Today, because I think it is an idea so worthy of considering, I am hitting 'replay' on Seth Godin's blog post of August 2011. Sometimes we need to revisit and keep thoughts cycling.
Here is his post:
Is your anger killing your art?
It's rare to find a consistently creative or insightful person who is also an angry person.*
They can't occupy the same space, and if your anger moves in, generosity and creativity often move out. It's difficult to use revenge or animus to fuel great work.
Ironically, when you decide to teach someone a lesson they richly deserve, you often end up strangling the very source you were counting on.
(*Angry is not the same as being a jerk. For some reason, there are plenty of creative jerks--I think because they mistakenly believe that being a jerk is a useful way for some people to wrestle with their lizard brains).
There are a number of responses to his blog post that you can google, but one that I thought was particularly helpful in unpacking what Seth says is that of Becky Blanton, writer and photographer.
I think that about sums it up. I intend to think about how anger and other taxing emotions such as jealousy, and franticness (I made that word up) affect my art. And then I intend to clear my head and make more art in my Zazzle store, Art in Photography.
I encourage you to visit Seth Godin's blog and Becky Blanton's blog.
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Process
I have been thinking a great deal about the words of writer and artist Lynda Lehman. Lynda is a shopkeeper on Zazzle in addition to selling her art on shutterstock. You can find Lynda on Facebook at Lynda Lehman Painting and Photography. You can find Lynda's art here and the beautiful art products you see in this post are Lynda's on Zazzle.
In an interview for Creativity Portal, Lynda speaks of giving your art "enough time for the process to take on a life of its own" and says that, "it's very important to create the time and space for a real process to develop." Lynda goes on to say that "this is opposed to working so intermittently that 'process' doesn't have the opportunity to take hold and grow with its own momentum."
I think her words are absolutely true.
We all know that feeling that I call being 'in the zone'. Others have called it being 'in flow', absorbed, engaged. This is the state when little else seeps into your conscience, when your words or your art of choice subsumes all around you, consumes your eyes, ears and mind, and three hours can feel like three minutes. It is a state of high productivity and intense and joyous concentration. Once you feel it, you long for it.
For months now, I have been trying to figure out why I feel so scattered, unproductive and frankly, half- ... ummm ... -baked, with my art and writing. And reading Lynda's words, I realize that my unsettled, unfulfilled feelings stem from not having process time. Having intermittent time to devote to my arts very much describes my life at this stage.
So what's the good news here? That I can now put my finger on the issue. And can now let up on myself for not doing, being, all that I want creatively. Perhaps this stage of my life, where I must work a full time plus job in an unrelated field as well as be the one person responsible for running a household is simply not a time when I can have process time. Perhaps it is enough for now to know the issue, do the best I can and look forward to a time when I do have process time.
Lynda's words have helped me tremendously and I hope they help you, too. You can find Lynda's words on her blog, Peripheral Vision: inner sights and a listing of her articles for Creativity Portal here.
In an interview for Creativity Portal, Lynda speaks of giving your art "enough time for the process to take on a life of its own" and says that, "it's very important to create the time and space for a real process to develop." Lynda goes on to say that "this is opposed to working so intermittently that 'process' doesn't have the opportunity to take hold and grow with its own momentum."
I think her words are absolutely true.
We all know that feeling that I call being 'in the zone'. Others have called it being 'in flow', absorbed, engaged. This is the state when little else seeps into your conscience, when your words or your art of choice subsumes all around you, consumes your eyes, ears and mind, and three hours can feel like three minutes. It is a state of high productivity and intense and joyous concentration. Once you feel it, you long for it.
For months now, I have been trying to figure out why I feel so scattered, unproductive and frankly, half- ... ummm ... -baked, with my art and writing. And reading Lynda's words, I realize that my unsettled, unfulfilled feelings stem from not having process time. Having intermittent time to devote to my arts very much describes my life at this stage.
So what's the good news here? That I can now put my finger on the issue. And can now let up on myself for not doing, being, all that I want creatively. Perhaps this stage of my life, where I must work a full time plus job in an unrelated field as well as be the one person responsible for running a household is simply not a time when I can have process time. Perhaps it is enough for now to know the issue, do the best I can and look forward to a time when I do have process time.
