Artist, Emerging

Checking In - Well, Whining, Really...

2010-10-12T14:04:00.006-05:00

Is anybody still out there? I've been so sporadic with this blog for a long time. Unmotivated. Uninspired.

Just thought I'd post something - anything - to get the wheels turning.

I guess I feel like I'm in a stagnant phase right now. My artwork is progressing and I'm happy with what I've been doing lately. I'm getting some shows here and there, some sales, etc. All as a result of a lot of hard work from the past few years. But it's not enough to support me. I know that I need to do another push and keep working, but for some reason I'm blocked. Or lazy. Or scared.

So maybe it's just the economy and it'll pick up soon.

On a positive note, I have work in the lobby of the Murchison Performance Hall on the campus of the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. If you're in the Denton area and would like to see it, check the schedule.

And Waxy Buildup, the exhibit I collaborated on with Trayc Claybrook, will be on exhibit at Gallery One in Ellensburg, Washington in January of 2011.

So there are some things going on and I have things to look forward to.

My next major goal is to get my work into a gallery in Dallas and at least one other major city in the US next year.

OK, it's out there, so now I have to do it.

Funny Rejection Letter

2010-07-28T11:14:00.006-05:00

I hate to focus on rejection, but unfortunately it's just part of the process of being an exhibiting artist.

Here's a great example of a rejection letter that uses humor, from the wonderful Letters of Note blog:

Click to see a bigger version. You can read the transcript on Letters of Note.

Encaustic Conference - Best Foot Forward part 1

2010-06-16T12:36:00.043-05:00

This year at the conference, the conferees were invited to bring one piece that measured 12" x 12" or less to hang in the hallway gallery. The Montserrat staff spent a long time applying tape to the wall to form a grid for the pieces to hang within.

I got there early, when there were only a few pieces installed, so it was fun to see the wall fill up with artwork. There were also a few 3-dimensional pieces that sat on pedestals in front of the wall.

Here are some photos of the hallway in various stages of the installation:

During the opening reception

Here are some shots of some of the pieces that I liked. I don't remember a lot of the artist information, but I included it where I knew it or could read the tag in the photo:

Miles Conrad (detail)

Paula Streeter

Elise Mankes

Nancy Lowe

Nancy Lowe (detail)

Congratulations to Karen Freedman! Her piece above was chosen by Joanne Mattera for the Director's Prize. For the first time, the prize was chosen from the work of the conferees.

I really enjoyed being able to see so much work in person. It was fun to meet someone and then ask them about their piece in the hallway and be able to have a conversation about it. It was also a great showcase of the variety of ways that artists use this versatile medium. I'm really looking forward to the "Everybody Into the Pool" show that Joanne is already talking about for next year!

There's a list of other conferees who are blogging about the conference on the Montserrat Encaustic Conference blog. Be sure to check them out!

To be continued...

Encaustic Conference - Wax Libris II

2010-06-12T22:13:00.009-05:00

When we got to the conference, Gwen and I went to check out the Wax Libris II show, since we both have work in the show.

The show is in the Montserrat College library. I took photos of lots of the work, but don't have all the artists and titles. I'll work on getting those...

Firecracker by Cynthia Winika.

by Catherine Nash

by Haley Nagy

by Laura Moriarty

by Nancy Natale

by Miles Conrad

by Gwendolyn Plunkett

by Jeanne Borofsky

Encaustic Conference

2010-06-12T12:41:00.004-05:00

Having fun at the conference. No time to blog!

The photo above is a shot of the "Best Foot Forward" show in the hallway at the conference. Attendees were invited to bring a piece of artwork 12" x 12" or under. It's so fun to see everyone's work.

Hopefully I'll have time later to post something.

4th Annual Encaustic Conference

2010-06-08T13:14:00.009-05:00

I'll be leaving in 2 days to attend the Fourth Annual Encaustic Painting Conference at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Massachusetts.

I attended the conference the first and second years, but was not able to make it last year. So I'm very excited to attend this year!

I'll be staying in the new dorms on campus this time. It'll be nice to be close enough to walk.

I'm excited to reconnect with other artists that I have met at the conference, and to make new connections.

Today I went to my studio to pick something out to take with me for the "Best Foot Forward" hallway show. They're encouraging all of the attendees to bring a piece that is 12" x 12" or less to hang in the hallway gallery. It'll be fun to see work by so many artists. This is the piece that I chose to take:

Shadows, colored pencil, gouache, collage, and encaustic, 12" x 12"

I will have a piece in the Wax Libris II show that will be on exhibit in the library. It's a show of artists's books that incorporate wax in some way. This is my book:

Secrets and Lies, paper and wax

I'll be blogging as much as I can, so stay tuned!

Art Fairs and Festivals

2010-05-26T09:39:00.005-05:00

I get a lot of questions about hanging artwork at art fairs and festivals and I never really have any good answers.

Here's a great blog for that type of information:

R. Garriott

And another:

Dianne Poinski

Enjoy!

Commission, Part 3

2009-11-10T14:39:00.012-06:00

I wanted to blog about the other pieces I created for my commission, and this is the second on that I worked on.

The original piece is two 12" x 12" panels that I created about 5 years ago, while I was in grad school.

If I remember correctly, the panel on the left has white paper and a color copy of clouds glued to the surface. I drew the triangles with oil pastel and did a solvent transfer of the telephone pole from a copy. The right panel is similar - white paper, oil pastel, and a solvent transfer. Except I can't remember how I made the transfer on the right so much lighter...

So they wanted this piece to be 48" x 66". Since the original was a diptych, I decided to do this piece on 2 panels as well, so the panels ended up being 48" x 33".

This piece was by far the most difficult. Nothing worked out the way I had originally planned it. Plan A was to glue down a color copy of clouds, do solvent transfers of the telephone poles onto the panels, paint clear wax on, collage in a large piece of tissue/rice paper with the triangles and words, and then add some transparent blue wax.

Well, the large copies that I had made for me wouldn't transfer with the solvent. I had done a test with a copy I already had and it worked. So maybe they changed the type of machine they used or they type of toner, or something. But it worked as a transfer directly onto the wax (without solvent), so I decided that I would do that.

Lots of other things didn't work, either. The large color copy was way more than I wanted to spend, so I got a black and white copy and colored it with colored pencil.

I also had a problem collaging in the paper. The only paper that I could find that was large enough to cover the whole panel was apparently not absorbent enough, because it didn't soak into the wax like I needed it to. It just made a big wrinkly mess.

And the transparent blue wax didn't work. As I mentioned before, working large in encaustic is definitely a challenge. I couldn't get the surface to look smooth and even like I wanted it to. I just didn't like the way it looked. So I scraped it off. From both panels.

So on to Plan Q...
Here you can see how I transferred the words to the right panel. That's the tissue paper that I was originally going to collage in. I used blue transfer paper to get it on the panel. Then I wrote over it with a blue colored pencil.

I then covered both panels with clear encaustic medium. It was much easier to get the clear wax smoother. Or maybe the unevenness just wasn't as noticeable with the clear.

Here are the panels with several layers of clear wax added.

So then I did the transfers. I have good transfer karma, for some reason. I have friends that have tried and tried to do transfers (solvent or wax), and can't do them at all. So these large transfers weren't hard, just time consuming. The paper really stuck to the wax, so most of the labor involved wetting and rubbing the paper off.

Here's what it looks like after I've burnished the transfer and I'm rubbing away the paper that has stuck.

And here are both pieces with the tranfers. I couldn't really make the one on the right lighter like it is in the original, but I tried to make it rougher and less dark. I even sanded away a little bit of the toner.

Instead of using the blue wax, I decided to rub a thin layer of oil paint onto the surface. I scratched the triangles and the houses into the surface using a needle tool and rubbed the oil paint into the scratched lines, and then continuing over the whole surface. If it got too heavy, I would add some linseed oil to a paper towel and rub some of the oil off.

And here's the final piece. I like the way it came out, even though I think it's different than the original.

Commission, part 2

2009-10-15T13:48:00.016-05:00

So, as I mentioned in the previous post, I was commissioned to create a piece similar to the piece pictured above, but in a much larger size.

The original bird pieces were 20" x 16" and the painting in the center was 12" x 12" and they wanted the final piece to be a triptych, each 45" x 17".

I had some 45" x 17" birch panels created by a local woodworker, and then made my plan of attack.
The original bird piece on the left is also on a wood panel. I had brushed on some clear encaustic medium, and then collaged the birds in (cut out of black paper). I painted the red birds on top using oil paint.

The bird piece on the right is similar, but the red birds are drawn on the board with colored pencil, clear medium was added, and then I collaged in the birds cut out of black paper.

The piece in the center was created while I was in grad school, but luckily I still have it, so I could look at it. I had stretched raw canvas over a board and then wrote using oil pastel and I did a solvent transfer of the telephone pole directly to the canvas and covered it with clear encaustic medium. I think I then carved lines using a needle tool and filled them in with oil paint. Then I covered it with a layer of orange-ish medium. That may not be right, but that's my best guess. It was five years ago, after all!

I was a little hesitant to do a transfer of the telephone pole, since the other elements were more hard-edged. So I decided to paint it directly onto the panel using gouache.

Since I hardly ever throw anything away, I still had most of the original imagery that I had used in the original pieces. So I enlarged some copies and used carbon paper to transfer it to the panel. Then I painted it in with black gouache and did the lines using a Sharpie.

I did similar things for the other 2 panels with the birds. On one I painted the birds with black gouache and cut out red paper, and the other I painted with red gouache and cut out black paper. I ended up removing some of the cut out birds so each set of birds and trees didn't look exactly the same.
So in the photo above, on the left panel, the birds are painted in black gouache and the red is cut paper, and on the right panel, the red is gouache and the black is cut paper. So that's what it looked like before I added any wax.

I found this ginormous hake brush at Jerry's Artarama in Austin. It's helpful to scale up your brushes when you scale up your work. And although these pieces are tall, they're not really terribly much bigger than my other work, so it wasn't too hard to get a nice, even surface on these.

I brushed on a few layers of encaustic medium and fused with a heat gun. Then I added the cut paper and collaged it in using some more medium. Here's an image of the pieces with all the wax added.

I really like the way it looks here, but I knew that it wasn't exactly what the client had asked for. After conferring with my friend, we agreed that I should make the middle panel look more like the original (more orange-y), so I scored lines into the wax using a needle tool, and added some reddish-orange oil paint, rubbing it into the scored lines and also leaving a little bit of paint on the surface.

So here's the final piece:

I'm really happy with the way it turned out!

Update:
Here's a shot of the piece installed in the spa at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa!:

Commission

2009-10-14T21:07:00.009-05:00

OK, I'm not going to go on and on about what a bad blogger I am...

I have been busy, though. I just completed my very first commission! I'm very excited about it. It was a real challenge, but I enjoyed it very much.

I got the commission through a friend. She was bidding on a large hotel project and needed more artwork, so she asked her artist friends to submit their work. So I sent her links to my Flickr sets of 3 painting series, Palimpsest, Seeking Shelter, and Waxy Buildup. She included several pieces in her presentation, and they chose 4 pieces.

The first one is actually a triptych made of one of the Seeking Shelter pieces and two of the Palimpsest pieces. An interesting combination that I wouldn't have thought of.

The original bird pieces were 20" x 16" and the piece in the middle was 12" x 12". The piece they commissioned is 3 panels measuring 45" x 17".

So I needed to recreate this piece in that new size. They don't expect it to be exactly like the original, but similar style, colors, etc.

The second piece was originally 12" x 24" (actually two 12" x 12" panels) and they wanted it reproduced 48" x 66". I ended up doing it on two 48" x 33" panels, since it had been a diptych to begin with.

The third was originally 12" x 12" and they wanted it 43" x 43"!

And the last was also originally a 12" x 12" and they commissioned it at 31" x 41".

All of the pieces are encaustic. And if you've ever done large-scale encaustic painting, you know what a challenge it is. I'd never done anything this large before. And I'd also never tried to reproduce my paintings before. So it was quite a challenge!

Some specific challenges:
-Many of these pieces were created 4 or 5 years ago, and I don't have them any more, and I barely remember how I made them. I can now really appreciate those crazy, anal-retentive artists who make copious notes about their colors and processes!

-I used a lot of collage elements that are difficult to scale up to a larger size - maps, transfers, cut paper, etc. Also, one piece has a lot of scraping on it. It was 12" x 12" and the marks are made by a regular sized paint scraper. Hard to reproduce that affect on a 43" x 43" piece!

-I find it really difficult to get a smooth surface with encaustic at such a large size.

I'll go into more detail in future posts about each piece and show lots of work in progress shots. So stay tuned!

Summer Object Challenge

2009-07-07T00:48:00.005-05:00

I joined a Bee Team project called the Summer Object Challenge. Those who signed up were paired with a partner who sent them an object to use in an encaustic piece.

Melissa Hronkin sent me a lovely little red doily and some contact sheets from someone's wedding photos, probably from the 50's. This is what I was inspired to create:

To Have, To Hold
collage, foil transfer, and encaustic
12" x 12"

I couldn't bring myself to mess up the contact sheets, so I made copies and glued them to the board. Then I covered the board with clear medium and embedded the doily in the wax. Then I used some gold embossing foil (that a student gave me) - writing on it to transfer the foil to the wax.

detail of the doily

Oh, and there's me!

The Encaustic Center

2009-04-15T23:13:00.004-05:00

Deanna Wood and Bonny Leibowitz are proud to announce the opening of The Encaustic Center in Richardson, Texas. Our focus is sharing the beautiful art of painting with wax in all of its various forms.

The Encaustic Center offers beginner and intermediate workshops and studio workdays along with special events such as demonstrations, exhibitions, guest artists, supplies and our big Grand Opening May 15th!

Check out our website to see more information on classes and events going on at the center.

If you're in the area, I hope you can make it to the Grand Opening on May 15, 7-10 pm. There will be artists from TexasWAX/Dallas doing encaustic demos, music, and more.

Workshop schedule:
$100 (includes all materials)
April:
Thursday, April 30 - 9:30 am to 3:30 pm - beginner workshop with Deanna
May:

Saturday, May 2, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm - beginner workshop with Bonny

Saturday, May 23, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm - intermediate workshop with Deanna

Thursday, May 28, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm - beginner workshop with Deanna

See Deanna's work at www.deannawood.com
See Bonny's work at www.bonnyleibowitz.com

The Encaustic Center
580 W. Arapaho #271
Richardson, Texas 75080

directions

www.theencausticcenter.com

Connection

2009-03-01T15:21:00.004-06:00

(a version of this is also posted on Make28)

During yoga class the other day, my teacher was talking about the theme for the week - finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. She said something about "connection," and that stuck with me. During the rest of the class, I thought about the concept of connection as it relates to Make28.

Make28 is a project that was dreamed up by my online friend, Consumatron. He set a goal for himself to create a video every day in February, and he challenged everyone to join him by making something every day as well. So a few of us joined in and have also been making stuff - food, paintings, videos, drawings, journeys, enemies, music...

This project has created many connections, the most obvious being the connections we made with each other. I've really enjoyed seeing what everyone's made, how they interpreted the concept of "making," and glimpsing a little bit of everyone's creative processes. I love to see how other people work, create, and solve problems, even in different disciplines.

In Fearless Creating, Eric Maisel mentions the importance of getting together with other artists. "If you are a novelist, when do you meet with painters, dancers, musicians, and filmmakers to talk about your mutual concerns? When do you meet to discuss selling art, managing depression, or surviving as a truthful witness in America? My estimate would be never. This is really too bad. ...you will surely suffocate if you live in a vacuum."

I think projects like Make28 can be an important part of a creative life, creating connections with others working on different things, but with the same goal.

During these 28 days, I've also made some less obvious connections. Just the act of sitting down and making something every day has helped me to connect more with my creativity. Even if what I made wasn't that great or if it's not related to bigger things I'm doing, I know that what I'm making now will inform something else that I make in the future.

Here's a collection of the things that I made during February:

You can see more in my Flickr set. And the whole Make28 Flickr pool.

How do you make creative connections?

Oh, and Make28 will continue, so feel free to join in!

Creativity

2009-02-23T10:04:00.005-06:00

Being part of the Make28 creativity challenge, has made me focus on making something every day. And that's got me thinking about creativity and all its forms.

So I've been extra sensitive to information about creativity and of course, I start seeing it everywhere, or at least I start paying attention.

I thought I'd share a couple of videos with you. They've been making the rounds, but perhaps you haven't seen them yet.

