Lisa Call

Multiple Income Streams

If you do any reading about small businesses one of the top pieces of advice out there is about multiple streams of income. Not putting ones eggs all into 1 basket. I’m very serious about supporting myself through my artwork and quitting my day time job. I feel this is advice worth listening to. The smaller affordable art is just one of many ways for me to make a living.

I love making the larger pieces and while I am not yet selling a substantial number of them each year, they also provide part of my income. I do believe they will always make up the largest percent of my income but I don’t want to rely on this income exclusively.

I don’t make nearly the profit on these smaller textile paintings as I do on my larger work. They are quite labor and time intensive for the size and price. I figure I make about $5-$15 an hour on the pieces under $100. Not horrible but certainly not in line with what I make as a software engineer.

While I could probably scrape by selling only work under $500, if I really focused on this segment of the market, that is not my intention. I view this as one of many ways of sharing my art and passion with the world. When combined with my other streams of income I believe I can make this work.

Fine Art Department

Tracy Helgeson, one of my favorite oil painters, wrote a blog post about her art selling experiences and talked about why fine art makes for a really great gift this year.

To that end she started a new blog showcasing artist that are selling their art directly to the public called Fine Art Department. It’s a really wonderful looking group of artist so again, if you are thinking about buying art this is another possible avenue to find just the right gift this year.

I find it interesting, and maybe a sign of the times that 2 artists have started this type of online collection recently (yesterday’s mention of small art showcase is the other example). Seems like many of us are feeling that selling our work directly to the public is a good option right now.

Construction Update

As you can see in the photo above the excitement today is about the walls for my new studio. Woohoo - I’m absolutely thrilled with how the studio is looking. Ten foot high walls - a high ceiling. I’ve wanted this in a studio for years and now I’m just a few months away from having it.

Construction photos - Nov 21. Studio walls and a few new windows.

I got my house cleaned up and put back together after all of this work and am ready to head to the studio this morning. I might have a few interruptions while they move electrical lines but I’m excited to get to work on some new pieces. I’ve already selected the fabrics and and going to work on a new piece in the Home series this morning.

Markings #25
©2006
8"x 10"
Sold

Selling Directly From My Website

I’m excited to introduce my page of (mostly) new small affordable artwork available for sale directly on my website with paypal "Buy Now" buttons: Affordable Art for Sale.

Paypal inventory control will ensure that if they let you buy it, it’s available for sale. So you don’t have to email first and ask if something is still available. I’m not super fond of the big yellow buttons but they have become some what of a standard on the web so for now I’m sticking with them for now.

If you have any problems with the system please let me know. You will be charged shipping when you check out (if it doesn’t seem right let me know and I can fix it). Also those in Colorado will be charged sales tax now. Woohoo - I’m official.

The Inspiration

Markings #25 above (along with ACEOs #23 and #24 and Lines #3 - Lines #5 on the art for sale page) were inspired by Markings #3. I love this color combination of minty greens and purple.

Markings #3    ©2006    74"x66"

Great Big Dreams

I have much to say about why I’m making small affordable art and how I feel about it and how it might effect the image of my larger artwork but no time to write about that today as I’m leaving tomorrow for another of Christine Kane’s Great Big Dreams Retreats and need to pack. I went last December and believe it was the start of a new path for me. I’m really looking forward to spending another weekend in North Carolina looking at where I’m going next.

Remodel Update

Things haven’t been all that exciting yet this week so not many pictures. I put up a few from monday and tuesday here: Construction Photos Nov 10 and 11.

The excitement in framing will start today and continue the 4 days I’ll be gone. In addition to starting the framing out back and putting in the new sewer they will be starting the work inside my house. I’m tearing down a few walls to create 1 big room for my livingroom/kitchen. They will also frame the location for the new door, which will be at the front of the house instead of the side.

I have to move all my furniture 4 feet away from the walls that are being removed and reframed before I leave. This could be a trick - there really isn’t room in here for all this stuff. Stay tuned for photos upon my return!

New Work

This is a collection of the new small textile paintings I’ve complete the last few months. I’ve never had so many small pieces around at the same time and thought it would be fun to take a family portrait.

I’ll be processing these images tonight and get them on my new ”art for sale’ webpage’. They are all under $500 and most are under $50. Time for holiday shopping.

