Notes from an Artist

Go to my Official Website or Facebook Fan Page from now on

2010-02-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

I've decided that updating all of my different social networking sites is a bit much so I'm limiting most of my updates to my official website and my facebook fan page.

This is the last entry that I'll be updating this specific page with.

Kathryn's Collages Official Website

Facebook Fan Page

- Kathryn Koozer

Evaluations (aka Market vs. Holiday Show)

2009-11-30T12:51:00.002-07:00

The opening to the show at the gallery is officially over and I am happy with the results for the most part.

I had a lot of friends show up to show support and to hang out (since people were in town for the Thanksgiving holiday). Some also found the irresistible urge to purchase some of my work. Thanks! I've managed to make up the cost for the whole show in the first few days of the show/fair being officially open. I believe just about all of the other artists have also made quite a few sales so far. At first I was a little apprehensive about one of the artisan's work next to mine... Mostly because it was Pet-Products, mainly dog beds, collars, bags, and soap shaped like bones. The more I see it however, the less it offends me. It bothered me, I think, because my work and her work were so vastly different in all aspects that the transition between the two was a bit jarring.

I am very please with the setup and location of my work. I had some talented help with the setup and hanging of my work and I have to admit it looks fantastic. The track lighting is perfect and reveals colors in my some of my work that you really couldn't see all that well out at the Farmer's Market this summer. I have just about ALL of my reproductions available down at the gallery, some framed, most loose. I have a good selection of my originals up and for sale for serious collectors and for those with a tighter budget don't forget that I can do special orders for larger and to-size reproductions of any piece you want.

As far as the Farmer's Market goes, at least for comparison, this setup at the gallery blow that one away no-contest. Which should be pretty obvious. The market downtown was a fun setting but it seemed that most of the thousands of people that came weren't what you'd consider serious about purchasing anything. The atmosphere down there has changed to more of an event feel (to go and hang out at) rather than a true market (where you go to buy things and expect to pay for high quality artisan goods). It may have been the economy speaking or maybe people have lost touch with what the market has to offer because people baulk at the higher prices for handmade, local, high quality goods. Or perhaps people think that our prices should be comparable to the cheap, machine made, import goods that cost very little (and reflect that in quality) that they can find at the conventional chain stores. A friend of mine that has worked the market since it began the 14-ish years ago said that people would expect to pay more (and did) for the artisan products found down at the market but that slowly changed along with the whole atmosphere and attitude of the people who came to shop and browse.

Overall, it was a good experience and I gained quite a few good contacts. The organization of the Market could use some work and I take issue with a few of the ways certain Market employees do things. I 'had words' with one of them at one point because of how she was treating another vendor and I felt that it was unacceptable. I haven't decided if I am going to do the Farmer's Market next year or not, I certainly didn't participate in their Winter Market. The fees were exorbinate and I had no intention of sitting outside for 4 hours freezing for the outside venue, nor did I feel like participating in their inside venue as I would have to pay them a fee, commission for sales, and on top of that I would have to work the counter there at least once a week, if I remember correctly. It just didn't seem worth it.

Specially since I've got a longer show at a gallery that's less expensive, no commissions, and it's inside and warm.

- Kathryn Koozer

See my work:
www.kathrynscollages.org
www.zazzle.com/kkoozer*
www.etsy.com/shop/kathrynscollages

Follow me:
twitter.com/KKoozer
www.facebook.com/pages/Kathryn-Koozer/132957703658

Idaho Arts & Antique Holiday Fair

2009-11-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Sevoy Antiques & Dan Looney Gallery presents:

“IDAHO ARTS & ANTIQUE HOLIDAY FAIR”

Please join us for a celebration of antiques, Idaho art, and beautifully crafted items by local Artisans.

Located inside Sevoy Antiques, 3408 Chinden,
Garden City - 367-9330
(4 blocks west of the Doubletree Riverside Hotel)
Free parking and just minutes from downtown Boise

GRAND OPENING PARTY!
Friday-Saturday-Sunday, November 27, 28 & 29

Holiday festive food & drinks, and a free signed Idaho art print by Dan Looney!

Featured Artisans
Sevoy Antiques, European collectibles and vintage enamelware

Dan & Julie Looney, Idaho art
Kathryn A. Koozer, Drawings & Collage
Jennifer Deroin, Pampered Pet Products
Madora M. Neale, Handcrafted Gourds
Polly Franz, Handsewn Crafts
Ruth Day, Handmade Jewelry

The Holiday Fair runs from Friday November 27, 2009 thru Saturday February 6, 2010.
Hours: Wed-Sat, 10-4:30. Sundays Noon-4:30
(Closed Christmas and New Year’s Days.)

Holiday treats and lots of good cheer on-hand through the event. Please bring friends and family.

Fan Photos (Part 2)

2009-11-15T12:21:00.003-07:00

This next set is all from a single collection.

Strawberry Cream Original
Home Office

Personal Collection
Nampa, ID

Fire & Ice
Bathroom

Personal Collection
Nampa, ID

Texel
Bathroom

Personal Collection
Nampa, ID

The last two photos show how nice my work looks in floating frames. These are the type of frame I recommend the vast majority of the time when people ask how they should frame my work. There are a few places that have those types of frames that vary in quality, style, and price. Michaels has a good selection but Target has an outstanding collection of these and has all sorts of arrangements and sizes.

I'm using a lot of those frames in my upcoming gallery/market event starting on the 28th of Nov. down at Dan Looney's Gallery.

-Kathryn Koozer

Gallery Setup Winter 2009

2009-11-13T13:19:00.003-07:00

Well I sure had a busy day yesterday. Met with my architecture buddy and talked websites, lunch at an officially Italian Certified Pizza (and other Italian food items) Restaurant, and set up most of my work up in a gallery for this winter.

The gallery that I'm getting setup at is Dan Looney's Gallery/Sevoy Antiques located off of Chinden in Boise/Garden City. A small group of artists have decided to get together and have their own Holiday Market & Gallery Exhibition this winter season. Most of us participating were all fellow vendors at the Boise Farmer's Market but we didn't want to invest in their Holiday Market for various reasons. Mainly the cost to participate and that we'd be outside freezing our buns off. An additional reason is also that sales were down this year pretty much universally and as a new vendor & emerging artist that doesn't have a lot of money I didn't feel that I'd be able to make up the cost, time invested in the whole setup & take down, stress, and other related things (like thawing out my finger tips after the day was over).

Dan and I were playing with this Holiday Extravaganza idea for a while and finally decided to go for it. He's got a pretty decent following since he's been painting for at least 30 years and everyone else participating down really nice work. Plus this adds another solid experience for my Artist Resume. Yes, we do have special resumes that feature shows & prizes and such.

Yesterday was when I setup the majority of my stuff. I had some very talented help come with me to get it all hung perfectly and we managed to get it all up and looking really nice fairly quickly. We even helped Dan's wife, Julie, rehang the paintings that needed to be moved to make space for my own art work.

Turns out they decided to push the opening back to the Saturday after Thanksgiving instead of next week on the 19th. Which makes a lot more sense since the 19th is a Thursday and most people would be able to come and join in on the festivities on a Saturday. But, since my stuff is up now and available, you can go and check it out before the official opening and you can even purchase my work early also.

I do have one or two concerns. One is that the antique owner likes to rearrange things and I'd like to retain complete artistic control over where my work is and how it looks with whatever is near it. There is also the concern of how not fantastically organized this event is. There seems to be an aura of them getting a bit overwhelmed at times. Hopefully that's not something that will turn around and bite us later.

Now, I'm going to share with you how my display looks as of yesterday (Nov. 12th). I will be adding more little things soon. I have a couple of frames I bought that need some attention also. There are Originals of my art and also Limited Edition Reproductions available at the gallery.

-Kathryn Koozer

Fan Photos (Part. 1)

2009-11-11T15:19:00.002-07:00

I'd like to share with you some photos I've gotten recently showcasing my work displayed in people's homes. See? People really do enjoy my work. ;)

MultiBlue Giclee
Oct. 2009

MultiBlue, 4:30 in Winter, Keukenhof Limited Edition Prints
Sept. 2009

MultiBlue (black) Mousepad (available from my Zazzle Shop)
Oct. 2009

I'm really excited to see the MultiBlue (black) mousepad. It looks beautiful doesn't it?
Those are available from my online Zazzle Store: http://www.zazzle.com/kkoozer

- Kathryn Koozer

Zazzle, deviantArt, & CafePress

2009-09-27T21:30:00.002-06:00

I have been working recently to expand my source of income generated through my art career. I am getting my work on various merchandise and available for purchase through multiple locales online. I am basically bypassing the middleman here by using companies that make the items, sell the items, and ship the items. What I do is spend oodles of time designing each product and posting them for sale through my online stores.

Oodles of time. Earlier this week I spent about 2 days non-stop working on my Zazzle and deviantArt stores. I may have gotten 3 sections relatively completed on Zazzle and most basic stuff on deviantART. I haven't really even touched CafePress yet, that will happen when I've got those other sections completed. I'm not too impressed with deviantART. There's almost no way to customize your items and I might just remove them from there because of that. Zazzle has an impressive setup where you can pretty much do anything you want to each item you create with colors, text (with as many fonts as you could possibly need), customizable objects, and variations on those objects. So I upload the images I want to use, which takes forever since you want a high quality image otherwise you'll get some nasty pixelation on your products, then I specify what I'd like to make. For example, a mug. I *love* mugs as anyone who knows me knows. They have so many variations on mugs I'm in mug-heaven. You can make mugs, ties, skateboards, postcards, gift cards, mousepads, shirts, and more. CafePress has SIGG bottles and I think I even saw throw pillows of all things.

So what I do it I select the product, choose it's type size and sometimes colors, than I arrange my image on it and add my 'by Kathryn Koozer' text somewhere where it doesn't intrude on the beauty of the item. After I have it looking how I want it I have to name the item, write a description, define the categories where it is publicly listed, figure out how much to sell it for and so on. According to Zazzle they make 1% on each sale, and then you as the merchant put a markup on their base price (the cost to make it and their 1%) to define how much you make from each sale.

My mother was kind enough to purchase a set of MultiBlue greeting cards, mostly to inspect the quality. The quality is exceptional. The paper is high quality in the card. The image on the front looks fantastic and I'm really picky about that sort of thing. Even the envelops that came with them were of a quality you won't see in store bought cards. The cards and the envelops came in a nice see through plastic box and then packed with an invoice plus a little Zazzle card. The only downside is that they used packing peanuts. Overall I am very pleased with Zazzle so far.

I Have a New Toy

2009-09-25T10:27:00.001-06:00

I have a new toy. That new toy happens to be able to cut a full sheet of mat board into two sections. It is also able to make slick bevel cuts for making classic mat boards that frame pictures. I use the bevel to make my mounted limited edition prints. It's wonderful.

Before I bought this little gem I was taking serious issue with my razorblade knives. I would end up mangling about half of my mounted prints when I'd try to cut the boards and then I'd have to trim them again to make them sellable. The cuts were uneven and sometimes hard to control depending on my grip of the knife and/or the ruler I use, and often how tied I was. The ruler was also slowly getting trimmed by my knives and my cutting board is looking like it got attacked.

With my new mat board cutter it takes one motion to make a clean perfect cut or trim. With my old system I would spend a good portion of my day trying to get the boards cut and trying to fix the ones that decided to give me trouble.

It's probably one of the best investments I've made and it's completely worth it. There are various type of cutters and they vary in price from super inexpensive on up to thousands. I found one on Blick that I fell in love with: http://www.dickblick.com/products/logan-450-mat-cutter/

New Artwork

2009-09-24T18:39:00.003-06:00

It's about time that I write a note about my new pieces.

Little Chris, Kaleidoscope, and the currently without-a-title Daffodil.

Each are collaged with various materials including nylon, pressed flowers, and old photographs. The first two mentioned are both 12 inches by 18 inches. That size is a pleasant size to work with as I can draw on my lap anywhere I happen to be sitting. When they are larger it is a bit more challenging to find a good position to work in. The third is 18 inches by 24 inches and is what you might call the mid-range of the sizes I work in.

Little Chris

Kaleidoscope

Daffodil

Kaleidoscope gave me quite a bit of trouble getting the collaging elements acceptable. That one incorporates pressed flowers and it was difficult making them look like they weren't floating off of the picture. Paper seems to work much better for those things it seems.

Here is where you might expect me to start talking about the concept behind each piece or the philosophy of my overall work. But, I'm really not into that. I want my work to be able to stand on its own. Through the skill involved and how it looks and perhaps how it makes you feel. If I have to start writing long explanations about why I did what I did and why that's important then I feel that the work isn't strong enough to be legitimate in and of itself.