Lynda's words have helped me tremendously and I hope they help you, too. You can find Lynda's words on her blog, Peripheral Vision: inner sights and a listing of her articles for Creativity Portal here.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Some of My Favorite Things
This week, I'm featuring some beautiful products by talented artists who sell their work on Zazzle, the online print on demand store where I also have a store (Art in Photography).
These awesome designs are available on a variety of products such as prints, puzzles, plates, glasses, ipad & iphone cases, cards, ties, shirts, sneakers, necklaces and more - all of which make super gifts (in case you are still looking for that certain gift for that certain person). And a number of products on Zazzle are customizable, meaning you can enter the text or name you choose - what could be better for the person who has everything?
So pour yourself a cuppa, pull up a chair and check out this amazing art!
Oh, and don't forget your coupons! (Who doesn't love internet shopping in your pj's AND coupons??)
To browse an entire store, click on the store title - good stuff.
Happy Labradors
This store has absolutely gorgeous art of labrador retrievers - perfect for any dog lover! From whimsical dancing dogs in grass skirts to pups in stockings, this store will make any animal lover smile.
Island Summer Vacation Labradors Painting by HappyLabradors
Make cheap custom t shirts at zazzle.com
Retropolis Travel
This shop has the coolest steampunky, retro-futuristic art with a sense of humor. Perfect for mad geniuses and megalomaniacs. Hard to explain - you'll just have to see it when you browse the store.
GraphicAllusions
This shop has a little bit of everything, from fantasy to birds and animals to kids' images - all beautiful art!
Floating Lemons
This shop has original illustrations and art on a variety of fun products including greeting cards, posters, stationery and much more! Gorgeous, colorful art with a huge variety of images.
Darkhouse Quarter
This shop has amazing art. Somewhat macabre, definitely dark, infinitely interesting and thought provoking. Click on the store link above to see it for yourself.
Funcards
This shop specializes in animals and nature images - cute, cute!
Have you finished your cuppa? Enjoyed browsing the stores of these amazing artists? Oh, good. Then my job here is done.
These awesome designs are available on a variety of products such as prints, puzzles, plates, glasses, ipad & iphone cases, cards, ties, shirts, sneakers, necklaces and more - all of which make super gifts (in case you are still looking for that certain gift for that certain person). And a number of products on Zazzle are customizable, meaning you can enter the text or name you choose - what could be better for the person who has everything?
So pour yourself a cuppa, pull up a chair and check out this amazing art!
Oh, and don't forget your coupons! (Who doesn't love internet shopping in your pj's AND coupons??)
To browse an entire store, click on the store title - good stuff.
Happy Labradors
This store has absolutely gorgeous art of labrador retrievers - perfect for any dog lover! From whimsical dancing dogs in grass skirts to pups in stockings, this store will make any animal lover smile.
Island Summer Vacation Labradors Painting by HappyLabradors
Make cheap custom t shirts at zazzle.com
Retropolis Travel
This shop has the coolest steampunky, retro-futuristic art with a sense of humor. Perfect for mad geniuses and megalomaniacs. Hard to explain - you'll just have to see it when you browse the store.
GraphicAllusions
This shop has a little bit of everything, from fantasy to birds and animals to kids' images - all beautiful art!
Floating Lemons
This shop has original illustrations and art on a variety of fun products including greeting cards, posters, stationery and much more! Gorgeous, colorful art with a huge variety of images.
Darkhouse Quarter
This shop has amazing art. Somewhat macabre, definitely dark, infinitely interesting and thought provoking. Click on the store link above to see it for yourself.
Funcards
This shop specializes in animals and nature images - cute, cute!
Have you finished your cuppa? Enjoyed browsing the stores of these amazing artists? Oh, good. Then my job here is done.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
The Learning Curve
Last spring, I first heard about zazzle and decided to try it out. I opened my online store, artinphotography (it's free!) to sell my photography on products that zazzle offers, and yes, I admit I love being called a 'shopkeeper'. I think of Dickenesque London every time I hear the term.