This is from Atlanta based editorial photographer, Zack Arias:

And this is a TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert:

I'll be posting more soon.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T18:15:00.003-06:00

Make something!
make28.com

Make 28

2009-02-06T22:18:00.003-06:00

One of my online friends, Consumatron, has started a "make something every day" challenge for February, called Make 28:

So watch the video for inspiration and then make something. Anything. And then send him a link to what you make. Go to consumatron.net and leave a link in the comments. Send him an email at consumatron at gmail.com. Or follow him on Twitter.

Here's a preview of what I've been making so far:

You can see more on Flickr.

So what are you going to make?

Whine of the Week

2009-02-04T13:18:00.003-06:00

I've been unmotivated and even more prone to procrastination lately. I've been complaining about it and moping around and procrastinating even more. But of course I know what I need to do.

I guess it always goes back to fear - fear of failure - fear of looking stupid. I always let my perfectionist tendencies get the best of me. I want things to be right, and if something can't be perfect, then I tend not to do it at all.

Blah blah blah...

So I'm hoping that maybe posting about it will help snap me out of it!

Exhibit in Oklahoma!

2009-01-20T19:52:00.006-06:00

reception at the Leslie Powell Foundation Gallery, January 10, 2009

I can't believe I forgot to post this!

My solo exhibit, Seeking Shelter, is on display at the Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery in Lawton Oklahoma until February 28, 2009.

It's probably the last time I'll exhibit this work all together in this form. I still want to continue this series, but I don't know that I'll actively pursue exhibitions with it any more. It's already been in several venues across the country - Kansas, Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, and 2 venues in Oklahoma.

As you can see from the first photo, I installed a miniature version of my hanging spiral tornado. The full version includes almost 200 small tornadoes. This one only has about 30.

If you're near Lawton, please stop by and check it out!

Gift Exchange

2008-12-26T17:26:00.002-06:00

I'm a member of the Bee Team, which is a group of Etsy sellers who use encaustic in their art. We had a group gift exchange this year, and you can see the gift above that I received from Supria at Supria's Designs. It's a beautiful encaustic and collage painting titled Madame Butterfly.

Thanks Supria! I love it.

Thanks so much to all the Bee Team members, and especially to Pam for organizing the exchange.

Oh yeah, I have work in some shows...

2008-12-04T10:25:00.007-06:00

Subdivision - encaustic and oil on panel, 12" x 12"

My work is part of a group show, Shelter, at Olson-Larsen Galleries in West Des Moines, Iowa.

The show runs until January 3, 2009.

The Living Wood - altered book

I also have 2 artist's books in a juried book show, Dog-Eared: Revealing the Contents of Artist's Books at Purdue University.

F3, Languish - collage, oil pastel, solvent transfer, encaustic and oil on panel, two 12" x 12" panels

Upcoming:
My solo exhibit, Seeking Shelter will be on display at the Leslie Powell Foundation Gallery in Lawton, Oklahoma starting January 10, 2009.

Also:
You can follow me on Twitter now:
http://twitter.com/deannawood

I've actually been Twittering for quite a while now, but I set up a new public Twitter persona that is strictly art-related. I won't tweet about my cats or swear like my evil Twitter twin does.

Finding a Balance

2008-11-11T09:22:00.004-06:00

I've been conflicted recently about where to show my artwork.

Part of me knows that I need to just get it out there and let people see it, regardless of the venue. But then I have this other part of me (I call it the art snob) that only wants my work to be in respectable places, like commercial galleries and art centers.

My friend Junanne says that she doesn't care where her art is - she says she'll hang it on a fence as long as people will see it.

So I guess I want to be somewhere in between. In the past I've shown my work in places that I wouldn't necessarily put on my resume, just to get it out there. I think I need to continue. You just never know who will see it.

How do you decide where to show your work?

Staying Positive

2008-11-02T11:40:00.003-06:00

Despite the downturn in the economy, I've actually had my best year yet as an artist, so it's not too hard for me to stay positive.

But if you're overwhelmed with all the bad news on the financial front, watch Alyson's Stanfield's inspirational video:

Speaking of practicing gratitude - thanks Alyson, for all the support and encouragement that you give to artists!

De-Pinked

2008-11-01T11:00:00.009-05:00

As you can see, I've changed my template back to it's original non-pink state. I enjoyed "going pink" and seeing all the other blogs and websites that went Pink for October.

My son and I walked in the Komen Dallas Race for the Cure on October 18.

the view from the starting line

us at the starting line

lots and lots of people! over 25,000!

It was such a positive atmosphere, with everyone there honoring loved ones who had been lost to breast cancer or celebrating those who were survivors. Very moving and inspiring.

We were on the Texas Woman's University team, Pioneers for the Cure, who raised $1785.

Thanks to everyone who supported me and helped me raise $291 for the cause!

Myra Pralle (my mom)
Ronald and Patricia Bradley (my dad and stepmom)
Shirley Sisk
Susan Yasi
Jennifer Jensen
Mary Richmond

You can donate until November 15 at my webpage on the team site. Or on the Komen site. Or the American Cancer Society.

Find out about risk factors and prevention on the Komen site.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T16:05:00.000-05:00

See more funny videos and Funny Videos at Today's Big Thing.

I've Gone Pink for October!

2008-10-01T13:53:00.008-05:00

As you may know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There are lots of ways that you can participate, contribute, and show your support.

First of all, if you'd like to "go pink" as well, visit Pink for October for lots of information, graphics you can download (like the one above), and you can link your site to them.

I also pinked up my website.

I'm going to participate in the 2008 Komen Race for the Cure in Dallas (I keep typing Race for the Cute!) on October 18. If you would like to join the race, visit the Komen Dallas website. If you would like to support me in the race, visit my Race for the Cure page. If you would like to find a race in your area or find out more about breast cancer, visit the Komen website.

Update: by "participate" I mean I'll be there. Not running. I might meander. Or stroll. As my friend Tracey says, I only run if someone is chasing me...

And then there's the Boobiethon. This is brilliant. Until October 7th, you can look at pictures of covered boobs and if you want to see them uncovered, you can donate money. The internet was invented for porn, might as well use it for good and not for evil, right? So, if you're an exhibitionist, you can submit your own photos. Or, if you're a voyeur, donate some money and see some boobies* for a good cause. *(this particular page is not safe for work, but the others are)

There are a ton of other ways you can participate, so please do so.

On a personal note, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. She's doing fine now, but there's always the risk that it will return. I would love it if she (and all the other breast cancer survivors) could live in a world where she wouldn't have to worry about that.

Predatory Practices

2008-09-24T14:28:00.003-05:00

Recently I saw a call for entries for a new local hotel looking for artwork. There wasn't much information, so I emailed the contact person and they sent me the prospectus (I've bolded the parts that concern me):

Announcing a new competition to find a few local artists to produce original artwork for the new NYLO Hotel under construction in Las Colinas, Texas located at 1001 W Royal Lane, Irving, Texas 75039.
The contest is open to everyone and particularly we hope to attract the interest of up and coming local artists and art student and faculty at local schools. The contest runs August 1, 2008- October 31, 2008.
Please submit a digital copy of your work along with the release form to Amanda Emmo at LasColinasArtContest@nylohotels.com by October 31, 2008.
After submittals, the NYLO judges (which shall consist of the NYLO executive team and perhaps one or two persons active in the local art community) will have an artist luncheon to meet the artists.
Prior to embarking on your work we urge you to please visit our website www.nylohotels.com and, if you have the chance drive by the site to get a feel for the setting. More details about what the hotel is looking for:

Guest Room Art Specifications:
1. One large or three smaller but related pieces of art on canvas (oil, acrylic or mixed media)
2. The pieces should involve the use of colors
3. Emotive Objective
• Loft living
• Relaxation
• Local Connection
• Romantic / Sexy
• Warm
• Western/Texas Lifestyle
4. The pieces will be displayed in each guestroom within an area of 7 feet in length x 3 ½ feet high above the sofa (we will have 200 total guestrooms).
5. Dimensions of each of the three pieces should be 24 inches long x 30 inches high (or thereabouts at the artists discretion) – or alternatively, one large piece of no less than 4 feet long x 30 inches high.
6. The winning pieces will be reproduced utilizing a gicleé process so that the original integrity of the artwork is still upheld and displayed in the guestrooms.
7. No artwork including nude subjects will be taken into consideration as winning pieces.
Corridor/Public Space Artwork Specifications
1. Photography
2. To be displayed on acrylic
3. Emotive objective
• Urban / Industrial City Scenes
• Loft Living
• Nightlife
• Partying/ Entertaining
• Energy
• People
• Living
• Western/Texas Lifestyle
• Lone Stars
• Ranches

Prizes
There will be three main winners in each of the two categories, guestroom and corridor. The cash prize breakdown is as follows*:
Guestroom: 1st place - $2,250
2nd place - $1,750
3rd place - $1,250
Corridor: 1st place - $1,500
2nd place - $1,000
3rd place - $750

There are also other considerable “perks” to winning such as:
• Media exposure
• An invitation to the art contest luncheon with members of the NYLO design and management team
• Artwork displayed on the hotel website with contact information for the artist
• Guests can purchase the artwork at a reasonable price determined by NYLO**

* Each contestant acknowledges that it is NYLO’s intent to ultimately use the winning artwork in each of its guestrooms, corridors and public space and therefore, each winning contestant shall agree to transfer all copyright and ownership rights with respect to such Artwork to NYLO in exchange for the cash prize awarded and shall execute all documents necessary to provide for such transfer of rights. NYLO may choose to purchase additional artwork outside of the predetermined prize values listed above.

** The art will be for sale to all our hotel guests/visitors and to people who visit our website. NYLO does not intend to profit on the sale of this artwork. Proceeds of an artwork sale will work as follows:
• 100% to NYLO until costs of the contest and acquisition are recouped
• Thereafter, 90% to the artists & 10% to a charity to be selected by NYLO

Entry & Release Form
NYLO Hotels- Drive Our Innovation through Your Passion for Art
Submit this form with your entry requirement materials to NYLO. If your artwork is selected as a “winning” piece, your entry will not be returned. Other entries will be returned by request only.
(Select all applicable entry(ies) that apply:)
o Guestroom Artwork
o Corridor Artwork
o Public Space Artwork
By signing this Entry & Release form, I acknowledge that I understand the competition criteria accompanying this form and agree to abide by them. I represent that the attached work qualifies for submission to this competition. “Authorized Parties” as used in this release means NYLO Hotels, LLC and its affiliates (“NYLO”), and any other persons, entities, or organizations that NYLO authorizes to carry out the rights or actions set forth herein. I hereby irrevocably give my consent to each of the Authorized Parties to directly or indirectly photograph, film, and /or videotape me and/or my artwork, and to quote and record statements made by me and to use, reproduce, modify, publicly display, distribute, sell, and/or create derivative works from any of the above (with or without my name) and to identify me by name and/or with school and employment information, in all forms of media now known or later developed, including, without limitation, on the Internet, for any editorial, promotional, advertising, trade, commercial, or other purpose whatsoever, in perpetuity and for no royalties or other remuneration throughout the world. I understand that the Authorized Parties shall not be responsible for unauthorized duplications, reproductions, use or modifications by third parties on the Internet or otherwise. I hereby release the Authorized Parties and their respective successors and assignees from any and all claims and/or damages that may arise regarding the dissemination, use, reproduction, display, distribution, and/or sale of my image, images of my artwork, any information related to my artwork, or statements made by or related to
me as consented to herein, including any claims of defamation, invasion of privacy, infringement of moral rights, rights of publicity, trade dress or copyright. By signing this form, I also certify that any work submitted is original and mine alone and that I have the right to grant the permissions set forth herein. I hereby agree that if my artwork is a “winning” piece, I hereby assign all right, title and copyright in and to the artwork to NYLO and agree to execute any and all additional documents requested by any of the Authorized Parties in order to fully transfer all copyright and ownership rights in the artwork to NYLO or its designee.
I have read and understand this form.

OK, so, where to start?

I can understand that a young artist just starting out might jump at the chance to have his or her artwork featured in a hip loft hotel. And if it were just a contest where they chose some paintings, hung them in their hotel, and gave the artists a cash award, then that would be fine.
And if they wanted to create reproductions of your work and gave you a percentage of sales, then that might be OK.

But. They want artists to sign over their copyright. If I interpret this correctly, if I won, I would get $2250 and they would get my painting, all rights to do whatever they want to with it, whether they identify me as the artist or not, and the right to use my image (in video and photographs), and my words however and wherever and for however long they want.

Maybe I'm being paranoid and they're great people and would never do anything mean or evil with my artwork. But they could. Or the evil corporation who buys them next year could.

They can do whatever they want. Think about it. After you get your $2250, your artwork is theirs. They could make your painting their logo and you wouldn't get anything. They could create a line of linens featuring your artwork and sell it at Macy's for $500 a pop and you wouldn't get anything. Or worse. They could print your artwork on tissue box covers and sell them at WalMart for $2 and you wouldn't get anything. Except the reputation of someone who sold out to WalMart...

And you couldn't use that image in your portfolio or on your website. They own it.

Oh, right, you get their "perks." Media exposure, your artwork on their website, a free lunch (artists *do* like food!), and they'll sell artwork for you. But that last one is a little iffy. Check out the fine print:

** The art will be for sale to all our hotel guests/visitors and to people who visit our website. NYLO does not intend to profit on the sale of this artwork. Proceeds of an artwork sale will work as follows:• 100% to NYLO until costs of the contest and acquisition are recouped
• Thereafter, 90% to the artists & 10% to a charity to be selected by NYLO

This is what gets me: "...until costs of the contest and acquisition are recouped." And when will that be, exactly? And they're setting the pricing. And what if the charity that they select is something that you're morally opposed to?

I was afraid that maybe I was interpreting this incorrectly or maybe I'm naive and this is just standard practice in the hotel industry, so I asked my friend, Robin Walker, who does a *lot* of work for hotels. She said,

When I do work for a hotel, they first pay for the originals, and they pay a royalty ranging from $3 - 5 per print for room art. For public spaces, I am paid for every original I produce (usually by commission). I NEVER convey a copyright! The reproduction rights are always mine, and that's a standard not only in the hotel business but in all art business.

She also had a few more choice words, but I'll leave that to your imagination.

So I guess my advice is just common sense - read the fine print and make sure you know what you're getting into. But I would advise artists to steer clear of these types of "contests."

I must stress that I am not a lawyer and have little knowledge of legal matters, so I apologize if I'm getting any of this wrong. I also don't intend to bash this company. They may be completely benign and truly think they're helping artists. But I think the only thing this contest does is help them get cheap artwork for their hotel.

More Thoughts on Pricing Your Work

2008-08-29T09:36:00.003-05:00

I was at a meeting of artists last weekend and the subject of pricing came up, as it does often among artists. When I got home that evening I had an email from another artist asking me about my thoughts on pricing artwork.

My friend Sharon Kyle-Kuhn just sent me a link to this Art-Tistics post about pricing artwork. I've written about the subject before, too. And Alyson Stanfield has written about it on her Art Biz Blog several times...

The Art-Tistics author discusses the need to have consistent pricing everywhere - every gallery that sells your work, regardless of region, and even your own studio.

"But artists must be consistent in their pricing and accept the fact that if they are going to work with an art gallery or art dealer or both, then they can’t have them competing with each other and also with the artist, because a good art dealer’s job is to protect both the artist and the collector."

I know for some artists, a 50% commission (which is standard) seems really steep. But the gallery (if it's a good gallery, doing its job) will earn that amount. They will learn all they can about your work and your process and share that information with their customers. They will promote your work in the press. They will contact collectors who have purchased your work in the past. They are salespeople. They want to sell your work as much as you do, and they'll work hard to make sure that happens.

And if you don't believe in galleries and you have the energy and enthusiasm and skills to market and sell your own work, then that's great. If that's the case, the author states, "... you control prices and can do whatever you want, and hopefully won’t be having art 'sales' where you’ll be 'discounting' the work that you sold to collectors a week earlier for a specific price, to a much lower price."

So if your work is in several galleries and you sell work from your studio, please be consistent with your pricing!

Some Like It Hot

2008-08-27T10:49:00.003-05:00

I have work in a group show that opens this weekend in Dallas. It's a show of work by members of TexasWAX/Dallas.

Some Like It Hot
Artwork by Members of TexasWAX/Dallas

Curated by Janet Reynolds

Bath House Cultural Center
521 E. Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas

August 30 - September 27, 2008

Reception: August 30, 7-9 pm

Encaustic Demos: September 13, 2-5 pm
In conjunction with the DADA art walk

Hope to see you there!

Waxy Buildup: Cleaning House

2008-08-16T13:45:00.002-05:00

Paintings by Trayc Claybrook and Deanna Wood

August 17 - September 28, 2008

Opening Reception:
Sunday, August 17, 2-4 pm

Center for Visual Arts
400 E. Hickory
Denton, Texas, 76201

Directions to the Center for Visual Arts

Gallery Hours:
Tues - Sun, 1-5 pm

Trayc and I collaborated on this work and we're excited that it's finally being exhibited.

