Tis the Season

The only reason I remembered to update this was because of a conversation I just had with a friend.

"Oh, that reminds me, I need to update the blog!"

So, here I am.

The jewelry line's schedule has been so ridiculous, it already feels surreal.  We launched the website, Etsy store, opened a Twitter account, and made an appearance on Instagram.  Juggling all of this is the real challenge.  I'm considering a blog strictly for the jewelry line so I can keep it separate from my art.  Don't get me wrong, both have their trials and tribulations.  I still need to think about it.

Website launch for the artist collective is in the next week or so.  Still trying to get it all together for that too.  They are setting me up to exhibit at the W Hotel in December (date is pending).  I know I've already said this, but the girls over at Where Y'art have really impressed me with their passion and drive to make this a successful venture.  I think I found something to light a fire under my ass.  Been sitting with my ideas and thoughts for too long.

Time to execute!

And that's what I'm off to do, folks......execute.  I'll be back after this week (which is VERY hectic) to sit, relax, and think this all through.

Stay tuned...

Mid-September News

Been super busy, folks....

Juggling a jewelry business and my visual art is............time.............consuming.

I had a photoshoot with photographer, Chris Jacobs, a week ago.  He works with Where Y'art Artist Collective (yes, the one I joined).  I just want to say right now that everyone affiliated with this organization is incredible!  From the first hand shake to the most recent email conversation, you will not find one single complaint from me.  I drop off my prints for product photography on Sunday.  I'm excited about that. Actually, I'm VERY excited about that.  It is so hard to get good-quality shots of prints.  I want to capture the small things that make printmaking so interesting to me, such as the indentation left by the plate after I run it through the press.  I hope they can get a detail shot of that.  It makes me giddy!  I'm also waiting for an email regarding a bio and a Q&A (biting nails).  Where Y'art's website launches in November.

Axiom is still hanging in there.  We put a small collection of our jewelry in Green Serene Boutique, on Magazine Street.  I personally love this shop and I end up buying something every time I go in.  They took 11 pieces, mostly statement jewelry, so we'll see where this goes.

Harrison Marketplace was our first big market, which happened last Wednesday.  I have two words: a tent. Those things are a pain to deal with, but we made it work.  Our first big market landed us zero sales though. No worries, we push forward.  After much discussion, we're going to participate in October's market on Harrison and we'll make up our minds about future opportunities there when it's over.  We are currently waiting to see if we are accepted into Freret's October market (since they wait-listed us for September).

In the meantime, our relationship with the Frenchmen Art Market continues to grow.  We are there just about every weekend, although only one or two days instead of all four.  Honestly, there isn't enough money to invest in a solid weekend there...yet, but we love the crowd and vibe is right so we are definitely not going anywhere.

Day job problems: organizing a book signing for Robert Sabuda, an award-winning pop-up book artist, scheduled for this Saturday.  Press releases, website updates, Facebook invites, Twitter Feeds, conversations with editors, etc etc.  It'll be cool to meet this guy for sure.  

Ciao!

August: Don't Judge Me, I'm Getting Better

Yes, I do have to say that I am getting better at the blog thing.  Once a month?  Well, that's certainly better than last year's record.

Hmm, what's been going on?

The RAW Artist Showcase for Axiom was an overwhelming success!  Our fashion show came together nicely and although we were very happy with the results, there are a few things we'd do different next time. But that's to be expected, right?  All of our friends and fans really came through for us, so if you're reading this (which is a bit exciting considering the massive popularity of this blog), THANK YOU so much for everything!  It really means a lot to have the support and encouragement.  As a matter of fact, the support was so great, we decided to up the ante and start doing markets!  No, not every market in town...only a few.  As of today, we've participated in the Frenchmen Art Market a few times.  It's nestled in a small parking lot turned market courtyard (@619 Frenchmen) right next to The Spotted Cat.  It is August, so we aren't expecting this huge turn out to buy our jewelry.  This past Sunday night was for the birds (most of the other vendors agreed).  Thursday and Saturday nights are probably better choices for sales.  I believe we are signing up for this Friday night.  That will officially round out the market nights and from there, we can decide which evenings will work best for us. We also applied for the Freret Market, located uptown, and the Harrison Market over in the Lakeview neighborhood.  Hopefully, something happens for us there.  Our Etsy store should be launching soon too.  We're excited about the Etsy experience.