Creating products using my photo images is addictive - I love it. But like anything else you do seriously and as a business, you have to put in the time and the learning curve (for me, anyway) is steep.
Here's an example of one of the products you can create with your own images:
I came to this knowing nothing about the nitty gritty end of things - promotion and how to sell your own products. Selling your own product(s) is a fact of life now whether you are an artist or a writer. It is necessary to learn how to use the internet for marketing - and some of us have gone kicking and screaming into this brave new world.
My long time friend and author, Alison DeLuca, was coincidentally at the same time working on the release and promotion of her book, The Night Watchman Express (which by the way you should definitely read). I am not sure how she learned all she did about online marketing, search engine optimization and tags as quickly as she did, but she tried to pass some of that knowledge on to me.
The long and short of it is that I am still learning about tags and search engine optimization and online promotion. All else, like my dailies and adding to my photo galleries has been put on hold while I re-tag and re-categorize and revamp my existing products on artinphotography (well, okay, not all else - I still go to work every day and have been working 10-14 hour days and then trying to do these things).
Another addictive product creation:
I have come to learn that on zazzle tags, the first 10 tags are the only ones that count and that I needed to have them in order of importance/relevance/priority (hence my re-tagging). I also learned that you can use the tag "jewelry", but not "necklace". You can use the tag "photograph" but not "photography", nor can you use the tag "gift". Who knew? Well, maybe some did, but not me, the noob.
I have no doubt there are reasons and logical order to what you can and can't tag on zazzle and it all has to do with search engine optimization. But for now, I'm still plugging away slowly and trying to figure all this out.
And I'm still having a marvelous time creating products on zazzle to sell my art. As a matter of fact, my dirty little secret is that I have broken my "never listen to Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving rule" and played festive Christmas music while I had a blast creating a few holiday items.
I encourage and invite you to browse zazzle and either create some products of your own or enjoy those of zazzle shopkeepers!
Happy creating!
Creating products using my photo images is addictive - I love it. But like anything else you do seriously and as a business, you have to put in the time and the learning curve (for me, anyway) is steep.
Here's an example of one of the products you can create with your own images:
I came to this knowing nothing about the nitty gritty end of things - promotion and how to sell your own products. Selling your own product(s) is a fact of life now whether you are an artist or a writer. It is necessary to learn how to use the internet for marketing - and some of us have gone kicking and screaming into this brave new world.
My long time friend and author, Alison DeLuca, was coincidentally at the same time working on the release and promotion of her book, The Night Watchman Express (which by the way you should definitely read). I am not sure how she learned all she did about online marketing, search engine optimization and tags as quickly as she did, but she tried to pass some of that knowledge on to me.
The long and short of it is that I am still learning about tags and search engine optimization and online promotion. All else, like my dailies and adding to my photo galleries has been put on hold while I re-tag and re-categorize and revamp my existing products on artinphotography (well, okay, not all else - I still go to work every day and have been working 10-14 hour days and then trying to do these things).
Another addictive product creation:
I have come to learn that on zazzle tags, the first 10 tags are the only ones that count and that I needed to have them in order of importance/relevance/priority (hence my re-tagging). I also learned that you can use the tag "jewelry", but not "necklace". You can use the tag "photograph" but not "photography", nor can you use the tag "gift". Who knew? Well, maybe some did, but not me, the noob.
I have no doubt there are reasons and logical order to what you can and can't tag on zazzle and it all has to do with search engine optimization. But for now, I'm still plugging away slowly and trying to figure all this out.
And I'm still having a marvelous time creating products on zazzle to sell my art. As a matter of fact, my dirty little secret is that I have broken my "never listen to Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving rule" and played festive Christmas music while I had a blast creating a few holiday items.
I encourage and invite you to browse zazzle and either create some products of your own or enjoy those of zazzle shopkeepers!