You can read all about the creation of this work on the Waxy Buildup blog.

We hope to see you there!

Creative Endeavors and Do-It-Yourself Projects

2008-08-05T11:44:00.006-05:00

Colleen Cook, my oldest friend (and by "oldest" I mean the one that I've known the longest), was recently the featured blogger at Kidlit Central News. In her post she compares writing to do-it-yourself home renovation.

I think some of her points can be transferred to almost any creative endeavor, especially trying to "make it" as an artist.

These points resonated with me:
"Reading how-to books helps, but it won’t make you a professional."
and
"The only way to become a true craftsman is to slop on comfy clothes and do it every day for years and years."

Most of the other points can be applied to visual artists as well, either in building a career or just creating a single painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.

The last point reminds me of this video that I saw recently, where Ira Glass of This American Life talks about how to be a great storyteller. He's talking specifically about radio and television, but it can relate to visual art as well:

I've had that exact experience - where what I was making didn't meet the expectations that I had for it. Over the years of doing it again and again, I've gotten to the point where I can make things that meet or exceed my expectations. Well, most of the time.

On the flip side, I've also given up. I've also had the experience of wanting to be an expert at something but giving up immediately upon realizing that I truly suck at it. I don't know how many times I've borrowed my mom's sewing machine because I wanted to learn to sew. But when my first project would turn out hideous, I would give the sewing machine back. I never gave myself the opportunity to make bad things for a while until I figured it out.

I realize that it was something that I wasn't committed to. Learning to sew wasn't important enough to me, so I quit.

The late Randy Pausch said many inspirational things in his "Last Lecture," but one that applies here is: "Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something."

So you have to figure out what you're committed to for the long run and be willing to make ugly things, make mistakes, break down that brick wall, and gradually get to that point where what you create is exactly what you had envisioned.

Upcoming show in Provincetown, Massachusetts

2008-07-13T23:35:00.003-05:00

Safe With Me, collage, colored pencil, and encaustic on panel
24" x 24"
2008

My new Palimpsest series will be on exhibit at Ernden Fine Art Gallery in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

July 25 - August 7, 2008

Opening Reception
Friday, July 25
7-9 pm

I won't be able to make it to the reception (just blew the travel budget for the next couple of years!), but I hope you can stop by if you're in the area.

I've been busy getting this work ready to go. This weekend I was supposed to be packing the work and finishing up a couple, but I started a few new ones instead!

You can see the whole series (so far) in this Flickr set.

Home at Last

2008-07-04T16:41:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to let you know that I'm home!

My flight out of Scranton (did I mention how teeny their airport is?) was late, so I missed my connecting flight in Atlanta (their airport is the opposite of teeny), but I was able to get on the next flight out. So I got back home around midnight last night.

It's good to be back, even though it is 100 degrees outside.

My son and I slept very late this morning and then got some Mexican food for lunch. I had been jonesin' for some good tex-mex after being on the east coast! I had great pizza, greek, seafood, etc, but I missed my greasy, cheesy, fried (and oh so healthy) tex-mex...

So I've restocked the kitchen, gone through the mail, and now I guess I need to unpack. A nap sounds nice, too.

Leaving

2008-07-03T15:06:00.003-05:00

beautiful paper that I bought at New York Central art supply

So we packed up and headed out today. I packed all my supplies and shipped them back yesterday. Laura put her wet paintings into her UHaul today.

I'm at the airport waiting on my flight, which looks like it might be late. Keep your fingers crossed that I get to Atlanta in time to catch my flight to Dallas! Hopefully these insurance salesmen behind me will be leaving on a different flight...

Anyway, I had a fabulous time and am kind of sad to leave! If I had it to do differently, I might have brought some painting supplies instead of book supplies. I felt like I was kind of floundering at the beginning, since I didn't really have a plan for what I was going to do. Maybe I was just comparing myself to Laura, who was on a mission and who knew exactly what she wanted to do...

I did finally figure out what I wanted to do, and I will definitely be able to get a lot of work out of the experience when I get back. So it was definitely a great experience.

I would recommend applying for the residency next year. Check the Soaring Gardens website for application information. They like groups and women artists!

I really enjoyed it and I will probably be looking for another residency for next summer.

Books, books, books

2008-06-30T13:40:00.002-05:00

Here are some photos of the books I've been making. I finished an altered book, worked out the dummy on a flag book, have the basic idea and form for a small stab book (or series), and am still going strong on those embroidery books that I mentioned earlier.

Altered book.

One of the embroidery books.

I also worked a bit on some drawings that I will collage into encaustic paintings when I get back.

I had a bit of a detour on Thursday - Laura wanted to go to some openings in the city, so we drove back in that day and came back on Friday. We stayed at the beautiful brownstone in Harlem that she and her husband are remodeling, went to 3 openings (without air conditioning!) and then had dinner at a place called Hell's Kitchen.

The next day we went to an awesome art supply store called New York Central. I got some really great paper to use for books when I get back.

Then we went to PS1 to see the Olafur Eliasson show. He's the one that did the waterfalls around the city. He also had some work at MoMA that I had enjoyed.

So it was fun to go to the city again. It was a bit intimidating driving, though. Laura directed me. Actually, she mostly said, "It's OK. Just go!" Luckily I didn't have to drive very far - we just parked at her place and then took the subway, taxis, and her husband drove some, too.

Anyway, the time here is almost up. It's been really fun and inspiring. I'm almost ready to get back to the real world. I've got a lot of work to do when I get back!

Soaring Gardens, part 2

2008-06-24T14:08:00.003-05:00

Laura, hard at work in the lower studio...

I'm still blown away by how beautiful it is here. Texas has its charms (well, maybe not), but natural beauty is not one of them. In the Dallas area, at least... So it's quite an experience to be around so much for so long. I have to admit that at times the nature can be a bit much, especially when it buzzes around your ears or poops on your head...

But I'm making work about the surroundings. I'm taking lots of photos and using them in books. I might also do a series of paintings when I get back.

Above is a book that I'm working on. I'm doing embroidery on mulberry paper, making small accordion books, and I plan to make a box to put them in.

I didn't really bring enough supplies. Since I was traveling so much before, I didn't want to lug around a bunch of extra stuff, so I had someone ship me a box of supplies that was waiting for me when I got here. I bought some paper when I was in New York, but I didn't really know what I needed, so I didn't really get enough. And there are really not art supply stores here. So I'm making due with what I have.

Laura, on the other hand, brought her whole studio! She lives in New York, which is only a 3 hour drive, so she rented a truck and brought lots of paint, large canvases, etc. She's here to work, too. She's on a mission. She gets out there early and stays up late working. I feel like a bit of a slacker, really. But I'm here for the inspiration and the experience. It will affect my work in some way, so I'm just soaking it in.

So I'm having a fabulous time and it's been such a great summer so far. I do miss my son, though. That's the only bad part. And today is his birthday, so there's extra mom guilt. But he's on his own Arkansas adventure right now, digging for diamonds and staying in a yurt! So maybe he's not missing me too much...

Soaring Gardens

2008-06-20T11:48:00.007-05:00

View of the back of the house at Soaring Gardens.

The Studio at Soaring Gardens

I arrived at Soaring Gardens on Monday. It's about an hour from Scranton, Pennsylvania, and it's absolutely beautiful here.

You can also check out the Flickr set of photos that I've taken so far - I'm adding them slowly.

I'm staying at "The House" with another artist, Laura Iorio, who is from New York City. Nicole Pietrantoni from Iowa is staying at "The Church." We've all been enjoying hanging out and taking in the scenery. Laura is serious about getting a lot of work done and Nicole and I are here for the experience and to be inspired.

I am working, but mostly collecting ideas and images. I've been taking a ton of pictures. I'm going to do work inspired by the natural surroundings - mountains, trees, birds, deer, pond, chipmunks, woodchucks, squirrels, rain, flowers, etc.

I don't get cell phone reception and I have to come into "town" to get email, but that's probably a good thing.

New York City, Day 2

2008-06-14T07:45:00.020-05:00

Cymbeline, performed "progressively" in Central Park by the New York Classical Theatre.

I had a super busy day yesterday. I took the subway and then walked through Central Park to the Met. It's a big place and I didn't get to see all of it. I concentrated on the modern and contemporary sections, but got side-tracked by some older things, too. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they allowed photography. So many museums don't any more... Below are just a few of the things that I saw:

I think this was the only piece I saw by Robert Rauschenberg. He's one of my favorites, so I was a tad disappointed that they didn't have more.

I just had to take a picture of Damien Hurst's shark, mainly because there was a "No Photography" sign right next to it.

Detail view of Tara Donovan's amazing installation of mylar tape. She does cool things with straws, styrofoam cups, etc. Seeing something mundane and disposable arranged on such a large scale is quite impressive.

Jasper Johns' encaustic White Flag is pretty textural and amazing in person.

This is a detail of a large encaustic piece by Martin Kline. Very textural and dimensional.

Another encaustic piece, this one by Victor Brauner.

The roof garden featured some large metal sculptures by Jeff Koons.

After the Met, I rode the subway to Battery Park and met an online friend at the Battery Marine Building to see David Byrne's "Playing the Building" installation. The building is going to be remodeled soon and he's turned the empty large space inside into a musical instrument.

There's an organ in the center that you can play, and all the wires connected to the organ control motors on the rafters, compressed air blown into pipes, and hammers on radiators and pillars.

Above is an example of one of the pipes with air being blown into it.

It was really amazing. We stood in line and played a duet that was pretty awful, I'm sure, but it was really fun. There were a few people that were able to play some semblance of music. I felt really fortunate to be able to see it and interact with it.

Then we went to Brooklyn to meet up with another online friend. He took us down to the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge to see the Telectroscope, a viewer that allows you to see through this newly discovered tunnel to London that uses elaborate mirrors or something.

This is the viewer - you look through a large window and you can see a screen with the people in London, who are standing in front of a bridge in London (the Tower Bridge?).

Here's Chuck attempting to engage the Londoners in a game of rock-paper-scissors, or roshambo, as they call it. There was a bit of a lag, so it didn't work so well. The woman on the left was talking on the phone to someone in London. Adam, the scientist, was skeptical, and suspected that the people were not even in London, much less at the end of a tunnel.

Then we ate some yummy pizza (although Chuck assured me that it wasn't that great), got some yummy ice cream, and then headed back to Manhattan to go to the New Museum. They didn't let us take pictures there, though.

I headed back to the hostel and attempted to get some sleep.

Today I'm going to head to Chelsea to see some galleries. I might also try to get Shakespeare in the Park tickets for tonight, too.

The Adventure Continues

2008-06-13T07:27:00.003-05:00

The blur that is Joanne Mattera...

I'm still processing all that I saw and learned at the Second Annual Encaustic Conference. Joanne Mattera and the staff at Montserrat College of Art did a fabulous job of organizing the conference and keeping it lively and interesting.

I need to read through my notes and sit down and do a more thorough wrap-up later.

I also spent a day in Boston roasting in the heat and taking in some mercifully air-conditioned galleries. I will also try to do a summary of what I saw there.

But right now I'm in New York City!

I took a $15 bus from Boston to New York (how is that possible?) and arrived in Chinatown. Then I took a $20 white-knuckle cab ride to the hostel where I'm staying.

OK, so it turns out staying at a hostel is a lot like camping. I hate camping. But it's cheap, so I'm going to make the best of it.

So after checking in and getting settled in, I started wandering around. Central Park is just a couple blocks away, so I started there. I was thinking maybe I'd walk to the Met, but realized that Central Park is BIG! So I thought I'd try to find where they perform Shakespeare in the Park and maybe take in a show, but I couldn't find it.

I decided to just head back to the hostel, grab something to eat, and do some laundry. But as I was walking out of the park, someone handed me a flyer and said, "Come to our performance!" Turns out it was a Shakespeare play by the New York Classical Theatre, and they were doing it right there. It was a "progressive" performance, where they would move all over the park and perform scenes in different locations. At the end of a scene, one of the characters would say, "To Britain! Come on! It's just across the bridge!" Or something like that. It was really fun.

So today I'm thinking of hitting the Met and MoMA. And then tonight I'm meeting some internet friends at David Byrne's musical building.

Hopefully it won't be as hot as it has been.

Encaustic Conference

2008-06-07T22:24:00.003-05:00

Gwen Plunkett and Kate Miller

I'm having fun and learning a lot at the Second National Encaustic Conference.

Linda Womack is doing a much better job blogging about it.

This is the only picture I've taken so far!

I'll try to take more tomorrow.

Deanna's Excellent Artistic Summer Adventure

2008-06-04T08:54:00.003-05:00

I've been busy getting ready for my summer adventure. I'll be gone for almost a month! In a couple of days, I'm headed to the east coast for the start of my adventure:

Part 1 -
The Second National Encaustic Painting Conference near Salem, Massachusetts. I went to the first one last year and had an amazing time. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the artists that I met last year and meeting new ones.

I'll be staying with Kate Miller and Gwen Plunkett, who I just met in February when they came to Dallas for the College Art Association conference. We hit it off and I'm glad that I'll be able to spend some more time with them.

I'll be staying on a couple extra days after the conference. Gwen and Kate have both signed up for post-conference workshops and I may try to get into one of those or I may just do some sight-seeing. Or I may try to recreate my "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" adventure to Provincetown.

Part 2 -
New York City! Since I have a few days between the conference and the start of my residency, I thought it would be fun to spend some time in New York visiting museums and galleries. Alas, since my search for a Park Avenue penthouse to crash in for free turned up empty, I'll be staying at a cool-looking hostel. I've been to New York twice but was with people who weren't so into the art scene, so I'm excited to get to do anything I want and go anywhere I want! Joanne Mattera has already sent me a Chelsea gallery guide, and of course I'll be visiting museums, too. And looking for good pizza. Art and food. It's all about priorities.

Part 3 -
Artist's Residency at Soaring Gardens in Pennsylvania. I've already booked my ticket on the bus from NYC to Scranton. I'll rent a car in Scranton and then attempt to find Soaring Gardens, where I'll be staying and making art for 18 days.

So now I'm busy trying to figure out how to cram a month's worth of stuff in one small suitcase. I also want to have someone ship my art supplies to me, so I don't have to lug them around.

Thanks to everyone who has "invested" in my residency. I'm overwhelmed by your generosity and I'm really excited to share what I learn with everyone.

I got a new laptop (Betty, pictured above), so I'll try to blog about my adventure as I go along, depending on internet access, of course.

I have a link on the blog now if you're interested in signing up for my mailing list. When I get back, I plan to start sending out a regular (hopefully monthly) newsletter. So please sign up. But don't worry if you don't hear from me for a while - I'll be adventuring!

It's My Turn on the Blog Tour!

2008-05-27T07:30:00.007-05:00

There's so much going on in my world lately, but I'm excited to be the last stop on the blog tour for Alyson Stanfield's I'd Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self Promotion. If you don't have the book yet, why not? Read on to find out how you can win a free copy...

Today I'm hosting Alyson B. Stanfield, author of I'd Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion. Alyson is here as part of the blog tour to help promote the book and is also giving away a free copy. She's invited me to ask a question related to the book, so here goes . . .

What is the best piece of advice that you could give to an emerging artist?

That's easy. For most artists, it would be: Get your art out there! Be so in love with your art that you can't wait to get out of bed and share it with people.

Don't wait for opportunity to knock on your door. Make sure more and more people are seeing your work and that you're not hoarding it for the perfect occasion.

Yes, you should enter juried shows, but don't stick to the safe ones. Go beyond your usual circle and introduce your art to new audiences. Subscribe to Art Calendar or an online service like ArtDeadlines.com or ArtDeadlinesList.com so you can keep up with the call for entries.

I would also caution emerging artists not to write off non-traditional venues. Sure, a local restaurant might not be as prestigious as a gallery in a big city, but what good is your art doing you while you sit on it and wait for that gallery? You never know what might come of hanging your art in a restaurant or doctor's office or bank lobby.

This brings me to something else. Although it's important to get your work out there as much as you can, it's equally important to know what you're getting into. That means doing your homework, meeting face-to-face with individuals, and that you need something in writing for most venues. You don't need to hang your art at every restaurant. You need to hang your art at those venues that will treat it with respect and treat you as the professional you are. If you don't know what you're getting into--if you don't know the right questions to ask--you can't expect others to cover all of the bases.

Bottom line: Get your art out of the studio and into venues where more people can see it.