You might think from that statement that I don't have a concept or philosophy behind my work. I do. And it's part of why I do what I do, but that is mainly about me personally and what I try to do with my art than about the art I create directly. My work is what it is and what each person makes of it themselves. All the critics of the art world and all of the visitors to museums each make their own assumptions and ideas about art. Each person has their own interpretation and it's not my place to tell you how you're suppose to see or enjoy my work.

Awake...

2009-09-22T00:48:00.000-06:00

I am awake and it's 12:19am.

So much has happened since my last post yet at the same time so much hasn't. What has happened is that I've put in a lot of effort to pick up my pace of producing artwork. I can manage to get a piece done a week if I try. I haven't posted new pictures of my recent few pieces in my official portfolio on my website but they are on my Facebook Fan Page. I don't think I've even mentioned the new pieces I have completed in blog posts. I'll post those soon.

I have also started developing a few online stores where people can purchase merchandise that has my art on it. There are three currently (Zazzle, deviantART, and CafePress) where you can buy random items, and only one where you can purchase my Limited Edition Prints (Etsy). You can, of course, continue to send me emails to acquire prints, and that is actually preferable as it saves me money than if you went through my Etsy Marketplace. I had a small investment made into my art business which enabled me to purchase a slick mat board cutter, photos and a post soon to follow. The two weeks before this last one at the Market in Boise were fantastic for sales and that always makes me feel optimistic.

What hasn't happened is finding more places to sell my work on consignment. The winter gallery show with Dan Looney, a well established local artist, hasn't quite been set in stone yet (I haven't mentioned this before and I'll give you more detail when I know more). I can't seem to get merchandise up on Zazzle as fast as I'd like. It seems to take forever and there's so much I'd like up and available *now*. And finally this last week at the market was one of the worst days out there. I barely made the rent for my my booth space. >.< From talking to other vendors it was a slow day all around. The economy currently is not kind, as everyone knows. And it's especially unkind to an emerging artist.

Which brings me to why I'm awake at this hour. My stress level and anxiety are basically at an all time high. I'm not making enough money to make me pleased with how things are going. I've been working non-stop to get Zazzle and deviantART up and running and it's frustratingly slow-going. Then there are people that want me to drop what I'm doing and converse or hang out just because I don't have a normal job with normal hours and thus should be available whenever. There are other things that weigh on me and cause stress and anxiety but those are normal everyday stresses and aren't worth mentioning here.

I sleep poorly. I've slept poorly for years. You get used to it after a while and develop a tolerance to the lack of sleep. I have at least. Doesn't make me any happier about being awake though.

I am awake and it's 12:46am.

Painting with Colored Pencils

2009-09-11T21:57:00.001-06:00

The other day I was checking out electric erasers for the purpose of drawing. You can make little lines with it or other subtle marks with the eraser that you can't with your pencils. Plus, you can erase with them. Handy, eh?

But I'm of topic here. When I was looking that device up I came across some info about using solvents on your pencils for blending. Now, I usually use a blender pencil which turns out to be just the binder (like wax) in a pencil form that you rub over your pigment and it helps to blend the colors together. The solvents are a chemical that you put on your work and move around with a brush. It's like working with watercolor pencils, only you're using a chemical. So there's a bunch of different things you can use ranging from lighter fluid, mineral spirits (that be toxic fumes there), and Vodka. I hate Vodka so naturally I used the lighter fluid that has sat in my closet since my freshman year in collage. That's about 9 years for those keeping track.

So I did some test samples this afternoon to compare how it looks to my normal technique.

this is the rough scribblings

the top section is with the blender pencil and the bottom is with the lighter fluid

close up

another close up

this is a smaller test to show the difference, note the specs on the left

You may notice the little specs of pigment in the sections done with the blender pencil. That's one thing that's always bugged me, the lighter fluid obviously doesn't have that problem but don't use that stuff on anything you want to keep details in. It also can work as a way to tone down an area if you've gotten it too bright, or too dark as I found out on my current drawing. It also basically eliminates the other specs where the paper shows through.

I'm pretty pleased with it and I think I'll be using it quite a bit in future pieces.

Send me your Photos!

2009-09-06T22:42:00.003-06:00

I've been working on my Facebook fan page and I've been adding photos of of my work in shops, exhibitions, and the originals on people's walls and it occurred to me that it could be fun to see what people have done with the prints that they've bought.

So send me an email of a photo of the piece you've bought and what you've done with it. How you've framed it and where it currently resides. As I receive them I'll put up a blog post and I'll include some basic info, like the title of the pieces shown and maybe the first name of the person who owns them and maybe the state where the print is.

I think it could be really interesting. So shoot me an email at info_at_kathrynscollages.org. Take out the underlines and change at to the @ symbol for it to go through.

For example:

The home of the original MultiBlue.
Idaho

Please Excuse my Dubiosity

2009-08-31T10:44:00.001-06:00

I posted a couple months ago about a Vanity Press trying to sucker artists into buying their way into a book that featured over 200 other artists. That one you paid a small fee to be included. That one pales in comparison to this new one I found in my email.

This new one you pay hundreds and even possibly thousands of EUROS to be included. O.o

I got this email about a week and a half ago and I thought I'd share portions of it with you.

*****

Call for entries

"Featured Artists" Art book

Collectible global art book
Estimated Release Date: November 2009
Hardcover 200+ pages
DIMENSIONS: 21x21 cm - 8.2X8.2 in
Inclusions by selection only

Modern Art Community and Mediaplan publishing invite you to participate in a collectible book of art.
Featured Artists is a daring attempt to feature several contemporary artists in an overview, a book which will be a resource for galleries, museums, artists, art collectors and dealers who constantly seek for new talents and trends in the art community. Featured artists is an art book which is also a source of information, including many artists profiles, and new trends that appear in the art world nowadays.

Having an Artist Profile published in “Featured Artists” art book is absolutely necessary and essential for an artist and also a tool that can elevate your career much higher.

Please note that this is not a free inclusion.

More info: www.modernartcom.com

*****

I took out the names at the bottom as to not annoy anyone directly, but if you go to the website and check out the info on this I'm sure you'll be as shocked and/or weirded out as I am. I'm left wondering how in the world they think *anyone* would be willing to participate in this and shell out that much money.

I also love how they say that "Having an Artist Profile published in “Featured Artists” art book is absolutely necessary and essential for an artist and also a tool that can elevate your career much higher." All of those desperate artists trying to make a name for themselves seeing that and being convinced of it. Hey, I'm poor and not famous, but I am *not* desperate enough to shell out to pay for a Vanity Press book that I am seriously dubious about helping my career in any way. If you want a longer explanation about why those are a bad idea read my first post about the Vanity Publishing. It's called 'An Opportunity for Vanity' and you'll find it in the archives.

So how much would I be, in fact, paying the publishers for the honor of having them include me in their "absolutely necessary and essential" book? Strait off of their website:

*****

"If the artist is selected an editorial fee is requested to cover editorial and production expenses. The current editorial fee starts at 490 euros (or the equivalent currency) for one page and 890 euros for two pages presentation in the book.

For more than one page, the artists gets another page free of charge. For additional pages every other page costs 350 euros. (example: an artist wishes to participate in Featured Artists with 3 pages. The cost will be 890+350=1240 euros and have an extra page free of charge)."

*****

Holy Crap. That's not even taking in account how that converts to US $. Not only does that second paragraph make no sense when following the first but that amount is astronomical.

Not that desperate, and also not that stupid to think that this would help me in any way. Pretty sure I could use that amount of money to help me in much better ways. Like using it to send samples and applications to galleries in large cities. Or basic advertising in various places, plus getting work copyrighted, scanned, or even getting into the print market. Or buying materials to make even more art. Or pay the rent and eat.

These ones, however, do claim to sell the book through larger retailers, but answer me this: If a gallery owner knows (and you can count on them knowing all about these books) that you've paid your way into a Vanity Press art book (instead of proving you have talent through being asked to be featured in something for free because you're awesome) will they still respect you and your work in the morning? I certainly wouldn't. To me all I would see from that is that you are either very naive and desperate for some form of imagined reputation, or that you have very little talent and can't make it in legit circumstances where you can't buy your way in.

Portrait

2009-08-30T12:13:00.005-06:00

I would like to announce that I have completed my first real portrait. I am very pleased with how it turned out & so is the client (who is one of my closest & dearest friends). The subject is apathetic as he's 2yrs old and would rather play with cell phones then look at fractured art. I'm also guessing the fractures may confuse his eyes as to what he's actually seeing. I originally made it as a gift but then she said to keep it. This was before she saw it when it was almost complete. She said she almost cried because of how beautiful it was and of course now she wants it. I think that she will appreciate it much more than a random art collector buying it and not knowing anything about the subject and the dynamics involved. But, there will be prints available this week.

What do you think?

Oh, and if anyone is in the market for having a real portrait done for themselves or a loved one (in my style) let me know and we'll work something out.

To See the Unseen

2009-08-10T10:05:00.001-06:00

Part of the concept behind my work and the styles and techniques I use is to help people see in different ways. This usually comes across through the fractures & collaging. Each separate piece being how someone else sees the same world you are seeing. Or not seeing - it all depends on how you mentally and physically view the world sometimes. I have also been exploring colorblindness because you can actually show people with normal vision how a colorblind person sees by removing certain colors from the spectrum used in the piece. There's a whole lot of science behind this but I won't rattle on about that since that's not what this post is about.

I want to explore Ultra Violet in my art. I want to show Infrared also. These are things that we can't see with our eyes but it is possible to give you an idea of what is there through science! There are cameras that will take a picture in grey-scale and than will show you the UV areas in bright white. It's obviously not going to show you the real coloring of that area, well, because we are not physically capable of seeing it. Birds and bees can and it's one of the ways they navigate their world. Flowers have all sorts of coloring and patterns we don't see and birds... Well birds are more beautiful and more amazing than we can ever truly comprehend.

Being able to capture infrared would be extremely interesting when it comes to architecture, people, and anything else that holds heat or produces it.

There's a camera I'd love to get to help me out with this, but it costs a few thousand dollars. I'm not quite ready to spend that much yet, although if anyone has any connections/money/leads on grants that may help me get there shoot me an email.

Recently there was an article on the BBC about an exhibit that explored this and more. Pretty fantastic.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8188070.stm

Local Venue for my Art

2009-08-07T16:43:00.003-06:00

I have some great news that I thought I should share with everyone.

I now have my work available at the Framed! shop in Meridian off of Fairview. They do custom framing, photo restoration, and have a wide selection of art from local artisans. I was approached by the owner, Paula, a month or so ago when she asked if I would be interested in putting some of my stuff in her shop on consignment. I went and checked it out a couple weeks ago and loved the look of the place and just last week took my work in. Here's the address:

Framed!
1722 E. Fairview
Meridian, ID

It's right there in with Fred Myers by its western entrance.

I have a few pieces there on consignment and those will get changed out every few months or as soon as the work sells. It's a really good deal as the split goes 30% - 70% with me receiving the later amount from the sale. A lot of places want up to 50% of the sale price and that's asking way too much unless they are doing a lot of work getting your stuff sold. So I'm quite pleased with how this is working out.

Currently there are 4 pieces there. All reproductions. A full sized Velvet Giclee MultiBlue, larger prints of Objectivity & Keukenhof, and a medium print of Breadth of Vision.

In the future I'd like to score more places to have my work on consignment, but everyone's got to start somewhere. I'm also in discussion with Dan Looney, a local Idaho artist, about showing my stuff in his gallery. Word is the consignment fee for that would be 25% which is phenomenal!

I'll keep you posted on how that turns out.

Little Jewel (the grasshopper) Prints Available

2009-08-02T19:27:00.001-06:00

I've sent in an order for Little Jewel prints so they should be available down at the market by this Saturday. They might even be available on Thursday, if shipping is early morning, for the First Thursday thing on the grove. I should be joining the artists of the Gypsy Gallery down there displaying and selling work.

The scan of the piece looks really good so I hope the prints look as great.

Etsy Shop

2009-07-29T14:28:00.002-06:00

Time for rejoicing and hopeful thoughts!

I have procured myself an Etsy marketplace to help sell my reproductions and originals. I am slowly working on getting more inventory up on the site. And as each item I post costs me $.20 I'm not putting up a whole lot right at once. You can find my shop at kathrynscollages.etsy.com

You can either purchase items through that website or you can send special requests through email. Through the website would be easier for me because it have Paypal all set up. I am of course down at the Boise Farmer's Market and that will be cheaper for you all around because I include the tax in my prices there as well as there is no shipping cost when you buy from me locally.

Oh, yes and I will have select work available at other locations locally on consignment. I will post more information soon. But for now, go check out my shop!

kathrynscollages.etsy.com

No Market this Weekend

2009-07-20T14:39:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I won't be down at the Farmer's Market this weekend (the 25th) selling my art & reproductions. I will be traveling far and wide to the eastern part of the state for a wedding.