Still getting my print work together for that artist collective.  I am so nervous about it, mainly because my work has never been exposed to a large audience through a collective.  Someone will actually be pushing my work alongside my efforts!  Of course, the organizers are all,"Don't be nervous, you are super talented and amazing!" I should just take that compliment and run with it.

A photoshoot of  my art-making process will be arranged in the near future.


  

I'm Not Available Right Now, Please Leave a Message....

....Beeeeep....

I have been incredibly busy!

Axiom was accepted into the RAW Artists: NOLA showcase "Elevations"!!!  It is on July 11th....THIS Thursday!  We've been working hard to get some new, larger pieces ready specifically for this opportunity.  We are having a small, casual runway show and then we have a table, which will have most of our inventory on it.  Things are really looking up!  I feel good about it!

I'm about to plan a big change in my apartment too.  I'm reclaiming my living space.  My studio, which takes up the first half of my apartment, is going back to a living room.  Yep, I'm doing it.  I've been in this apartment for almost 5 years and I'm sick of looking at the same things.  It's time for a switch up.

Trying to come up with cute ideas for the upcoming Mardi Gras season as well.  These ideas also have to be fast in nature, nothing that takes 5 hours to make.  I've been brainstorming all through my prep time for this week's show so I should be executing these ideas soon.  It may also make me feel good to get back into Mardi Gras, and not as an on-looker.  I did that last year.  Time to get involved again.  I'll post some photos as soon as prototypes are made.  Pinky swear!

Progression

Things just keep looking up!

We obtained our occupational license! Yay!!  It was a lot easier than we thought, for sure.

The art market we participated in was great!  Granted, we only sold a couple things, BUT we did get a better idea of the public's opinion and we handed out quite a few contact cards.  We made our booth fee back, which honestly was the one thing that HAD to happen for us to be happy.  Knowing it was a very small, quaint market, we really didn't expect to have a huge turnaround on our inventory.  The final decision is to do more markets; The ones where we can actually make sales.

First booth EVER!  It is indeed a work in progress.

Axiom applied for a spot at one of the upcoming RAW Artists showcases.  We were invited to join July's group of artists so we'll be there on Thursday, July 11th exhibiting & selling our jewelry.  Things are happening and we are excited for what the rest of the year brings to us.

The artist collective I spoke of in my last post......yeah, I'm joining it.  How can I NOT do something like that?!  I'm currently waiting to meet with them to discuss my work/process/aspirations.  Their interest in me mainly lies around me as a printmaker and I intend on keeping it that way.  It's about time my prints get out there.

Booth shot from the RAW Artists Showcase on May 24th.

I want to do a few mezzotints.  For those of you on the outside looking in, mezzotint is genre of intaglio printmaking (which requires an artist to incise, or etch, an image onto a metal plate).  Mezzotint is a member of this family, but you do not have to use acid to create the image.  Instead, a tool, called a rocker, is "rocked" across a plate, creating thousands of tiny dots.  These tiny dots result in a completely black-toned image when printed.  The magic happens when a burnisher is rubbed across these tiny dots, strategically flattening them. This is how the image appears.  It's like covering a piece of paper with graphite, then creating an image using an eraser, essentially working from dark to light instead of light to dark.  Most printmakers do not have it in them to complete a mezzotint.  It is very time consuming.  Since I'm a process-oriented printmaker, it only seems natural for me to experiment with the art form.  The resulting variants in tonality are the closest thing to achieving photo-realism in printmaking.  Maybe screenprinting can be a close second, but not quite like mezzotint.  Seriously.  Google "Carol Wax" or "Frederick Mershimer".  You will never get over  how beautiful and rich their prints are.

My problem is obtaining the rocker.  Those suckers are $120.00!!  All in due time.

News, Post-Show

Guys, my art show last night was the most exposure I've had!  There had to be at least 500 people waltz through those doors, if not more. I met a wide-range of individuals and after many friendly exchanges, I found myself quite overwhelmed with positive responses!  I wasn't expecting that at all.  You know those artists that don't think any of their work is good so they never expect anyone to say much about it?  Yeah, that's me.  So when numerous folks surround me with accolades and well wishes, I get a bit overzealous....humbly overzealous to be exact.  It feels really great that I had this opportunity to create a large amount of work and share it with hundreds of people.