Interested in winning a free copy of I'd Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion? Visit this site, read the instructions, and enter. Your odds are good as she's giving away a free copy on most of the blog tour stops. You can increase your odds by visiting the other blog tour stops and entering on those sites as well.

Artist's Residencies - An Overview

2008-05-24T10:23:00.004-05:00

I promised that I would write a little about artist's residencies and what they're all about.

There are many different kinds of artist's residencies, but basically a residency is a place where an artist can get away from "real life" and concentrate on his or her art for a specified period of time. The artist is usually given a studio space and living space in which to live and work, often sharing space with other artists of different disciplines.

Some common types of residencies:
Fees required -
For this type of residency, you will pay to work and stay at the facility. Often they will bring in a visiting artist (well known artist or writer) that the residents get to interact with. The Vermont Studio Center is an example of this type of residency. Some will offer scholarships that artists can apply for to help with travel or living expenses, but most artists who are there are paying to stay there.

The Atlantic Center for the Arts is another example.

No fees required -
This type of residency will let you stay and work for free, but you're responsible for your travel and meals. This is the type of residency that I'm doing. My friend Junanne clarified by saying that they're "giving me the gift of time" to do my work. I think that's a good way to put it. I'll be away in a beautiful setting with other artists and I won't have to worry about "everyday" types of things that keep me from doing art.

The Edward F. Albee Foundation is another example of this type of no-fee residency.

Stipend provided -
This is a "dream gig." An artist is given a free place to stay and work and is also given a stipend to help defray expenses for travel, etc.

Artpace in San Antonio is an example of this kind of residency.

Work required -
Some residencies will require you to give back in some way, either through teaching community or children's classes, being available to the public to talk about your work, create work for an exhibition at the end of the residency, or to donate a piece of work.

The national park service offers residencies of this type.

But many will not require you to do anything. You're completely on your own to create (or not create) anything you like.

Many universities and colleges will employ artist's in residence for 1 or 2 years. I've known several artists who took these types of positions directly out of graduate school. Some were offered full time positions as a result and some went on to teach full time at different schools.

"Alternative" residencies -
Most residencies will be offered by art centers, art foundations, etc. But every now and then you'll come across a residency opportunity that at first seems strange. One example I heard about recently is at the San Francisco Dump. This would be a dream gig for an artist who likes to use recycled materials.

The Exploratorium, also in San Francisco, offers an artist in residence program that would be great for an artist who is interested in science and working with kids.

Elsewhere Artist Collaborative offers residencies where artists create site-specific work in a former thrift store.

Within all those above categories, you'll find even more differences:
Settings and facilities -
You'll find residencies in cities, rural areas, and even international locations. The facilities will also differ from residency to residency. Some will provide meals, private rooms, etc. while others, especially the ones in the national parks, are more primitive.

Time frame -
You can spend as little as a week or two or up to 1 or 2 years at a residency.

Age and career point -
Some residencies are for artists in their early 20's or 30's, some for more "mature" artists, some for "emerging artists" in their first 10 years of their career.

Gender and ethnicity -
Some residencies focus on women and minorities.

Discipline -
Some residencies are only open to visual artists while others encourage artists of may disciplines to apply, including writers, composers, musicians, dancers, singers, etc. One I saw even encouraged chefs to apply. Sign me up for the month when the chef's there!

Things to consider when applying for a residency:
Cost -
Can you afford to be away? Can you afford the travel expenses, etc? Are you willing to donate time or artwork, if it is required?

Location and time of year -
Where do you want to go? What time of year do you want to be away? Some residencies offer only summer options, but others are year-round. Often winter is a better time to apply, as there are fewer applicants.

Personality and working style -
Do you enjoy interacting with other people? If not, you might try to find a more "solo" residency. If you enjoy working with children or with the public, then you might look for one that requires that you teach and lecture.

The Application Process:
Follow the rules!
All residencies are different, so my best advice is to follow their specific rules. Often if you don't include all of the information that they ask for, your application will be thrown out immediately. They won't call you and ask for you to resubmit - they get hundreds of applications and don't have time for that.

Reapply -
Most residencies have a panel of jurors that changes every year, so if you're rejected, check their guidelines to find out when you can apply again (some will only allow you to apply every 2 years).

Send your best work -
Many residencies are based solely on the work, so make sure that every image you send them is your best.

Application fee -
Some will require an application fee, usually around $25. Personally, I look for the ones that don't require fees. It's expensive enough to be an artist!

Resources:
Here are some resources and clearinghouses for information on artist's residencies:
Alliance of Artists Communities
Resartis
TransArtists
Wikipedia has a good explanation and a list of other resources

Additional funding:
Check with your local or state arts council to find out of they offer any residencies or offer grants for residencies.

If you apply, good luck! And I'll keep you updated on how my residency goes.

Artist's Residency

2008-04-24T21:53:00.006-05:00

I'm very excited to announce that I've been offered a residency at the Ora Lerman Charitable Trust Artist's Residency at Soaring Gardens in Pennsylvania this summer!

I'll be there for eighteen days, June 16 - July 3, interacting with other artists and creating my own artwork. I intend to work on some paintings but I want to focus on creating artist's books.

It's the first residency I've been offered and I'm very excited about it.

The residency includes room and board, but I'm expected to pay for travel expenses, which can get expensive. So I'm asking for your help. If you'd like to help out, click here for an invitation to be a partner on my creative journey.

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Special thanks to Alyson Stanfield - I got the idea for this from her book, I'd Rather Be In the Studio.

I don't think I've written anything about artist's residencies, so I'll do that soon...

Different Media

2008-04-22T10:58:00.004-05:00

I wrote recently about trying to figure out how to handle marketing different bodies of work. But now I'm facing a different problem: working in different media.

I used to paint only in acrylic, and I played around with layering colors and trying to achieve transparency. But when I discovered encaustic, it seemed to solve all my problems. I could embed objects, collage materials, write words, scrape, scratch, layer... So I've worked almost exclusively in that medium for almost four years.

But when I started on this new body of work (the Palimpsest series), I wanted to explore the ideas in different media, as I had done with the Seeking Shelter series. That particular series came out of all of the work that I did in grad school. I spent the whole time working through ideas and media, and Seeking Shelter is the culmination of all of that work, and it just happens to be created in encaustic.

I know Joanne Mattera has written about not wanting to be labeled an "encaustic artist," and I can understand and respect that. About not being defined by your medium. And it's never bothered me if someone called me an encaustic artist. [I don't care what you call me, just call me, right?]

But I'm afraid now that I've pigeon-holed myself. I've created a few new pieces in the Palimpsest series that are not encaustic. I've been experimenting with acrylic, oil, and pastel. I think all of the pieces go together as one body of work and I don't think acrylic pieces would look out of place next to encaustic pieces as long as they seem cohesive in style, subject matter, etc. But when I was talking with a gallery owner about sending work to him, he seemed hesitant about me sending the non-encaustic pieces. He said I have become "known for" encaustic.

I'm going to send them anyway and see what happens.

So I'm curious. How do you handle working in different media? Or introducing work created in a new medium? Have you had the experience of being labeled as a particular kind of artist or expected to only work in a certain medium?

I Don't Really Want to Be an Expert on This...

2008-04-20T22:16:00.003-05:00

I was recently interviewed for American Artist Magazine for an article about rejection.

The article will appear in the June issue.

You can read it now online:
Putting a Positive Spin on Rejection

More Shameless Self-Promotion

2008-04-05T20:11:00.006-05:00

Just wanted to post some info on recent shows. I'm noticing a lot of artist book activity lately and I like it!

Deanna Wood - Palimpsest: Secrets Revealed, photocopies, colored pencil, Canson paper, staples, and wax

Secrets and Lies, National Juried Artist Book Exhibition
23 Sandy Gallery
Portland, Oregon
March 20 - April 26, 2008

I created this book specifically to enter in the show. It seemed serendipitous, as it fit into my recent body of work so perfectly. I will definitely be doing more books as part of this series.

--------------------

Deanna Wood - Bicycle Andante, inkjet prints, vinyl, metal tape, reflector

Deanna Wood - Desk Drawing, color copies, spiral binding

Merging Visions - Collaborative Art and Poetry Exhibition
Visual Arts Society of Texas and Denton Poets' Assembly
Emily Fowler Central Library and North Branch Library
Denton, Texas
April 1 - April 30, 2008

This exhibition is a really fun idea - the poets made poems available to the artists and the artists made artwork available to the poets. The poets looked at the art and found pieces that either reminded them of poems that they had written, or they wrote poems that were inspired by the artwork. At the same time, the poets made their poems available to the artists, who paired the poems with existing artwork or created new art based on the poetry. The pairings are displayed at 2 branches of the library, in celebration of National Poetry Month.

My friend Beth Honeycutt, who is a member of the Poets' Assembly, gave me some of her poems to read, as well as her daughter, Stephanie's. I was drawn to one poem by each of them, and created the artist's books pictured above. Beth wrote a poem in response to one of my paintings.

More images of Desk Drawing and Bicycle Andante in this Flickr set .

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One last artist's book-related event - I'll be speaking about artist's books to the Dallas Area Fiber Artists on April 28, at 7:15 pm at CC Young Cultural Arts Center Auditorium, 4829 Lawther West, in Dallas. I'll also be doing a mini workshop before the meeting.

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I'll be speaking to the Women of Visionary Influence Artist Ring about my path as a full-time artist on Wednesday, April 9, 9:30-11:00 am, at la Madeleine on Belt Line and Montfort in Addison.

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Now playing: Joshua Radin - Everything'll Be Alright (Will's Lullaby)
via FoxyTunes

Book Party!

2008-03-31T22:11:00.005-05:00

Alyson Stanfield speaking to artists at my studio

This past Sunday, I was excited to host Alyson Stanfield, creator of ArtBizCoach.com at my studio for a book party. She's visiting artist's studios to talk about her new book, I'd Rather Be in the Studio.

There were about 13 artists there to meet Alyson, buy her book, and ask her questions about art marketing. Everybody wanted to hear everyone else's questions, so it ended up being a group question and answer type format.

Alyson was very genuine, funny, and generous with her information. I really enjoyed meeting her.

Her book is wonderful - full of helpful information to get you started or to help you focus on what you're already doing. And I was overwhelmed with the amount of online resources that she shares with the buyers of the book. It's such a great supplement to the book. You definitely need to read it!

And, just a reminder - as part of her blog tour, Alyson is stopping by my blog on May 27. Stop back by then for more with Alyson!

Different Bodies of Work

2008-03-22T11:45:00.011-05:00

Recently I've been wondering how to handle marketing different bodies of work. I guess I've always had 2 distinct bodies of work - paintings and artist's books. Most of my books haven't really dealt with the same imagery or subject matter as my paintings, so I've kept them separate. I really haven't marketed them much, since there aren't many galleries that carry artist's books. Mostly I've just entered them into juried book shows, when I can find them.

Deanna Wood, At the Park (detail), inkjet prints, chain, pipe, and aluminum

My "main" body of work in painting has been the Seeking Shelter series, dealing with the idea of tornadoes and dreams of tornadoes. I have really enjoyed doing these paintings and I don't feel like I've exhausted all I have to say on the subject.

Deanna Wood, Fragile (in progress), 12" x 12", encaustic and collage on panel

But I have wanted to take a detour every now and then and work on something else. Last year, I collaborated with Trayc Claybrook, where we each created work based on the theme Waxy Buildup. We're in the process of finding a venue for our combined work. We have two that have accepted our proposal, but no firm dates yet.

Deanna Wood, Poise, 12" x 12", collage and encaustic on panel

Some time last year, I began to play around with the idea of "palimpsest." When tablets, paper or parchment was not so cheap and plentiful, people would often scrape off or erase writing and reuse the tablet or sheet for something else. Occasionally the writing that had been erased would reappear. My encaustic process often involves scraping and reusing, so I began to play around with this idea. Initially, the work was too abstract for me, and I felt that I needed some imagery. I decided to incorporate bird silhouettes with the idea that birds sit around silently and listen to our secrets and then fly away with them. So the idea has evolved into hiding and revealing secrets.

Deanna Wood, Whispers, 24" x 36", encaustic and collage on panel

Initially I was worried that this work would seem too decorative or just "pretty*," and too different from my other work. But the feedback I've gotten has all been positive. And I do think it still looks like my work.

OK, so what do I do with it? I've gotten a couple of suggestions from other artists that I admire - one suggested that I contact art consultants and another suggested that I create a few more pieces and approach one particular local gallery.

Alyson Stanfield, in her book I'd Rather Be in the Studio, suggests that each distinct body of work should be marketed differently. "Each body of work that looks like a different person did it will be marketed to a different audience."

I'm sort of doing that. I'm offering the Palimpsest work to my current galleries but also stressing that I'm continuing my Seeking Shelter series as well, and they can have whatever they want. I'm also working on more to build up the Palimpsest body of work to market to new galleries and consultants.

I keep track of all the galleries that I have sent packets to, and I will send them information on my new work. Perhaps they will see potential for the new work that they didn't see in the old.

If you create distinct bodies of work, how do you handle marketing them?

* As in, "not serious." I respond to most art emotionally and tend to be drawn to work that I find "beautiful." I don't know why I avoid that label for my own work.

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Now playing: The Sea And Cake - Up On Crutches
via FoxyTunes

Artists: Book Party!

2008-03-18T17:37:00.005-05:00

For:

I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self Promotion
by Alyson B. Stanfield of ArtBizCoach.com

Where?
Deanna Wood’s Studio
804 B Utility Rd, Sanger, Texas
click here for directions

When?
Sunday, March 30, 2008
1:00 – 3:00 pm

Why?
Alyson will be in the area and she wants to meet some Dallas-area artists.

Cost:
Free and open to all artists of all levels.
Feel free to distribute this to anyone you think would be interested. Bring a friend!

What to expect?
Alyson will speak briefly about art marketing and answer questions. There is no pressure to buy a book, but they will be available for purchase.

More about Alyson:
She runs a Web site and artist consulting business called ArtBizCoach.com. Alyson relies on artists’ stories and experiences. She wants to hear yours.

So, why is it called a Book Party?
The book is a pretext to visit with artists in an artist’s studio. According to Alyson, “Most authors have book signings, but, well . . . yawn. I wanted to take my book to where artists are. And wouldn’t you rather be in the studio? I will have books for sale and will donate a portion of sales to the Visual Arts Society of Texas (VAST). But there will be zero pressure to purchase the book. I’d much rather meet the artists in your town than sell books.”

To read details about the book, visit http://idratherbeinthestudio.com

Questions?
Contact Deanna Wood at deanna@deannawood.com or 972.345.9968.

Contact the author:
Alyson B. Stanfield
303.273.5904
alyson@artbizcoach.com

I promise I won't rant...

2008-03-17T23:00:00.002-05:00

I'm in the middle of my annual unpacking spree for the VAST national exhibition. Here's a shot from the sea I was drowning in today...

TexasWAX Opening Night

2008-03-17T22:58:00.000-05:00

l to r: Kate Miller (with back to camera), Joanne Mattera, Cheryl McClure, Carolyn Fox-Hearne (with back to camera), Janet Reynolds

Our opening reception on Friday, February 22, was a great success! The people at CAMP really did it up nicely for us. They were extremely gracious and they put on a great spread. One really great touch was the video camera "hidden" in the main gallery space. It was streaming live video that was projected in another room (and someone said it was streaming on the internet, too, but I'm not sure about that).

We were extremely excited that several high-profile people from the "encaustic world" stopped by, including Joanne Mattera, author of The Art of Encaustic Painting; Richard Frumess of R&F Paints, and Kathryn Bevier of Enkaustikos Wax Art Supplies.

The show is up until March 16, so if you haven't seen it yet, please stop by and check it out!

Collaborating Artists Media Project
2631 Commerce St. Suite B, Dallas, TX 75226
Gallery hours M-F, 9 am - 5 pm

Here are some more photos from the opening:

Carolyn Fox-Hearne

Deanna Wood

Gwen Plunkett, Kate Miller, Franziska Bader

Diane reader Dorn

Trayc Claybrook

Diane reader Dorn and Carolyn Fox-Hearne

In Overwhelm. But in a good way...

2008-03-02T22:14:00.001-06:00

I started to write this last weekend and I'm just now getting around to finishing it...

I've had a whirlwind few days! Last week I attended the CAA (College Art Association) Conference, which was very conveniently held in Dallas this year. I might not have gone if there hadn't been so much encaustic stuff going on.

The exhibition, The Divas and Iron Chefs of Encaustic is on display at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary in conjunction with the conference. On Wednesday night, the MAC hosted a reception and artist's talk. All of the artists (Kristy Deetz, Peter Dykhuis, Lorraine Glessner, Cheryl Goldsleger, Reni Gower, Heather Harvey, Jeffrey Hirst and Timothy McDowell), were in attendance and all talked very eloquently about their work. The show is just fabulous, and to hear the artists talk about the meaning behind the work and about their processes was so wonderful.