I will be back for the following weekend have no fear.

Printing Greener

2009-07-12T14:51:00.001-06:00

When I started my art & design business I decided to donate 5% of my profits tot eh National Wildlife Federation. I didn't do this because it's a trend or to make myself look better. I did this because I have always been an environmentalist. I grew up watching documentaries about nature on The Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. I watched a lot of veterinarian shows because I had planned on becoming one when I was younger. I also donate a portion of my profits because I realized that designers have a lot of power in their hands. My thesis in college was about that subject and that because of this power to convince & sell that we should use this ability to create a positive impact upon the world. My thesis was called Design for Social and Environmental Improvement, and that is why my main website domain was named that. My art is now in its own domain at kathrynscollages.org. In my business I don't do work for those that I feel have a questionable motive or for those that care very little for anything other than making money. I give my skills to those that have something good to give to the world.

In this theme I've finally managed to score myself a green printer for a good price. I'm getting my business cards through Greenerprinter.com now. They offer paper that is exclusively made up of recycled papers. They use (also exclusively) soy and vegetable inks that are low in Volatile Organic Compounds. Because they focus on printing in this fashion they can keep the costs down - unlike printers that print on whatever paper and use whatever inks they feel like unless you specifically request the recycled stuff (which will have their own special price and that's generally going to cost you more). They are 'Operating as a carbon-neutral business via carbon offsets of shipping emissions and investments of Renewable Energy Credits to offset emissions from operations.' There are many more things that are supremely awesome & green about them but I won't bore you with those. If you'd like more info about them visit their website found at http://www.greenerprinter.com/.

Because I've just finished my new website dedicated to my fine art I've needed to make new business cards specifically for it. Plus I need new cards for the Farmer's Market & it was a good opportunity to take advantage of this green printer. The basic design in the same as my last one but it updated with the new website address and title. Oh, and I have my special 'I donate 5% of all profits to the National Wildlife Federation.' shpeel on the back of the card along with the printers info about the paper ('Printed on 100% recycled content, 50% post-consumer waster, processed chlorine-free paper by greenerprinter.com'). I'm happy with the design and happy that my cards aren't going to be one more thing to hurt this place that we live in.

Little Jewel

2009-07-10T15:47:00.003-06:00

Little Jewel is the name of my latest piece. This gem has the dimensions of 10inches by 13 inches and currently is completely colored pencil. I have not yet decided if I'm going to doing any collaging to it, pressed flowers or paper being the options. I'd probably do pressed flowers but I think it might be strong enough to stand on its own without it. To me this piece seems very strong in an illustrative style. A friend says that's to be expected because it's done with colored pencil but some of my other pieces are definitely far more photo realistic - the Division of Semblance piece for example.

This piece isn't available in reproductions as of yet. Give me a few weeks.

Little Jewel
Colored Pencil (may be collaged later)
2009, 10"x13"

There is a fun story behind this piece. For those of you who have a love of all things outdoors you will enjoy this me thinks. Those of you who don't like bugs may not. Just pretend this Little Jewel is made of jade or emerald.

This grasshopper was seen outside of my back porch sitting in a red/orange lily for days. I would try to remove him and he would return to this same spot. One flower would die and he'd move to another one. Finally one day I went out and he had changed color to a light tan and had grown wings, later that same day he disappeared.

I'm amazed he didn't get spotted by a bird. This is a colorblindness piece in the sense that the grasshopper had no idea that he stood out so strongly against that red lily.

The original photo of this that I took I'm thinking about entering into the NWF photo contest. The deadline for that is the 20th of July for those who are interested in photography.

Shocking! aka No Books for Me

2009-07-08T11:20:00.000-06:00

So in my last note I mentioned that I emailed that book publisher about how many books I'd be getting for free if I participated. They actually emailed me back this morning and this is what they wrote (minus names and formality greetings):

'Thank you for contacting us. The $40 entry fee does NOT include any books. The books will retail for approximately $39.'

Shocking. I already knew the answer before I asked but I wanted to confirm my suspicions. Not even a discount for those that are featured in this book. Amazing.

Not that I want one, not with 200 artists cramming their work together in a 400 page book. I can't hardly imagine that could possibly look nice (graphic design class talking here) or do the artists and their work any proper justice or representation at all.

I do hope that this note and my last one will find their way to other artists who might be considering this and to think long and hard before taking part in this type of thing. The lure of becoming a 'published artist' or the awesomeness of being in a random book should absolutely not overshadow what these people are actually doing. This does not help an artist at all, it's a waste of money and in my book (that I'm selling for $40, j/k) is very dubious and might as well fall into the realm of scams.

Don't fall into the trap. No one will be impressed, especially not gallery owners. Write your own book, teach classes, apply to galleries, get online (beware artist website scams also), get into shows and competitions that are reputable, and participate in farmer's markets if you can. Even sell your stuff on eBay, just don't participate in a Vanity Press or a Vanity Gallery. It's bad news.

An Opportunity for Vanity

2009-07-07T20:28:00.005-06:00

'But then you'd be published!'

This is a quote from a young man that I chatted with a few weeks ago when he came and saw my art booth out at the Edward's Greenhouse evening market. Is that, being published, the height and aim of an art career? Is it a stepping stone to becoming well know and filthy rich? Perhaps for some it gives the feeling of validation, of having another item for their Artist Resume, of being able to proudly proclaim to gallery owners that they are a published artist and obviously deserve the respect of their work that they so desperately want.

Or, perhaps being a 'published artist' isn't all glory and power over galleries some might think.

I recently was contacted (by email) by 'Best of Artists and Kennedy Publishing' and they were very excited to tell me that I've been selected (make that pre-approved) to be included in the Best of Worldwide Charcoal, Pastel and Pencil Artists Volume I art book competition. Evidently they went to my website, and decided they like two of my pieces - Lanterns and Objectivity. They then go on to say that 'If you choose to enter the competition you have been juried in and are guaranteed a TWO PAGE FULL COLOR LAYOUT of your artwork (a total of 2- 4 images) plus your contact information and /or gallery representation in the book. '

Pretty sweet deal! What else do I get...

'You will receive a TWO PAGE FULL COLOR LAYOUT of your artwork (a total of 2-4 images) in the beautiful Best of Worldwide Artists Volume I book, your contact information in the book, you will be listed in a special international section in our new on-line US Visual Art Guide (www.usvisualartguide.com), a permanent listing on Bestofartists.com (BOAA), inclusion in the online PDF copy of the book viewable on BOAA indefinitely and a preview jpg of your pages prior to printing. Also your artwork will be in the running for the front and back covers. Our previous books have sold thousands of copies in the United States and abroad and have been used by artists to promote their work to galleries, collectors and museums.'

Wait, I thought I was suppose to be printed in the Charcoal, Pastel and Pencil book, now I'm getting in this other book? Which book am I going in? And both of these are a volume I? Interesting. Lots of things, I must be feeling flattered at this point and ready to shell out some cash. And it's not that much cash either...

So there's a 'competition fee'. With that 'fee' you can enter up to 10 high res images, the two they liked that they mentioned before plus 8 others. Entry fees are normal for competitions except that as they stated - I've already been juried in.

It turns out that fee is used to publish the book. Wait, what? Don't legitimate publishers absorb all of the publishing costs, marketing, printing, editing, and so on AND then pay the author for using their material? Publishing companies make their money by selling books, not by *printing* them. Why are they telling me that I'm paying to get this printed? And on top of that they make no mention of me, who is giving them the PRIVILEGE of including my work in their book, of getting any books for free to give out perhaps to gallery owners or to have at shows. No, the book costs another $39. And you can only order it from a very select list of vendors. And you can guess that doesn't mean anywhere anyone goes to buy books.

This is what they write in the email, and I will give them credit for being honest and upfront about it, even though it is misleading:

'Why the entry fee? Despite our unique selection process we are still a publishing/promotion company hosting competitions. We also must incur all the creative, editorial, layout and design costs that go into the publishing, distribution and promotion of a beautiful two volume book. '

As it should be, except they don't pay for it at all, they make their authors pay for that. They say that it is about a 400 page book and if every artist gets 2 full pages and each pay a minimum of $40 plus another $39 to just get their hands on the book? I think you get the idea. I think I do too.

They are a Vanity Press and using one does no favors to anyone (except the 'publisher') and most definitely not the authors who publish through them. In fact legit publishers will be quite cautious, not that they aren't all ready overly cautious when choosing book to print, when considering you when they know that you've gone the Vanity Press route.

After I got the email trying to sell me on the idea I went and looked them up to see what I could find. There are forums asking about these people and their Best of Artist books and the consensus that I'm seeing is that these types of books are a bad idea. Agents tell their artists that these books will not result in sales, other say that you can spend your $40 in a much better way to advertise yourself/your work, and that these people (who knows if this is a scam) will have a bunch of high resolution scans of your work to do with as they please. And note that copyright doesn't mean a thing to some people, I've heard of people using books like that to get 'inspiration' where they basically steal your work and change it just enough so that you can't take them to court over it.

I had another reason, now what was it?

Oh yes, I also went and looked at their websites for the Best of Artist people and for the books themselves and those websites I can tell you are *very* template-y. As in it looks like they spent 5 minutes grabbing a template off a template-mill site and propped it up and pretend like it's a legit site. Very dubious about that. Not professional or respectable looking at all and I know what I'm talking about having been making websites since I was 12. I also went and looked up this publisher this afternoon and they talk about how you can get anything you want published for a fee. They don't come out and say it of course but that is a classic Vanity Press. They have been in existence since 2005, or so says their website. I doubt very much that they are respected in the hard-core art world, or by gallery owners. One other thing someone brought up in the forums was the question of 'who is going to buy these books?' And it's not like we the artists, who are basically the authors here, are getting any royalties for letting them use our work. These books aren't on Amazon, or any other big retailer where any normal human-being is going to be shopping. No, you basically can only order them through the publisher's website and you can bet that most of those sales are going to be from the artists themselves that are featured in that book.

It's like those 'Who's Who of America' books they try to make you pay to get your name in.

At least someone figured out how to make money in this economy. Kudos for that. Just not with my money, thankyou. I'm afraid becoming a 'published artist' in this manner doesn't interest me at all. Oh, and I sent them an email tonight asking how many free books I'd get if I participated in this. Stay tuned to see if they even respond. Which they probably will and tell me that I can get a book if I give them more money.

And if you don't believe me go look up the definition of Vanity Press. Or just go to this link: http://www.answers.com/topic/vanity-press

Artists are Nuts

2009-07-06T14:44:00.001-06:00

If you know me personally you know why I titled this note in this manner.

I would rather hang out with engineers than with fellow artists most of the time. A lot of the people I took classes with always took their 'art' into the political realm and I'm really not interested in going down that route. I'm not interested in discussing political art all that much either. Some of the movements entertain me but for the most part I look for skill in the art I like. I am hugely impressed with people who have the skill to make photo realistic paintings/drawings. That takes talent, skill, and a good eye. It's so much more than cutting out slogans and pictures and ripping on the latest political leader you hate. I want people to enjoy my work because it's beautiful. I don't want people to have to think hard about something I create in order to like it. There should be an automatic 'WOW' factor right when they see it because that's what I want to do with my work. I want to bring beauty, not more sadness or anger to the world... I'm fairly certain we have enough of that everywhere else.

Anyway, like I said Artists are Nuts. I say this specifically, and respectfully BTW, because this last Saturday I had a long conversation with a very intense, and probably a tad crazy, artist. He was 63 and worked in abstract painting mostly. He really liked my work, and said that I was underselling myself and that if my work was in New York it would sell easily for $10,000. I regretfully didn't get his name because if everything he told me was true he might be a good referral to a NY gallery (whenever I decide to go down that road). He was very intent on me understanding that it is a complete waste of time trying to get into galleries that aren't in the major big cities back east. He said that there's no point in being in one of these 'mom & pop' galleries around here or even in California or Seattle or Portland. Chicago, NY, Miami and others in that area are the only ones you should try for according to him.

He also asked me how I handle rejection. And in all honesty I've pretty much gotten into every show I've ever tried for. There's only been once that I didn't make it into a show I applied for and that didn't really bother me at all. I think the people who have a hard time with rejection are the ones that take it as more of a personal rejection rather than one of your work not being appropriate to where you have applied to, or perhaps the style you are working in just isn't sell-able. It's one of those things where you have to distance yourself from the art, because you aren't the art even though you put a lot into it.

He also said that I should 'go underground' for 2 years and just paint the entire time, 'go home and paint. Don't clean, don't' work on anything else. Drop your friends. I promise you'll feel better for it.' And that last part I entirely do not agree with. I want a life outside of what I do. I'm not the most sane/normal person, I'll admit that strait up, but I'm not completely NUTS either. I'm not one of those people who likes to alienate themselves from the world, I like my friends, even though I don't see them nearly as often as I should, and I'm not one that can live and prosper long in squalor.