I will be mounting 6 of these pieces onto stretched canvas tonight also. I painted the canvases this morning. Pretty fun that painting thing.

Construction Update

The remodel has been at a slow point the last few days as things like waterproofing the foundation are being done. This morning the wood arrived and they are in the back yard figuring out where stuff is supposed to go. I expect some framing to begin tomorrow. The last of the asbestos siding will be taken off today also. So there will be things to take pictures of again soon.

A Foundation

On friday they finished the foundation for the new studio. Yay. Next week they start framing and also the demolition in the existing house. So this weekend I’m doing some packing. Need to get my art books and artwork out of here before the dust joins us.

It’s interesting living with absolutely no storage in a very small house. The thought "I’ll just chuck that into the garage for now" crosses my mind. Then I remember that’s not an option so I either find a permanent home for the item or toss it in the trash. Great way to keep the house decluttered.

The final foundation pictures are on smugmug here: Construction Photos Nov 6 and 7.

Tomorrow I’ll have some new art to show. Didn’t have time for photography today.

Everything is Great

The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity at my house. Making art, making progress on my new website and then today building a webpage for a holiday art sale I’m participating in with a few other artists (more on that when it’s all ready).

There is much progress on my house also. As of today there are foundation walls out back and it’s really defining the space quite nicely. I can really get a feel for the size and shape of things and I’m thrilled. The studio is about 2/3rds the size of my last studio and that’s about perfect for now. It either needed to be twice as big or it needed to be exactly the size I’m building it. I love when things work out exactly right.

Basically everything is going really wonderful right now and I’ve been in a great mood recently.

Nothing to Say

Problem is I can think of nothing to blog about. Actually that isn’t true. I can think of nothing to blog about that won’t take a really long time to write and I don’t feel like doing that right now. All my time is currently going into creative pursuits like web design and art making and writing clever comments on my construction photos. So I think my brain is on empty when it comes to write a blog post.

I find it goes in cycles. When I’m not doing so much of other things, I have creativity left over to blog. When things kick into high gear in all the other areas, I’m a little less motivation to blog.

Or maybe it’s the excitement of the pumper truck. Isn’t it the coolest thing? Lots more photos on smugmug of the foundation walls:

Yesterday (putting up the forms): November 4 Construction Photos

Today (pouring the concrete): November 5 Construction Photos

Or honestly - maybe I just ate too much Halloween candy to have anything intelligent to say.

Structures #99    ©2008    33" x 39"
 

A Studio Day

Hurray! There is no construction and no teeth to distract me this weekend so I’ve been making art most of today.

I completed 5 ACEOs that I started last week that are inspired by Structures #99, shown above. I really love this piece and wrote about it in my October studio newsletter. It’s inspired by a painting of buffalo at the Denver Art Museum. My textile painting isn’t about buffalo, it’s about the colors, and my usual fences and barriers.

Potholders?

The new ACEOs will appear soon on a webpage for an upcoming holiday sale I’ve decided to participate in, along with several other artists. Look for a posting on that in a few weeks.

I also worked on 5 small 3″ square pieces that I will be mounting onto these very cute little 3″ square stretched canvases. I’m going to play around with ways of presenting my smaller work on canvases and even with frames.

I like my larger work to be unmounted/framed as I really like how the work hangs on the wall, ie not perfectly flat, but pretty close. It’s fiber, it drapes, it has movement. For me this is a part of the artwork.

For these smaller pieces they are very stiff as a result of the extensive stitching I do on them so they aren’t effected when mounted and framed. Nothing is lost and maybe much is gained as they no longer look like a potholder. Course I don’t think they ever looked like a potholder but that’s the common phrase we textile artists tend to say about why we frame smaller pieces.

This is the first time I’ve gone down this path. Not sure how this will go but you’ll see it here first I suspect.

November Planning

After 5 1/2 hours in the studio I’m now taking a break to get November off to a good start by paying bills and setting art and art business goals for the month. I share this list with my mastermind art partners and we help keep each other on track every day. I’ve also decided to share this list with my blog readers so you can see the type of goals I set for a month.

I’m not sure how construction will go on my house this month so I made a list of goals on the assumption they will be working outside the majority of the month. If that changes and they do work inside the house I’ll just have to be flexible and see what I can get finished.

I will take the items on this list and break them down into tasks and put them on my taskboard. Then I’ll track how I’m doing via that method. At the end of the month I’ll review how I did.

