I was teaching some drawing students in the studios of Art One Academy in Richmond Hill when an interesting thought came to mind. The particular class that I was teaching was made up of fairly young students as I was instructing them in there various drawing projects it occurred to me that perhaps I should start teaching the children how to market their artwork at the same time. When I was their age there was no such thing as the Internet enabling artists to reach a world wide audience the best we had was the odd art gallery show or an arts and crafts show and those were only a couple of times a year.
Today the Internet is brimming with various websites that allow artists often at little or no cost to sell their work and at the very least get their work in front of a world wide audience. I've personally had my own website www.artistalanrutherford.com for about a decade now sales have been fairly weak but that's probably due to the fact that my site features my artwork exclusively. When I closed my own bricks and mortar gallery I lost my exhibition space for my work and had been at a loss as to how to go about getting my work out there again. After speaking to a friend he recommended that I try out a website called www.etsy.com well I was very pleasantly surprised. This website gives you the opportunity to open up your own little shop at no cost other than a very small listing fee of 20cents per item. The site features it's own little community of fellow artists and craftspeople the only stipulation is that the articles sold are made by hand by the owner of the shop. There is a 3.5 per cent sales fee when the item is sold which I find to be extremely reasonable
Currently I am in the middle of setting up my shop I have the web address which is www.ArtsRutherford.etsy.com as you can see I decided to call the shop ArtsRutherford short and to the point which is what they recommend. Give me few days and I'll have the shop up and running and will be able to welcome you to my new space.
The students seemed genuinely interested and who knows maybe they will check out this blog and find out further information. I also must mention that if you are under the legal age you will need parental permission. Etsy has me excited once again about the prospect of selling my work to a world wide audience. One of the great advantages to a site like Etsy is that there is constant promotion of the site from within and without this normally doesn't happen on a solo artist's site as many people may not be interested in your work but may be interested in your fellow Etsy shop owners wares or vice versa. There is a blog and a forum within Etsy which also gives the artist and opportunity to expose his or her work to fellow artists and get their feedback. I intend to put a lot of effort into Etsy and will keep you informed in later blogs about how things are going.
Till the next time ....
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The Mother of Invention
Artists for the most part for hundreds of years have been subject to behaviour by the public as though they were not to be taken seriously as professionals. Granted there are the chosen few not necessarily the most talented but the best connected or business savvy that can do very well financially. If you haven't been awake since birth you may not have noticed the trend that artists aren't to be paid in the same manner as most professionals if you don't believe me just take a browse through ninety per cent of the ads Craigslist and you will most certainly come across phrases such as "no compensation but we'll give you full credit within the brochure or whatever" "Great opportunity for young emerging artist get published" as far as I'm concerned this is insulting and degrading to the profession!
Conversely I have yet to see an ad that asks an electrician, plumber, doctor, lawyer, etc. to work for substandard wages or for free yes there are the probono legal eagles but for the most part they are doing pretty well financially but there are exceptions of course and I salute those of the legal profession that defend the poor etc. I think it's very noble to have a cause that you want to assist in some way, I've often done it myself. But why is it that every time there is a charity auction that needs donations one of the first groups they turn to are those that are involved in the arts most of whom are struggling to survive themselves, and why is it that we as artists feel obligated to give?
Take for instance a professional athlete look a the compensation these individuals receive. You may say yes but their careers are short, an artist's career may be long but the lifelong dedication to his or her craft seldom brings with it a comfortable or stable existence. At least the athlete has a nest egg if he or she invests intelligently to fall back on in later years.
Some of you out there may be saying well it was your decision to become an artist nobody forced you. That may be true but what bothers me the most as I stated earlier is the Gaul of people that offer jobs as if they are doing us a favour or it an honour to be asked to work for nothing, sometimes it is but not all the time. So the next time someone offers you a favour of your labour think long and hard about what you are doing to the profession you chose and what message you are sending out to the world about our worth, even if you only do it as a hobby and you enjoy doing it.
Art is in essence the mother of creativity which is the mother of imagination which is the mother of invention which keeps us viable as a species. If you think that this is a frivolous occupation you are brain dead.
Till next time .....
Conversely I have yet to see an ad that asks an electrician, plumber, doctor, lawyer, etc. to work for substandard wages or for free yes there are the probono legal eagles but for the most part they are doing pretty well financially but there are exceptions of course and I salute those of the legal profession that defend the poor etc. I think it's very noble to have a cause that you want to assist in some way, I've often done it myself. But why is it that every time there is a charity auction that needs donations one of the first groups they turn to are those that are involved in the arts most of whom are struggling to survive themselves, and why is it that we as artists feel obligated to give?