He then went into asking me that if I had to choose between buying paint/canvas or buying Gucci shoes which would I buy... Now that's a tough question. Or not. If you know me you might also remember that I have a money complex where I seriously hate spending money and especially when I feel like I've wasted it. Pretty sure I'm not going to be buy Gucci shoes anytime soon, if ever.

So yah, he was very intense and slightly nuts. But what can you expect when you're talking about an artist? We're all nuts and eccentric, it's just easier to see in some people than others.

Art Source Gallery Juried Show 2009 & More

2009-07-02T20:43:00.004-06:00

I must apologize for not writing for so long, sometimes I lack inspiration or motivation for these things. Anyway, on to the fun stuff...

Some of you know that I entered a couple pieces into the Art Source Gallery's Juried competition for this year. Well, West Highland Way got in! The reception for the show opening was tonight. A good day for an opening since it was also First Thursday where lots of people come out and the local businesses have music and food items for people to enjoy.

There were a ton of people at the gallery. There was a musician playing a piano and singing. There was also a table with goodies where I unfortunately picked up a coconut cookie without realizing it. >.< I am not a fan of coconut. I did not have any problems with the strawberries or the crackers, luckily.

After a while they announced the winners, they had four winners where all of the prizes were the same as well as the title of the prizes. There were no 1st, 2nd, or 3rd places, just four selected pieces that they liked the most. They won cash awards, and unfortunately I was not one of them but I am satisfied with just being accepted into the show.

The work for the show will be up the entire month of July and those of you who are in the Boise area should go down and take a look. There are a lot of nice pieces.

On a different note I should mention that I went to the opening instead of doing the Thursday Market. Evidently they forgot that I told them this and when I was walking down through the booths to see a friend (who sells herbs and natives) we ran into each other and they said that they thought I was going to show up tonight. They don't seem to be the most organized people in the world, but I'm sure they have a lot of details to juggle...

Next First Thursday I may or may not be at the Market depending on if I can get set up at one of the little shops down town for that evening.

I have also decided not to do the Edward's Market since when I was there two weeks ago I sold *one* thing, and that certainly doesn't cover the rent for the booth spot. I did make a good connection with a framer who had someone bring in one of my pieces that wants to do some consignment with my stuff, but other than that it's really not worth it.

I'm sure there's other things I'm forgetting to write about. Mostly just about the Refugee Festival the week after I was stuck in the corner behind the stage. That has been the best Saturday for sales so far. Last Saturday they put me in a different spot, out in the midst of the main grove but that didn't seem to give me more sales than in my original location. I think I like my original spot more, at least at this point I do.

Oh and at Edward's Market a bee tried to land on my tulip (Fire & Ice) print. The photo didn't turn out right because it was on the wrong setting, but it you get the point.

A response!

2009-06-17T16:50:00.003-06:00

Well, I got a response to that issue I mentioned in the last blog and it seems there were all sorts of issues with the way things got setup down at the market beyond my issue with the stage.

Seems a bunch of vendors weren't setting up correctly which messed things up all the way down the line to my booth (although I'm not sure how that could have changed, maybe I could have moved my booth forward more?). I now have all of the cell phone #'s so that if I have problems any other Saturday they can come and get things fixed before I get setup, that should be helpful me thinks.

I got a nice explanation of renting-the-Grove-issues and working with other people that rent the grove and it sounds like they didn't know that the stage was going to be such a problem to the extent that it was and they seem to be genuinely apologetic about that.

Anyway, I'm happy with the response I was given. This next week should be interesting as they are moving us all over the place to compensate for some huge activity thing going on in one section - the section where my booth usually is.

Oh and I got a couple of to-size prints, one was a pre-ordered purchase and one is a Giclée reproduction of my Multi-Blue piece. My brother's B-day present also came, a 7mm oval Synthetic Alexadrite, and it's beautiful!

Painted Chicks make more money than I do

2009-06-15T10:53:00.003-06:00

Here's a little intro before I go into the letter of complaint.

Last Saturday at the market I show up and there's this huge Stage set up were my booth usually goes. Like this thing has a roof on it and a somewhat see through wall, it has stairs and, well, it's just enormous. I ended up having to set up BEHIND this thing!

And from what I heard from my neighboring booth was that the attitude of the people running the market was, 'nothing we can do, our hands are tied by the pecking order of the vendors, and good luck'. >.< I felt very disrespected.

I am not happy. I barely made rent. Seriously, I made $37 that day. The chick who was painted white who stood on a bench blowing kisses to those who put money in her jar made more than I did. And probably the rest of us who were stuck in that corner behind huge monstrosities.

From Notes from an Artist

I wrote them a letter regarding Saturday, and here it is:

*****

Hey ______,

I know that running the market is complicated and that your hands are somewhat tied by the politics and the hierarchy of the returning vendors and working with the other people using the grove but it still should have been possible to adapt and help out us first-time vendors a bit with that situation. We were all stuck in a small corner hidden behind a huge stage. We got very little traffic because of being visually and physically blocked and I personally made 1/3 to 1/4 of what I usually make. I made more on the days that were torrential downpours than last Saturday. There was even one vendor that didn't show up in our our corner and it was obvious that if they did there would be no room for them because of how crammed in we all were. The stage was a physical barrier and potential customers are easily influenced by such things and will be much less likely to even be willing to walk down in that section because it looked like practically nothing was down there to look at. It was a huge psychological deterrent and we unwillingly paid the price for that.

We still work just as hard and pay for our time there like everyone else and I think we deserve a bit more respect than we were shown. I did not sign up for this to be hidden in a corner behind huge obstacles and I'm sure there are others who feel the same way.

I'm attaching a photo so you can see how our booths are pretty much non-existent behind the stage. This is not just 'our problem' this is a market problem and one I hope that does not repeat itself.

Kathryn

*****

And here's some shots of this and how you really can't see my booth at all. It was horrible. Somehow, through all of that we did manage to enjoy ourselves. Mostly by laughing at our problem and threatening to set up the booth on the stage or dance on it or, well, something else entertaining to do with it.

From Notes from an Artist

So evidently children love art... who knew?

2009-05-24T11:50:00.001-06:00

I forgot to mention in my last note that I took my new piece I'm working on with me to, well, work on.

This had an amazing effect on people. All of the children wanted to see what I was doing, how I did it, what I used, and so on. The parents got into it also. I got to tell the story about the silly bright green grasshopper sitting it the bright red lily for days until it grew its wings. I explained how I use colored pencils and how the blender pencils work and how I started taking art classes when I was eights, which really got the kids excited because they were all generally around that age. I can imagine those kids harassing their parents trying to get into art classes and making reference to me. ha!

From Notes from an Artist

One of the children that had to know what I was doing and why and how. :)

I don't know if it made a huge difference or not but I change my setup around a bit too. I added some more color to my table with using some scarves people had bought me from places around the world while they were traveling. I also put some of the grid baskets up front so that it was more attractive for people to stop and look through stuff really fast without having to commit to coming inside the tent. With doing that I was able to have an entire grid wall dedicated to just originals. I think the display just looked better this week.

From Notes from an Artist

The new setup. I added a previously sold original on the front of the booth and it was a show stopper. Someone even wanted to buy it off the current owner. XD

You can't see it but I had a gridwall hanging horizontally over the table that had framed work, originals, and a magnet board on it.

Some of the older crowd, as in not the kids, seemed really interested in how I do what I do (and make it make sense in my head while doing it, and also that my inspiration is from quilting and not some other painter. Once they heard that a whole sense of understanding seemed to flow across their faces. The work suddenly opened up into a whole other world they could relate to, since a lot of these people were quilters themselves.

I think I'm going to continue to bring my unfinished pieces to the market so people can see me work on them. But mostly for the children, because they seem to really like it.

From Notes from an Artist

Me working on my craft.

Notice the handy paper umbrella we attached to the chairs this week. I burnt my shoulders last week (even though I had sunscreen on).

What a fantastic day...

2009-05-24T11:17:00.000-06:00

The market this weekend was fantastic. I saw a bunch of friends and the entire crowd of people just seemed really happy.

They were also in the mood to buy things, and we all know I approve of that. :) Even with it being a holiday weekend and all of the other events going on we had a huge crowd of people. Pretty sure they all came down to the market instead of going on vacation.

We overheard a couple of the ladies-in-charge of the whole deal talking about one of the food vendors. How they were concerned that they 'weren't able to move enough of the customers through the lines fast enough'. What a thing to be worried about! To be selling that much stuff to have to worry about something like that seems to me to be a great day for them.

I also did a lot better than any of the previous weeks and I'm going to have to do some major reordering of my art reproductions for this next week! How awesome is that? Some of the vendors next to me seemed to do better than last week also, but strangely enough it seemed some of them did worse. The personality of the people buying things seems to change every week, and they seem to buy different things each time. Sometimes they don't buy anything at all from anyone (except of course the food vendors seem to do well regardless). Seriously, who can overcome the temptation of so many super delicious food-items in the morning and around lunch time? There's freshly fried donuts and this week we got some freshly made Stoopwaffles (it's a dutch thing... makes me miss The Netherlands).

I'm also planning on doing the First Thursday Art Walk thing if I can ever get all the details for that. That starts in like 2 weeks, btw.

So overall the market was pretty awesome, hopefully it keeps that going for the rest of the season. :)

Wishful Thinking

2009-05-21T20:30:00.002-06:00

So instead of filling you all in on the last couple weeks, which included a torrential downpour on one of the market days (thank you Brittany for braving the storm BTW), and two weekends following that of super slow morning sales that picked up in the afternoons (Thanks for coming and saying 'hi' Sam, Jared & Friends - who yes I have met before at a dinner thing with Melissa and Naga), I will be going into some of my thoughts of what I'd like to call Wishful Thinking.

How's that for a long one sentence paragraph?

Wishful Thinking:

I wish people would stop harassing me about how much money I'm making/not making.

I wish that I had a nice sunscreen that lasted longer than like 2 hours (I burnt my shoulders last weekend even though I put on sunscreen).

It would be nice if people bought so much stuff that I *absolutely* had to order more prints for market every week.

It would also be nice if people would let me concentrate on the market instead of asking me 'what my strategy is now'. My strategy for the market? Nope, my strategy for what to do now because *some people* think that the market is a bust because the mornings are slow. *insert rant here*

I wonder if I could produce drawing/collages as fast as the guy that has his booth next to mine paints... He can do paintings in a few short hours where it takes me quite a while to produce one of mine. I like to think that mine are much more challenging and beautiful. 'Course, I'm bias. ;)

At some point I'd like to have an entire studio to do my art in since right now the room I use I also use for like everything else.

I'd also like to get the rest of my credit card payed off. I'm able to get a decent chunk paid off every week with the earnings from the market, so that makes me happy.

I like to think that those people who were interested in my originals are going to buy one, or two, or more. :D The price reflects quality, if I could produce work in an hour my pieces would super inexpensive also. Although you might say that a piece I complete now has taken me 25 years to create because of all the work and study and skill training, and living I've gone through to get where I am now. Some people under-price their work so that they can ensure sales but that tells potential buyers that your work isn't worth much (even if it is).

When I started this I had a point I was going to make but now I'm going to have to say that all I've got is some wishful thinking trying to remember what my wishful thinking note is about...

XD

Through Rain & Shine.... POST DELETED! >.<

2009-05-06T17:38:00.002-06:00

So I just got done witting a long post about this last Saturday and the market. It was one of those supremely awesome posts that draws you in and makes you believe you were there. Well, not really, but it was fantastic nonetheless. I was sitting here proofreading it and it up and deletes itself. >.< Well, what actually happened was is that I've got a gaming mouse and one of the side buttons got pressed and it decided to go back a page on the browser which lost the entire thing.

I've been since educated that a lot of blog writers use notepad for typing their posts so as to avoid these kind of problems... And I shall endeavor to copy their tactics so to save myself the epic annoyance of losing my future notes. >.<

But I just wanted you to know, that I had a note to post, and it was done and awesome... and now it's gone. I'll probably retype it at some point in the next couple days...

>.<

Blog Post - 0..... Gaming Mouse - 1

I'maTwittering... O.o

2009-05-01T20:59:00.000-06:00

So I've decided to try out the Twittering thing after chatting with a friend of mine about it. You know who you are. ;)

Anyway I'm kkoozer on there or just click on this link in case searching for me doesn't work out: http://twitter.com/KKoozer

It'll mostly be focused on my shnazy art career. I know you're all dying to get in on the inner workings of things. ;) Try not to get too bored, eh?