Happy creating!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Pit Bull Project
Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing my long-time friend (if I told you how many years it would date us both, so I won't), Kat Soul, artist, musician and philanthropist. Although today's blog post has nothing whatsoever to do with writing, it does have to do with art, reaching a wider audience for your art and causes though zazzle, and one of my other interests - dogs and animal rescue.
stubbie mug by gracie111
See other Pit Mugs
I asked Kat a few questions about how she got into pit bull rescue and about pit bulls in general.
How did you become involved with pit bull rescue?
Thanks for sharing your art and educating us, Kat! Please visit Kat's zazzle store, The Pit Bull Project to see more of her art and products! And remember - Pit Bulls are for hugs, not thugs!
Pit Bulls are for Hugs not Thugs by gracie111
Browse more Pit T-Shirts
Kat is a self-taught artist. Of her art, she says:
"I love taking pictures and always carry a camera. I love to paint with watercolors and try to paint a little every day. I love how I can throw some paint on a wet paper and let it blend with the other colors by shaking the paper or tilting it. Then I walk away while it dries. Sometimes the paint makes its own art without my help. Then I’m surprised by my own work. I’m inspired almost exclusively by nature and animals. Lately I’ve been painting farm animals and dogs."
Kat also runs a zazzle store, The Pit Bull Project. Of her experience as a zazzle shopkeeper, she says:
"Having a Zazzle store has been fun. It’s easy to upload images. We sell a good deal of merchandise and have been trying to update with new products regularly. I like taking my art images and putting them on shirts and mugs. In 2001 I started a community outreach program called the Pit Bull Project. I take all the proceeds from the sale of my art and use it to spay and neuter Pit Bulls in my community."
Kat's website, Charm City Animal Rescue, The Pit Bull Project, gives more information about how she does this. About spaying and neutering, she says, "I’ve never understood why there is so little emphasis on spaying and neutering dogs when so many are being killed in our shelters and on our streets. To me, it seems like the most humane option. Prevent the puppies from being born into a cycle of abuse and neglect. It makes sense to me."
Here are some examples of her wonderful art, supporting pit bull rescue:
stubbie mug by gracie111
See other Pit Mugs
I asked Kat a few questions about how she got into pit bull rescue and about pit bulls in general.
How did you become involved with pit bull rescue?
I met my first Pit Bull over 20 years ago. She was the sweetest dog. When I moved to Baltimore, I kept finding abused and abandoned dogs. By trying to help them, I learned about the dog fighting culture. Back then, there were very few people trying to help these dogs. Our animal control facilities preferred to kill them and did little to educate the public about animal cruelty and population control. In 2001, I started taking the proceeds from selling my artwork and using it to spay and neuter dogs for people in my community. That’s how The Pit Bull Project began.
What are the best things about pit bulls?
I’m attracted to the breed for many reasons. As a humanitarian, I wanted to help because they are so universally misunderstood and abused. As a dog lover, they are wonderfully intelligent, easy to train, fun loving, excellent for protection, clean, and generally quiet. As a single woman living in a big city, the Pit was the perfect dog for me. Our shelters are full of them. Many shelters don’t adopt them out at all. I’ve devoted the last 20 years of my life to help change the perception of the breed.
What are the worst things about pit bulls?
There are so many misconceptions about the breed. They’re popular with bad people. The media focuses on negative stories and showing negative images of the dogs. Local governments try to implement breed specific legislation instead of focusing on population control and community outreach. The public is tricked into fearing the dogs instead of fearing the inhumanity of the people handling the dogs.
What is the biggest myth about pit bulls and how would you address it?
There are a lot of myths about Pit Bulls. As a dog lover with a great deal of experience with Pits I would say they are like any other breed. Some have good temperament, some don’t. Some dogs are great with kids, some aren’t. The focus should be on kindness and humanity. If you’re kind to any dog, the dog will repay you with kindness, regardless of breed.
Thanks for sharing your art and educating us, Kat! Please visit Kat's zazzle store, The Pit Bull Project to see more of her art and products! And remember - Pit Bulls are for hugs, not thugs!
Pit Bulls are for Hugs not Thugs by gracie111
Browse more Pit T-Shirts
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