Sunday, April 26, 2009

melissa moss : artists who blog



Melissa's blog: www.melissamossart.blogspot.com
Melissa's website: www.melissamossart.com
Melissa's shop: www.melissamoss.etsy.com

Why did you decide to start a blog?

My friend Marisa Haedike convinced me that it was a great way to get more traffic to my site. I had just had my son and was feeling like I wasn’t going to be able to do much work so I wanted to have something that I could update regularly to let people know what I was up to.

But I really started blogging regularly when we moved and drove cross-country from Los Angeles to Asheville, NC. I used it as a way to let my friends and family know where we were each day and about our traveling adventures.



How has blogging affected your work as an artist/designer?

I would say only recently that it has affected my work. I am now doing daily drawings that I post on my blog and just the fact that I have announced that I’m doing this has really made me sit down every night and create something. I kind of needed that kick in the pants.



What are your favorite artist/designer blogs? Why?

I check the blogs of my good friends Marisa Haedike (Creative Thursday) and Cathy Nichols all the time because I love their work and I miss them and want to see what they’re up to. I also love Whorange, sfgirlbybay & Poppytalk.



Do you have any advice for artists/designers who are starting a blog?

The best advice is to update your blog often, daily if you can. Then people will know to go back on a regular basis. This is very difficult for me to do with a 20 month old son but I’m working on it. And now the daily drawings will help.



What has been the most positive and inspirational aspect of having a blog for you?

The comments are so great. It’s so nice to get a really sweet note from someone you’ve never met. It makes you feel like your posts aren’t just floating around in cyberspace.



What do you find the most difficult/most rewarding part of having a creative profession?

Well, this economy has been really tough. I used to have a steady 9-5 job in publishing and was never really affected by the economy. But I think the art world has really suffered.

But the most rewarding thing is that I’m not at that 9-5 job anymore and I get to paint and draw for a living and be with my son all day. You can’t beat that.



Other than your blog, what has been the most effective way for you to promote your art/design?

I think the best way is to get mentioned on other blogs. I definitely see my sales increase after a mention. Etsy has also been great. It’s better when you have new things to list often though...I’m working on that.



How do you maintain a healthy work/life balance?

The older my son gets the easier it is. The first year was pretty hard. But now he can play on his own for short periods of time. Enough for me to check emails at least.



What are your main goals for 2009?

I really want to get into a routine of painting more. It always feels so good when I’m in the middle of a painting and especially when I finish one. But starting one is so hard sometimes. And also to spend as much time with my son as possible and stilll earn a living. He’ll be in school in a few years and I want to take advantage of this precious time.

Thanks Melissa!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

jamie shelman : artists who blog



Jamie's website: www.jamieshelman.com
Jamie's blog: www.smallexpectations.blogspot.com
Jamie's shop: www.jamieshelman.etsy.com

Why did you decide to start a blog?

I decided to start a blog to promote and share my new Etsy shop- The Dancing Cat. I studied painting at the Rhode Island Scool of Design and only recently started creating my little cat illustrations! I’ve always made silly little animal drawings but never took it serious and while at RISD I painted almost entirely abstractly. My cats have become another way for me to express my emotions and reflect how I feel! Plus I have a secret love and obssession for cats, I always want to squeeze them when I ever I see one! I love sharing this through my drawings...



How did you come up with the name of your blog?

I came up with the name for my blog, Small Exepectations - of the great kind - after reading Charles Dicken’s Great Expectations and enjoying it immensely! A reminder that it’s usually the small and simple things in life that make it great!



How has blogging affected your work as an artist/designer?

Tons of inspiration to be gleaned from the blog world, I love the feedback and immediacy of what I do- being able to share something I just drew on the same day is instant gratification.



What are your favorite artist/designer blogs? Why?

I like them all! Visit my blog for my list on the right, I’m the one that ends up going through and clicking them all to check in with what everyone’s doing!



Do you have any advice for artists/designers who are starting a blog?

Time Management! It is too easy to get sucked into computer world and never escape, all your time disapperaring into a void of nothingness!– make more time for drawing, thinking, creating , less time on the computer!



What has been the most positive and inspirational aspect of having a blog for you?

I love making other people laugh and smile, if I’ve done this I’ve done everything! (I’m especially good at making myself crack up with some of the silly drawings I come up with- this is good too)



What do you find the most difficult/most rewarding part of having a creative profession?

Income and understanding from those not involved in the arts is the most difficult! I love the arts, the more I draw and create the more I love it! I also really love looking at art and observing life! Plus an arts education has really sharpened my critcal eye and visual sensitivity which transcends art and enters into all aspects of life!