Gwen Plunkett attended the talk with me. She had driven up from Houston to attend the conference and our TexasWAX show.

The next day, all of the artists, joined also by Joanne Mattera and Richard Frumess from R&F Paints, spoke on a panel discussion about encaustic. Richard discussed the history of encaustic, Joanne talked about her work as well as some artists who work in encaustic, and all of the other artists spoke about their own work.

It was wonderful to see more images of the artists' work and to hear more about their processes and themes.

Then, as if that wasn't awesome enough, the next morning there was an encaustic workshop. I had no idea what to expect. I knew Richard Frumess would be there, so I was thinking it would just be an informational type of thing where he would talk about products and demo them. But almost all of the artists were there with their hot plates set up and they were doing demos (Timothy MacDowell was not there and Heather Harvey was there but just taking photos).

They were spread out, so everyone could just bunch around a table and watch and ask questions. I was a little frustrated at the beginning because all of the questions were very basic. I wanted to get to the nitty gritty! I did pick up a few techniques, but the best part was just to hear the artists talk more about their processes and see how they work.

I feel so fortunate that I was able to attend all of the events. Alone each one would have been great but to experience them all together as a whole was truly wonderful.

More about the TexasWAX show next time...

Ultra Extra Arts Mix

2008-02-28T23:07:00.003-06:00

The Second Annual
Greater Denton Arts Council

Ultra Extra Arts Mix

Center for Visual Arts, Denton, Texas

Friday, February 29
7-11 pm

Live Music -- a Mariachi band, local alternative bands Fishboy, and Dokodemo Doa, plus DJ no2self
Dance -- performances by TWU dance faculty and students
Art -- the national juried show Materials Hard and Soft is on display, plus a variety of interactive and new media artwork, including work by Max Kazemzadeh, Colby Parsons, and students from both UNT and TWU
Film -- new this year - short films, including the winner of the Jury Prize at the 2007 Fine Line Film Festival
Poetry -- Ed Casey and Aaron Leis
Food -- provided by a variety of great local restaurants including Fuzzy's Taco Shop, Hannahs, the Wildwood Inn and many more
Beer and Wine -- included

Tickets are $20 per person or $35 for two.

Advance tickets are available from the Center for Visual Arts (382-2787).
Tickets will also be available at the door on the night of the event.

Denton Record Chronicle article

Center for Visual Arts
400 East Hickory, Denton, TX
directions

It should be a memorable night. We hope you'll come out and experience it for yourself!

FYI - I'm the committee chair for this event. That's why I haven't posted in so long!

The Birth of TexasWAX

2008-01-22T11:19:00.000-06:00

Back in the fall, I received an email from Gwen Plunkett, an artist from Houston who uses encaustic. She invited me to join her newly formed encaustic group in Houston. She said that they were considering becoming a chapter of IEA but weren't sure.

I was excited about the prospect of a Texas-based encaustic group. I had intended to start one but just hadn't gotten my act together enough to do it. Gwen's email finally got me going. We decided to create one Texas group with separate groups in the larger cities, starting with Dallas and Houston.

Gwen mentioned that she's going to be in Dallas for the annual CAA conference and perhaps we could get together. There are some encaustic-related things going on in conjunction with the event. We decided that we would try to find a place to have a group encaustic show in the vicinity of the conference.

So I emailed all of the artists who had taken my workshops over the years and invited them to help form our encaustic group.

We met this past Saturday at the home and studio of Janet Reynolds. There were nine of us: Deanna Wood, Pedrameh Manoochehri, Darlyne Hartman, Kathy Lovas, Susan Sponsler Carstarphen, Silvia Thornton, Janet Reynolds, Junanne Peck, and Trayc Claybrook.

There are several others who are part of the group but weren't able to make the meeting:
Vidya Kagal, Charlotte Cornett, Cheryl McClure, Robin Walker, and Fran Strebel.

We came up with the name - TexasWAX/Dallas - talked about the focus of the group, affiliations, etc. We're currently looking for exhibition space for a joint Dallas/Houston show during CAA.

I'm very excited about the group - it's a diverse, talented, supportive and encouraging group of artists.

You can keep up with our progress on our blogs:
TexasWAX/Dallas
TexasWAX/Houston

We're looking for artists who use encaustic in San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, etc...

Unpacking and Packing Instructions

2008-01-14T20:25:00.001-06:00

...where I continue my campaign to ban packing peanuts.

Her Secrets Flocked Around Her Like Birds
11.5" x 11.5"
oil on paper on panel with pastel
2007

I just sent a painting off to a show and even though it was just one painting and it seemed like anyone could have done it with no problem, I decided to make a sheet with unpacking and packing instructions. I learned my lesson back in the summer...

Here's a screen grab of the unpacking instructions:
I try to follow all the rules for successful packing:
- 2 boxes (painting wrapped well and snug in inner box, inner box snug inside sturdy outer box)
- no peanuts (I complain about peanuts all the time - even the environmentally friendly ones - they're a complete pain in the ass*)
- everything is loosely packed with minimal taping to avoid someone having to fight to get something open...
- I draw arrows and write "open here" to indicate where I want my box opened
- I write my name on all sides of the box

I like to pack the box and then unpack to make sure it's easy. I take photos of each step and then I create a simple document with the photos and easy to follow steps for each photo.

In this particular case, I was only shipping one painting, so I used a custom-made cardboard box that was lined with small bubble wrap. I put a piece of archival paper on top of the painting to protect it from the bubble wrap. It rattled around a little when I tested it, so I taped some bubble wrap to the sides and top just to make it a little more snug. Then I wrapped that inner box with large bubble wrap.

My outer box was actually a super sturdy, cow-spotted Gateway box (with a handle, even!) that I spied in the trash at my last job. It was the perfect size. I lined that box with some foam and then slid the bubble wrap-wrapped inner box inside. I placed more foam on top and a sheet of foam core for extra protection. I liked the handle, but decided to remove it in case it got hung on something in transit. I taped some cardboard over the hole for extra protection.

I'm in the middle of unpacking boxes now for a show. The artist's galleries are shipping his work to our local art center. I'm very disappointed in their packing! Well, they're actually packed really well, but not for re-use. I suppose galleries are used to shipping things out and not worrying about getting them back... Most of the paintings are wrapped with paper (which is good), but they're heavily taped (which makes it hard to remove without shredding the paper), then they're wrapped with bubble wrap (which is good), but then heavily taped again (same problem - I have to cut it and mangle the bubble wrap), then (God help me) the boxes are FILLED with peanuts. Today I worked for 2 hours and spent a good 30 minutes of that time wrangling peanuts...

*Enough with the peanuts. Seriously, people.

Sorry. Just had to vent!

Anyway, I can't say this enough - if you want your work to come back safe and sound, think about how easy it will be for someone (most likely an unpaid volunteer who might not have any experience handling artwork) to unpack it first and then re-pack it later. The more they have to wrestle with your tape, bubble wrap, peanuts, etc., the more likely it is that they will not re-pack it well.

As someone who has unpacked several national juried shows, I appreciate artists who send packing instructions. It might seem kind of OCD or anal-retentive, but it really makes life so much easier.

By the way, I shipped the above painting to Eastern Kentucky University for a show called Space, Life, Place. It will be on display January 23 - February 29, 2008

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Now playing: Rachel's - The Last Light
via FoxyTunes

Mourning the ORG

2008-01-09T09:12:00.000-06:00

During the year that Ze Frank was doing "The Show," his daily online video program, he created an online social network called the ORG. It was a place for his fans (with various nicknames like Sports Racers, Duckies, The Flock, or members of the League of Awesomeness) to congregate, celebrate their love for Ze, contemplate why he never blinked, show off their creative work, and collaborate with each other.

I had been contemplating writing a post for this blog about online social networks for artists and I was going to mention the ORG. I don't see the point for most of the networks - I join them (myartspace.com, 723.com, artscuttlebutt.com, indiepublic.com, etc), post some images of my artwork, look around at other members for a while, log off, and forget about it until someone posts a comment or friend request.

But the ORG was different. It wasn't an art social network per se, but a lot of the members were very creative in some way - artists, musicians, poets, writers, photographers, filmmakers, designers, illustrators, etc. And others were scientists, engineers, students, and self-described geeks and nerds. The thing that brought everyone together was a desire to connect with other like-minded people and create something new.

ORG members could post photos, videos, writing, and links to their blogs. Members were encouraged to leave short, positive comments. You could also send messages to members via the ORG's message system. Oh, and I don't think I mentioned what I liked most about it - it looked really good. The complete opposite of MySpace, which is so full of ugly (on many levels) that I can't even begin to describe my loathing...

And it all seemed to develop and grow organically. It started very basic but as people commented on the features and functionality, new things were suggested, added and tweaked all the time. It was fun to watch it grow.

One of the collaborative aspects of the ORG were the projects. Any member could create a project and invite other members to join in. Some were based on things Ze mentioned in his show and others just came out of nowhere and got a life of their own. Often someone would post a photo or video, other people would connect with it, play off of it, post something else, and something new and wonderful would be born.

I have to admit that I wasn't as active an ORG member as some. I don't know how to do video (and quite frankly don't want to see myself on video!). I mostly posted some photos, perused the photos that people posted and commented on them. I would "quack" at people (I guess it was the ORG's version of a nudge, wink, or friend request). I would read some of the blogs and occasionally watch a video. There was one young guy from New York that posted some beautiful poetry... Oh, and I really enjoyed the Secret Santa project this Christmas...

OK, so why am I in mourning? Because when I tried to log in to the ORG on New Year's Day, I saw this:
... and it never went away. And I was sad.

It had became a real community. I felt like I had some friends there. I was a fan of many members and looked forward to their contributions - dangeramy, oldgrimy, viscousplatypus (still the best username ever), astropixie, imagine, blissee, awed job, snooge, ohkatherine (incredible photographer)... So many! A bunch of the ORG members are planning a get-together in Chicago this March at QuackerCon 2008...

Luckily I had some ORG member emails and some ORG contacts on Twitter and Flickr, so we were able to stay in contact while we figured out what happened (in fact, I've been enjoying our Twittering these last few days...)

Some of the more industrious (and smart) ORG members are scrambling to create a new place to meet. Right now it's called PostORG. ORG members are coming together and offering their talents to help create something new.

There was discussion on the forum about trying to get the code for the ORG to bring it back up and have someone else maintain it. But I love the idea of us creating something new. And of course by "us" I mean all those smart people who know how to do that sort of thing...

So if you were a member of the ORG and want to reconnect with it, go to PostORG or send an email to explodedorg@gmail.com.

Or if you want to be part of something new and awesome, watch The Show first, and if you like what you see, then hop on board.

And if you do join, look me up. I'm enchiladaplate, of course.

Happy Holidays

2007-12-22T08:05:00.000-06:00

origami gift box (my son is very into origami and has to show me how to do the top part every time...

I feel like an elf - I've been busy making presents this year.

There are several reasons for this -
1. I really like making things
2. I can't really afford to buy much
3. I don't really want to buy much
4. I decided to make or buy handmade items whenever possible

I'm sure you're like me and you enjoy creating things. I made a bunch of my collage boxes for a gallery in Fort Worth recently. While I was making them, I listened to a bunch of my backlog podcasts - specifically This American Life. In one episode, Meet the Pros, David Rakoff talks about how he loves to make stuff and he wonders if he could love it as much if it were his job. He makes things for his friends but he's afraid that it must be like having a fitness-loving friend come over and do 25 push-ups in your living room and then say, "Happy Birthday!"

All I can hope for is that the recipient can feel the love that went into the creation of the gift. It would be a bonus if they actually loved the gift itself.

Anyway, here are some of the things I've been making:

Shrinky Dink pins for Tracey (inspired by wee wonderfuls)

Recycled bow made from strips of a magazine (inspired by Simply Green)

Tag/card (inspired by Lisa Solomo n) - I had a ton of green paint chips left over from my son's room - I promise I didn't steal these for this project!

Sisters, 12" x 12"
Collage on panel with Lazertran, paper from Rag & Bone, solvent transfer, and gold colored pencil.
My mom asked me to make this for my cousin - these are her daughters. I finally used some Lazertran that I've had for about 3 years.

Another "commission" from my mom - she asked me to make a book from the same photos of my cousin's girls. I made a little flag book with some more Rag & Bone paper...

Detail of inside the book.

Another detail (that photo on the bottom in the center cracks me up every time).

Colleen's tote (inspired by the library tote from The Crafter's Companion)

Detail of embroidery on tote.

So as you can see, it's been busy and varied. Sewing, painting, collaging, bookmaking, Shrinky Dinking, and even some jewelry making!

I'll post more photos of projects later (don't want to spoil any surprises!).

The day after Christmas, my son and I are going with my mom, stepdad, and 2 nieces to Albuquerque and Santa Fe. We're planning on skiing, sledding, visiting the aquarium in Albuquerque (I love that little aquarium), and of course gallery-hopping! I've been promised a day by myself on Canyon Road. Woo hoo! I'll be celebrating my birthday there, too. I'd considered canceling it this year but then I wouldn't get any presents.

I hope everyone has a great holiday!

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Now playing: Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Blue Hotel
via FoxyTunes

Book: Creative Careers by Elaina Loveland

2007-11-30T13:22:00.000-06:00

I got this book from the library and thought it might be helpful for someone who was thinking about a career in art.

The subtitle is: Paths for Aspiring Actors, Artists, Dancers, Musicians and Writers.

There's a very short introduction about the book and then each section has an introduction with an overview of careers for each category (actor, artist, dancer, musician, and writer). Each section has profiles of different careers within that broad range.

I have to admit that I was only interested in the section on artists, so I'll concentrate on that here.

There are several career options for artists - animator, digital filmmaker, video game animator, architect, landscape architect, art gallery director, art therapist, artist, illustrator, photographer, art teacher, art professor, art director, industrial designer, floral designer, graphic designer, interior designer, web designer, fashion designer, fashion editor/stylist, jewelry designer, conservator, museum curator, preparator, and museum educator.

There is a basic overview for each one, including a job description, training and educational qualifications, job outlook, salary, and industry resources.

Each career also includes a Q&A profile with someone doing that job, with questions about internships, the best cities for that job, favorite and least favorite aspects of the job, professional associations, helpful publications and websites, and advice for people who are interested in pursuing that particular career.

The artist profiled is Tiffani Taylor, a self-employed artist who paints murals, paintings and pottery and lives in Savannah, Georgia.

A couple of great quotes from Tiffani:

I believe fear is a major factor that stops most art careers--the fear of putting oneself out in the world for others to see. Additionally, artists are faced with the problem solving of being self-employed.

and

Don't let fear of the unknown stop you. Take it a day at a time and live the life you have imagined. work each day toward "self-actualizing;" become the best person you know you can be. Don't listen to "dream squashers." Surround yourself with positive people who inspire you and believe in you. Ask for advice from people you admire.

There's not much here for creative professionals who are already doing what they love, but this would be a great book for someone interested in changing careers or for a young person just starting out.

The author's website:
Creative Careers: Paths for Aspiring Actors, Artists, Dancers, Musicians and Writers by Alaina Loveland

International Shipping

2007-11-29T15:33:00.000-06:00

I got a question recently from someone wanting advice on shipping sculpture from the US to Europe.

Have you ever shipped art internationally?

Do you have recommendations on methods and companies to use and/or avoid?

Please leave your response in the comments.

Abundance

2007-10-28T11:32:00.000-05:00

First of all, before I forget, congratulations to Kaija, Mary, and Ben on the Pay It Forward project! I'll get something fun out to you soon.

I've been thinking a lot lately about scarcity and abundance. And I guess generosity and stinginess also come into play.

Like most things, I think it's all in how you look at it. I have enough. I have a cute house, a nice studio, a great family, wonderful friends, good health, and basically a great, stress-free life. I have more than I need. Until I start comparing myself to someone with a bigger house, nicer car, more income, handsome husband, skinnier body, etc.

In "Creating Affluence," Deepak Chopra says,

"We experience health when our identity of who we are comes from reference to the self. When we identify with objects, whether these are situations, circumstances, people, or things, then we relinquish our energy to the object of reference. As a result, we feel lack of energy and vitality. When our identity comes from the self, then we keep our energy to ourselves."

He's talking specifically here about health, but I think it applies to anything. When you compare yourself to others, you will come up short in some way. That's not to say that you shouldn't strive for more. I believe that we should all grow and change.

It's kind of like that bumper sticker, "Begin Within." Or the Gandhi quote, “we must be the change we wish to see in the world.”