Oh and I'm rather entertained by the photo I put up for it. It actually is the only self portrait I will ever show anyone currently. All others have been destroyed I'm sure.

From Notes from an Artist

It's called 'Bad Day' (from 2004 at UofI) and I'm sure you will agree that that would be my angry face. :D

Risky Business

2009-04-29T23:50:00.001-06:00

I'd like to dedicate this entry to a few of the risks involved in my work.

I recently got my work back from a public showing at the Civic Center. These peices were hanging up on the main wall for about a month and many of the pieces do not have a barrier between the art and the rest of the world. I do this for asthetic reasons as I dislike the glare and the look of glass/plexiglass. This comes with a few issues.

First off things can get on your work so you want to make sure you've used some sort of sealant on it. And if you collage things you might want to make sure that the glue you use is really really good, or use a decoupage finish on it.

This coming from me because I discovered the other day that a few of the fabric pieces collaged onto Fire and Ice were missing. Yes, MISSING. You could hardly notice it, in fact I walked by this thing for weeks before I noticed it. These pieces would have had to be worked at by a determined person, and did so in public. I was able to repair it and you wouldn't know the difference unless I pointed it out and even then it looks perfect.

From Notes from an Artist

The main issue here is that don't expect people to respect your work when out in the public arena. And don't be surprised if something like that happens if you don't take every precaution ever (insurance might be a good investment in cases like this). I honestly expected much worse than that actually. I figured people would go for the one that has pressed flowers on it, but it's in perfect condition. In fact Fire and Ice was the only casualty.

So now I'm out in another public venue, but I'm standing there with the art so the most I've got to worry about is someone pocketing something small. I might have to worry about the weather a bit but overall the potential for damage to my work by people is low. There is of course the issue of wind blowing someone's tent over into mine and wrecking things, but hopefully people are smart enough to weight those down.

Another issue is that "The UN's World Health Organization has raised the alert over swine flu to level five - one short of a full-blown global epidemic, or pandemic." - BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8025931.stm

I'm in public, in a potentially very crowded area. What to do? Do I hope for the best and stick it out? Do I cancel and not go and hope I avoid getting sick? Would they cancel the Market entirely if this flu gets way out of control? I sure hope so. And I am going to keep continuing to go because there's no point hiding away in your home hoping to live without actually living your life. Seriously, what is the point of that? When people start to not live through this thing (which they are living through just fine in countries that aren't Mexico) and everyone in town is sick, then I would probably stay home and duct tape all the windows and doors shut. ;) But what I am going to do is have hand sanitizers for my personal use and one for everyone else to use if they so please. Short of wearing a mask (with dubious effect) thats pretty much all I can do.

New Prints Available!

2009-04-23T21:07:00.002-06:00

I've got a few new reproduction prints available for this Saturday (and for ordering if you'd like one or two, let me know). I've got them in a couple sizes ranging from 3.5 x 2.5 up to 12 x 18. The Stargazer Series individuals are currently only available in the 3.5 x 2.5 sizes. Look for bigger sizes in the following weeks, perhaps *next* week in fact. :)

Sojourn - From Notes from an Artist

Breadth of Vision - From Notes from an Artist

West Highland Way - From Notes from an Artist

Stargazer - From Notes from an Artist

The Farmer's Market

2009-04-19T22:20:00.004-06:00

It is the day after the Farmer's Market and I'm still recovering from the exhaustion from it all.

Getting ready for it was extremely tedious and stressful. Most things worked out perfectly and the only hang up I had was the day before when the printers were late with the printing of a few things (labels, biography, and business cards) and trying to get everything packed up. I ended up finally going to bed a little before 1am that night.

Before I give you the skinny on how Saturday went I want to show you a photo of the pile of prints I had to work on for so long. These required me to crop them, UV protect them, spray-glue their backs, mount them on mat board, cut the mat board, sign each one, write their limited edition number on the back, paste their respective information labels on the back, put them in bags, put a business card in each bag, tape the bags closed, and then finally putting price labels on them. This was for over 100 prints, excluding the art cards which total 80. Those were a tiny bit less complicated.

From Notes from an Artist

O.O

Packing everything up was a bit of a nightmare also. We first tried to put everything into the Honda. I really should have taken pictures of this. Let me just say that if we had gotten in a wreck the three grid-walls would have either gone right through the windshield or the back of our heads. Now that you've got that wonderful visual in your head I'd like to say we opted for the pickup. That went much smoother and we used our bungie-netting to kept it all in place. Covered all the important things in plastic bags for protection from the elements and put my originals in the cab behind the seat.

I then went to bed and tried to relax but proceeded to wake up every two hours until 6am when we got up. You see, the vendors have to get there before 8:15am otherwise they have to fend for themselves with parking and have the carry all of their stuff to where you setup. That didn't really help us in this manner because my booth ended up in the main circle of the grove part and they don't let you drive on that. Well we headed off finally and got there a little after 8am. I had gotten an email a week before saying that I should 'check in' at a certain place, so we went there but these people blend in so well to everyone else there's no way you can find anyone to help you unless they notice you look lost.

So I walked around and tried to find my vendor space (our names are chalked on the road/bricks). I could not find it. Short of completely panicking someone finally came to my rescue and showed me my spot which was pretty much the only place I didn't look. Isn't that always how it is? I can't find something and as soon as I say it allowed I turn around and it's sitting right there in front of me.

We finally were able to set up but we couldn't park the truck anywhere near our spot. Most of our things really weren't that heavy except for the concrete blocks (to hold the tent down in case of a tornado).

From Notes from an Artist

Before

From Notes from an Artist

After

So I've got these fancy grid-walls and grid-baskets that are absolutely fantastic. They hold my prints perfectly.

From Notes from an Artist

I moved one of the grids. The one that holds all of the different sizes to the front of the booth so that people walking by can browse easier. I brought along three originals (I need to bring more next time) and the one I put on the front of the booth stopped people in their tracks. Pretty fantastic.

The vendors can sell as soon as the bell is rung at 9:30am (clang clang clang) - no sooner. You have to stop selling as soon as it is rang again at 1:30pm (clang clang clang) - and no later.

So weighing down your tent is a must as we found out that day. It was *not* a windy day, nor was there a breeze. But every once in a while there would be a very slight-tiny gust of a breeze and a few of the tents not weighted down tried to jump around. You can imagine these things just flying away in a second. One of the tents ooching around was a booth filled with pottery. I'm not even sure they noticed (we were eyeballing this thing as it was a couple booths away from mine) and if that took off it would probably take out half of their stuff if not more. We used heavy concrete block for ours, some people had more fancy things, but most did not at all.

We are going to be playing with the layout/structure of the tent and my art and prints to make it look spiffier in coming weeks. I will also be adding a bunch of new prints for this next week and a couple for the week after that.

I got a really good response, most people who came in were in awe by my work and loved it. It was nice. And on top on that I *sold* stuff.

Farmer's Market Prep. Buying stuff and prints... and more stuff.

2009-04-16T23:02:00.001-06:00

So I bought a bunch of grid-wall baskets and some display things yesterday and all of the little tiny details, like a calculator that matches the purple color in my business card flower. The baskets (and the grid walls also) I bought from a local used fixture store. Idaho Fixtures actually, they double as a 'farm store' where they sell inexpensive clothing.

I also spent the last day and a half cropping, spraying, and mounting all of my almost 100+ reproduction prints on mat board. I haven't put them in their bags yet because I need a few more things for them. Like more business cards and some info about the piece (that will be glued on the back of each piece). I'm also getting my artist bio printed so people can get some info on me. And that is good news for those potential stalkers, well, not really. ;)

-_-

But the hard and boring part is done. Now I just have to get a few more things printed and fixed I should be all set.

One of my design clients has made a color-bowl for me to help with the display and I plan on using my fake plants to help make things pretty also. The same fake plants I used in my BFA show. Oh, and for those who have no idea what a color bowl is it is a large pot that has colorful flowers planted in it. Usually they are sitting outside of people's homes. So that is really nice of her. Her business is called Artistic Elements (I did their designs) btw and they do all sorts of gardening things for people.

1 more day before the market starts... Hopefully I won't be too tired to enjoy it.

Farmer's Market Prep. 3 - Art Reproductions

2009-04-10T12:26:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I ordered my inventory for the market. These would be print reproductions of my art work that I've had scanned.

I've opted to use an online printing company that specializes in printing for photographers and artists. I use http://iprintfromhome.com/. What you do is you create an online account with them, upload your digital images, and place an order for the size and material you want to image to be printed at and on. They give you cropping options, and they even have a version of their online ordering software that lets you edit your images before placing an order. It's pretty fantastic. There are no minimum orders and they guarantee their work 100% even if they didn't cause the problem.

Shipping prices don't seem to go up when you place a large order either like a lot of websites do regardless of how heavy the items are. You know what I'm talking about. You go to some random online store and buy a pair of sunglasses for $20 only to find out that they base their shipping on how much you spend and end up paying about $30 + for those sunglasses because they are just over the cut-off price for the cheap shipping and now you get to pay more for an item that weighs nothing! Not that that has happened to me, that's just a hypothetical based on my observations of shipping costs on websites.

So I've ordered about 110 prints and 80 small art cards. Art cards are basically the baseball card collectibles of the art world. They are the same size as your typical Baseball card, or for you nerds out there, like your Magic cards. I will have about 11 larger prints of each of my 10 currently scanned pieces, and 8 of each for the art cards. I've played with the sizes a bit when I was ordering and I'm saving myself about $200 getting smaller prints and only a few few large ones. The smaller sizes will allow me to sell them cheaper so that it will be affordable to everyone. And that is good for exposure.

I'm getting these ones printed on "Kodak Supra Endura Professional Photographic Paper... Kodak Supra Endura photographic paper has an extraordinary color gamut and state-of-the art image stability." According to my printers. I will be offering to make special orders for customers who want Giclee reproductions - these are printed on types of canvas. I recommend the Somerset Velvet Giclee Prints because the prints look a lot nicer in this material than on the canvas. The canvas prints look like they have lines all over them and I'm not really liking how that looks. The Velvet Giclees look really nice, they have a softer look and you might say it's similar to watercolor paper. However, the Somerset Velvet Giclee Prints are not as brilliant as the prints on the photographic paper. But that's something you can decide you want when you look at my examples of each (I have a single image printed on all three materials so that you can compare the differences). It's nice being able to have the set and look at them side by side.

From Notes from an Artist
Keukenhof example art-prints on different materials. Photogrpahic-left,
Velvet-top, Canvas-bottom right. These are 8in x 10in prints.

From Notes from an Artist
Example of the Canvas print. See the texture?

I should be getting the prints on Tuesday unless Easter messes up the printing and shipping times. Once I receive them I will be mounting them on hard mat-board, placing them inside their own plastic bags for protection (weather, kids, me). I will also be including info about each piece in the bag with the print and one of my business cards. Which means I need to get a few things printed next week at my local printer (Thorne Printing in Nampa).

This is going to be fun.

EDIT: Just got the shipping confirmation (about 5 minutes after I finished this post)! These people print FAST!

Farmer's Market Prep. 2 - Booth Insurance

2009-04-09T20:54:00.001-06:00

I am a recent buyer of an insurance policy.

As a Marrket Vendor I am required to have an insurance policy of at least $1 million. The market itself has to have one of at least $3 million. The people who run the market gave out a list of providers that have been used by past vendors and I sent out quote requests to most of them (the ones in Idaho). I went to their websites and sent the quotes through their online request/contact system. I recieved a few responses, three responses out of four requests.

I requested online because I dislike using phones for this sort of thing, plus I wanted all of the quote in writing. They all wanted to know the basic info about my business: the name, what I sell, how much I make average a year, and info about the market. Out of the three that responded initially only two ever responded (as of today). And out of those two only one of the providers really took the time to get me a fast quote. In fact she did it that same day.

And all through email. She found a quote that was acceptable and then spent even more time to get me a lower quote. That second quote was about half of the first one. I decided to go with it, one because who can resist a quote that is of $125 for the year for an awesome liability policy that is a $2 million coverage (they don't do ones smaller than that). Secondly because at that point she was the only one who had given me a quote. Thirdly, because she was friendly and was on-the-ball as we were emailing back and forth on and off all day getting all of the details down. I met with her the other day to sign the papers and found she was genuinely interested in the market and what I did. I also found out she was doing the insurance for another vendor - someone who sold herbs evidently. I had the option to pay in increments or all at once, and since it is such a small amount of money I decided to pay it all at once. Which wouldn't be a problem except I completely spaced on bringing my checkbook with me. Not a problem, I can just mail it in, and she said she'd get the insurance certificate out to me as soon as possible.

