Time for a Change

The alarm goes off, 4:00 AM.  Wake up, shower, and hit the road north for an hour and a half.  All for the privilege of setting up the tent in the dark, hanging art, and waiting for the customer(s) with the big bucks to fall in love with my art, open their wallet and buy.

Didn’t happen.  Failure on a large scale, January’s art show circuit in Florida.  Crazy way to make a living I often thought.  Really stupid way to loose money.  Then a voice of reason from my dear hubby, “We don’t have to know what we are going to do in order to know that this is no longer working.”  Absolutely right.

So home to Tennessee with no looking back.  (Even recently sold my tent and all of the trappings.)  Freedom!  But freedom to do what???  It has been a journey of discovery this year as I have spent countless hours on the computer, conference calls, and webinars to research and learn about alternatives to the traditional way of approaching an art business.

Words like demographic, niche market, valued customer, income streams, and points of distribution have swirled around my head as I delved into non-traditional art business plans.  Through an odd set of events, orchestrated by the One who gave me this talent,  I am finally gaining clarity of my new direction and path.

Abide Studio

It is time to make a change.  For 9 years now, I have operated my art business as a marketplace ministry with the emphasis and focus on the marketplace and business aspect of things.  This has been divinely guided and I have no regrets.  The adventure has been amazing!  However, it is time to switch the emphasis in my heart and put more emphasis on the ministry aspect of what I do.

How does this look to my customers?  Not much different.  For me however the difference is significant every time I approach the easel, or hang a piece of art; consider a venue or plan my schedule.   Without a 10’x10′ tent to fill, without show applications and juries to consider, without thinking about a cohesive body of work, I will simply create what is in my heart and vision.  And you won’t find me in the studio on Thursdays as I dedicate that day for personal ministry related appointments.

The puzzle pieces are still coming together.  I cannot say I see the whole picture, but I am beginning to see shapes and colors coming together.  I am excited and full of anticipation for this new chapter.  I hope you will join me for the adventure.  The best is yet to come!

How have you faced the dips in your career?  Is it time for a new perspective on your journey?  I’d love to hear from you. Please comment, share, tweet…

Fred Factor

Fred Shea is a real-life mailman who inspired a movement.  I had the privilege of hearing the man responsible for Fred’s fame the other week.  Mark Sanborn brought a word of truth that strikes close to my heart and is exactly where my life has been lately (funny how that happens when we surrender to the Divine’s timing).  Mark has now written two books based on Fred Shea  “The Fred Factor” and ‘Fred 2.0″ .  The principles that Mark spoke of that morning are worth sharing.

The four basic Fred principles:

1.  Everybody makes a difference.

2. It is all built on relationship.

3.  You can add value to everything you do.

4. You can reinvent yourself continually.

Hidden within those basic principles I heard a few other nuggets.  “Fear nothing but to waste your present moment.”    At a time when my art sales have struggled and my studio lease is iffy I face a decision.  Either I can sit and waste my present moments waiting for things to change thus being reactive instead of proactive.   Or I can look up and beyond my circumstances and see what opportunities surround me to serve others.

Nugget #2  “Move from transactional to relational”  fits well with serving others.  What can I offer my customers, my colleagues, my friends and acquaintances other than “Here’s this painting and it sells for this much”.  I realize that I consult with most of my customers on any number of things one on one, but have never taken that expertise to the streets (to the webisphere).

Number 3 is the acronym CARE:  Create A Rare Experience.  Don’t we all crave rare experiences?  Recently I was at a local coffee shop with a friend.  My lunch arrived before my latte, in other words delayed.  Finally it arrived with an apology.  However the owner chose to go beyond;  she refunded the cost of the latte AND gave me a gift card for my next visit.  That coffee shop has become my new favorite place to meet friends and/or sit and write.

Fourth: abundant life is found when we take “ordinary” (art, service, relationships, business practices, etc.) and take the “extra” effort to make it “extraordinary”.  This follows Seth Godin’s theory in his book “Purple Cow”:  do not settle for very good, go the extra mile to be remarkable.  This is a philosophy I have tried to live be for years, but worth repeating and sharing here.

Creating an extraordinary experience is the core to The Fred Factor which leads me to my final nugget.  “Be more concerned about your customer’s (friend’s, family’s) needs than they are”.  Principle #4 (every day I have a chance to reinvent myself rather than replicate who I was yesterday) inspires me to get up every morning, to be more transformed into the image of the Creator, and to apply myself  to be more concerned about others well being than I am about my own.  Don’t ya know if we all took that approach the world would be a better place.

Thank you Fred Shea.  Thank you Mark Sanborn.

A Matter of Perspective

Memories, 48×48

“A good abstract should work from at least 3 sides”.  I heard this from a very accomplished abstract artist set up next to me at a show recently.  I know that; I paint that way; but I had never spoken it quite so definitively.  As my life has been on full tilt, as my career feels like it is a study of shifting sands, “Art imitates life” has smacked me full in the face.

As in, I can look at all of the changes I am dealing with and working through in a negative way, or I can take a new perspective and ensure a positive result with a positive  attitude.

-Because I didn’t sell well this year on my Florida circuit I have enough inventory to relax the painting schedule and take the time to write, build a marketing plan, and explore new distribution channels.

-Because there aren’t customers clamoring to get to the studio at 10 or 11 every day I can redefine my space from retail shop to artist studio and set new (more relaxed) hours which allow me to train for the half marathon without getting up at the crack of dawn.  Or sit here at the coffee shop to write my blog.  Or close early to enjoy time with my son from out of town who is in town for a visit.