So, maybe it's naive, but I try to apply this to the art world as well. Everyone agrees that it's a very competitive business. But if you approach it with an attitude of abundance rather than scarcity, it all changes. Instead of self-absorbed artists just in it for ourselves, we can all help each other. I think deep down we all want to be helpful in some way.

I've always thought that it's sort of a numbers game - you have to send out 50 proposals to get 2 shows; you have to approach 100 galleries to get representation in 4 of them; you have to have work in several shows before you build up a following, etc. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but I think for most of us it's true. You have to get your work out there and eventually the right people will see it.

There's more to it, of course - you need have good work, be able to talk confidently about it, conduct yourself professionally, etc.

I have to remind myself of this concept of abundance often, though. I think there's a tendency to be self-protective and think, "It's competitive out there. I found this call for entries and I want to keep it for myself. If I let Artist X know about it, he might get in the show instead of me." But if you come at it from abundance, then there's enough for everybody. And if you help your fellow artists and cheer for their successes, they will help you and cheer for you in return.

I ask myself often if what I'm doing is coming out of generosity or stinginess. I have to remind myself what I want to be: Generous.

Gratitude is another concept that's important. Remember to thank those who help you along the way.

So thank you all for reading and for the great comments and encouragement. I'm inspired by all of the talent and generosity of spirit in the artist-blogger community.

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Now playing: The Decemberists - Think About Me
via FoxyTunes

Pay It Forward

2007-10-25T08:14:00.000-05:00

I don't know where I heard about her, but I've been reading Francesca's Mrs. Eliot Books blog for a while now. She makes some wonderful little wooden books. I'm a sucker for books.

Recently she mentioned a new blog meme called "Pay It Forward," where you promise to send a handmade item to the first three commenters and they promise to do the same on their blogs.

I love the idea of lots of handmade items flying all over the place to new people.

So here's the deal:

Pay It Forward (via Sia, via Sandra via Camilla, via Bibbi and so on) - here are the rules:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I'm excited to see what happens!

I'm working on a ton of things right now and will blog about it soon.

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Now playing: Kasey Chambers - Hollywood
via FoxyTunes

A Learning Experience

2007-09-22T17:41:00.001-05:00

Which is what people seem to say when something goes wrong and they're trying to be positive...

I received work back from a show and the work was not packed properly. I was mad at first but now I'm just mad at myself. It's mostly my fault. I helped unpack the work but wasn't there to pack it up at the end. I just assumed that someone who helped unpack would pack it up or at least clue that person in...

Never assume.

So what happened was that whoever packed the paintings didn't put the archival paper on top of the paintings. This allowed the bubble wrap to lay directly against the surface of the painting and the pattern of the bubble wrap was transferred to the wax. It's hard to photograph but you can see it in the photo above in the right half - those shiny areas.

Maybe it's easier to see in this one - you can see dark and shiny circles:

What gets me, though, is that there was a piece of paper in EVERY box. Every painting was sent back packed in the correctly labeled box but the protective paper was disregarded underneath... Somewhere along the line it seems like someone would have wondered what it was for and clue in. Oh well...

Lesson: I should have included detailed packing instructions.

Fortunately it can be fixed. I will have to reheat each piece very carefully with a heat gun - that seems to make it go away. If you've done encaustic, though, you know that that can be tricky. Sometimes if you heat something just a teeny bit too much the wax will begin to run and you can lose your images, sharp lines, etc.

Here are the foamcore boxes that I make for my paintings. There are a few that I made out of cardboard, too...

I put labels on the top and sides with my name and address and I tape a thumbnail image on the top and sides as well.

Yes. I'm anal retentive.

But in a good way?

Update:
Kirsty Hall wrote a great post about packing artwork.

I also posted about packing and shipping previously (and obviously didn't take all of my own advice!).

And I should also mention that Cheryl McClure found some perfect already-made boxes.

Etsy Shop

2007-09-12T18:29:00.001-05:00

Etsy
Buy Handmade
deannawood

I added a bunch of stuff to my Etsy shop. Please check it out. If you're not familiar with Etsy, it's a wonderful collection of cool handmade things for sale. Mostly craft and designerish stuff - jewelry, purses, baby items, blank journals, greeting cards, prints, etc. But there's some good fine art there, too.

I had created my Etsy shop over a year ago and posted a few paintings but I was advised against it. Since I'm going the commercial gallery route (as opposed to alternative venues, selling only online, etc), it's seen as being in competition with my gallery. I completely agree with that. BUT, I've got all these small paintings that galleries don't want. And I need to make some money!

So I decided to create some small, fun things that are much different than my work that the galleries feature and will be more affordable.

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Now playing: the pillows - MARCH OF THE GOD
via FoxyTunes

Thanks and welcome!

2007-09-10T12:08:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Alyson Stanfield at the wonderful artbizblog for mentioning this blog twice recently!

And Joanne Mattera mentioned my work at Ernden Gallery in Provincetown, Massachusetts recently. Thanks, Joanne. I'm proud to be included in your "Wax Walk!"

Welcome to those of you who found your way here through Alyson or Joanne.

If you're here for the first time, check out the list on the right of "Helpful Posts." You'll find information on writing an artist's statement, putting together a proposal, designing a postcard, and many other things that artists often struggle with when starting out.

Please leave a comment. I love hearing from artists and the comments are often how I find new, interesting blogs to read.

Thanks for stopping by!

Don't Try This at Home!

2007-08-30T10:19:00.000-05:00

Every now and then I'll be looking at my inventory of paintings and come across one that I don't really like any more. If this happens when I also happen to be out of blank boards, the painting will be "recycled."

When I teach my encaustic workshops, I usually talk a little about storage and shipping of encaustic paintings. One of the things I always say is, "Don't leave your paintings in the car." But secretly I've always wondered what would happen if someone did leave a painting in their car. So, for the sake of science, I did a little experiment with one of those soon-to-be-recycled paintings.

We actually had a fairly mild summer (by Texas standards) until the end of July, when it was in the upper 90's. So I took the opportunity to wrap the painting in bubble wrap and I put it in the back of my car. I left it in there for a couple of weeks and took it out to peek at it. It actually wasn't too bad. But then it got really hot and we had about a week of 105 degree temps, so I stuck it back in the car for a couple more weeks.

It cooled down a bit (back to the upper 90's), so I took it out the other day. As you can see in the photo above, it didn't look too promising. The archival paper that I use to protect the painting from the plastic on the bubble wrap had kind of soaked into the painting. This most likely happened because the wax was so warm that it seeped into the paper. I've never been able to find any Tyvek paper, but that (or glassine) might solve that problem... Also, not letting anything touch the surface of the painting is always a good idea, but it seems like that would involve some sort of crate where the painting is screwed in from the back...

I was surprised when I removed the paper - it's not so bad, really. You can see where the paper stuck to the wax, but I think it could be fixed with a little light fusing. I expected to see a big glob of wax...

But I think if the painting were in that melty stage (that allowed the paper to stick) and was somehow bumped or poked with something, the damage would be much worse.

So while I would never leave a painting in the car on purpose, this makes me feel better about shipping and transporting encaustic paintings, as long as they're packed well.

Other tips:
- ship overnight or second day
- never ship on a Thursday or Friday because the artwork might end up sitting in a warehouse over the weekend

More on packing and shipping here.

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Now playing: Spoon - My Mathematical Mind
via FoxyTunes

Another Proposal

2007-08-29T13:36:00.000-05:00

Today I'm working on getting out a couple of proposals for my "Beyond the Scrapbook" show. I'm happy that it was shown earlier this year, but I'd like to expand it and get it into a couple of more venues.

This time I included my resume, the proposal, 10 photos, an image list that corresponds to the photos, and a postcard from the previous show. This particular venue asked specifically for slides or photos. Otherwise I would have sent a CD.

I'm working on getting one out to another venue, but they want lots of really specific information like budgets for printing, shipping, catering, etc. It's stuff that I don't really want to think about, but I know it would be good practice to do.

As I mentioned above, I'm trying to expand the show since a couple of the original artists dropped out (one of them has even disappeared!). All of the artists are people that I know and went to school with, so I'd like to find some new people from different areas, especially from different cultural backgrounds.

So if you or anyone you know has some artist's books lying around that fit the definition of the show, please let me know. I don't actually need the book until we schedule a show, and then you can send the book directly to the venue.

Here's a brief summary of the show:
Beyond the Scrapbook features artists that remember, examine, and present family histories through the medium of book arts. The artists have each presented their family histories in very different ways. Some celebrate their past while others delve into the dark side of family memories. But each has used the medium of book arts to preserve the past and create a work of art that transcends the traditional scrapbook.

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Now playing: Natalie Merchant - River
via FoxyTunes

Productive!

2007-08-26T23:24:00.000-05:00

I had a very productive day today. I worked on putting proposals together for the Waxy Buildup exhibit.
I made a few minor changes after I shot these images, but it's basically how it looks. I included our resumes, a CD, an image list that corresponds to the images on the CD, and a statement. This image shows a postcard, but I ended up not printing them because the prints off my computer scratch too easily. I want to get some professionally printed postcards to include in future proposals.

Each packet also includes a cover letter and a SASE.

There's one packet that I had to customize because the venue had really specific proposal guidelines. You have to do that sometimes, so it helps to be flexible.

I'm sending out 8 proposals tomorrow. Wish us luck!

I also entered my work in a couple of juried shows and put together a packet of my work to send to a curator.

I like days like this.

I've got some new stuff going on in my studio but I'll talk about that later. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with it.

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Now playing: Building On Fire' - open on FoxyTunes Planet">Talking Heads - Love -> Building On Fire
via FoxyTunes

New Body of Work

2007-08-20T17:50:00.003-05:00

Deanna Wood - Poise, 12" x 12", collage, wax transfer, and encaustic

I finally completed the series of "Waxy Buildup" paintings that Trayc Claybrook and I collaborated on.

I'm working on a proposal now and we're going to send it out to art centers and galleries. Hopefully we'll get to show it somewhere.

Alyson Stanfield mentioned SlideShare on her blog the other day, so I thought I'd check it out. It's kind of like YouTube but for PowerPoint presentations. Normally, I try to avoid PowerPoint, but I did one for the proposal CD and thought I'd upload it. Check it out:

Despite my aversion to PowerPoint, I actually liked SlideShare. There are some examples of really well-designed presentations. You can also see some really atrocious ones, which is helpful in showing you what not to do. In fact, after looking at some presentations on the site, I redesigned mine to make it be more readable.

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Now playing: Patty Griffin - Getting Ready
via FoxyTunes

How Galleries Choose Artists to Show

2007-08-19T09:25:00.000-05:00

Panel Discussion sponsored by the Greater Denton Arts Council. June 14, 2007

Panelists:
Nancy Whitenack from Conduit Gallery, Dallas, Texas
Marty Walker from Marty Walker Gallery, Dallas, Texas
Burt Finger from Photographs Do Not Bend, Dallas, Texas

The GDAC hosted an exhibition of emerging artists that are represented by galleries in Dallas (Denton is about 35 miles north of Dallas). They also hosted this panel and invited arts groups and art students from the area universities. I took notes and wanted to share them with you.

Nancy Whitenack:
Her gallery features two major spaces and a small "project room" where they show artists that they don't represent.
She sees the gallery/artist relationship as a journey.
She watches the artist change and brings the public around to the changes.
She picks artists instinctually.
She does studio visits and views juried shows.
She responds to work that she immediately resonates with and connects with - she has to love the work.
She tries not to overlap other types of work - not have two or more artists that do the same thing.
She likes work that examines a story in a different way.

Marty Walker:
Suggests that you take time to visit the gallery or website to see what the work looks like before you approach a gallery.
She sees several variables - she must like the work - the resume and exhibition history is important but not the final decision. She's willing to take a chance on an artist.

Burt Finger:
He looks for an artist that will add something to the gallery.
He thinks about his clients, not just what he loves.
Suggests that you do research on a gallery before you approach it.
He prefers artists who have work in major museums and who have a monograph.

Q&A:
What is the role of an alternative space?
Alternative spaces are important - Some recent grads are not necessarily ready for a commercial gallery. They're great for creating a community of artists and are important for experimental work (there were several artists present who are on the board of the 500X, a prominent alternative space in Dallas). But all of the gallery directors said that if they believe in an artist, they would be willing to show experimental work.

How should an artist approach a gallery?
If you're local, go to the openings and meet the gallery director.
Build up a relationship first.
Make a personal connection.
If you have work in a local show, ask them to visit to see your work.
Participate in major local juried shows (in this area it's the Contemporary, the MAC, Art House, Art in the Metroplex, TVAA, etc.)
Show work in non-art spaces to begin with - coffee shops, etc.

What makes you want to visit an artist's studio?
The artist has to be serious.
It helps to have built up a relationship.

What about exclusive contracts?
Marty Walker and Nancy Whitenack said that their contracts are usually just locally exclusive (if you show with them you don't show at another competing gallery in Dallas).
Burt Finger said that he prefers his artists to be exclusive to his gallery.

Other thoughts:
Most galleries will send out packets with info on their artists to museums and collections.
They all said that they didn't have any bias against self-taught artists.
If energy is happening in your studio then everything else will fall into place.
Don't expect to produce part-time effort and expect full time results.
Artist's recommendations are very important. They place a great deal of importance on recommendations from other artists.

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Now playing: Red House Painters - Another Song For A Blue Guitar
via FoxyTunes

First Annual Encaustic Conference, Part 5

2007-08-08T18:04:00.001-05:00

Finally! The much-promised final chapter in the Encaustic Conference saga...

The final day of the conference (Sunday) featured some more demos in the morning. These are the ones that I chose to attend:

Encaustic Monotype by Paula Roland
www.paularoland.com

Paula's work is featured in The Art of Encaustic Painting and a couple of my students have attended her workshop in Santa Fe, so she's a bit of a celebrity in the encaustic world.

She talked a bit about the teacher that she learned the monotype technique from, Dorothy Furlong Gardner, from New Orleans.

Paula has developed her own painting palette, seen here in the first photo on the right. The heat stays even all over and it's a light color to allow you to see the color of the paint.

The ideal temperature to have the palette set for monotypes is between 160 and 200 degrees. You'll get more detail at lower temperatures and more wax flow or saturation at higher temps.

Things to consider - temperature, type of paper, amount of wax, proportion and kind of pigment.

She uses 50% pigment and 50% medium for grittiness and texture and saturation.

It's easier to layer on thicker paper with thicker medium. Paper absorbency affects the outcome, too.

Often uses masa paper - a type of rice paper. Also uses kitakata paper, Rives BFK and other printmaking papers.

She will put dots of paint in the corners to indicate area to print. Apply paint to the palette and lay the paper down. Apply more paint and lay it down again to add more or to blend.

You can put the paper face up on the clean palette and blot with newsprint to take off some surface paint. You can use rice paper to blot and then use that to build up a print. While it's laying on the plate you can also draw into it with charcoal, pencil, add more encaustic... Graphite becomes fixed in the wax.

Silk flowers can be stamped into the paint on the palette and then stamped onto the paper when it gets saturated with paint.

Use wood block stamps.

You can block areas with newsprint on the palette.

Ghost image can be picked up with thin paper.

Create lines and shapes with dental floss, scrape with combs, rubber-tipped shaper tools, credit cards - anything that won't scratch the palette.

You can use a saturated print as a plate.

She showed some slides of other artist's work. One featured what she called "inlay" with a smaller piece of paper in a cut out hole of a larger piece. Scrolls - large rolls of rice paper printed with encaustic on both sides and worked back into with other media.

You can paint with watercolor on the un-waxed parts of the paper.

Recommends mounting a print to board with acrylic medium on the back (keep the back free of wax).

Way too much information for such a short demo! I'm sure she barely scratched the surface of what can be done with encaustic monotypes...

Encaustic Sculpture by Kim Bernard
www.kbernard.com

I really like Kim's work and was hoping that she would talk about HER work, but she gave a presentation about several artists working 3-dimensionally with wax in some way.

I'll just list the artists that she talked about and a website if I can find one... You should look at their work. It's quite amazing.

Melissa Stern - NY

Sylvia Metzer - NY (her work is in the Mattera book but I can't find a website for her)

Lynda Benglis - NY/Santa Fe

Johannes Girardoni - NY/Austria

Nancy Azara - NY

Michelle Stuart - NY

Martin Kline

Wolfgang Laib - Germany

Text Pictures by Mary W. Hart
www.winchesterartistsnetwork.org/hart_fs.htm

She showed various ways to incorporate text into encaustic, most of which involved collage.

Writing with ink on rice paper - when collaged into the encaustic the paper absorbs the wax and almost disappears.