My November Goals

General

• Work in studio daily
• Work on my art business daily
• Track time on business (# of hours per day) as I already do for studio time
• Blog 3 times a week or more

Studio Goals

• Complete Structures #73
• Complete Home #5
• Design Structures #100
• Complete 4 or more small works (8” square or smaller)
• Complete 4 or more aceos
• Investigate mounting small work on stretched canvases
• Investigate framing of small work

Art Business Goals

• Go live with new website design
• Website for holiday art sale
• Create postcard and mail to mailing list for small art sale/museum shows
• Send list of available work for Danforth Museum Show
• Send info those that have requested artwork info
• Complete 3 requested interviews/featured artist blog posts
• Visit galleries in town at least 1 day
• Read/Review Personal Development for Smart People
• Write article for Christine’s blog for word of the year

The big big goal is the new website design. I started this many months ago (too many too count) and the move and remodel have distracted me. Time to get this finished as it’s holding me back for many other things. Instead of aiming for perfection I’m going to get up and running and I’ll worry about perfecting it later.

I’m sure that I get in my way much too often with my need for everything to be perfect. So when the website goes live, please excuse anything that is broken about it cause it’s just me trying to get over myself.

More Construction

They did a bunch of digging around and messing with my sewer on thursday and on friday they poured the footings for my basement on friday. I’m so bummed to have missed the cement pumper truck but I had to actually go to work and do that thing I get paid for. They pour the basement walls on tuesday and you can be sure I will be home for that event.

The photos for Thursday and Friday are now on smugmug:
Thursday Construction
Friday Construction

In addition I got all of my "before photos online" and they are here:
Before Construction

I’m not done with the captions on for thursday and friday and I’m sure I’ll rearrange them a bit. See that perfectionist thing. But in a effort to avoid that, and to not be late to dinner and a movie with a friend, I leave it like this for now.

 
My brain is filled up with construction thoughts and teeth. Art is a priority in my life but this week there isn’t much space for it. It’s hard to say if it’s the construction and getting used to all the equipment in the yard, or if it’s the worry over my son’s mouth, which now has a raging infection after his root canal on tuesday. We’re off to the dentist again today.

Which ever it is, I’ve spent 15 minutes in the studio and haven’t answered emails in a few days. There aren’t a lot of art thoughts bouncing around in my head.

Although today I hope to get back on track a bit. But first work. Then the dentist again. So tonight, after the trick-or-treat at the office.

In the meantime you can be entertained by more construction photos. Day #3 (yesterday) are on smugmug: Construction Photos Day 3. If you read the captions there’s a bit of info about what I’m building and how it fits together.

Yay - construction has begun. Yesterday and today were fun - demolition. The asbestos siding is off the garage and back of the house, the moldy garage was torn down and now they are digging a big pit for the basement.

I’ll be posting a few of the construction photos here and will put all of them on smugmug during the remodel so this blog doesn’t become This Old House. Photos from today are here: Construction Day 2 on SmugMug.

If you read all the captions and notice names - Jim the builder is not the same as Jim the boyfriend. Guess it was the year to bring guys named Jim into my life. Jim the builder was recommended to me by Cynthia after she read a post about me planning a remodel. Thanks Cynthia!

I’ve made no time for art the last few days due to an unplanned root canal for my 16 yr old son this morning. Fingers cross that we are now on the upside of this process of repairing a broken tooth (pellet from an airsoft gun - hurray for boys).

Home #3
©2008
10.5" x 8"
$150

Organization and Energy

When people ask me about having a lot of energy, one of the common threads is to ask how I have the energy to stay so organized with everything I do. I think the answer is that because I stay organized, I have energy for other things.

I find that clutter is a huge energy drain. Be it clutter in my mind or the more concrete piles of junk all over the house. If I let things get into too much disarray, all of my energy is spent thinking about what I have to do or hunting for stuff I can’t find and there is little energy left for doing anything. Staying organized frees up a ton of energy for other projects.

Mental Clutter

When my mind is full of unresolved issues with people or events or projects I tend to be low on energy. Or maybe more accurately, all of my energy ends up going towards ruminating about these situations.

Yesterday when I got home from work I ended up doing very little. Watched old episodes of The Office online. I never watch TV and I had 5 hours that could have been spent on studio time but something was off.

