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Message 1
From: Cstreetstudios # aol.com
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 09:47:24 EST
Subject: [Baren 32341] Re: New Baren Digest (Text)  V37 #3707 (Nov 28, 2006)
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> http://web.mac.com/g_wohlken/iWeb/Site/Welcome.htm
>

Gayle
Lovely lovely work.
:)Jennifer Ressmann

Small Business Web & Print Design
C Street Studios
Jennifer Ressmann
cstreetstudios#aol.com
www.cstreetstudios.com
Golden Colorado 80403

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Message 2
From: Cstreetstudios # aol.com
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 10:00:09 EST
Subject: [Baren 32342] Re: New Baren Digest (Text)  V37 #3711 (Dec 1, 2006)
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Hi Doug
I noticed you are from Co springs. I up here in Golden.
I think your prints/silkscreens are really lovely. You make drawing
the horse look easy.
Happy Holidays, Jennifer
Ps - didn't see any work on your Photo page.
:)



Small Business Web & Print Design
C Street Studios
Jennifer Ressmann

cstreetstudios#aol.com
www.cstreetstudios.com
Golden Colorado 80403

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Message 3
From: Cstreetstudios # aol.com
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 10:06:36 EST
Subject: [Baren 32343] Re: New Baren Digest (Text)  V37 #3712 (Dec 2, 2006)
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> Humor follows.
> Questions of the day:
> "Where do you get your stamps?"
> "Are these like...ink blots?"
> "Do you actually have to carve the wood?"
> and the winner, after my booth walls were down "Were you the one selling the
> salsa dip?
>

oh my gosh - that is so funny!?
I think about the traveling around and festivals,etc.
Have you considered a "what is a woodcut" flyer?
Though it might snub out some of the great collection of quotes you have
above. funny!
Jennifer


Small Business Web & Print Design
C Street Studios
Jennifer Ressmann
cstreetstudios@#ol.com
www.cstreetstudios.com
Golden Colorado 80403

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Message 4
From: Cstreetstudios # aol.com
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 10:15:42 EST
Subject: [Baren 32344] Re: New Baren Digest (Text)  V37 #3714 (Dec 4, 2006)
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I hear art is more appreciated in Europe (and New York)
:)

Small Business Web & Print Design
C Street Studios
Jennifer Ressmann
cstreetstudios#aol.com
www.cstreetstudios.com
Golden Colorado 80403

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Message 5
From: Diane Cutter
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 08:26:41 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 32345] Re: [Baren 32343] Re: New Baren Digest (Text)  V37 #3712 (Dec 2, 2006)
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Very funny questions! I often feel like a one-woman educational source. The few times I do any fairs I always take a couple of my old lino plates (and can now take woodcuts) to 'decorate' my table/booth, my tools and a new plate to carve when it's down-time. That has generated a lot of interest and, I feel, a couple of modest sales when they understand it's more than stamps from Michaels...

Diane

www.dianecutter.com
www.theitinerantartist.blogspot.com
www.DCutter.etsy.com

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Message 6
From: Barbara Mason
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 08:34:45 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 32346] look at these nice prints
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One of the advantages of being the mall manager is I eventually get to converse with almost everyone.....
I just got a thank you for the mall and Hide-san for some Murasaki barens...and a url to wonderful prints by baren member Ian Phillips...bet you did not know that name either...well, go look at this work and you will remember it! Great prints. thanks for sending me the address, Ian. I loved your work!
www.reliefprint.co.uk
Best to all,
Barbara