She painted white gouache or chalk onto collage elements before adding the wax. The white will show up when it's waxed.

She used transfer letters (Letraset rub-on letters) and carbon paper.

Creates lines and rubs oil pastel or oil bars into the line. Wipes with walnut oil and fabric to remove excess.

Stencils - she creates stencils from transparency film.

Another interesting technique for collage materials - she painted words in white gouache on watercolor paper, let it dry and then covered it with waterproof in. Then she washed off the gouache and used it to collage into the encaustic.

----------------------------

That was it for the demos. There was a final closing session and some get-togethers but I had miss them because I had to rush to the airport.

One last travel story...
As I mentioned before, I was flying standby and all the flights were full for the next couple of days and I was worried that I would be stuck. As it turned out, I was able to get out of Manchester but I got stuck in Chicago. I considered spending the night in the airport but that's depressing and also way too much like camping, so I went to a nearby (probably over-priced) hotel. I got to the airport super early the next morning and finally made it to Houston and then finally to Dallas. Quite an ordeal! But hey, it was "free!"

So the conference was fun and very informative and definitely worth the trip. I'm hoping to make it again next year!

A request
If anyone else happened to attend any of the other sessions, I would love to read the notes that you took. I'm especially interested in the one by James Meyer (Jasper Johns' assistant), the panel discussion about Wax, Paints, Substrates and Grounds and the discussion about beekeeping - Wax in the Context of the Hive. I wish I'd had a couple of clones that I could have sent to all of the sessions!

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Now playing: Whiskeytown - Everything I Do
via FoxyTunes

First National Encaustic Conference, Part 4

2007-08-07T15:43:00.000-05:00

OK, finally, more of the conference...

Note: I'm going from the notes that I took during the demos, so if you happened to be there and notice that I got something wrong, please let me know. Oh, and often there was more info, I just tended to write down the things that I didn't know already or that helped clarify some process...

It was really difficult to choose between the competing sessions, but here are the ones that I chose:

Textural Explorations by Lissa Rankin
www.lissarankin.com

Lissa's work is very textural with built-up areas of encaustic. She showed many different techniques for achieving these types of effects.

She began talking about her love of the blowtorch. She said that she only used a heat gun for a long time but then tried the blowtorch and has never gone back. She recommended the Iwatani CB-TC-PRO Butane Torch. It's a small creme brulle torch available from www.cooking.com.

Scumbling - to get built-up texture, she uses sort of a dry-brush effect, letting the brush strokes build up. She takes the encaustic paint off of the heat to cool a bit. She brushes a few layers before fusing since the fusing knocks down the texture a bit. She continues, sometimes working on a piece all day long.

Relief - using leaves, burlap, lace, etc. She heats the surface a bit and then flattens the material onto the surface. She paints medium on first and then paint. She then removes the material (you have to experiment to find the perfect time to remove it) and fuses to soften the edges. She uses a pigment stick on the edges to add color and dimension.

She makes her own medium with 80% beeswax and 20% damar resin.

Stencils - using mylar stencils or transparency film that she cuts her own stencils from. Preheat the surface a bit before applying the stencil. Brush on some medium and then the paint. She recommended using a heat gun because the blowtorch can sometimes melt the stencils. Fuse lightly then remove stencil (again, there's a perfect time to remove it). Fuse again to soften edges.

You can put the stencils in the freezer and the wax will break off and you can reuse the stencil.

She makes her own blending sticks with 4 parts linseed oil to 1 part beeswax.

She makes her own pigment sticks by mixing half of the blending stick with half powdered pigment and then pouring it into a muffin tin.

Elevated shapes - using masking tape (I believe she used the blue painter's tape), mask off an area and then brush on medium first. Brush on paint. Fuse lightly and remove. 1/4" thin making tape bends and makes curvy lines.

If you wipe off oil paint or pigment stick with linseed oil, she recommended cleaning that off with alcohol at the very end since it evaporates.

Molds (this is a little sketchy since she was rushing and I'm a little rusty on mold-making)
Paper clay - like papier mache - push object into it and leave it for a couple of days. Pull it up when dry. Glue it to the panel with matte medium on back.

Gray modeling clay - roll it out and put object in it (coat it with linseed oil first). Pull it up. Fill the cavity with wax. Let it set a bit and remove it. Use toothbrush and water to clean clay off. Preheat surface of the painting. Put wax piece on palette to melt a little and then put it on the painting.

Elemental Substances and Processes by Mari Marks
www.marimarks.com

Mari's work is kind of minimal but also textural in a different way.

She had what seemed like a very time-consuming process but also sort of meditative.

She started with a panel that had a solid color of encaustic paint on it. She mixed artist's graphite powder with denatured alcohol. The alcohol dispersed the powder and enabled her to brush it on the painted panel. The alcohol evaporates and leaves the pigment. She then fused it under a lamp, moving the lamp very slowly. This seemed to allow the powder to melt into the paint. Sometimes the powder reacts with the paint to create interesting textures and shapes.

She mixes other powders with the denatured alcohol to create similar effects - ashes, red ceramic clay powder, plastic roofing cement, dry pigment.

Break Away from the Brush by Nash Hyon
I don't have a website for her, but click here to see some of her work.

She said that she rarely ever used any brushes. She applies paint almost exclusively with metal tools, using as-is or heating them for different effects.

Transfers - warm surface and apply copy face down, burnish, apply water and then scrub with a sponge or cloth. The toner will transfer onto the wax.

She mentioned something called Digi-Fab - digital silk - inks printed on clay-based paper that will transfer (I'm not sure if I wrote that down correctly).

Collage - when collaging paper, scrape with scraper to help it adhere and remove bubbles.

Metal tools - she had different metal tools such as a nail in a wood block - she would heat up the head of the nail and press into surface of the painting to create textures and shapes. Same with a piece of copper, metal screen tool, metal comb, paint brush cleaner, metal dog brush, ceramic tools, etc.

Iron - she recommended Reynolds non-stick aluminum foil - iron it to get texture.

Applying paint with metal tools - she used what she called "surface knives" for Venetian plaster that can be found in the decorative painting department at hardware stores (I found some at Lowe's). She would apply the paint and then smooth it out with the same tool. You can also heat up the tool and smooth the surface or drip paint off of the tool.

To create texture, she used it at a cooler temperature and let it kind of drag on the surface.

Those were the demos for the first full day. There were some the next morning that I will write about later!

To be continued...
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Now playing: Ryan Adams - To Be Young
via FoxyTunes

Plug - a couple of shows

2007-08-06T17:15:00.000-05:00

I know I said I was going to post about the conference today, but I thought I'd just post this little plug...

I have work in a couple of local group shows:

Raged, 24" x 24", charcoal, oil, and encaustic

Visual Arts Society of Texas 19th Annual Juried Members Exhibition
Meadows Gallery, Center for Visual Arts, Denton, Texas
400 E. Hickory
Gallery hours: Tue - Sun, 1-5 pm
The show is up until August 27th

Inside, 24" x 24", collage, oil, and encaustic

Visual Arts Society of Texas Members
Banter
219 W. Oak, Denton, Texas
Open 7 days, 10 am - midnight
(try the tapas!)
The show is up until August 30th

Now I'm off to hang another show for the same group - I'm not in this one, just helping out. It'll be fun, too, because we're hanging it in the gallery at TWU, where I was a gallery assistant during grad school.

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Now playing: The Velvet Underground - Oh! Sweet Nuthin'
via FoxyTunes

In Overwhelm

2007-08-06T14:17:00.000-05:00

I'm used to having a lot to do. In fact, I like to be busy and to know that I have a lot of things going at once. But every now and then I feel overwhelmed by it all. Sometimes I think about everything that I need to do and I feel paralyzed by indecision. I'm not sure what I should do first.

One of the things I've been paralyzed about is this blog. I have so many things that I want to write about that I don't know which one to start with, so I don't write anything. I KNOW what I need to do - just do something - yet I find something else to do instead. I'm really good at avoidance techniques. As a result, my office is REALLY clean right now!

So this is my attempt at getting back on track.

First of all, I want to thank Joanne Mattera for plugging this blog on her blog. Joanne is a wonderful artist who is widely known in the encaustic painting world for her book, The Art of Encaustic Painting. But her blog contains a lot of excellent information - reviews of shows, information about art fairs, and thoughts about being an artist.

The next post will be the final post about the Encaustic Painting Conference that I should have posted a few weeks ago... Hey, I've been cleaning.

I wanted to mention an online art community that I just joined: 723.com. I met someone at an opening that uses it. I don't know much about it yet, but it kind of looks like MySpace for artists. The art seems a little uneven but I guess that's to be expected. If you stop by, I'm enchiladaplate, as usual.

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Now playing: Blondie - X Offender
via FoxyTunes

Thanks!

2007-07-27T13:29:00.002-05:00

"What Every Consumer Should Know" (detail)

Thanks to Alyson Stanfield for featuring a detail of one of my artist's books in the current Art Marketing Action newsletter on artbizcoach.com!

"What Every Consumer Should Know" (detail)

"What Every Consumer Should Know," handmade artist's book - acrylic box with accordion books. Books are clear vinyl sewn together with ink-jet printed transparencies inside. 1994. One of a kind.

Alyson always shares great ideas, tips, and resources. Be sure to check out her blog, too!

I hope this is a joke...

2007-07-24T23:49:00.001-05:00

Please tell me it's a joke.

I saw this in the classified section in the most recent issue of ArtNews under "Job Opportunities:"

"60-year-old male major artist in Queens seeks female assistant, collaborator, organizer for learning experience of a lifetime. All mediums. 2 studios. No money involved. 917-214-4899."

Sign me up!

It's gotta be a joke...

I'm off, again...

2007-07-03T22:36:00.001-05:00

Installation view, Seeking Shelter

Tomorrow morning (way too early), I'm going to be heading out to Douglasville, Georgia (outside Atlanta). My aunt and cousins live there (and my mom was born there). When my aunt was visiting here a year ago or so, she mentioned that there was an art center in Douglasville and I should send them a proposal. I did and they offered me a show!

It'll be fun to see my aunt and cousins and all the cousins' kids. We're hoping to visit the aquarium in Atlanta, too. I'm hauling my work out there and will help install it a few days before the opening on Sunday.

If you're in the area, please stop by!

The Tornado Show: Seeking Shelter
Multi-media installation by Deanna Wood
Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville
Douglasville, Georgia

July 8 - August 17, 2007

Opening reception and ice cream social
Sunday, July 8
2 - 4 pm

For more information, call 770-949-ARTS

First National Encaustic Conference, Part 3

2007-06-27T13:15:00.000-05:00

OK, enough silliness - back to the conference report...

On Saturday, the first full day of the conference, I attended the morning panel discussion. The panel was moderated by Joanne Mattera and included Timothy McDowell (artist), Katherine French (curator), Richard Frumess (artist and founder of R&F Paints), Hope Turner (gallery owner), and Barbara O'Brien (curator and critic).

I found the discussion interesting and lively. I took some notes on the highlights:

On the fragility of encaustics - no one seemed to be concerned - just suggested that you have to be a little more careful. Tim McDowell related a story he'd heard about Anselm Kiefer - Kiefer's gallery person called him to let him know that the new owner of one of his straw paintings was staring at a pile of straw in their living room. Kiefer replied, "It must be beautiful."

Someone else mentioned that throughout history, wax has been used as protection and a preservative.

Encaustic lends itself to expressionism. Color can be entrapped in and bounce out of the layers of wax in the painting.

On encaustic painting as a ghetto or cult - most panelists agreed that the idea or formal image is the most important aspect of a work of art, not the medium chosen by the artist. The medium can be interesting but it is secondary (this idea was repeated several times).

Barbara O'Brien stated that art doesn't speak for itself, an artist has to educate the viewer.

Miles Conrad asked the panel if encaustic is seen as a medium used mostly by women. He has noticed an overwhelming majority of women artists entering his encaustic invitational every year. Someone on the panel suggested that perhaps women are more open to trying new media or are more willing to learn from other people (I have noticed, too - I've been teaching workshops for a year and a half and haven't had one male student...).

But historically, male artists had passed down the knowledge of the encaustic process - Brice Marden learned from David Aronson, who learned from Karl Zerbe...

On shipping encaustic work - Someone said that they use 1st or 2nd day FedEx and only ship on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday to arrive on Friday. This eliminates the danger of the artwork sitting in a hot truck or warehouse over a weekend. Never use the US Post Office. Never put anything in contact with the surface. Use a crate within a crate. Someone suggested using Ethafoam. Tim McDowell says he usually ships overnight. He also suggested never to list the contents as "artwork." They won't pay the full insurance value on artwork. In the description line he writes, "hand-painted signs." They'll insure those...

On getting into galleries - Look at galleries in your area. Look at the gallery's stable and get a dialog going with the gallery director/owner. Produce a web page that focuses on your art. Keep it businesslike and easy to migrate through. Go to openings and network. Just because a gallery says no once, it's not final. Send them information later with new work and they'll often look at your work again. Don't give up. Gallery owners put a lot more weight to recommendations from their current artists.

Debra Ramsay

After the panel, Tricia Lazuka, Heather Harris and I walked over to see Hot Stuff, the juried group show of encaustic work. I took photos of most of the work and you can see it here. I'm working on finding the names for each work, so if you know who did any of them, please leave a comment.

To be continued...

Related links:
My Flickr set of the Hot Stuff show
Joanne Mattera's in-depth synopsis
Linda Womack's on-going report
Daniella Woolf's blog
International Encaustic Artists

Time out for a little drama...

2007-06-20T21:50:00.001-05:00

This makes me laugh every time:

First National Encaustic Conference, Part 2

2007-06-18T23:18:00.001-05:00

on the Salem Ferry

On Friday, before the conference started, I decided to make a trip to Provincetown (on the tip of Cape Cod) to visit the Ernden Fine Art Gallery. They showed my work last summer for the first time and I hadn't been able to visit before. I didn't let them know I was coming because I honestly wasn't sure I would make it!

Joanne Mattera and Nancy Natale gave me some helpful travel tips and I was able to figure out a way to do it. I had rented a car since I flew into Manchester, NH, but in order to drive to Provincetown, I would have to go through Boston. Now, I had been to a conference in Boston a few years ago and had made the mistake of renting a car, so I knew that driving in Boston is a dicey proposition...

Ernden Fine Art Gallery, Provincetown, MA

So I got up early and took the ferry from Salem to Boston. From Boston, I took a ferry to Provincetown. I surprised Dennis, the gallery owner, when I showed up at the gallery. Of course I took some photos...

Ernden Fine Art Gallery, Provincetown, MA - my work is on the right

I was impressed with the gallery. Since one wall was mostly windows, they had built some portable walls to create more hanging space. I really like the work of the other artists that they represent. I feel like I'm in good company.

Another reason for the trip to Provincetown was to meet up with Mary Richmond, a blogger that I have corresponded with occasionally for a few months. She's a ceramic artist and painter and also a writer and naturalist. We had lunch and she drove me to the beach - it had been too long since I'd had my toes in the sand, and it was great to get a tour from someone who is so knowledgeable about the area.

Mary (l) and me (r)

My visit was far too short, because too soon I had to catch the ferry back to Boston. The ferry back to Salem wouldn't have gotten me back in time for the start of the conference, so I took the train. And in order to get to the train station, I had to take the subway. Luckily a nice woman in the ferry office looked up my route and told me how to do it (silver line to the red line to the orange line and then the train - during 5:00 Friday rush hour to boot).

I'm always so jealous when I visit a city with public transportation!

Anyway, I arrived at the conference at the beginning of Joanne Mattera's keynote presentation, so it worked out perfectly.

Joanne talked about the history of encaustic and some of the early pioneers of the encaustic process in the 20th century, expanding on the information in her book.

Here are a few of the notes that I scrawled:
The Fayum portraits -
The painters might have used bicarbonate of soda to mix their wax.
They were painted during a 300 year period.
Metal and gemstones were applied to the wax.
The gold leaf was most likely applied after the person's death to symbolize the passage to the next world.

There was a get together of the International Encaustic Artists after the keynote at one of the area hotels, but I was beat from my "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" type of day, so I decided to skip it.

I ended up going back to my hotel and grabbing a bite to eat in the hotel bar/restaurant. There was a "loud talker" in the group sitting next to me so I couldn't help overhearing their conversation. I thought at first that they were professors or something because they were talking about historic places to visit in England and then some kind of organization that they were in. After a while, though, I realized that they were witches!

Only in Salem...

Oh, I forgot to mention - the next day Dennis sent me an email saying that he had sold one of my paintings!

Release - 12" x 12" - collage, oil, and encaustic - SOLD!

