Artist, Mother, Geek – insights from a creative mind
Here’s a follow up to the World Happiness day t-shirt wearing by Jason at IWearYourShirt.com. The way it works, you buy a day, all day that day he wears whatever shirt you send and then he takes photos, blogs and shares a video from the day. I jumped on board because it sounded like so much fun… Here’s the video he made for the day – it made me giggle so I had to share…
Thought to pass on:
Share a smile with one person each day and watch the happiness grow.
August 8th is World Happiness Day, and what better way to celebrate than with a whole flock of happy penguins? This design, the Penguin Happiness Tour, was created with World Happiness day and all the other happy celebrations specifically in mind. There’s tons of happy little penguins gathering for the festivities. Pizza, princess, postman and even the Statue of Liberty… all ready to celebrate the smiles of the day.
Which is YOUR favorite penguin?
On the front the design reads “What’s your penguinality” with doodle words in various locations that shout praises for our penguin pals.
On the back of the shirt is a list of all the happiness days throughout the year, including today, along with the different penguin specifically awareness days.
I’d love to have you join the this Happy Tour, So grab your own Penguin Happiness Tour t-shirt and get going on this happiness ride!
This item is available through Zazzle and Printfection.
Technorati Tags: world happiness day, penguin, jgoode
There is a heck of a lot of noise out there these days about using Twitter and tweets and following people. There are a number of uses for Twitter as well as a wide array of resources, tools and information all geared towards twitter accounts. If you found this article because of a link posted to Twitter, you already know most, if not all, of the following information.
If you haven’t yet signed up nor used a Twitter account – ever, here’s a quick guide to help you get going. The most important aspect of using Twitter is…
Having a Twitter account. You need one. We’ll talk about tools and techniques another day.
1. sign up go to twitter.com to get started
Your name – can be changed later
Your Username – CAN NOT be changed later. make it something meaningful to your or your business. Example, my twitter Username is “jgoode”.
Password – you know how this works
Email – use an email account you actually read from time to time. This email address is not publicly viewable
There are indicators to the right of each of these fields to let you know if the choices you’ve made will be accepted or not.
2. Sign up page 2 – skip this unless you already know of people you’d like to add from other accounts you may have
It’s a good idea to, at a minimum, include a profile picture and “bio”.
A bio should be some kind of short message about you or your company – make it interesting and memorable.
You can “tweet” without “followers” but really that’s more like talking to yourself. To gain followers you need to tell people you have a Twitter account (remember to tell them your user name) or you can follow other people and many times they will follow you back.
When ever you see the @ followed by a name or word, when people are talking about twitter, that name or word is the person’s Twitter account username.
Example my twitter is @jgoode. My Twitter account can be viewed by going to twitter.com/jgoode.
So, if you have friends that have told you (outside of Twitter), “hey follow me, I’m @so-and-so”, then you would simple go to twitter.com/so-and-so (this account doesn’t exist by the way.).
Once you’ve navigated to the person’s twitter page, simply click on “follow”. This will now allow you to view what this person says, in your own account window.
Note: Sometimes You’l find people you want to follow have their account set to “private”. In this case you need to request to follow them. Once they approve your request, you’l begin to see their “tweets” on your account page as well.
NOW – Your ready to Tweet!
“Tweeting” is just a matter of sharing short thoughts, ideas or comments. You can say whatever you like withing 140 characters. Anyone who is “following” you can then read what you have to say.
You’re ready! Get going and get Tweeting!
It’s a known fact, by anyone that has been in my life for at least 24 hours… I am always running late. I can plan until the moon is blue or pigs fly, yet, no matter how well I plan, I will be late or fall behind on at least 50% of what ever I set out to do.
I’m never late on projects for others… just appointments or self proposed assignments. Anything relating to non-business or my own personal objectives, late late late!
I’ve always blamed it on mismanagement of time or my kids or natural causes… or traffic. However, just this week it occurred to me. Nothing causes my lateness, I am just really horrible at preventing it. I take on more than I can accomplish in a given time frame. I load myself up with far more than any one person should try to tackle — and, as my husband reminds me – I think everything is 15 minutes away.
Is my lateness due to overly ambitious views of my capabilities? Heck no! I can accomplish anything – that’s what we tell ourselves, right? No, it’s due to my under-estimating of how many hours we have in any given day and how long things really take when we aren’t 100% in control of every aspect. Darn clocks and their set ways!
How to overcome the problem… stop doing so much? Maybe estimate more time for whatever? No way!
