PoppyRow

April 2, 2007

Your Own Show – Part II – Get the Word Out #3

Filed under: business, art marketing — jen @ 10:22 pm

I have heard from a handful of followers who plan to participate in Challenge #1 – “Tea”. It’s only about five of us at this point, but it promises to be fun and have some interesting outcomes. Feel free to join in at any point if you’d like, the assignment isn’t “due” until April 30th. I already have some interesting ideas for my project, but I can’t tell you! You’ll just have to wait until the unveiling party! :)

I was really ready to move onto the next section of the series, when I realized I had left out some information that may be valuable. It isn’t much, but probably shouldn’t be overlooked. (more…)

March 30, 2007

Your Own Show – Part II – Get the Word Out #2

Filed under: getting started, business, art marketing — jen @ 11:11 am

So, my husband has informed me that my titles to this series are confusing. If I have caused any bewilderment, I profusely apologize! Being the computer guy in the family, he has suggested that I go online and search the web to discover how other bloggers the world over have tackled the multi-part, multi-faceted series. Ed’s philosophy in life is: “If you don’t know it, Google does.” It’s well grounded and often works. Nonetheless, being the impulsive artist that I am, I often choose to trail blaze, leaving a wake of confusion and chaos in my uncharted path. Ed is very good-natured about this, and takes most of my ideas and ramblings in stride, with a grain of salt.

I have more to discuss on the postcard concept- namely, logistics.

Include the following information: (more…)

March 29, 2007

Your Own Show – Part II – Get the Word Out #1

Filed under: getting started, business, art marketing — jen @ 1:50 am

Okay so I think I have this cold finally beat. It took dozens of Sudafed, and even more aspirin, gallons of hot maple cream tea, but today I have only blown my nose a half-dozen times, and I don’t think I’ve even sneezed once. Just in time too, in the wake of some lovely spring weather that we are always desperate for come the end of March here in upstate NY. But, I am sure you have heard enough of my upper respiratory ailments!

As promised, Part Two: Get the Word Out, otherwise known as Invites. I personally like to make up postcards for this type of event. They are cheaply mailed, easily handed out to businesses to put on sales counters, and allow the opportunity to showcase one or more pieces of your work on the front of the card. This becomes a sort of souvenir for many people who know you and come to your show. And the great thing is that it’s very easy to do!

The first thing to do is get at least one image of your work. (more…)

March 25, 2007

Your Own Show - Part I - Preliminaries

Filed under: getting started, business, art marketing — jen @ 11:42 pm

I said a few days ago we’d continue the studio show topic. I planned to get to it earlier, but I’ve had a horrible head cold and have been in bed for almost 3 full days! Talk about feeling completely uninspired for anything but hot tea and soft tissues. I started thinking of a project, actually, something with tea-dyed paper. I am not sure yet. It’d be fun to “assign” poppyrow projects, and post the resulting artwork, say, a month later. I am thinking on the fly here, and I realize its off-topic. Sorry!

 

Okay, back to the studio show. We’ll go over a basic outline, from step one up to opening night. So here goes with Part One of this series: Preliminaries. (more…)

March 22, 2007

Studio Shows

Filed under: getting started, business, art marketing — jen @ 9:16 pm

Do you have a studio? If so, the opportunity exists for you to reach out to the community with your work on your own turf. You obviously don’t need to jury yourself in to your own show, so you have no worries about competition or deadlines. (more…)

March 17, 2007

Tax Time

Filed under: business — jen @ 1:19 pm

The two things sure to happen at some time in your life are death and taxes. We can discuss the former at dollars-and-cents.jpganother time, but taxes are around the corner. I’ve finished mine this morning, and it was a headache as usual.

I have noticed a lot of artists just operate under the table, selling things here and there, buying supplies out of their regular checking account, or on credit cards. But it can be to your great advantage to go get yourself a DBA (doing business as), and get a state tax ID#. You can claim your losses as a deduction on your taxes; you can even claim your studio space within your home. You can use your tax ID# to buy any supplies tax-free that you plan to use as a part of your artwork to be sold. It also forces you to see your money spent vs. money earned.

(more…)