Linda Womack blogged about her experience at the conference, too. Check out her blog, Embracing Encaustic.

To be continued...

First National Encaustic Conference, Part 1

2007-06-16T10:17:00.000-05:00

I'm still trying to digest everything that I learned at the conference. I thought I'd break it down into several posts to make it more manageable.

I arrived in Salem late on Wednesday night. My ex-husband works for Southwest Airlines and he was very generous to give me a free pass, which meant I had to fly standby (exciting in a nerve-racking sort of way). I had been invited to a reception at Joanne Mattera's house on Thursday evening, so I definitely wanted to be there in time for that.

Joanne was so gracious and warm. It was such a delight to meet her and see her beautiful home and studio. I was too shy to take pictures in her house but I got up the nerve to ask her if I could take some shots of her studio.

I got to meet and talk with several artists there -
Sandi Miot from California, who has produced a beautiful show catalog of her work (she used viovio.com and recommended them highly). She does really dimensional work. I asked her a bunch of technical questions about her process, too.

Heather Harris from near Seattle, who made me very jealous because she's moving to Italy soon.

Daniella Woolf from California, who I didn't really get a chance to talk to but her work is really amazing. She pointed out that we have the same initials.

Kim Bernar d from Maine, who does lush paintings and beautiful sculpture.

Nancy Natale from Massachusetts, who does beautiful abstract paintings. She also really helped me out with advice on getting to and around in Boston.

Paula Roland from Santa Fe, who teaches encaustic monotype workshops. I've had a couple of students that have taken her workshop and I was excited to meet her. I attended her demo and I'll talk more about that later.

Tricia Lazuka from Ohio, who does encaustic painting and monotypes and also works in ceramics. She and her husband had driven there from Ohio.

I met several other people there but don't remember their last names... I'm hoping they put out a directory of the attendees that will help jog my memory...

Here are shots of Joanne's studio:

I'm blogging about all my tourist-y sight-seeing activities on my personal blog, in case you're interested...

To be continued...

Travel Fatigue

2007-06-11T19:10:00.000-05:00

I returned today from my trip to the Boston area where I attended the First National Encaustic Conference. It was so much fun - lots of great information, networking, and ideas. I'm overwhelmed.

It was so much fun to talk to so many people who understand what you do. I'm so used to having to explain what encaustic painting is. It was refreshing to just talk about what kind of work we do. And of course, we all shared with each other about our techniques and processes.

I'm going to go through my notes, sort through all the business cards and postcards that I picked up, and upload my photos. I'll post a report in the next couple of days once I sort it all out!

Beyond the Scrapbook

2007-05-18T09:09:00.001-05:00

Alison Hahn - Burned (detail) - altered book

Tarrant County College
The Art Corridor II
Southeast Campus, Arlington, Texas

May 7 - June 15, 2007

Reception
Monday, June 4, 4:30 - 6:30 pm

Artist's books by Joy Christiansen, Brett Dyer, Hannah Frieser, Allison Gillies, Danielle Grove, Alison Hahn, Jana Perez, and Deanna Wood

Curated by Deanna Wood

With the popularity of scrapbooking, it is apparent that people are motivated to present their family memories in an aesthetically pleasing way. Beyond the Scrapbook shows how artists utilize the book form to present their family memories in a way that transcends the traditional forms and materials generally associated with family scrapbooks; essentially creating works of art from painful, joyous, or mundane events and stories remembered from their childhoods.

These artists sometimes use standard, traditional scrapbook materials but also introduce new materials and methods such as photocopies, solvent transfer, photo manipulation, and non-traditional bindings.

In “Soap or Being Raised on Avon,” Hannah Frieser takes a comical look at the hazards of getting caught using bad language. Frieser created a book that tells the story of having her mouth washed out with soap. The book is nestled in a box that contains sweet-smelling handmade soap embossed with the offending words.

In her book titled, “Mom’s Lunches,” Alison Hahn lovingly pays tribute to her mother. The book is “inspired by the memories of the lunches my mother packed for me and my brothers and sisters growing up.”

Clearly coming from a different childhood experience, Jana Perez created “i am not crazy,” an artists book of Xeroxed photography which deals with her mother's battle with depression and the artist’s response to it both as a child and as an adult.

Deanna Wood celebrates the fun and freedom of childhood with her book titled, “At the Park.” She photographed her son playing and swinging at a park. The artist created an accordion book that hangs from chain on a metal structure that mimics a swing set.

These and the other artists featured in Beyond the Scrapbook have each presented their family histories in very different ways. Some celebrate their past while others delve into the dark side of family memories. But each has used the medium of book arts to preserve the past and create a work of art that transcends the traditional scrapbook.

A viewer can touch and feel these books - the texture of the paper, the weight of the book in his hands, the smell of the contents, and the interactive nature of turning the pages. Artist’s books beckon the observer to become a participant in the art as she immerses herself in the artist’s lives in an intimate way that is unlike any other art viewing experience.

See installation shots here.

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Gallery hours:
Mon-Thu 8 am - 9 pm
Friday 8 am - 5 pm
Saturday 9 am - 3 pm

For more information, contact Devon Nowlin at 817-515-3406.

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I'd like to say a special thanks to Devon for doing such a great job with installation and marketing!

Houston Workshop

2007-05-16T08:15:00.000-05:00

Kathy, Lauren, Peggy, Maud, and Karen...

I had a fun time in Houston and met some great artists in my workshop. Lauren organized the whole thing and Maud let us use her studio in a great artist studio/warehouse called The Foundry.

I used to complain about Houston (hot, humid, smelly, did I mention hot?), but changed my mind when I found out what a great art community it has. Great museums. The Rothko Chapel... And it's close to the beach, so I guess it's not all bad.

Peggy, Lauren, Karen, and Maud

No beach for me this time, though. I also used the opportunity to deliver a couple of new paintings to the Koelsch Gallery. They have a beautiful new space in The Heights. Of course I forgot to take pictures there...

So today I'm off to ship some paintings to Ernden Fine Art in Provincetown, Massachusetts, have lunch with a long lost friend and then I'm going to take photos of a show that I curated. More on that later...

I'm Off!

2007-05-08T08:09:00.000-05:00

Everyday Disasters (detail) - 7 accordion books in a plastic pill case - 1995

...to Houston to teach an encaustic workshop.

Sorry I've been neglecting the blog recently. I actually did start a post but haven't finished it yet.

I had an open studio, delivered artwork for a book show I curated, packing up artwork for galleries, and I'm working on the bookmaking workshops that I'll be teaching soon.

I'll post an update on what's been going on and report on the workshop when I get back!

Current Show

2007-04-17T21:29:00.000-05:00

installation view - Seeking Shelter - Manhattan Arts Center, Manhattan, Kansas

I installed my show at the Manhattan Arts Center last week and attended the opening on Saturday. It was tiring but fun to install everything.

This is where I spent about four or five hours, despite my fear of heights! I had help from some great volunteers, though, so it went really smoothly.

The show will be up until May 26th.

The reception was fun but not well attended (apparently there were a lot of events going on in the town at the same time). I've learned to not expect a lot at receptions. I had a show a few years ago where the gallery director (also a friend) got me so worked up about the reception - saying it was going to be packed and that I was going to sell everything - that when only my friends and family showed up (and nothing sold), I was very let down. I cried all the way home. So now I just look at the reception as a way to meet a few people and talk about my work.

Also, art centers and university galleries are not known for selling a lot of work. Their function is to educate the public about art. So I see these shows as a way to get my work out and get it seen. Perhaps someone will see my work and be interested and follow it and eventually become a collector.

So I'm going to do one more this summer in Douglasville, Georgia, and then Lawton, Oklahoma next fall. After that I will retire this show for a while. I'm not going to send any more proposals out for this particular body of work.

Now I'm going to focus on getting my work into commercial galleries.

The beginning

2007-04-09T19:59:00.000-05:00

Today was my first day of "freedom." Friday was the last day at the day job.

I sent off my entry to R&F's Encaustic Works 07. Tonight I'm going to get my entry ready for New American Paintings (this is the year!) and possibly respond to a couple of other calls for proposals.

I started freaking out a little about money today - just minor things like worrying that I don't have enough and wondering where it's going to come from...

I tend to be more pragmatic and cautious, so saying things like, "The universe will provide," seems a little flaky to me. It sounds great until you try to explain it to a parent or an ex-spouse...

Today I also helped out with the installation of the local art group's national juried show (I unpacked the artwork again this year, so I have lots more ranting to do about how not to pack artwork - I even took pictures of some of the worst offenders!).

Tomorrow I'm off to Kansas. I'm spending the night with my brother and his family in Overland Park. I had my work sent there from the last show in Iowa, so I'm going to pick it up there and drive it to Manhattan for installation. The reception is Saturday, April 14th from 4 to 6 pm - if you're in the area, stop by and say hi!

My friend Colleen will hopefully be able to go to the reception, so that'll be fun.

Last night I watched What the Bleep Do We Know? It sounds similar to The Secret. It was about reality and quantum physics and all that. I liked it but I need to watch it again. That stuff just blows my mind...

I get back on Sunday and plan to spend a lot of time in my studio next week. I want to finish up my Waxy Buildup pieces and get started on the next thing. I want to explore the concept of palimpsest - where writing has been erased and written over.

Oh, and I've also curated a show that will be on display in May at Tarrant County College in Arlington, Texas. It's a show of artist's books called Beyond the Scrapbook. More about that later.

Well, I guess I should pack!

Rejection Letters, Demystified...

2007-04-03T21:35:00.000-05:00

I got a great comment on my most recent post about rejection letters. I had wondered why I was getting so many hits on people searching for "rejection letter." Were they trying to find other rejects with which to commiserate? Were they looking for wording for their own cruel rejection letters?

A gallery employee named Freshie Beth posted this comment:
"Awesome post! I work in an art gallery and I was honestly googling "artist rejection letter" to try and come up with better wording than what I usually send to artists, which I know is short and not very sweet. What can I say - I get two or three submissions a day and I have other things to do than come up with a nice, thoughtful rejection letter for each and every one. Usually the work is so awful, I'm trying to hold back and not be mean (I am blunt by nature). As a gallery director, I can translate those letters for you... When they say they're not currently seeking other artists, they're saying that they don't want to fit you in. If they liked your work and wanted to sell it, they would bring you in unless their gallery really is just a 10' x 10' space. They either don't like your work or it truly isn't a fit with their gallery. Some galleries have very narrow focuses or they just really know what their clients buys and don't want to waste your time or theirs. Our gallery has a variety of subject matter, but it is cohesive and I can tell what "fits" and what doesn't. If we reject someone, it's 95% because the work isn't good enough for our semi-high-end gallery. Out of 50 submission, I might get one that I actually think we could sell. Then, 9 out of 10 of those artists flake out and we never hear from them again. We even offered to have a show for a new artist who we spoke with a few times, then - nothing. Where did he go? The whole process is pretty ridiculous!"

There's a lot to digest there.

She confirms my original hunch that gallery directors really mean that they don't like your work when they say things like, "not a good fit," or "not looking for new artists..."

So I was thinking that it might be funny to, instead of just sending a SASE along with my materials, send a little self-addressed, stamped postcard reminiscent of those notes you sent to the kid you were crushing on in third grade:

This doesn't give them the option to say any of those things that are open for interpretation. It's either yes or no. Wouldn't you rather know why they don't like your work? Or why they don't think it's right for their gallery?

I was surprised by her statement that 9 out of 10 artists flake out. Are aritsts really that flaky? That makes me sad.

I wonder if her experiences are similar to those of other gallery owners?

Thanks

2007-04-02T22:41:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to thank everyone for their encouragement and support. So many great comments!

This is my last week of the "real" job. It's scary but exciting. Most of the time. I keep having these periods where I think, "What am I doing?" But luckily they pass quickly and I focus on my goal again.

Next week I'm going to travel to Manhattan, Kansas to install my show. I'm looking forward to it.

More written inspiration:
I just finished a little book by Deepak Chopra called Creating Affluence. It's made me want to learn more about meditation.

Along the same lines, I just started reading Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley. She talks about Buddhism and neuroscience. Really interesting.

I'm also slowly re-reading The Courage to Create by Rollo May. This is one of those books that I keep around and pick up over and over again...

Not related to art, really, but I also recently read Apartment Therapy. I don't live in an apartment, but I've been reading their blog for a while, and just happened to notice that the library had it, so I grabbed it. I hadn't really paid much attention to the actual "therapy" that they do on the blog, so the book was different than what I had anticipated. But I really liked it. I took on my living room and my bedroom - clearing out the clutter and making them much better spaces. I also started buying myself flowers - such a nice treat!

I deserve it.

The Adventure Begins

2007-03-19T09:41:00.000-05:00

from http://www.trulyfreestock.com/

Well, I did it. I jumped off the cliff. I gave notice at my job last week. I decided that I'm not going to wait for the right time to start being a full time artist - I'm just going to be a full time artist.

I keep trying to rationalize it (to myself) and justify it (for everyone else), but it comes down to believing that I can do it. I'm already doing a lot of the work that needs to be done, I just need to continue and even step it up.

What's on the horizon:

-Expanding my workshops - continuing the encaustic workshops (possibly adding a 2-day version) and adding bookmaking workshops

-Raising my workshop prices (I haven't been charging enough)

-New studio space - and when I move I will possibly offer even more classes - drawing and painting for adults and children. Maybe even gallery/retail space

-Some sort of craft endeavor with Etsy or my potential retail space - possibly selling my collage boxes, handmade books, etc

-Possibly teaching as an adjunct at one of the area universities

-Two solo shows - Manhattan, Kansas and Douglasville, Georgia

-Volunteer activities - for my local art league and other groups

-Encaustic conference at Montserrat College in Massachusetts in June

-Waxy Buildup show with Trayc Claybrook - we're sending out proposals, looking for a venue for our two-woman show

-maybe even turn this blog into a book

So I feel like I definitely have lots of things in the works!

I also have an idea for a whole new series of work and I want to start making books again and I want to start doing some acrylic painting again... I'm so energized and excited that I just can't wait to get started on everything!

Thank you to everyone who has left such great comments. Thanks to Mary for the encouraging email - I love how you called your life as a working artist an adventure - the inspiration for the title of this post.

I will keep you posted!

Goals and Visualization

2007-03-08T10:14:00.000-06:00

Vizualizing my work in a museum... (make your own at dumpr)

For the last few months, I've really been thinking about my goals. I'm trying to figure out exactly what I want and how I'm going to get it.

I recently finished a great little book, This Year I Will... by M.J. Ryan. It's short and very easy to read. It's sort of a motivational book to help you first figure out what your goals are and then find the best strategies to accomplish them.

That lead me to The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. I think Alyson Stanfield mentioned it on her blog and I happened to see it in the library and grabbed it... And it's rocking my world. It's basically the same kind of book, but much longer and much more detailed.

And then, at the same time, I reconnected with Trayc Claybrook, who had recently seen The Secret, which features Jack Canfield... She also mentioned Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain, which I had read or listened to on tape a gazillion years ago...

None of this stuff is new, and much of it is common sense and so simple, but it's amazing how easy it is to get trapped in bad habits and negative thoughts. I took a bunch of classes through Landmark a few years ago (which were awesome), but I felt like I'd sort of slipped back into my old ways of thinking. All these books have helped me get re-focused.

OK, so all that to say that I've refined and re-energized my goals. I had been working on a 5-year plan - I would work for the security and benefits but continue to create and market my artwork in my spare time. Eventually, in a few years, I would be making enough money as an artist that I could quit the day job when the time was right.

But after reading and doing this work, I've realized that the time will never be right. I've just got to do it. But it's very scary. If it were just me, I don't think I'd be as scared, but I have a little human depending on me, so that makes a huge difference.

I have a short-term goal to move my studio to the town that I'm in (the studio is currently about 15 minutes away in another town). I'm looking for space now. This will allow me to be there more often and expand my workshops and classes. And maybe even have a gallery and shop.

I'm very excited about my plans (and scared). I'm trusting that I'll figure it out along the way.

StatCounters Anonymous

2007-02-22T16:23:00.000-06:00

So apparently I'm not the only one who is obsessed with checking my website stats. That makes me feel better.

Julia asked about the search terms I see most often. I get a lot of people looking for "tips for emerging artists," or similar terms. Also, "rejection letters," or "artist rejection letters," and someone recently got me after searching for, "nice rejection letter to client." Why anyone would want to reject a client, I don't know. At least they wanted to do it nicely...

I get a lot of "packing and shipping artwork." Lots of searches for "vanity galleries," "artist statements," "artist resumes," and "writing exhibition proposals."

I actually only checked it once today - I was obviously busy with other things and wasn't able to obsess like I usually do!