For me, I just need to make sure people realize, they’re important to me, but Father Time’s hours are just too short for what I need, to get everything done.
Who do I speak to to get that resolved…
There are a number of ways to promote your art online and each direction includes a number of options. What works for you and your art all depends on what you create and who you are selling to. There are plenty of artist communities and outlets for promoting your art alongside other artists, however is that where your buyers are?
Here are 5 ways you can promote your art to build name recognition, gain new clients or drive sales.
Blog – share your newest designs and creations… post pictures, invite feedback and display your work in all it’s fabulousness for the world to see. Blogging is a great way to feature designs, run promotions and thank your customers. You can talk about the meaning behind a piece of work, the process or simply share the art as is. Don’t sales pitch, but rather, share ideas and insights.
You can host a blog with your own domain or you can use any number of free services. My blog platform of choice is WordPress.
Facebook – build a business page to not only promote your art and your art business, but to interact with your clientele and your fans. You can integrate your blog into your Facebook business page so your facebook followers can read along with all of your comments from a single site. Share thoughts about art, network with other artists, get involved in any number of groups from the art community.
Go where your buyers are – get involved where your buyers are. If you are a work-at-home mom, find other moms and share what you do. If you are involved in supporting a charity or specific cause, donate products to an event or volunteer to help out. If you are interested in ceramics or photography, find groups that for these areas. Talk about what you do, share your ideas with others and help those asking for assistance. Become a part of the community that you are creating for. In addition to user groups you may already be involved in, check for groups through Yahoo, Google, Ning, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Artist directories – there is a huge array of choices when it comes to artist directories, lists and online galleries. The first place you want to start is with your particular style of art and your location. There’s a great list of artist galleries and directories on Mashable’s Artist Toolbox.
Get involved in any of the numerous activities involving art and creativity. Participate in regular group events such at Illustration Friday or Photography Friday. Enter art contests and share your comments on other’s blogs and portfolios as well as networking groups, forums and mailing lists.
Although we’d all like to create new art all the time, someone has to shout out that the art is here. Even if you have an agent, it doesn’t hurt to get yourself out there as well. None of the above activities require an enormous amount of time but do require sincere effort for positive results.
Take an hour each day and choose one. Update your information, write a new article, reply and offer feedback to fellow artists and fans. Think of it as virtually walking the neighborhood and shaking the hand of every person you pass by. If you do this every day for a year, how many new people will you have connected with and introduce to your fantastic talent?
I’ve recently started researching the licensing world and how to get involved with my art from a new angle.One of the first people I connected with – completely unexpectedly – was Tara Reed. She is an artist who makes a living not only licensing her own art, but also teaching others how to succeed in the biz.
A friend of mine recently forwarded this article – also written by Tara. So, I thought I’d share it and hopefully it will spark a little creative juice – or at least a sparkle of clarity – in your own views of art and selling what you create.
By Tara Reed
During a teleseminar where I interviewed art licensing industry veteran, Paul Brent, one of the questions we answered from an artist was, “When an artist is starting out, is it better to do licensing or selling your art?” Paul responded basically “do one OR the other” not both. This caused some confusion so I thought I would clear up the issue in a bit more detail.
What does it mean to be a “selling artist” or “selling your art”. Are they the same thing?
This is one of those cases were making sure everyone has the same definition is key.
Does it mean selling original art as in a gallery setting?
Does it mean selling art for the fine art print market?
Does it mean selling art to manufacturers?
When Paul Brent answered the question, when he referred to being a ‘selling artist’ he meant selling a piece outright to a manufacturer. For a set amount of money, the manufacturer buys the art and all copyrights associated with it. Some manufacturers and industries will only buy art. They want to pay up front for a design and walk away with it — all copyrights included. Then they can take it, tear it apart, change colors, put anyone’s name on it, etc. It becomes theirs completely, you as the artist create something new. You can not use the piece of art in any other way or version, you start over.
So that is “selling your art”. Many artists like this format. They create, they get paid, they move on.
But artists like Paul Brent and myself have a different way of doing business. We prefer to “license” our art. Licensing means we retain the copyrights and control of our art. We “license” the rights to manufacturers, through written contracts, to use our art on their products for a certain period of time. The goal is to license the rights to the same art to many manufacturers so you can earn a nice living.
Traditionally, licensing contracts are based on royalties so artists are paid based on sales. That means you wait, sometimes 12-18 months to be paid, but you share in the risk and reward of the product. If the product does well, you should make a lot more in royalties than you would be paid if you simply sold a design. If it doesn’t do well, you may make less.