Take for instance a professional athlete look a the compensation these individuals receive. You may say yes but their careers are short, an artist's career may be long but the lifelong dedication to his or her craft seldom brings with it a comfortable or stable existence. At least the athlete has a nest egg if he or she invests intelligently to fall back on in later years.
Some of you out there may be saying well it was your decision to become an artist nobody forced you. That may be true but what bothers me the most as I stated earlier is the Gaul of people that offer jobs as if they are doing us a favour or it an honour to be asked to work for nothing, sometimes it is but not all the time. So the next time someone offers you a favour of your labour think long and hard about what you are doing to the profession you chose and what message you are sending out to the world about our worth, even if you only do it as a hobby and you enjoy doing it.
Art is in essence the mother of creativity which is the mother of imagination which is the mother of invention which keeps us viable as a species. If you think that this is a frivolous occupation you are brain dead.
Till next time .....
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Fair Trade Art
Hello out there to anyone who's interested I have decided it's time to get back in touch. Today I would like to address the subject of supporting artists that you may know and care about. How many times have you heard someone say "I really love your work but I just can't afford it." I think the buying public should all take a look at their priorities before they jump to the conclusion that they can't afford to support an artist that they feel has something worthwhile to say, or something visually stimulating to contribute to society. A lot of what people purchase in their daily lives is not only unecessary but can actually contribute to the degradation of their health fast food and high end coffee beverages just to name two.
Art can be a very positive force in someones mental health and certainly does nothing to degrade their physical wellbeing. Fast food etc. gives the consumer a very short term return on their money while art can bring a lifetime of enjoyment. Short term the cost may be higher for art but as I previoulsy stated the return can last a lifetime. If the consumers feel that the fast food industry is contributing a great deal to our intellectual as well as our nutrional states, then I suggest they continue on their merry way however if society as a whole has any sense I think it's time they started looking at what they are in support of.
You may have noticed I have not said anything about the monetary value of art only what it's genuine benefits are. If the only reason the consumer purchases artwork is for monetary gain then they are already ripping themselves off not everything on this planet can be measured by money, in fact the things that really count have nothing to do with money whatsoever.
If the buying public would only take a small portion of their daily lives to absorb what an artist may be pointing out to them, I am sure at the very least that there would be a social stimulus created by the discussion that would take place in there own minds or in conversation with others about the work. People are bombarded on a daily basis with images to such an extent that there is a tendancy to block out a great deal of what they perceive before them. This numbing of our senses can largely be blamed on commercialism. But I ask one thing of the public and that is to at all costs not look at art through the same eyes as they do advertisements. Stop, ponder what the artist is exploring through their work this is one time when joe public does get something for nothing. Now I would ask the observer to ask themselves does this artist deserve my support? If the anwer is yes then give the artist his or her due everyone is quick to talk about fair trade coffee etc. but I have yet to hear anyone speak up about fair trade art. Artists shouldn't have to starve to make a living!
Art can be a very positive force in someones mental health and certainly does nothing to degrade their physical wellbeing. Fast food etc. gives the consumer a very short term return on their money while art can bring a lifetime of enjoyment. Short term the cost may be higher for art but as I previoulsy stated the return can last a lifetime. If the consumers feel that the fast food industry is contributing a great deal to our intellectual as well as our nutrional states, then I suggest they continue on their merry way however if society as a whole has any sense I think it's time they started looking at what they are in support of.
You may have noticed I have not said anything about the monetary value of art only what it's genuine benefits are. If the only reason the consumer purchases artwork is for monetary gain then they are already ripping themselves off not everything on this planet can be measured by money, in fact the things that really count have nothing to do with money whatsoever.
If the buying public would only take a small portion of their daily lives to absorb what an artist may be pointing out to them, I am sure at the very least that there would be a social stimulus created by the discussion that would take place in there own minds or in conversation with others about the work. People are bombarded on a daily basis with images to such an extent that there is a tendancy to block out a great deal of what they perceive before them. This numbing of our senses can largely be blamed on commercialism. But I ask one thing of the public and that is to at all costs not look at art through the same eyes as they do advertisements. Stop, ponder what the artist is exploring through their work this is one time when joe public does get something for nothing. Now I would ask the observer to ask themselves does this artist deserve my support? If the anwer is yes then give the artist his or her due everyone is quick to talk about fair trade coffee etc. but I have yet to hear anyone speak up about fair trade art. Artists shouldn't have to starve to make a living!
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