I am going to personally recommend her here in my blog because so many business relations come from contacts and recommendations. Her name is Becky Carlson and she is with the Leavitt Group of Boise. Here is the website address: http://www.lgbinsurance.com/

The other provider gave me a quote, finally, two days ago. This is well after the quote request and well after when I sent details about what I needed. The quote(s) were for more than double and on up than the one Becky was able to snag for me. And I should mention that they don't seem to be friendly, basically the way their message with the quote(s) was written makes me think that they just want to get the deal over with, and they insist on talking to me on the phone (I dislike that). Which isn't really the way I like to do things.

Another one bites the dust.. OR ..Goodbye J. Crist Gallery

2009-03-28T13:39:00.002-06:00

As if life in Boise, Idaho wasn't tough enough already for those who go the non-traditional route with their lives and livelihood....

"As Jacqueline and Charley Crist close their renowned Boise business, 40 artists are left without a gallery"
- Read the full Article

Obviously this is not the most artist centered/friendly town/state that I, or any artist, could be trying to sell art in and I've never had my work in their gallery but I certainly feel for those that lost their gallery. For some artists, galleries are what gives them the feeling of being successful, of having 'made it'. It gives them a place where their work is always displayed and sometimes a strong foundation for careers in fine arts.

I am personally trying to avoid galleries, but that's because I'm nuts and have weird ideals about how I do things with my life and art. ;) I'd rather go a non-traditional route with my non-traditional way of life & chosen profession.

The comments left by the readers of this newspaper are less than diplomatic or sympathetic and it leaves me with a feeling of disappointment of/in people in general. This is the *internet* though - a place frequented by those that take pleasure in leaving cynical, nonconstructive, negative, & hurtful remarks in any area (and most often in areas they know nothing about) that they can.

It's tough being in the art field because of all those 'starving artist' and 'eccentric artist' stereotypes... People tend to think you're insane for trying to be an artist, that it's worthless & pointless. And it's probably the same for any liberal arts careers. Like English... What are you going to do with that? ;)

Luckily, I don't listen to these types people when they try to tell me how to live.

Farmer's Market Prep. 1 - Bags & Hang-Tags

2009-03-27T13:21:00.005-06:00

So I've officially sent off my written confirmation of participation in the Farmer's Market for this season. The fee for a first timer like myself is $75. I think returning vendors pay $100 so I'm pretty happy that I get to save a little money on that.

Currently I'm working on getting an order ready for all the details I need for my booth. I've been looking at bagging recently and found some fun options that don't seem too expensive. I'm not going to go with your typical flat paper bags because I think they are not very aesthetic and because you really never reuse those kinds of things and I'd rather have bags that can be reused if possible and are possibly recycled bags since I try to be eco-friendly. I also find that those kinds of bags are annoying to carry around because they don't have any kind of good handle on them and I think other people would also agree with that and appreciate ones that do.

I need at least two different kinds of bags. One for putting the purchased item into when someone buys it. The other is for the items themselves, kinda like a protective covering that gives it more of a professional feel to it.

I'm including links of the bags that I'm thinking about below:

Recycled Merchandise Bags

Colored Merchandise Bags (I really like these ones because they can hold bulky objects)

Flap Lock Bags (to put the actual prints in)

Another thing that I'm thinking about getting are hang tags for the prints. These would be similar to the hang tags you find on clothing only better. These would be an interesting version of my business card only it includes more information about what they bought - like the fact that I donate 5% of all profits to the NWF and that the tag itself it printed on 100% post consumer material and is printed by a green-printer with eco-friendly inks and all that fun stuff. I would either have a hang-tag on each print or I would attach them to the bags, I haven't decided exactly how I want to do it. I could also include specific information about the print itself on the tag (which is probably what I'll end up doing).

This is the website to the printer. And yes, they are a green company.

GreenerPrinter

I think it's really nice and their prices aren't too bad. The other printer I'd use (if I had a lot of money to blow) would be a company that uses handmade paper that has wildflower seeds in it. And that means you can plant that paper and see it grow.

Botanical Paperworks - Paper that blooms

How's that for eco-friendly? I love it. Plus, it's a really fun takeaway and would make quite an impression. For now though, I'm sticking with GreenerPrinter to get my tags & cards printed.

EDIT: I just got the bags yesterday(April 9th, 2009) in the mail!

From Notes from an Artist

Boxes of Bags! There's 5 different bags in this photo.

Sometimes, it's just not worth it.

2009-03-21T19:49:00.001-06:00

Lately I've been putting together a list of some local galleries and competitions to enter my work into or apply to get my work shown in. I've been pretty selective in this and today I found myself going through the official rules for one of these said competitions.

And decided that it wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth what I'd lose if I won any award in this competition. This is the competition website: http://contest.prismacolor.com/.

"As a condition of being awarded a prize, each winner will be required to assign and transfer to Sponsor all rights, title, interest and claim to winner's Entry and Artwork, including, without limitation, all intellectual property rights therein, and Sponsor shall have the right to use, publish, alter, assign, edit, sell, or license such Entry or Artwork in any and all media however it sees fit without approval of, or additional compensation to, winner.

Entries/Artwork may be featured with or without credit given to the entrant on Sponsor’s website (www.prismacolor.com), and may be used in packaging for Sponsor’s product(s) and/or an ad campaign promoting this Competition. "

Oh and

"By accepting any prize, the winner also consents to the use of his/her name, likeness, quote(s), photograph, identity, Entry and/or Artwork for advertising/publicity purposes in commerce and in any and all media worldwide without limitation or additional compensation, except where prohibited by law."

Ya... um.. NO.

I do not personally feel that any award is worth transferring *all rights* of my work to someone else... especially when they don't even have to give me credit for my work, ever. And I will also have to decline letting someone use my work or myself for their own profits however they see fit. I believe that is an area where people make money, by licensing their images for profit and I'm not about to let someone run off with my work without limitation or compensation. I do not care who or how amazingly famous some people/groups/organizations may be, I refuse to be taken advantage of in that way.

Oh and they can alter my work at their discretion?

Sell?

All intellectual property rights therein?

Without approval of?

Even though this is a competition by Prismacolor, who makes the colored pencils I use currently, it feels like a scam. There's just something inherently *wrong* with it. It feels like if I enter and win that I would lose so much more than I would gain. I am not comfortable in giving the soul of my work or myself away in this fashion.

Sometimes, it's just not worth it.

Now I've Done It... O.O

2009-03-13T18:11:00.003-06:00

So I've had a few things going on in the part of my life devoted to my fine arts, which admittedly is a bit neglected at the moment since I've been doing some web design lately.

One thing that I'm excited about is that my collages that are up at the Civic Center have been moved up front and center in the main hallway. It has my new display materials (biography, business cards, and price cards for each piece. I'll be getting some new photos of that this weekend and I'll post them as soon as I can.

The other thing that some of you are aware of is that I applied to sell my work at the Boise Farmer's Market. The meeting was on the 3rd and a lot of people showed up, both artisan and ag. vendor-hopefuls. I figured I had a shot so I went for it. On the application there were a bunch of different venues listed that I could apply to sell my work at and I applied for all of them except for the Holiday Market (the one in December because it costs too much and plus it's like FREEZING and I'd rather not have to use all my profits trying to heal my sick body from it). We'd find out in 10 days if we are accepted and they stressed that not all applicants would get in and that it's not personal because there's only so much room.

Well... I got in. !!! O.O Well crap... That means I have to actually order things and wake up early on Saturdays, and sit in a booth for hours, and, and... hopefully become rich and famous in the process.

The venues that I'm accepted for are:

CCPM Saturday market, runs April 18th through October 31st
Edwards Greenhouse on Tuesday nights
Art Under the Stars every 1st Thursday starting in June through October
Harvest Festival, a 2-day event on Labor Day Weekend

For some reason they didn't catch the fact that I'm wanting to sell my reproductions and prints along with my originals so I need to clarify that cuz there's no point in doing this if I can't sell my prints. I would be selling the Giclee reproductions as well as cheaper photographic prints in smaller sizes and also prints on fabric for those that are quilters at heart.

Things that are required for the market are:

You are required to carry general liability insurance with a minimum of $1,000,000 with CCPM named as an ‘additional named insured’. Due April 18th before set-up.

You are responsible for obtaining a State Tax ID number. A copy is due April 18th before set-up. (ID State Tax Commission, (208) 334-7660.)

You are responsible for your white, 10’ x 10’ canopy, signage, tables, display risers, etc.

You as the producer must be present at your booth at all times.

You must make 75% of each product sold at the Market

You can ONLY sell a product of which you have been juried-in for. No other products can be sold in your booth.

I have the tent and some tables (I need to buy some grids) and the tax id and I think I can manage having me at the booth. I need to get the insurance which I'm told isn't really all that expensive. And as long as I can sell my prints then I should be all set.

Except for the how am I going to set this all up by myself?

So I've had a few things going on in the part of my life devoted to my fine arts, which admittedly is a bit neglected at the moment since I've been doing some web design lately.

One thing that I'm excited about is that my collages that are up at the Civic Center have been moved up front and center in the main hallway. It has my new display materials (biography, business cards, and price cards for each piece. I'll be getting some new photos of that this weekend and I'll post them as soon as I can.

The other thing that some of you are aware of is that I applied to sell my work at the Boise Farmer's Market. The meeting was on the 3rd and a lot of people showed up, both artisan and ag. vendor-hopefuls. I figured I had a shot so I went for it. On the application there were a bunch of different venues listed that I could apply to sell my work at and I applied for all of them except for the Holiday Market (the one in December because it costs too much and plus it's like FREEZING and I'd rather not have to use all my profits trying to heal my sick body from it). We'd find out in 10 days if we are accepted and they stressed that not all applicants would get in and that it's not personal because there's only so much room.

Well... I got in. !!! O.O Well crap... That means I have to actually order things and wake up early on Saturdays, and sit in a booth for hours, and, and... hopefully become rich and famous in the process.

The venues that I'm accepted for are:

CCPM Saturday market, runs April 18th through October 31st
Edwards Greenhouse on Tuesday nights
Art Under the Stars every 1st Thursday starting in June through October
Harvest Festival, a 2-day event on Labor Day Weekend

For some reason they didn't catch the fact that I'm wanting to sell my reproductions and prints along with my originals so I need to clarify that cuz there's no point in doing this if I can't sell my prints. I would be selling the Giclee reproductions as well as cheaper photographic prints in smaller sizes and also prints on fabric for those that are quilters at heart.

Things that are required for the market are:

You are required to carry general liability insurance with a minimum of $1,000,000 with CCPM named as an ‘additional named insured’. Due April 18th before set-up.

You are responsible for obtaining a State Tax ID number. A copy is due April 18th before set-up. (ID State Tax Commission, (208) 334-7660.)

You are responsible for your white, 10’ x 10’ canopy, signage, tables, display risers, etc.

You as the producer must be present at your booth at all times.

You must make 75% of each product sold at the Market

You can ONLY sell a product of which you have been juried-in for. No other products can be sold in your booth.

I have the tent and some tables (I need to buy some grids) and the tax id and I think I can manage having me at the booth. I need to get the insurance which I'm told isn't really all that expensive. And as long as I can sell my prints then I should be all set.

Except for the how am I going to set this all up by myself?

Note: It is confirmed that I can sell my prints at the market! Hurray!
And here is a new photo from the Civic Center display.

Design for Artists

2009-02-27T14:10:00.004-07:00

I am one of those few artists that has taken some time in their education to learn a few design skills. In fact I actually focused on design while in collage rather than fine arts which is rather silly since now I'm leaning away from that currently.

So I have some design skills... So what? I'll tell you what. Design skills are an important thing for a fine artist to have because it gives them an edge over those that don't and it also gives them more power in the ways of advertising themselves and in forming their own personal 'branding'. Being able to create your own designs for things such as business cards, stationary, posters, and also having the confidence to edit their own photos (and even take their own photos) is something that I hear fine artists typically don't and can't do. I often hear that artists are quite computer illiterate.

Not good.

Being able to do your own design work saves an incredible amount of money and also makes those designs so much more personal than if you have a random design company do it for you. Of course, just because you can paint doesn't mean you can design, so if you can but shouldn't... then you probably should let someone else do it. ;)

I have created many different logos, booklet portfolios, and business cards for my business (both for the design and the fine arts side of it). I made my own website, edited my own photographs, took my own photos with my own camera. One of the things that I do let 'professionals' do is make high quality scans of my work (mainly because those scanners cost thousands of $ I don't have) and produce the prints from those scans since I don't have a high quality printer that can do that level of work.

Let me show you an evolution of my business cards as an example of an artist that can also do some basic design work for herself. The newest ones are by far the best.

For a while I didn't make specific cards for my art (since I hybrid between art and design, but I'm finding that it seems to work better if I do.

This was the first one I made for my business. It relied heavily on some of my environmental graphics I made during for my BFA Thesis.

