Lisa Call

Structures #72 detail

Time in Studio vs Art Career

Last week I wrote about looking for balance between making art and the business side of an art career. I’m still pondering the issues for myself and thought taking an informal poll of other artists would be interesting.

So I asked: "question for artists: On average – per week: 1) how many hours do spend creating new artwork? 2) how many hours spent on your art business?"
on both twitter and facebook. Below is the summary of the answers (art/business).

- 20/20
- Some weeks 40/0, others 0/40
- 25/30
- 10/30
- 10-25 / 20-30+
- 25-30 / too much time promoting and organizing.
- ideally..20/20..lately 5/15
- 5-15 / 15
- 6 / 10-12
- 7-12 / 2
- 30/20
- 2/3
- 0/0
- 1/2

I pulled out just the numbers and deleted the comments, which were quite interesting, but didn’t feel it was appropriate to repost them here. If you go to search.twitter.com and search on @lisacall you can read the full replies to my query on twitter.

The info I glean from this is that the business side of art is a major commitment. Now that I’ve made that commitment it is no wonder I’m feeling the need to readjust.

Thanks to all the twitters and facebookers that answered the question as it was most helpful.

How about you, blog reader? How much time do you spend in the studio vs. the office?

More PFD Fabric for Sale

I sold 220 yards of fabric but have a bit more Prepared for Dye Fabric (PFD) Pimatex Fabric I’d like to sell. I wrote a post about this fabric here: Kaufman PFD Pimatex Fabric . I’m selling this fabric to keep my account at Kaufman open (they have a minimum purchase amount per year to order from them directly – I’m very close to meeting that minimum).

I’m selling the fabric to those with US shipping addresses only for $4.50 a yard + shipping. Total cost for different amounts including shipping:

5 yards – $30
10 yards – $55
20 yards – $100
25 yards – $125

If you’d be interested in purchasing some fabric please send me email the amount you’d like to purchase. I accept checks and paypal.

Structures #73

In addition to a couple hours of art business work, I’ve managed to get in 3 hours in the studio today. The first time in months and months I’ve been so focused on art making on a workday. Woohoo. Course it’s an hour later than I would like to be going to bed but I’m making good progress with the surface stitching on Structures #73. It takes me about an hour per square foot so I have maybe 6 or 7 hours left.

The above photo is another detail show of the textile painting.

ACEO #12
3 1/2″ x 2 1/2″
sold

 
A few unrelated topics…
 

Twitter

A series of articles I’ve read related to social media:

1) In a recent post, titled A Spectacular Way to Avoid Doing What Really Matters, Clint Watson definitively states:

Unfortunately, I keep seeing artists who seem to think that Twitter is some sort of revolutionary marketing tool that will help them sell art. It won’t.
…
Why ANY artist would think that sending a “Twit” is a better use of their time than creating art is totally beyond me.

 
2) A recent post by Seth Godin titled The small-minded vision of the technology elite:

"There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home."
—Ken Olsen, ceo of DEC,

Only 31 years ago. DEC was one of the leading computer companies of the day, but not for long.

Take a look at the geek discussion boards and you’ll see an endless list of sharp-tongued critics, each angling to shoot down one idea or another.
…
PS the marketing elite have precisely the same problem.

 
3) An interesting point of view by Bill Weaver is presented in an article on his new blog The Artists Center: What’s up with social media.

I recommend the entire article and here’s a small bit:

So last year when I found out about Twitter I joined but really didn’t get it until the last few months. Coupled with my Facebook toolbar for Firefox I now get regular little blurbs that pop up on the bottom of my screen whenever one of the people I am connected with has something to say. That very action has allowed me to get to know what used to be pretty close to complete strangers. As a result, I have several potential partners for workshops or seminars each having a strong skill I am lacking in. I hinted above about communities, again this is one of the things social scientists have found occuring more and more as a result of staying connected with each other.

 
4) My twitter profile: twitter.com/lisacall (guess that makes it clear where I fall in the conversation).
 

PFD Fabric For Sale

As I’ve mentioned before I purchase the PFD (Prepared For Dye) fabric directly from Kaufman. I love this tight weave, high quality, 100% cotton pimatex fabric. It’s very dense and in my opinion some of the best fabric out there for making quilts (definitely a matter of opinion). I wrote a post about this fabric here: Kaufman PFD Pimatex Fabric

Kaufman has changed their rules for keeping my account active and I need to purchase more fabric than I can use each year. Would anyone be interested in purchasing some of this fabric from me? The cost would be around $5 a yard (including shipping). Unfortunately I don’t have the time to investigate shipping out of the US so currently this offer is for US residents only.

If you’d be interested in purchasing some fabric please send me email and I’ll see if there is enough interest to pursue this. I sure hope so cause I LOVE this fabric and don’t want to lose my account.

ACEO #12

Last night I didn’t get to my studio until about 9:00pm. I finished construction of Structures #99 before work so the next step was to piece the back and baste the quilt. I was in no mood for that so instead I decided to make an ACEO. This artist trading card is a combination of the bright colors from Structures #98 and the more somber dark gray/browns from Structures #99 as they were jumbled together on my cutting table.

If you are interested in purchasing ACEO #12 please send me email. It is $21 US and includes shipping to anywhere (I accept payment via paypal or check). It’s sold.

ACEO stands for “art cards, editions and originals”. Originally known as ATC, Artist Trading Card, and are traded between artists. When sold to the public they are referred to as ACEOs. The primary rule for an ACEO or ATC is they be 3 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ – the size of a trading card. They are created in many different mediums and are collectible, trade able and affordable art for everyone.

Backside:

Fall in Colorado

The weather is Colorado is beautiful this time of year. Warm days, cool clear nights (well except for the recent rain). It’s beautiful. This is the view from Jim’s deck up in the mountains. Visiting my boyfriend is better than going on vacation. I love living in this state (I know I said this same thing just the other day – I’m very grateful for my life!).