Other than your blog, what has been the most effective way for you to promote your art/design?

RISD Alumni shows, blog interviews, etsy, my website, group gallery shows



How do you maintain a healthy work/life balance?

Long walks, laughter, waking up early, bike riding on a really good bike on a windless day. My husband Tom cooking dinner and always making me smile ☺



What are your main goals for 2009?

Better promotion! More drawings! Never getting too serious about anything.



Thanks Jamie.

Monday, April 6, 2009

susannah conway : artists who blog



Susannah's website: www.susannahconway.com
Susannah's blog: www.inkonmyfingers.typepad.com
Susannah's shop: www.unravelling.etsy.com

Why did you decide to start a blog?

I began blogging in 2006 after I’d stumbled into the world of blogs and connected with a few bloggers by email. I was writing a book at the time and working through a particularly difficult period in my life, and the combination of words, pictures and community was very appealing to me. My readership was very small to start with, but that was fine with me as I really just wanted to get some words out there. Writing the blog gave a focus to my days.



How did you come up with the name of your blog?

Ink on my fingers is obviously a reference to the writing life; I’d scribbled a list of possible names on the back of an envelope, and this was the one that jumped out. As my photography path grew more prominent in my life I often wondered if I should change the name of the blog, but now I’ve come full circle and am writing again alongside my life in pictures.



How has blogging affected your work as an artist/designer?

Blogging has completely revolutionised my life as an artist. It was because of blogging that I picked up a camera again after many years of full-time writing; it’s thanks to my blog that I was inspired to create a self-awareness / photography e-course – Unravelling: Ways of Seeing My Self - and connect with participants all over the world. Blogging – and the internet in general – generates so many ideas, it’s impossible not to be in a state of constant inspiration.



What are your favorite artist/designer blogs? Why?

There are so many! Every day i check out the gems Holly has shared over on Decor8 – I love her aesthetic and she always introduces me to artists and designers I want to know more about. I also find Camilla Engman’s blog hugely inspiring simply because I find the lady herself inspiring – I always want to jump inside her photographs.



Do you have any advice for artists/designers who are starting a blog?

Be authentic. Share what inspires you, both in your chosen discipline and the world around you. The blogs I always come back to are the ones where I could imagine having a cup of coffee with the blogger; their personality comes over on the page and that gets me hooked. You don’t have to write intimately about your personal life, but sharing something of yourself with your readers is always interesting to read; I like to know what makes an artist tick.



What has been the most positive and inspirational aspect of having a blog for you?

The people I have met, without a doubt. I’ve travelled twice to the States to meet up with blog friends, and have had bloggers come stay with me here in the UK – I’ve made some true friends-for-life this way. I also love how the blog keeps me in check – it’s been the one constant in my life for the last three years and I appreciate the way it’s disciplined me to write regularly.



What do you find the most difficult/most rewarding part of having a creative profession?

I struggle with keeping my focus. I have so many ideas in my head, way more than i could ever carry out – actually, I probably could do them all, but not in one day. My expectation for myself is always to do everything at once. I’m slowly learning how to pace myself and in turn I get a lot more accomplished in a day. I’m a perfectionist, which can be exhausting!

But the most rewarding part of my job is finding a way to make a living doing what I love. Many years ago I was working in an office and it almost killed me (figuratively speaking!); now I set my own hours and get to work on projects I really care about. With my teaching I feel I am contributing something worthwhile to the world and that makes me very happy, and very grateful too.



Other than your blog, what has been the most effective way for you to promote your art/design?

Word of mouth and recommendations are usually the way people find me. I’m useless at networking, but i find that if you believe in your work and put it out there (this is crucial!) then little by little your business and reputation will grow. I’m slowly learning how to make myself more visible as an artist. Like anything worthwhile, it takes time.



How do you maintain a healthy work/life balance?

This is something I need to work on this year! I spend way too much time sitting at the computer poised and ready for action when what I truly need is more time at the gym or walking in the park. Working from home means I don’t give myself proper breaks as i feel I should be working all the time. It’s not so bad when I’m out shooting, but the rest of the time is computer-focused and you’ll often find me still typing or editing photographs at midnight.



What are your main goals for 2009?

At the moment all my focus is on my Unravelling e-course which is going wonderfully, with over 100 participants from 17 countries in the spring class; this year I want to develop more online classes and stitch together my Unravelling ideas into a book. Alongside this I’ll continue to fan the flames of my love affair with photography – more prints for sale, a photo book and an exhibition are all in the works. 2009 is going to be a busy year!



Thanks Susannah!