This is the second design I played with. I used the same tree graphics (it was basically something I considered as a logo at that point). Turned it red and if you notice the cards form a set because of the background image.

This also shows how I save money printing the cards. Printing cards on a normal sheet of cardstock paper and cutting them myself saves me a ton of money.

I used the same background technique with this one but focused more on making it more about my art. When you cut it apart the background looks really cool, whether or not you have a full set to put the image together.

This is the latest design I've come up with. My plan with these ones is that the image on the card will show different works of my art, especially when they display the price of the corresponding piece.

I am liking my new design the most currently, which always happens with everything I do. Which may or may not have anything to do with how much I love the piece of art that is featured on it. ;)

I think it's really important for artists to be able to do their own design work. I was initially going to focus on that for my BFA thesis (2005) but my professors didn't approve of the idea. That was back when I still listened to my professors...

First Ordered Print Arrived Today!

2009-02-24T17:13:00.004-07:00

So I was working on some web design this afternoon when the FedEx guy came and gave me a package. Not just any package... A fantastic package with a beautiful item inside.

A fan of my art had ordered a photographic print of my piece called Keukenhof. It turned out fantastic and I am really pleased not only with the job that the company that scanned my work did but with the quality of the print. It is just beautiful and I can't imagine any other company doing a better job.

I made this print the full size of the original which turns out to be 16 inches by 20 inches. When you look at it it seems so much larger but that might just be the work itself sucking you into it.

This is the piece that she ordered.

The Futurists

2009-02-20T21:35:00.007-07:00

I'm posting this article because of its value to the art world and also because those that know next to nothing about art might get a kick out of it.

What is it? The Futurists!

It's been 100 years today since the first art manifesto of the 1900's was written. And it was written by a guy who was rather fond of stirring up trouble. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti.

This is an entertaining article - Back to the Futurists

I am including below the manifesto for your enjoyment.

THE FUTURIST MANIFESTO

1. We intend to sing the love of danger, the habit of energy and fearlessness.

2. Courage, audacity, and revolt will be essential elements of our poetry.

3. Up to now literature has exalted a pensive immobility, ecstasy, and sleep. We intend to exalt aggressive action, a feverish insomnia, the racer's stride, the mortal leap, the punch and the slap.

4. We affirm that the world's magnificence has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed. A racing car whose hood is adorned with great pipes, like serpents of explosive breath - a roaring car that seems to ride on grapeshot is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace.

5. We want to hymn the man at the wheel, who hurls the lance of his spirit across the Earth, along the circle of its orbit.

6. The poet must spend himself with ardor, splendor, and generosity, to swell the enthusiastic fervor of the primordial elements.

7. Except in struggle, there is no more beauty. No work without an aggressive character can be a masterpiece. Poetry must be conceived as a violent attack on unknown forces, to reduce and prostrate them before man.

8. We stand on the last promontory of the centuries! Why should we look back, when what we want is to break down the mysterious doors of the Impossible? Time and Space died yesterday. We already live in the absolute, because we have created eternal, omnipresent speed.

9. We will glorify war-the world's only hygiene - militarism, patriotism, the destructive gesture of freedom-bringers, beautiful ideas worth dying for, and scorn for woman.

10. We will destroy the museums, libraries, academies of every kind, will fight moralism, feminism, every opportunistic or utilitarian cowardice.

11. We will sing of great crowds excited by work, by pleasure, and by riot; we will sing of the multicolored, polyphonic tides of revolution in the modern capitals; we will sing of the vibrant nightly fervor of arsenals and shipyards blazing with violent electric moons; greedy railway stations that devour smoke-plumed serpents; factories hung on clouds by the crooked lines of their smoke; bridges that stride the rivers like giant gymnasts, flashing in the sun with a glitter of knives; adventurous steamers that sniff the horizon; deep-chested locomotives whose wheels paw the tracks like the hooves of enormous steel horses bridled by tubing; and the sleek flight of planes whose propellers chatter in the wind like banners and seem to cheer like an enthusiastic crowd.

February, 20th 1909 written by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

Design Off ... ummmm I mean, make a cd cover

2009-02-20T11:38:00.010-07:00

This game was sent to me on Facebook by a friend I studied design with overseas. I was entertained so I thought I'd post it on my normal blog also. This game is to challenge your design skills and creativity by giving you random elements to work with to create something interesting. There is no intent here to infringe upon copyright and at this point I probably couldn't even find the random image I got to cite it properly.

This album is either a self help type or it's one that gets you in the *mood*. O.o

Does this seem really dirty to anyone else? The picture along with the album name just seem to suggest it in my opinion.

Järnkaminerna

Better partners, better parents, and better lovers.

by Kathryn

GAME

To Do This
1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together. (for those of you non-designers, you can even use Word)

5 - Post it to the FB notes section with this text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in. (Obviously only if you are posting this in FB otherwise ignore this last one.)

The full quote is:

I believe that [everyone] is the keeper of a dream - and by tuning into one another's secret hopes, we can become better friends, better partners, better parents, and better lovers.

Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ), O Magazine, June 2003

And evidently Järnkaminerna is a sports nickname. "The nickname derives from the 1950s when Djurgårdens IF's football division was renowned for their physique and physical training as well as their rough style of play on the pitch." - Wikipedia

Entertaining game.

Prints Available! O.O

2009-02-17T21:42:00.002-07:00

As many of you may know I have been scanning my artwork so that I may be able to produce prints of my work to sell at some point. I've finally got to the point where I feel comfortable in doing so and I have a few people already requesting prints and more information about them. Because of this, and the fact that I would love to be able to sell my work and prints as a main form of income in the future I am posting information about my prints and prices for ordering.

Firstly, I do not mat or frame prints unless the orderer requests that, and it will cost extra depending on preferences such as if I make the frame or if I have someone else make it or if I go out and purchase one for the print. I do not mat my prints as I do not even mat my originals. If you would like them matted let me know and we will discuss the options.

I am not currently set up to take credit cards as that is a monetary investment I'm not quite ready for, but I can work with Paypal for money transfers and I do of course accept cash and checks. Checks may be held until they are shown to be good and then the item shipped after that. And I almost forgot, I do charge Idaho sales tax for these which right now is at 6%.

I can get three main types of high quality prints made of my work. Ok, well technically five but I don't count the different photographic preferences.

Photographic Prints
Glossy
Lustre/Matte
Metallic

Somerset Velvet Giclee Prints

Canvas Giclee Prints

I can print up to the original size of the original piece of art requested for the print and pretty much anything smaller. Certain types of prints have some restrictions on size but it shouldn't affect me too much.

Shipping completely depends on if I can hand deliver these or if I have to send them on to you.

The print prices vary considerably by material. The canvas prints being the highest quality and what you might want to consider as an investment as when I'm rich and famous and highly sought after the prints will be worth something since they are limited to a certain number.

Most pieces (as of this post) are available as prints except for West Highland Way (the bridge) and Breadth of Vision (the color blindness lily). They will be scanned probably by late next month of so, depending on when they are released from the Civic Center Show.

CPSA Explore This! 5 show links

2009-02-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

The show is finally up!

Here is the link for the main gallery:

http://www.cpsa.org/EXHIBITION/EXPLORE.THIS/Explore5/exp5online.html

And here in the link for the award winners:

http://www.cpsa.org/EXHIBITION/EXPLORE.THIS/Explore5/Awards-Explore5.htm

Go and look! It's fantastic!

2 Month Display in Nampa, ID

2009-01-30T16:26:00.001-07:00

I know I know... I said I'd have this up last week but I didn't have a good photo until last night. I need more photos but those can wait.

Since January 20th I have had 8 pieces of my work up in display cases at the Nampa Civic Center! They will be there until mid-March. The majority of them are located at the southern entrance in a large lighted display case. Nicely protected behind glass and beautifully arranged by Patricia White who is the art coordinator and who also is in charge of a gallery in the artsy portion of Caldwell called Indian Creek.

One of my favorite things is to see my work on display because you really just don't get the same feel for the art when it's sitting at home stashed behind a desk. ;) The Civic Center is a perfect place to show because they don't charge commission for any sales as they refer all potential buyers directly to you and they also don't charge anything for you to display. Just FYI, artists should not have to pay to get their work displayed. If you pay a gallery a rental fee and then a commission on top of that you are most likely dealing with a Vanity Gallery. Something to avoid! Paying commission is a common practice for galleries but keep in mind that AT MOST should a gallery ask for 50% commission. And that is asking a lot. Normally you'll see anything between 20% and 40%

But luckily there are places like the Civic Center that don't charge a rental fee nor commission. Always keep a lookout for those places as they also won't make you sign a deal where they are the only place in the region that can show your work. <-- another topic to be aware of that I'll probably write about later.

Seeing my work up on display always gives me such a high. I find it so satisfying that I don't really care if any of the pieces sell or win prizes or anything like that. I guess you could say that I'm easily pleased, but you could also say that my needs are simple and that I'm not the most ambitious person in the world.

120 thin wooden sticks of pigment

2009-01-30T15:55:00.001-07:00

The CPSA Explore This! 5 award came in the mail a couple days ago.

I haven't used them yet, it's almost a shame to disfigure the brilliance of these little tools of color.

The wooden box itself is beautifully made and it opens up into three layers of colored pencils.

For an excellent description of this collection of pencils I shall quote from the Blick Art Materials website (where you can order these and all sorts of other stuff for really great prices).

"Swiss precision isn't just for watches. These precision artists' colored pencils will delight anyone who appreciates the best.

Use them on paper, wood, or photographs. They offer creamy, soft, water-resistant 3.7 mm leads. Pablo pencils have exceptional covering power, and superb lightfastness." - Blick Art Materials

And now I shall ogle these pencils and the box once more and then squirrel them away. They may see the light of day again when I run out of the pencils I'm currently using and don't feel like going out and buying more.

Caran d’Ache Award for Excellence

2009-01-19T19:54:00.001-07:00

So... I am evidently AMAZING.

I got this email this evening (Monday the 19th) and I'm still in shock about it. I edited out contact information and a few names of some members, but this is almost the exact same email.

__________________________________________________________________

Hello Kathryn,

Congratulations!! Our juror, Dr. Gwen Chanzit, has selected your artwork titled “MultiBlue” for the Caran d’Ache Award for Excellence in this year’s Explore This! 5 Exhibition. If you are a CPSA member, this acceptance will count toward earning CPX Signature Status.

Your Award Certificate will be sent in the near future. You have won a choice of products from Caran d’Ache of Switzerland, valued from $300 to $360. See the attached sheet for full information on making your selection. Please send your choice and shipping address and we will arrange to have your selection shipped directly to you.

Please feel free to contact me or Paula Parks, our Exhibition Director, if you have any further questions.

Again, congratulations from the entire CPSA Governing Board.

Regards,
Kay Schmidt
President
Colored Pencil Society of America

__________________________________________________________________

I read this. And had to reread it several times.

When I first got it I thought it was some spoof and some spammer had gotten my email address from somewhere and was trying to scam me. Then I thought... wait a sec... O.O Holy Crap!

There were four choices for the award and I chose the super awesome set of 120 colored pencils that comes in a wooden case. It's quite beautiful and the pencils are suppose to be fantastic quality and lightfast. Basically these ones.

I'd include a link here for the award winners for the Explore This! show but it won't be officially posted until the 1st of February.

This isn't all of the great news for today, but I'll post about that later when I have some photos to go along with it! Later this week, maybe Wednesday or Thursday.

:D

The Award Certificate.

Acceptance into Explore This! 5

2009-01-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

I thought it was about time that I updated all of my loyal fans about the CPSA show I entered my work into and I am pleased to let you know that I Got In!

*insert smiles and sighs of relief here*

Not that I had any doubt that I'd get in. ;)

The piece called MultiBlue got in and the other did not unfortunately. Of course getting one is excellent and pretty sweet in and of itself so I'm not going to complain. Here is the link of those who have been accepted into the show:

Explore This! 5 Acceptance List

Watch for the Exhibition Artwork and Award Winners to be posted on February 1, 2009!

Explore This! 5 (Quick Note)

2008-11-14T20:17:00.001-07:00

This is a *quick* note about my entries into the Colored Pencil Society of America's Explore This! 5 show.

I've entered into another juried competition to get into an Art Show! :D For more information you can go to their website for it at: http://www.cpsa.org/EXHIBITION/EXPLORE.THIS/Explore5/Explore5.html

You can read the Prospectus there and other information about it, they also have a link to their blog on that page.