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Message 7
From: jeb baum
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 11:45:53 -0500
Subject: [Baren 32347] Re: Selling...or not...
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It seems to me that there is something missing in this conversation so
far. Don't artists bare some responsibility for the place art holds in
our society? We have certainly come a long way from the center of
power. Shamans were the artists, priests and doctors all in one! Still
it seems possible that individual works of art can have great power and
influence, but I doubt that many of us would advocate for such a role
for artists anymore. Modern society respects material things and we
make material things and yet great art is not about its materiality,
rather it is about its otherness. How does one market something that
can't be defined? Well these days mostly by defining it which tends to
deaden the whole experience. Museums sure are full of people though and
auction houses are doing just fine and the value of things certainly
doesn't have much to do with quality. Probably if we are not selling,
it is because we are not so good at business. Packaging what we do is
certainly a big part of marketing, which brings us back to the frames.
As far as I know, the Japanese weren't really into framing things.
Artists, printmakers, paper makers, bookmakers and scroll makers all
had their part in the process of making a work presentable and what was
considered presentable was defined by many years of traditional
practices. Also, I would imagine that each of these professions added a
certain amount of imprimatur to a work. It would be easy to argue that
most contemporary frame makers do more harm than good to the aesthetics
of a work. Unfortunately that goes for the galleries as well and often
thats by making really bad work look great! If we are not making work
for the galleries, and many artists are, then I guess we should make
sure that the work we do finds an appropriate form of presentation and
a setting that speaks to the qualities of the work itself. One client
of mine actually purchased more than twenty of my pieces and hung them
in the bathroom of her gallery and the work actually got reviewed in a
major newspaper. When I thought about it, I realized that people were
certainly likely to spend more time viewing the works there than in the
gallery itself! Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from that
experience or perhaps that is just an example of what our society
designates as the appropriate place for art.

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Message 8
From: Bobbi Chukran
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 10:58:24 -0600
Subject: [Baren 32348] Re: Selling...or not...
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>It seems to me that there is something missing in this conversation
>so far. Don't artists bare some responsibility for the place art
>holds in our society? We have certainly come a long way from the
>center of power. Shamans were the artists, priests and doctors all
>in one! Still it seems possible that individual works of art can
>have great power and influence, but I doubt that many of us would
>advocate for such a role for artists anymore. Modern society
>respects material things
..>>

I'm not sure i agree that society "respects" material things. I
think that society in general thinks that things are to be bought,
used up, and pitched in the trash!

My personal opinion is that art in lots of forms has become a
commodity to modern society. When you can walk into any craft or
decor store and buy a "print" for $4.95, why should the average
person value something handmade?

Art, unfortunately, has become a commodity to many. Unless they are
educated in the methods used in making it, most people see art as
disposable....something to hang on the wall til they get tired of it
or redecorate, then they replace it.

Thank goodness there are still "collectors" who see art as something
special. But I don't think they are the majority.

Cynically yours ,

bobbi c.

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Message 9
From: Barbara Mason
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 09:08:35 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 32349] Re: Selling...or not...
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>One client
>of mine actually purchased more than twenty of my pieces and hung them
>in the bathroom of her gallery and the work actually got reviewed in a
>major newspaper. When I thought about it, I realized that people were
>certainly likely to spend more time viewing the works there than in the
>gallery itself! Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from that
>experience or perhaps that is just an example of what our society
>designates as the appropriate place for art.

Jeb,
I really laughed at this...but it is so true.

Sadly we do need to be two people, the artist/creator and the business person/marketing manager.
We have to think of our art as a product we are marketing, just like any other product. We have to do what the market demands while still being true to our own muse. A fine line indeed. We need to create a market where there might not have been one before...ala Maria...she just went for it and with hard work it is happening for her. Her funniest post was the one where the woman kept calling them slices and since she kept buying them, by the end, Maria was calling them slices also....

If you truly want to sell your work, and many do not, you must be ready for any and all opportunities. This means having work ready, printed, some matted, some framed or mounted...you cannot sell from an empty wagon. You need to be on top of all that is going on in your own community as well as state wide and nationally. Not an easy task but you can do it and many are. You need to hang your work where ever you can to get your name out there..you need to form partnerships with your dentist if he has empty walls, or the local bank. They can only say no. Especially as women, we are so used to apologizing for taking someone's time...not just in words but in attitude...this is a cultural roadblock we have to get past. It needs to be a win win, they have to get something out of the partnership even if it is viewing your work for a few weeks, not a bad thing at all for most.

