I don't add to this blog often because originally I felt it "had" to be about art. Well, guess what, note to myself- and you - that's NOT what I think about all the time & duh, it's certainly not what I feel like writing about after I make art, invoice art, pack art & dream about glass like 99.9% of the time. I am in my studio ALL THE TIME. Urgh, sometimes I am so NOT about art that I could scream. Yah, yeah, yeah I'm doing what I love, I'm blessed to be making a living at it and I do love making art but come on, I have aging parents, kids in college, blah blah, blah. So, I'll mix things up from now on.
I have been asked to participate in a fundraiser for a fellow Artful Home artist. Here is an excerpt from the email I received. Many of you are aware that the Artful Home is chock full of the highest quality artwork produced by award winning artists. I am honored to be a part of such an esteemed group. You'll recognize Anna Millea's gorgeous hand painted work, too.
Cancer. No Insurance. Can this really be happening to one of our artists?
Anna Millea, a longtime Guild and Artful Home artist, is fighting breast cancer - again. The disease has returned aggressively and is now in her bones, requiring an extreme sixteen rounds of chemotherapy. She has no insurance, having been deemed uninsurable due to her "pre-existing condition."
When we at The Guild/Artful Home learned of this we knew we needed to do something to try to help her through this situation. What we have come up with is an event we are calling "Hearts for Anna", to which we hope you will contribute and donate a little bit of your time and talent.
Artful Home will hold a 5-day online event, "Hearts for Anna", August 12-16, 2009 in which miniature artworks, no larger than 5" x 7", will be sold. The items will be sold first-come, first serve, with all items selling for $100 on Day 1, $75 on Days 2 - 4, and $50 on Day 5. All money will go to a fund that goes directly to Anna Millea to help pay for her medical bills.
The address is www.artfulhome.com. I will be donating at least 1 piece and am confident there will be many incredible works of art that will be created for this event. I hope you'll participate, too by purchasing a one-of-a-kind piece for your home. Please pass this on to friends & family.
Today I had an interesting conversation with a gallery owner. I was ready to ship an order he placed in Philadelphia in February at the Buyer's Market for American Craft. We discussed the bad market & in his 28 years in business, he'd never seen it so bad. Selling was a "bitch" & he, like 3 other gallery owners I've talked with this week, were wanting & needing the work but apprehensive about sales that may never happen. But that's not the gist of this writing.
He mentioned that lately, the artists seem to be charging more for shipping. For those of you who don't know, the galleries pay shipping & that's one of the many reasons artwork is marked up. Okay - back to the story. So he mentioned that he felt it was inflated that the ceramic artist he just got a shipment from charged 10% over & above the UPS shipping charge.
I offered an explanation & he got enlightened, not angry. I charge 15% & that includes the carrier charge. His order was for around $550. & would take 2 boxes @ 4.50/each, 1/3 bag of peanuts @ $6., cardboard sleeves for the clocks - 5 @ $2./each then probably $20 or so shipping for each box. All this, plus the time to pack, tape, input shipping info, print the labels & get it to UPS.
All of a sudden, the cost wasn't so outrageous, charging 15%. It even looked like a "deal". To him, not me. Maybe I should charge more. Just explaining it was exhausting.
Michigan Artist Nina Cambron's one-of-a-kind art glass sculptures are adorning windows & desks in the Midtown Manhattan accounting firm, Eisner, LLP. Cambron incorporated the company's logo & colors into each of the 100 commissioned fused glass pieces.
Novi, MI (PRWEB) June 3, 2009 -- Nina Cambron is known throughout the art community as an innovator in fused glass. Eisner, LLP, is known as one of the premier accounting and consulting firms in the United States. Eisner found Cambron via her website, www.ninacambron.com while searching for an artist to create unique handmade gifts for the partners in their Northeast office. Ms. Cambron bid on the project and was commissioned to design and execute 100 one-of-a-kind glass sculptures for the Manhattan office.
Previously, Cambron's work could only be found in galleries and private homes throughout the world. Entering the corporate arena was new to the artist, who embraced it as an exciting venture, wrought with potential. "I'd never done a commission of that magnitude - 100 unique pieces, in the same color palette, the same size, incorporating a corporate logo. With 6 months lead time, I was able to complete a few pieces at a time, allowing me to keep the sculptures fresh."
The discipline of the project reminded the artist of art school - an assignment to depict an object in numerous ways, in numerous techniques. The most gratifying part to Cambron, though, is hearing how the artwork was received and how the office is now spotted with her work. "I'm planning on visiting New York City this summer and Eisner's offices will be my first stop!"
Cambron recently launched a page on her website introducing her foray into corporate gifts. She hopes to grow this segment of her business in the coming year and considers this the perfect opportunity to encourage the buying of American Made Craft. Cambron is a member of the American Made Alliance, whose mission is to preserve, promote and protect the value of American made products and their producers.
Fused glass, sometimes referred to as kiln formed glass, is a centuries old process that involves the layering of sheet glass that is then fired in a kiln at 1460 degrees fahrenheit.
Nina Cambron has been a self employed artist for over 30 years. She attended Cleveland Institue of Art & University of Michigan where she received a BFA degree. She is represented by over 50 galleries in the US. She maintains a studio in a suburb of Detroit.