So you're probably thinking to yourself, "Well, Katie... Which pieces have you entered and are they any good?" I'll leave it up to you on whether you think they are any good (and I hope you do, I know I do obviously) but here they are:

MultiBlue (30 inch x 20 inches)

MultiBlue
2007 (Sold)
30 inches x 20 inches
Colored Pencil with Old Torn up Photos & Paper

&

Breadth of Vision (27 inches x 20 inches)

Breadth of Vision
2008
27 inches x 20 inches
Colored Pencil with Pressed Flowers & Leaves

The CPSA International Exhibition

2008-06-23T21:05:00.001-06:00

This is going to be just a quick note, unlike most of my novels I write so often.

I wanted to mention to everyone that is interested in what I do that I entered into a juried competition to get a piece of my art into the 16th Annual Color Pencil Society of America's International Exhibition. My piece was one of just 125 pieces to get in to the show! The show this year is in Seattle at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center for those that can go see it. The pieces for the exhibition are color pencil only. And if you are one of those people that think that just because it's not an oil painting that it's not 'real art' I want to see you sit down and try to reproduce some of the stuff that we color pencil artists can do. ;)

The show starts pretty much now (July). The juror will select award winners on July 7th and the show will continue through the end of September.

This is, in my opinion, so much cooler than getting my first solo show up in Moscow during my senior year. Also, this is the first major competitive exhibition I've entered into and the fact that I got in is ridiculously awesome! The piece that got in is Division of Semblance.

Division of Semblance

Now here's a few more details about the exhibition:

GALLERY:
The Washington State Convention and Trade Center, 800 Convention
Place, Seattle, WA 98101

HOTEL:
Renaissance Seattle, 515 Madison St., Seattle, WA 98104, (206) 583-0300

EXHIBITION DATES
June 23-27, 2008 Artwork delivery to cartage company
July 7, 2008 Awards Judging / Notification by phone
July 2-September 29 Exhibition Dates
July 28-August 2 Convention Week
August 1, 2008 Awards Banquet – Renaissance Hotel
August 2, 2008 Artists' Reception - WSCTC

The Workshop (3-18-08)

2008-03-30T13:31:00.001-06:00

I received a phone call the other day from a the lady that heads the local Art Guild here. She found my work online and thought it was fantastic and then invited me to teach a workshop on the technique to the members of the Guild. I was hesitant, hesitant because I've never taught anything before and the last speech class I took was about 12 years ago. Naturally I accepted the invitation.

I prepared a nice front & back handout for the class. I printed 20 of them because the Guild leader said that you'll typically get from 5 to 20 people attending the Paint-Alongs (as they call them). I ended up with about 17 or 18 students. I bought extra supplies as everyone needs a white & colorless blender pencil for this technique. I brought along strait-edges and round objects (old hard-drives actually). I actually took quite a few of my large pieces for examples and also my small book portfolio that has small prints of my work. Something that is a super handy device for carrying artwork in are large black trash-bags. Yes, trash-bags. While some people might find this a little disrespectful to the art as trash normally goes in trash bags, I say use what works the best. Trash-bags are easy to use, protect the work from rain and other external moisture and are incredibly light-weight (shockingly enough). I'm not saying to mail your art in a trash bag but for basic transportation it works pretty well.

So the entire class arrived before I did. I wasn't late or anything but I guess everyone is used to showing up early. It was a very loose and laid-back setting. There was very little technology for me to use to present my class as all I got was a huge overhead mirror and a wireless microphone. Some kind of projector would have been extremely useful in a setting like that. I set up my example-work on the available tables and on the piano that was in the corner of the room and laid out all of my other materials on one of the tables and the teacher's desk.

And then it began.

And by miracles of miracles I didn't die. There was no pounding of my heart against my chest as it tried to escape. There was no shaking, there was no stuttering, and there was no muddled thoughts. There was no nervousness. It was impressive. I don't think I've ever given a presentation without being nervous and having my heart trying to break its way out of my ribcage.

It turned out to be a rather fun teaching experience. The students asked questions and we all interacted well. They were a fun group of ladies and we all seemed to get along with each other. There were a few ladies with experience with colored pencils and many without. Some had trouble with the concept of fracturing the image but most figured it out.

The workshop lasted from 10am to about 3pm with an hour lunch break at noon. It was long enough to get a good start on a small piece and since I had them working on pieces about 10 inches by 12 inches it worked out alright.

At the end of the workshop I had them each write a comment in my comment book. This is the comment book that I've had at my solo show up in Moscow and at my BFA show. It's my official comment/feedback book. I think my favorite comment in that book is, 'Where are the hotdogs?'

DIY Framing

2007-11-26T21:03:00.001-07:00

Mass produced frames almost never fit the size specifications for my art works. One of the dimensions is bound to be off, or the combination of the two "doesn't exist"or "isn't sold here and you aren't going to find it anywhere either". I discovered these responses when I was searching for a cheep 20" by 30" frame. Sounds simple, yes?

No. At least not at first. I called Michaels Craft Store and talked to their framing experts. I talked to the Craft Warehouse people, and I also called up Aaron Brothers Framing and Art supplies.

Michaels told me that no one makes that size of frame anymore, it's just too uncommon. I could purchase metal pieces of that size and construct a frame myself, or I could have them make a frame. Same response from the Craft people. The nice lady I spoke to at Aaron Brothers told me that yes, they did have that size. They use that size for the BSU posters and she was going to check if they had them in stock and call me back in five minutes with a price... She never called me back.

I also tried to get a local framer, that also happens to be a family acquaintance, to make me frame. But she had to go out of town for three weeks.

So I never did go out and buy myself a cheep 20" by 30" frame for the Western Idaho Fair.

Months later, this week in fact, I went to Walmart looking for something that I can't recall at this moment, and what do I find? 20" by 30" frames. A lot of them. So they don't make these anymore, eh? Lies lies and more lies.

Today I went to Michaels, and while I didn't find the cheepy variety I did find a 20" by 30" frame.

Many anathemas come to mind, but for the sake of some of my readers I won't use them here. I guess the moral of the story is that people who "know what their talking about" might actually not have a bloody clue. And because I hate having to rely on other people to tell me if they have something (and they end up being wrong and/or not having what I believe they should have because they are a craft store), or to make me something (for example: going to a professional framer for each work of art I create) I've decided to turn my back on them and Do It Myself.

So now I have a new toy. It is called a Fitting Tool, and it's used when you make a frame. It puts in these nice little flexible inserts into the wood to keep the art in place snuggly in the frame. I also have my father and his wood shop tools available. And I have wood and black paint for that wood. With a few other things you can put them all together and you will have a framed work of art that didn't cost you $50 + each.

Plus the frame now counts as a work of art itself, since it's hand-made with love mixed with a wee bit of frustration and a pinch rage.

The Black Board Share

2007-11-09T21:13:00.001-07:00

People are often surprised when they witness me working on one of my art pieces. And because most of you haven't seen this I shall explain why this is even relevant.

I draw on BLACK. Yes, you did read that correctly, black. Not your typical white drawing paper, cotton canvas, or even paper for that matter. I work on black matte-board.

A stiff board is excellent for drawing on as I usually draw on a soft surface... Like my bed, or the floor. If I tried that with paper, well... It would end up just being a real mess, and nobody wants that, nor would anyone wish to purchase it. The boards are also perfect for viewing when they are unframed as you can sit them up and lean them against anything without having to pin, tape, or hold them up yourself.

Matte-boards come in different colors. The most common being white, grey, and black. So why wouldn't I just use a white board for my ground color like any other sane person? Well, other than the obvious response (and some of you would be correct) I would have to answer that I the intensity and depth of the color that results from drawing on black rather than white is huge. It may just be the darkness inside me laying claim to my artistic preferences but there is a noticeable difference in the final product when completed on a black background.

Some may argue that developing color from light to dark is much easier than going from dark to light and that it is the standard and/or most correct way to create an artwork. I would say that is true when working with watercolor. With graphite pencils you can use an eraser, with acrylic, oil, and other paints you can wait till the first layer of paint dries and just paint right over the top with a new color with little or no problem, with textiles you can employ the use of bleaching. With color pencil, as long as you don't overuse the surface of what you're drawing on you can generally add more, darker and lighter, colors and shades.

When I begin one of my drawings or collages I start by using the white pencil. It is a light layer and when you've worked with color pencils you know that a light layer means plenty of little spaces between the color you just added and the surface you are drawing on.

Close up of the white layer.

After that initial layer where I define shapes I add the color. This is the fun part because this is when the subject gains debth and defines its essence. One thing that you must remember when using color is that the first color you see, for example when you look at grass you see green, is generally not what is there. Don't misunderstand, there is green in the leaves, but there is also brown, yellow, blue, grey, white, and yes, sometimes even red shades. There is shadow and light and there is a depth to the colors in things that a lot of people aren't trained to see.

Close up of a finished portion of the drawing.

Drawing showing the black board. This is the Iris ColorBlind Drawing.

So... What color is your canvas?

To Fracture, or not to Fracture?

2007-10-10T21:58:00.001-06:00

My collages are like Ogres. In that they are like onions, no they don't smell or make you cry, although that is an intriguing idea...

Layers! Like Ogres, my collages have layers.

There are three main layers to speak of within each of my Fractured Pieces. The Fracture, The Drawing, and The Collaging. Each layer then holds its own sub-layer or two. Those layers are all incredibly important to not only the Concept of the work, but also function to pull together the composition into a unified whole.

In my previous post (and corresponding photo album) I mentioned that I have began to explore Colorblindness. This brings up an interesting issue, which seems to be somewhat dependent upon the composition of the piece.

Do I use my fracturing technique on something like this? It almost seems to already possess fractures, just of a different sort. Would fractures add to the work or confuse the viewer?

Perhaps I could cover the entire area with swirly fractures like in my other organic (flower) collages. Perhaps I could only use the fracturing in the areas not in the colorblind windows, or in a reverse fashion where the windows are fractured but everything outside of them are normal... But that could possibly distract/take away from the entire colorblindness concept that I'm attempting to convey.

Or I could use the windows to signify the fractures and magnify the areas that are within. This could quite possibly give a very interesting feel to the piece as it would bring a subtle awareness of the viewer that these rectangles are more than just some funky coloring, that there might be something more going on. That would encourage those that normally don't read about the art or the concept to, maybe, actually, pay closer attention and investigate what's going on.

That could be the most important part of this work, getting people to actually read about colorblindness and to gain a glimpse of what it would be like if they too were born with eyes that saw the world in such a different way.

Windows into another world.

Colorblindness Simulations

2007-10-02T18:07:00.001-06:00

Earlier in my experimentations of collage and techniques I was also studying web design.

One of the issues that I feel is relevant for web designers is accessibility and under this topic is color blindness. If a viewer/user of a website has a form of colorblindness there is the potential that the wonderful/beautiful/masterpiece of a design that you took so long and painstakingly to design is rendered unusable and/or visually unappealing. Text might merge with background, objects in photos become indistinguishable, links are unrecognizable, and so on...

In an effort to understand and possibly adapt for this I found a website called Vischeck (http://www.vischeck.com/) which will take any website or photo and simulates what three different versions of colorblindness looks like to the affected person. It does have some issues with css coding but it is useful regardless. They also offer a plug-in for Photoshop that you can use offline on your own compy.

What does this have to do with my art? Well, if you've looked at my artist galleries you would have noticed a set of Lilies that explore this concept. The original piece is based off of a StarGazer lilly that grew in my own garden. I then used the colorblindness filter on it, and behold, the lily in the eyes of others that see the world in a much different way than most.

***

StarGazer - Colorblindness Study

Top left is the normal coloring

Top right is Protanope color blindness (green-yellow-red & loss of brightness, dark reds can be mistaken for black or grey)

Bottom left is Deuteranope color blindness (green-yellow-red w/out abnormal dimming, & sometimes dark greens can be mistaken for black or grey, also blues are not quite as deep)

Bottom right is Tritanope color blindness (blue-yellow)

***

When I showed my work in Moscow during my solo show it was suggested to me that I do more work in the area of colorblindness. As I'm sure you've noticed, or will shortly, I have added a photo album here on Facebook titled, Color Blindness Simulations. In this album you'll find a set of my own photos that I ran through the plug-in/filter. There is also a short explanation of the three different colorblindnesses simulated. This is an effort to decide what subject to work on for my next collage which will, shocking I know, deal with colorblindness.

Most likely it will be split into four separate pieces. The subject may or may not be sliced into fourths or used in the same manner as the Lily piece. I'm leaning towards it being sliced as I haven't created a piece like that before and it would give my work a wee bit more diversity.

Go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048625&id=40306481&l=fb581 for the Simulations Album.

***

So why would I want to create a work of art that has anything to do with color
blindness?

As I wrote above about the lily, the concept of most of my recent work is about expressing the differences in the way different people see the world, how we take our vision for granted, and how most are so wrapped up in their own lives and just don't see, or take the time to see, the beauty and essence of the everyday natural, and even man-made, world that surrounds us.

Just wait till I decide to explore not just color blindness, but *just* blindness.