I get asked to talk about how artists become successful all the time...odd as I have never had to make my living as an artist. I have had a business for years so I do know what you need to do to be successful. Have a good product and promote it shamelessly. At any rate, I find with my dealings with the 14 other artists in an artist owned gallery I belong to in Portland that some do this very well, others just cannot promote themselves. The banding together to form this gallery was a great thing for them as they got support and help from others...so there is strength in numbers. Also more competition. Sometimes getting press releases and slides from some of them for promo is like pulling teeth...you have to have this stuff at your finger tips if you want to succeed. Organization is a big key. There are lots of books written on how to set up an art business, but if you just can't do it yourself, you have to hire help.

Schools do not tell you this...and they should. Just being a great artist will get you a pat on the head, but not much else.

I think selling is good...but I have sure had my share of people wanting to know if I was the one selling salsa.....but finally I think I am moving forward. A good feeling!
Best to all,
Barbara

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Message 10
From: "Maria Arango"
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 09:53:16 -0800
Subject: [Baren 32350] Re: Selling...or not...
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First and foremost, this is just too funny to pass up, both the salsa lady
(officially "The Dip Lady") and I won best of our category awards. Since I
had stopped by her booth and told her the story, we had a good laugh at the
artist's dinner about it.

Sunday was cold and windy but people seemed to be in that "desperate"
shopping frenzy mode that happens every once in a blue moon (it was a near
full moon, maybe that was it). Anyhow, after all the dealin' was done, I
ended up with around $7K plus change, just for those who were interested.
Still waiting for my first 10K show, a milestone of the more experienced
artists out there...maybe next year. Now, my income will dip gently (not so
gently) into a few web sales (the aftermath of the business card
grand-give-away) until late February when I hit the road again.
Tear down was amazingly uneventful, for a 550-artist show and I broke only
the average number of nails, three in case anyone is interested. After three
days in the kind of weather that can sunburn your face and freeze your toes
at the same time, I was showered and under blankets by 9 p.m.

I think after all I have heard from everyone, still the key is to get the
art in front of the public's eye. Nobody is going to come looking for art in
the artist's drawers, that's for sure. The sad fact is that there are many
many more artists and much much more art than the public is willing to buy.
Playstations-3 are another matter entirely, pleople are killing for those.
Life isn't fair to the artist, never has and never will, there is too much
art, too many galleries and not enough art-buying public. Gotta sneak in
there somehow, but nothing happens by itself and nothing really happens the
first few years.
I personally don't believe that the ignorant public or the framing or the
art world or the market or lack of intrinsic value or importance of art made
me have poor sales at that other show; I believe it was me; I didn't talk to
sell enough, I didn't demonstrate, I didn't research the show prior to
attending, I didn't bring the right bait. I like to internalize both
successes and failures, especially failures, as that is the only way I can
grow as an artist.

So last words of advice, be more stubborn, try harder, make more sacrifices,
break a few more nails, have a sore back at the end of the day and muscles
so cold that a hot shower hurts. Don't leave the mountain half climbed and
say it just can't be climbed. Be honest and say instead: I couldn't climb
it, not right now...but maybe I will try again and again.

Alright, enough of that, thanks all for the comments on and off list. I will
try to respond to all in time. Right now I'm finishing up my paperwork from
the past two shows and yearning for some studio time (got a couple of
exchanges to finish). Later maybe I'll play with my birthday toys since I
was loading the trailer during the joyous event this past Wednesday. And
other important pressing things like my favorite kitty tapping on my elbow,
sure sign that he would like his time with mommy NOWWWWWWWWWW.

The studio awaits,
Maria


Maria Arango
www.1000woodcuts.com

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