Studio News

Well, I can finally see my dining room floor.... because I have a studio! Well, ok so my actual studio is still being built but in the same complex I am now moved into a temporary studio until mine actual one is finished. My studio is at NGB Studios on Cataraqui Street. It's definitely not fancy, but it's full of character, lots of other artists and it's my own space. I haven't fully made me it my own yet as I am reserving that effort for my permanent space (although resisting that urge is hard), but I'm working out the kinks and it feels good.

I'm going to try and be there for Thursdays and Fridays during the day for the next little while, so please feel free to drop in and check it out. Come in the front door right on Cataraqui Street - the somewhat scary looking green door up the 3 stairs and look for the sign straight ahead that says 'Recycling Depot' - how perfect is that for a beach glass artist eh? Not my idea, was there before I moved in.

Now I'm just one of those artists with a studio, but not enough time to spend in it. In fact, I'm going to keep this short so I can head to the studio right after this. See you at the studio!

You have to want to win

As I write this blog I have to fight back a little tear (ok that may be a little exaggerated). You see, it's about my Detroit Red Wings and the Stanley Cup. For those of you that watched the game last night you know what I'm talking about, for those of you that didn't, don't worry, this entry isn't really about hockey.

As I watched Detroit last night, from the very beginning I saw, or didn't see actually something different. In game 1 and 2 of this serious Detroit was out to win, this game they seemed to be playing in a Sunday afternoon game, not for the Stanley Cup. Matt (the hubby) says it's the age coming through. Detroit is a lot older team than Pittsburgh (you know like my age) - maybe that's true. But then how come they won one of the games 5-0? Age didn't matter then. I honestly think it was the drive to win. Pittsburgh fought hard last night, right to the very last second.

So what does this have to do with art? Well, today I'm off to do participate in Art Among the Ruins in Newburgh, and I'm playing to win. The last show I went to I think I treated a little like a vacation... fun place to be, fun people to be with, etc. But if I want to win at this game of being an artist, I have to fight. Not literally, but I have to go out there and do what I need to do to win over a few customers. Hopefully you'll hear as the day is drawing closed 'she shoots, she scores' coming from Newburgh.

I'll take the high road

James taught me something last night (not the first time). He was singing a song that I taught him last week when a friend hit him and he wanted revenge - "I'll take the high road, and you'll take the low road and I'll be to Scotland before you..." We talked about what 'taking the high road' meant. I thought the lesson had just went right over his head, but apparently something stuck. And his timing couldn't have been better... for me.

On the weekend I was doing a show at the Distillery District in Toronto. A neat place for sure, with lots of people and lots of wind. The wind storm created some issues and I had some of my display items break. In the midst of cleaning them up, someone had taken one of my rings; and not just any ring but a red beach glass ring (one of the rarest colours of beach glass). Needless to say I was off to a grumpy start that day.

But when I heard James singing 'I'll take the high road..' it reminded me to do the same. Instead of being so bitter about it, I'm going to see it as a compliment. Someone wanted one of my pieces so much that they were willing to risk breaking the law. And I bet they'll be talking about it too! So who knows, maybe they'll buy something from me down the road...

The dreaded donation request

Spring is here, and do you know how I know? Because I've been asked to donate some of my beach glass art to everything ranging from animal shelters, homelessness, to youth at risk and some organizations I still don't have a clue what they do. Don't get me wrong, my frustration isn't that I don't think these organizations are deserving, nor is because I think I'm the only being asked because my husband who is not an artist but a small business owner, is getting swamped with similar requests - maybe even more. My frustration is that I don't think they're listening to the same radio station as me - WII FM.

Have you listened to that station? It's the What's in it for me station. As much as we do things for strictly philanthropic reasons, we often have other motives as well. If I am going to help an organization for nothing else then to help, they don't need to seek me out, I'll seek them.