-Because my studio is full, I have two complete bodies of work that I can present.  Relaxed from deadlines, I push the envelop of my own creative style and explore the next level of “What if?” with the painting currently on the easel.

Rotated, Memories takes on a landscape look

We all have the freedom to choose the perspective by which we look at things.  I am amazed at how we see the positive in others’ lives, but take the negative road in our own.  I see wisdom and strength in a friend’s face; she sees wrinkles.  I see a friend looking younger; she sees weight gain.  I see a woman’s hair as “silver fox” she sees it as old and gray.

As an abstract artist I am accomplished at looking at the world differently.  Emotion, color, line, texture, and composition jump out at me more than image, scene, location, or place.  I am enamored by the beauty behind and under the obvious.  “Life imitates art.”  We would all benefit if we started looking for the beauty that underlies the shifts in life. “Life imitates art.”  It is the highlights and lowlights that add dimension to a painting and to life.  Looking at life as an abstract painting.  Sounds like a great perspective to embrace.

Rotated again, Memories becomes an angel

All that Glitters…

In the ever constant quest for the “remarkable” (see Seth Godin’s book “Purple Cow”)  the need for wisdom and discernment increases.  Presented with new ideas, new products, and new applications the axiom “All that glitters is not gold”  has become an” ever present companion.  Instructors present artistic uses for household products (steel wool, joint tape and compound, sandpaper).  Product specialists present the latest and greatest in the line of art supplies (transfer paper, spun polyester paper, paints ready for sun printing).  It’s exciting and inspiring.

And confusing.  It is necessary to explore, but always with the question, “Does this fit in my wheelhouse?  My sweet spot?  My artistic voice?”   The purpose of exploration is to refine the search and be selective.

It’s not easy being selective.   It’s time consuming and sometimes frustrating.  It’s not popular to be selective.  The crowd will often run after the next shiny thing that comes along.  If I am to find my unique voice.  If I am to march to the beat of my own drum.  It is necessary however.  I must check and recheck that the glitter IS or IS NOT gold.

 

Catching the Beat

“She/he walks to the beat of a different drum.”  Throughout my years that phrase has meant a variety of things.  It stood for “She’s a little weird” in my youth.  As in doesn’t fit in, fit the mold, isn’t like us.  Later it became “He isn’t a team player.  Doesn’t do community well. Won’t join in.”  Years later I find that the phrase has morphed from a negative to a positive as I am more deeply ensconced in the art world.

I am working to catch the beat of my own drum.  Seeking that which sets me apart.  The thing about this quest is how difficult it can be to hear the sound and catch the beat of the drum that says “ME”.  The competition for my ear and heart is overwhelming.  Mundane tasks at hand derail my commitment to create.   The business of art distracts from the creating of art.

Even in the creative arena voices compete.  Do I follow the voice that reminds me of what is selling around me?  Do I listen when I hear myself speak of what images I paint that have sold well?  Do I incorporate some or all of the ideas explored at the workshop on Sunday?  Do I pursue ideas presented by colleagues, customers, friends and family?

I feel a little like the chick in P.D. Eastman’s book “Are you my Mother?”  asking every creative idea that passes through my brain, “Are you my drum?  Is this the beat I walk to?”  In the story, if the chick had simply stayed in the nest, he would have met his mother as she returned with his breakfast.   The moral of the story for me is to stay the creative course I am on ( currently in the middle of a large painting).

This is not a quest of the mind, but of the heart.  I cannot reason my beat into existence.  The only beat I need to listen to is the beat of my spirit and heart, confident that it will whisper “This is the way, walk in it” as I sit at my easel,  work at my table, or stare into space.  That requires quieting my mind and allowing my heart to speak.

It is a challenge worthy of my effort.

 

 

Pigment, Paper, and Point of View

Photo by Warren Lynn, Indianapolis, IN.

 

I love to watch Food Network Star.  It is a competition among accomplished cooks and chefs to win their own Food Network television show.  The contestants are thrown into numerous situations with varied themes and ingredients.  The challenge is always to create dishes which are then presented to the camera.  All with a short amount of time and all representing their “P.O.V.”.  P.O.V. stands for Point of View.  It is never too far from the producers minds as they judge the food and the presentation.

I am currently on a journey of discovery: to fine tune my own point of view.  In the visual art world we call it artistic voice, but the term point of view just seems more attainable to me right now.  How do I see the world?  How do I then interpret that to the canvas?  Where do I want to take my viewer?  All questions to be pondered along the way.

To further explore who I am artistically, I have purchased new materials and signed up for a couple of workshops outside my area of expertise.  Powdered pigment.  From a cement mixing company.  Interesting stuff.  Can’t wait to dig in, mix it with water, medium, paint, and see what unfolds.

Collage.  “Bring interesting decorative papers…”, the instructor writes.  Don’t have any!  So my exploration really begins before the workshop as I paint my own interesting paper.  Scraps of watercolor paper from a neighboring artist await in the studio stirring my creative juices.

The creative journey may simply be a vacation rather than a move.  I may not evolve into a mixed media artist.  I may come back to my acrylics and painting knife and be thrilled to be home.  Learning what I’m not is a valuable step in solidifying who I am.

Like the brilliant splash of red that a cardinal makes against the pine branches outside my porch, I want to  know what sets me apart.  Like his song that is distinctive and heard above air conditioners and passing traffic I am searching for the point of view that will be recognized as mine alone.  Meanwhile my creative energy is being recharged and I am enjoying my quest.  What have you done to find your artistic voice?  Please share.