Monday, May 16, 2011

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven- Helpful Hints
-Keep on track by creating a support group with like minded artists
-Without the art there can be no business
-Make the best you can, and then push yourself further
-It’s a great habit to get to the studio every day, though not a necessity
-Once you have achieved regular work habits hang onto them fiercely
-Get a studio
-it doesn’t have to be great but it must allow you to have privacy and the freedom to make a mess and leave it there
-Learn to balance your life and your art
-Beware of destructive assumptions
-Watch out for midcareer bitterness
-Reality will mold itself to fit your expectations, stay positive and optimistic
-Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
-Have fun

Chapter Nine

Chapter nine- Going Online
-Having any online presence is absolutely essential to your success as an artist
-The internet is becoming and soon will be the principal means of communication on the planet
- There are three options you can use for putting your work on the internet:
1. Joining an existing group website
2. Using a web template
3. Making your own site from scratch
The internet is a great way of getting your work seen. It’s much faster and very efficient. It can benefit you greatly and is a relatively easy to use resource. It can really help get your name out there and your work known.

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight- Making Connections
-You want to exhibit and sell your art and be acclaimed for your efforts, but the vehicle that will make all these dreams come true is your connection with others
-At every point you have to interact with others to make things happen
• You need people to see your work, write about your work, and buy your work
-Widen your circle of art world connections and find new venues for exhibiting and selling your art is to take your work to a new city in search of opportunities to show it
-Use the phone, it’s horrible when you come in with your work and get rejected or embarrassed in person
-Plan what you will do before doing it
-Ways of connecting include attending gallery openings, or using a family connection

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Chapter seven

I found this chapter very interesting because lately I have been thinking a lot about working in a gallery or becoming a curator. I think the comment about it being am adrenaline rush because I think that it is. Learning that one person shows look better on your resume but group shows attract more people was something that I guess makes a lot of sense but was something I have never thought about. I think that the Exhibition Time Line page along with the Group Show Tasks list page will come in handy in the future. I personally think that the naming of the show would be something that I would struggle most with, I even have trouble naming my photos haha! So because of this the advice given in this chapter will also come in handy. I do know that specific and interesting brings in a greater number of people but after that i'm lost. Tips on printing, publicity, and framing were also all very helpful!

Chapter six

A chapter about organization I think is a very good thing to have in a book like this. I try to be as organized as I possibly can. I generally pride myself in having the cleanest/most organized room in my parents house but advice on how to be even more so is always welcomed. The type of organization that I need the most work with would be keeping track of my activities and such. I think the chapter was helpful in this category. Some things that they listed to keep track of that I probably wouldn't have thought of are; materials out list, location of your artwork (even attaching digital images to the page), and the consignment form. All of the different examples of lists that were in this chapter are also very helpful and I have them book marked for future references!

Chapter five

To start out I LOVE the quote on the fourth page of this chapter by Mark Rothko "As an artist you have to be a thief and steal a place on the rich man's wall." this quote is funny but so very true! This chapter was a very helpful one when it comes to listing off things that all artists need to know. For example what you do once you have been invited to participate in an exhibition, issues to discuss with a gallery that wants to handle your work, and what to expect when working with a dealer. One good piece of advice that I remember was to always be willing to take some responsibility as far as publicity goes because no matter how they go about it they will usually be excited you want to offer to help and it is good for you to always open up the communication channels. The final thing I would like to say about this chapter is the quote on page 96 by Dave Hickey " In the art world, you can't be right all the time, but you can never be wrong." Ha this quote made me smile a little because I like to always be right :)

Chapter three

Opening this chapter it was very reassuring to see the first line " You have much more control over your life as an artist than many people will have you believe." I think this sentence would have a similar effect on most artists. I also like the part about figuring out what you want and what you want to be. I even highlighted the quote by Cyril Connolly "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." I will probably be adding this quote to my top ten :) This quot is a good piece of advice to help artists and even other people to learn who they are and not be afraid to let everyone else know it. The other thing I wanted to mention that I really liked was about setting goals "Change the goal. Instead of setting a goal of running every morning, decide you just have to get into your running clothes,"