Today I went to the Birmingham Art Fair in Birmingham, Michigan. Being Mother's Day, it was packed. It was also chilly & I remembered the days I used to do the show. I would dress all artsy, then cover up with an old yukky blanket. So much for the "look". Dopey, optimistic me! I did not envy the artists who participated. I bought a photograph by Allan Teger that made me laugh. He has a line called "Bodyscapes" featuring nudes with little scenes. Our's is a beach scene. For the bathroom. OF COURSE.
Okie dokey, back to the story, if there is one - urgh, I am SO glad i don't do retail shows any more. The wind was 35 mph, it threatened rain & the economy in MI sucks. The quality of the show wasn't what it's been - more mediocre work than I've ever, ever seen, some buy/sell next to outstanding work like one of my favs, Fred Warren, a Michigan glass artist whose work is superb. I guess the artists who typically apply is down, based on the quality.
So where am I going with this? I don't know. All I know is that I hope things pick up, people start buying American Made Art, the weather cooperates for my art fair buddies & the war ends.
Peace to you.
Yesterday I was approached by a corporation who found me via my website & was interested in commissioning a number of standing fused glass panels like the 100 I did for Eisner (http://www.impactfolios.com/ninacambron/10431/index.htm). Of course I said "yes!" and am proceeding with the prototypes that will incorporate the company's colors & logo.
It's just the type of work I love, with a deadline months from now. I can do a few panels at a time sprinkled in with the gallery orders. This timeframe & flexibility leads to more than just convenience - it lends itself to more creative thought & one-of-a-kind designs.
Like in my last blog where I pushed "Buy American," it materialized! I'd love to grow this part of my business - a steady kind of growth, undeterred by "holiday sales" & the like.
Here in MI, all government sponsored arts funding has been eliminated. Not unlike schools that eliminate art class first when cutting budgets. I feel so conflicted because it's not a "necessity" really - like food or housing - so if something has to go, i guess it's the practical choice. But it's soul food. The oasis, an underlying pulse of sorts.
I find this reality upsetting - hard times to sell work for most artists & now even the grants we count on are gone.
I'm going to do all I can to keep the trend towards buying American Craft going. If more people did this, it could keep enough artists afloat to ride out these hard times. Etsy is a great place to start - so many creative people churning out fabulous things made in their homes. I love Etsy and art fairs and little galleries that are fighting to keep the lights on. Buy American Art!
Okay, I get so busy that I rarely blog. I like to write, I'm fascinated by bloggers & mystified that anyone can actually blog every day- let me reword that, FIND THE TIME to blog every day or at least more often than every 6 months. SO here's my 6 month submission...
I recently returned from a show known as the Buyer's Market of American Craft. It's open to the "trade" only, meaning gallery & store owners who are purchasing for the coming year. The aisles weren't as full as in the past & many familiar artist's faces were missing. But many of us were still there, hawking our goods. Despite the missing artists, the show is still huge & held at the Philadelphia Convention Center. As usual, we had to deal with surly union workers & disrespectful forklift drivers but that's a whole other blog for a different day.
I had 99% new work, literally. I took a huge chance making such drastic changes to my line. The economic crisis loomed & I figured being a small company & nimble enough to change on dime, I'd work night & day to develop new lower priced work. It was met with enthusiasm & I came home with more orders then I ever dreamed possible. I even had to buy a new kiln & hire an assistant. For now, life is good. Will they reorder Only time will tell.
Many of my neighbors didn't fare as well. The buyers who came bypassed higher end work or only ordered very little. Artists who rarely change their work were ignored. Nonfunctional work wasn't favored either. The galleries & stores are hesitant of the market but need work to sell to their customers so they bought, but very carefully.
The hot topic of conversation at the show was the possible addition of "Free Trade" art & fine craft at the next Buyer's Market. It was met with outrage by the artists & eventually the show management nixed the idea. I'll write more about that later. My question for now is about the future of American craft today. It is steeped in tradition & richness that is truly "American" - the thought of it dying is just tragic on so many levels.
Last year I participated in SmARTist Telesummit 2008. I was extremely skeptical to fork out the approximately $300 for the seminar but was convinced to do so by Arianna Goodwin, the founder, once she assured me there was a 100% guarantee, no questions asked. It was based on my word alone. Wow, I thought, only artists would trust a person to give their word. So I signed on the bottom line, truly believing I could find at least enough wrong with the seminar that I could “honestly” ask for my money back. It didn’t happen. I found the bulk of the telesummit worthwhile, burned CDs of the sessions with the experts & have listened to them numerous times.
I received information on the upcoming telesummit & was happy to see that my favorite speakers were returning & a few new “experts” will be introduced. I signed up again & even signed up to be an affilliate, which means I can tell my fellow artist/entrepreneurs & if they sign up, can get a cut! I had actually planned on passing on the info anyway. I didn’t last year because I wasn’t sure if it was worth attaching my name to. So here I am, standing on my soapbox!
I could tell you lots about the seminar but you can see for yourself by going to the website using my awesomely cool personal code - http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=882897 Please use it if you end up signing up. I would also suggest buying the “gold” package which includes CDs. It was a pain burning them myself.
Also, there’s an early bird special until December 5th if you want to save a buck.
