks.
Hi Jane - Art world has changed so much with computers. The ability to completely skip the need for galleries and sell through places such as etsy, eBay or our own websites has brought so many different mediums into the mainstream it seems to show a new definition of 'fine art.'
From the crocheted Hyperbolic Coral Reef Project:
http://crochetcoralreef.org/exhibitions/art_center.php
to Banksy's street art that brings in thousands of dollars.
I wonder if the arts center would take suggestions of future classes from you or other potential customers? Maybe they simply need a teacher for that medium to hold a class?
Hope you are able to find what you are looking to do,
Dhiana
Thank you so much to everyone for all the great information about their websites. I have a lot work ahead of me to put together to good web presence.
There are a lot of great things about being out on the web but at the same time all that social marketing takes away from time I'd prefer to be creating art :)
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