So if someone is seeking my support, then I need them to do some work in exchange. I need to determine what value is in for me as an artist, as a person, as a small business owner. I actually get them to fill out a form so I can judge all my donations equally, keep a file on each donation and make informed decisions. Since I've started to telling other artists I do this, I've been getting requests for copies of my form so here is the gist of it:

Contact Name:
Contact Phone:
Contact Email:
Organization:
Value of item requested:
Event Name:
Event Date:
Location:
Description of Event:
How many people will be attending?
Who will be attending the event?
What other items are being donated?
How does my art fit?
Where else will my name / item be promoted?
Will I receive tickets to the event?
Will I be notified after the event about who received my item and how much it went for?
May I request a reserve bid?
Are you able to pay for any portion of the piece?
Will I receive a tax receipt for my donation?

So don't dread those requests, organize them!

My treasure box

When I'm participating in art shows / sales I have a list of stuff to bring, you know the usual - product, receipt book, pens, credit cards slips, brochures, table clothes, business cards, etc. But I also have my treasure box. And the other artists always love it. So what's in my treasure box? Here's the list:

~ Tylenol
~ midol
~ throat lozenges
~ mouthwash
~ a loonie
~ band aids
~ extra shoes (feels great to change your shoes half way through the day)
~ granola bar
~ fruit
~ hand sanitizer
~ hand cream
~ small blanket
~ a good book
~ allergy pills
~ sunscreen

Just the little things that make the day go by a little bit easier. Now - get packing your treasurer box.

It's so easy to get off track

Ok - so I have to tell a little secret to start this one - I read O Magazine. Not all the time, but when someone gives me an old copy I always read through it. This month (well the one I'm reading this month, I have no idea what issue it is really), she's talking about her weight gain, and how 1 month she was up 2 pounds - no biggy, then 5 pounds - still no biggy, then 10... you get the idea. And before she knew it she was up 40, she went off track.

Well, I'm not going to write about weight loss, but the idea of getting off track. I'm sure you've all been there. But what do you do about it? Last week I had a request for a custom ring. GREAT! April has been a great month for me for custom orders. So I brought some glass and my ring sizer so we could decided on the design and glass to use. The problem? This little girl wanted purple. Well, some art forms may have the luxury of working in purple, but us beach glass artists? Not very often. I have a few pieces of mauve, but unless you look close or compare it to a white piece of glass, they just look white. I've never found a deep purple. The mom tried to convince this little girl to pick a different color. Then someone standing near by said 'you could just take regular purple glass and tumble it'. I almost said yes. Can you believe it? If you've read previous entries you know that I pride myself on using only pure beach glass. I don't alter it, but I almost agreed to do it for a customer. There are somethings you do for customers, and there are somethings you don't. It would be like a CPR train on a CNR track. They just didn't do it, even though they could have.

I'm crossing my fingers she likes green because I'm delivering it tomorrow!

Bailouts all around

Ok, I've been trying to ignore, ok not ignore, but at least not jump on the auto industry bail out opinion band wagon. For those that know me, you know that keeping my opinions to myself is very hard and I've lasted a long time on this one. But I found some relevance to the art world that triggered some thoughts.

Yesterday, as I was getting interviewed for a story in Kingston This Week (coming out tomorrow) about the Gift Giving Show this weekend at Little Cat, Rob and I got talking about all the changes in the newspaper world. Iconic newspapers across the continent are closing, our local newspaper is making major shifts, KTW went from 2 times a week to a weekly, etc. Locally in Kingston we have seen over 80 jobs lost in the last year in the print media industry alone. And yet.... no bailout.

Today (in the newspaper funny enough) I read about one of Kingston's oldest retailers, S & R Department Store closing this summer. A lot of readers weighed in with their comments and yes it is a sad story, I make at least 1 trip there a week, sometimes 1 every day! And yet... no bailout.

When my life wasn't going as planned and I decided to leave my job and enter the art world full time, I didn't ask for a bailout (getting a credit card was hard enough). I made the necessary adjustments, planned, worked with my team and changed courses - all on my own! Just like the newspaper industry is doing and just like the retail sector is doing. Yes we will see some of these iconic stores and media groups close, and lay offs will happen; but innovation and inspiration doesn't come by doing the same old same old. You have to move with the times, in fact, in business.. you have to move ahead of the times!