The dreaded question. You're at a social function, surrounded by non-creative or semi-creative types and eventually word gets out that you're an artist.
"Oh really? What kind of art do you make?"
Maybe this is actually an easy answer for some artists, but it's never been that simple for me, and I'm sure it's challenging to many of you as well. For one thing, most of like to dip our fingers and toes into several different outlets and media (hence we call ourselves mixed-media artists!) so summing up what we "do" in a short answer is nearly impossible.
This you practice at home. It is a description of your art that
you eventually know by rote that takes less than two minutes to
say. Record yourself describing your art to a friend – there is
nothing like describing your work to a real person to get to the meat of
things. Your friend can tell you what is not clear, and how your description may improve.
Step Two
Irony
I knew someone who, when asked a question they didn’t care to answer would say with a strait face, “No, but I did see Coal Miner’s Daughter.” If you are feeling particularly frisky you might go the ricochet route and say something like “I describe my works as abstract porcupine love tops,” and then change the
subject.
Step Three
Break it down
Come up with a few different answers in order to keep things
interesting for yourself. Break down the essence of your artwork into camps
of what materials you use; how the art makes people feel when they look
at it; your intent or message; the colors, images or scale. Any of
these areas are worth an answer of their very own.
Step Four
Pull out your iPhone
This is a killer solution if you have the dough! Upload digital
images of your artwork onto your iPhone and allow people who query you to
scroll through the images with a wave of their finger. They’ll be so
impressed that they will probably try to pick you up. But that’s an
entirely different eHow subject.
I'm thinking I might try Step 2 next time. How do YOU usually answer this question?
Today marks the official launch of MyCraftivity.com. If you have been a member of our community through these weeks of testing and tweaking the site, thank you for you participation (and, of course, for your patience)! If you are a new member: Welcome, welcome, welcome. We sincerely hope that here in MyCraftivity you will find a community that enriches your craft. And if you like what you see, we hope you'll spread the word!
Starting today, we will have a new free (yes, really! free!) downloadable project every week here at the Mixed-Media + Collage blog. This week's curious download is from Altered Curiosities by Jane Wynn. For the free download--and to learn more about the project (and the book)--click here!
Don't miss out; the project will be free this week only. The good news, of course, is that next week another will take it's place.
During my regularly-scheduled morning blog browsing, I came across this post on Whip Up and I thought it was interesting with this month's theme involving personal imagery. We all know that photos we take ourselves, and art we create ourselves, from our own ideas and in our own compositions is, well, personal and belongs to us and we typically don't give that issue too much thought. In the publishing world, however, thought must be given, so I find myself having to deal with the topic of intellectual property and copyright law nearly on a daily basis. (I also find the whole discussion to be about as clear-cut and easy to understand as the one-and-only theory class I took in college.) As creative types from all backgrounds, I have a feeling copyleft is something we're going to be hearing more and more about.
Recently I came across a link to the BookScans Database. This amazingly addictive site is a central place where you can find literally thousands of scans of vintage book covers, organized by publisher/genre for collectors. If you love using nostalgic images like these in your mixed-media work, be forewarned that you might want to stock up on color printer cartridges before venturing onto this site--once you start looking around, you can't stop! Even if you just love books or pop culture in general, you won't be able to get enough of this vintage goodness, from cheap pulp digests to original versions of classics in the making. The write-ups about the history of each imprint and surprise finds like special condensed Armed Services Editions make this site a real gem. The only thing better would be being in a room with all these books themselves--and having them all still cost only 35 cents!