“Licensing your art” means you can use your art more than once, you retain the copyrights and you have to wait a little longer to see the money. But once you get projects in the pipeline, you can earn a nice income.
So what is this “flat fee licensing” and how is it different from selling art?
To my way of looking at it, flat fee licensing is like a hybrid car – it has some things in common with selling art and some things in common with licensing. The contract is like a licensing agreement (products the art will go on, time frame for the usage, you retain copyright) but instead of a royalty percentage, you both agree to a set fee. The key difference between this and selling your art is that you still maintain the rights to use the art in other areas, you have simply agreed to an amount of money you make up front.
So with the subtle yet key differences between selling and flat fee licensing explained, I agree with Paul Brent’s answer to the question. It would be hard to both sell and license your art unless you have two looks, two names and good organization so you know what you did with each piece!
To learn more about art licensing from artist Paul Brent, visit www.AskPaulBrent.com and listen to his free, one-hour interview about art licensing from March 2009. You can also purchase the audio from his June 2009 teleseminar.
Get a jump start on licensing your art by claiming the first chapter of the eBook “How to Get Started in Art Licensing” FOR FREE when you visit http://www.artlicensinginfo.com/freebie.html
From Tara Reed, a licensed artist who is doing what she is teaching.
Make art. Make plans. Make money.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tara_Reed
In honor of Bastille day, which I don’t personally celebrate, but would delighted to if I lived in France… I’m sharing with you today, the I Love France Penguin.
Paris is on my Top Ten places I need to visit list. I know they aren’t necessarily French, but here are some things I that remind me how much I’d love to go to France…
I took French for 4 years in High school – unfortunately I came away knowing little more than how to ask to go to my locker for my pencil.
Leonardo Davinci is my all time favorite artist so I’ve wanted to visit the Louvre since I was about 12.
I love french toast, french fries and french bread.
I loved to sing Aloutte as a kid… until I found out the real meaning of the words.
Some day, when I have the opportunity to visit France in person, I’ll extend this list.
A little thanks to my friend Stephanie Lichenstein for suggesting today’s topic. I needed a break from the deep thinking and serious thoughts. Happy French loving penguins is very appropriate for my mood today!
I spent the last weekend working mostly in the yard, finishing off the landscaping of a space for my kids’ playset area. I checked my email in the morning and again at night, yet found myself not missing it one bit throughout the day.
Chris Brogan twittered the question
If email went dark for you for 30 days, how would that impact you? What would you use instead for comms?
First – am I capable of unplugging? Sure, but it might hurt. I think it’s almost an addiction for me. I start the day with my computer before I start my day with breakfast. I’ve been a smoker and quit. I’ve been a coffee drinker and quit. I’ve been a habitual Dr. Pepper drinker (2 64oz Big Gulps a day)… and quit. Taking a break from the computer for 30 days I could do – quit all together, no. I’m sure I wouldn’t like it and I’m sure I would drive myself and everyone around me crazy. I don’t go anywhere without some kind of connection to the internet – after all, my business is built around the use of the internet.
However, we aren’t talking about completely unplugging.
Just email; This I could definitely survive. I’d hope I could anyway.
I chat via IM much more than I email throughout the day. I communicate all day long with a variety of people on multiple systems… AIM, Yahoo Messanger, MSN, etc. I rarely call my husband at work because he’s also on IM, so if I need anything, I just chat on the computer.
The challenge would come with those that don’t chat. I use email far more than I do the phone. I rarely hand out my phone number because my business does not require phone support. I work from home and don’t want a multitude of people calling my home. Some people I could send messages via Facebook or Twitter, or text messages via cell phones. Yet, there would still be a handful of people that I would need to pick up the phone and call, or not work with.
You’d think the easy answer would be “pick up the phone”.
For me this wouldn’t work well at all. I really don’t like using the phone too much. I am incapable of having a verbal conversation and doing anything else. Part of this is because I think it’s rude to be focusing on other things when we’re supposed to be literally listening. So instead, I walk laps in my living room or circle the kitchen while I talk on the phone. If I had to use the phone all day, I would either get noting else done, or I wouldn’t talk to anyone. If I communicate in text, I can be doing a variety of things at once and still pay attention. The advantage I have is, I work and network with mostly heavy use online business people so I don’t have to make the phone choice a reality. Most everyone is already plugged into a variety of communication outlets. If I were in a business with more casual internet users I imagine I’d have a problem on my hands, or I’d definitely have to rethink the phone use.
What I’d really like to know, could YOU unplug completely for 30 days?