I sold a small handful of things; a few magnets, a piece of handmade paper and a framed piece I had hanging on the display.  It wasn't my original plan, which consisted of selling out completely and going home with just the display and my personal belongings, but I'm happy with the hand that was dealt. A new art collective introduced themselves to me and would like to have coffee in the near future to discuss an opportunity with them.  I'm game for this.  After the 2 or 3 commission inquiries I had, I do admit last night was a success overall.  I would do the Raw Events again, definitely!

Photos coming soon!

Next on the list:

Axiom got into the St. Claude Main Street's night market on June 8th!!  We are absolutely stoked about it however, it is suggested that we obtain an occupational license.  Bleh!  Now I have to deal with City Hall?!  I have to look all of this information up, especially how long it may take to get one.  The market is TWO WEEKS AWAY!  As Raw's Showcase did with my prints, I'm hoping this little market will launch the jewelry line in a positive direction.

Summer may be slow in some local industries, but I'm finding myself to be quite busy over the next 4 months.

Day Before the Show

My display is built!  Yay for that!  However, I have decided not to paint it.  There is no time and I kinda like the rawness of the wood anyway.  I purchased the hardware for it yesterday.  I hope it all works out.  The little things, such as lighting, any fabric/cloth for "environment" decor, price lists.....all being done today.  I am functioning on 4 hours of sleep and an apple.  Also still trying to finalize transportation of everything.  My car is too small for an 8 foot piece of pegboard.

I added 10 sets of marbled greeting cards last night.  They will be for sale as well.  They are also the reason I am sleep deprived today.  It is all worth it though.

A little snippet of the display.

Marbled cards on a dry line.

My contact cards came in this morning and they look pretty good.  I am excited to hand them out to people.  Unfortunately, I only ordered 100 of them. I may have underestimated.  Eek!

My anxiety level is through the roof this week.  With drama at work on top of my art show deadlines, let's just say that I have been biting my fingers A LOT over the past four days.  One of my back muscles has been in spasm mode for almost two weeks now.  After all this craziness is over, I think I need to visit my yoga mat.  I could also really use a trip to the spa.  

Keeping fingers crossed for a smooth Thursday!

               

Playing Catch Up.....Again

Out of sight, out of mind?

Some people just aren't cut out for blogging.  I love doing it, but I cannot seem to find the time to fit it into my schedule.  Many things are shaping up in 2013!  With any luck, I can enjoy the fruits of my labor in the near future.

My best friend, Darcy, and I started a jewelry line a few months ago!  It really came out of nowhere.  I've been making these paper beads for about a year now and after stringing them together, admiring them, showing it all off to friends and family, and then discovering Darcy's love and fascination with wire jewelry!  It seemed only natural to go in that direction.  We've both been trying to figure out how to work together doing something we can mutually dedicate ourselves to.  I guess we found it!  We applied for a booth at the St. Claude Night Market on June 8th and we're hoping to hear from them soon.

Currently, we have some of our lovelies are over at Bon Castor Gift Shop in the Bywater neighborhood.  Great place!  If you haven't been, I highly suggest it.  Amy, the owner, is a wonderful conversationalist (I must admit) and if you find yourself a little overwhelmed at the amount of creative talent in the shop, feel free to strike up a "what to do?" round of dialogue with her.....or even some of the other customers!  I mean, chances are they are regulars and know exactly what to suggest.  I like it there.  I think we'll stick around.

Bon Castor is located at 3207 Burgundy Street in New Orleans.

I have another art show coming up, on Friday!  Raw Artists: New Orleans is an indie arts organization which promotes underground talent and introduces them to an international, networking system of other artists.  They have shows every month and I am in the May installment.  I've been working on some marbled pieces and a few prints (along with things I've done in the past).  It is proving to be a challenge because not only do I have to create and frame my work, I also have to build out a display as well.  I've never had to worry about this aspect of an exhibition so it is definitely something new.  We are about 3 days out and I still have yet to frame two large pieces.  I'm stressing about it, yes.  I have my display sketched out down to the inch so I hope I can get those pieces finished.  Otherwise, it messes up the flow of the display and I have to come up with another plan.  There is a tiny part of me that cannot wait for this to be over...........so I can breathe!!

Yes, it's hard to see, but trust me......a lot of mathematics went into this!

I have one or two more things I'd like to do before Friday's chaos.  The plan is to have work for sale, but span the pricing scale....really cheap to not-so cheap.  We'll see what happens.