When I find myself stalled like I was last night I don’t beat myself, instead I look around and try to figure out what is draining my energy. I made a list of the things that were nagging at me and will spend today cleaning up those lose ends so I can get back to focusing my energy on making art, not worrying about stuff.

Getting the jumble out of my head and down onto paper, including my thoughts on how I feel about some of these things, is a huge help in plugging up the energy drain. Just recognizing all of the things that are pulling me into different directions is very freeing. Now I can prioritize the list and deal with the issues in a sane manner, instead of freaking out and shutting down.

Physical Organization

It’s not just my brain that need to stay organized for me to think clearly and have the energy to get things done. I also work better in an organized environment.

I’m a big believer in "a place for everything and everything in it’s place". When I don’t have that my things end up in random spots and I spend too much time looking for them, which is a complete waste of energy.

Just because I know a piece of paper is in a huge pile doesn’t mean it’s a good use of my time to dig through that pile every time I need it. Getting and staying organized is a way better use of my energy, so when I need something it is easily found. No distractions about clutter need enter my head when I’m in search of papers. I was able to pull together all the documents I needed for my construction loan in about 10 minutes because my files are so organized.

I had to buy an new quick release thing to attach my camera to my tripod as the old one disappeared. In my old house that thing had a home, if it wasn’t on my camera it was in it’s home. It had no home in this house so it apparently felt neglected and went on vacation. I spent over a month hunting for that thing, worring about taking pictures without and in general letting it annoy me. All of which was a huge waste of energy. The new one just arrived and first thing I did was decide where it will live in my house during the remodel. Energy drain plugged by a bit of organization.

This might sound like a silly example, but when a huge number of silly little things like lost quick release plates pile up together, I end up with a life that is only about distraction, not about making progress.

Home #3

These thoughts about clutter and organization tie in nicely with my thoughts about what makes a home. One thing I ask myself is why I crave so much space in a house. Why is my 900 sq ft house so in need of being made bigger for me to live here?

One of the answers I came to is that in 900 sq ft it is really really hard to be organized and uncluttered. There is simply not enough space to put things. Or to be more precise, given the things I own, there is not enough space to get organized. If I were told I had to live in 900 sq ft I could do it. But I would get rid of a lot more stuff. A huge roll top desk is not something that fits into a house of this size.

Fortunately I do not have to live in 900 sq ft and it turns out with the addition my house will be closer to 2300 sq ft. I’m pretty excited about that as I love big clear open spaces with minimal stuff. So while the frugal, virtous part of me feels like a big american pig for wanting such a big house, the efficient, productive artist in me is excited that in a few months I’ll be able to get really organized again and hence have more energy for making art. My energy is not best spent riffling through a cabinet crammed full of pots and pans to find the right one.

I’m ignoring the voices in my head that tell me there is some virtue in living small. I’m listening to the voices that say there is virtue in living large and honoring my desire for space for making art.

I completed Home #3 this morning and find it interesting how this piece of art, which I subtitle in my head Big House, Little House, and this posting came together at the same time. Rather serendipitous. And it’s the first photo I’ve taken in about 2 months with my tripod. Woohoo.

Home #3 is for sale for $150. Please send me email if you are interested in purchasing the piece. Shipping is $5 in the US and $10 elsewhere. I accept payment via paypal or checks in US dollars.

Structures #72 detail

In The Studio

A few weeks ago I included an image of Structures #99 in my studio newsletter (you can see it here: Lisa Call’s October Studio Newsletter). Completing this textile painting was fun - only 1 more and I’ll be at 100. Woohoo. That feels like a big deal.

I haven’t figured out what I want to do for #100 yet. I had an idea it needed to be special in some way and with that kind of pressure, yikes, I can’t come up with anything special that feels right.

So instead I’ve decided to make this a full 100 completed pieces of art. Structures #72 and Structures #73 aren’t actually finished. They are both basted and waiting for me to add the surface stitching.

Both are very large pieces so I originally was going to wait to finish them until the new studio was built. Then this week I changed my mind and brought out #72 (detail above) and am working on it. I had started it during my move preparations earlier this year so I only have about 1/3 left to go. My goal: the stitching is finished by the end of the week.

Home Remodel

Speaking of my new studio, I got some excellent news today. My house (with addition) appraised for an excellent price so the bank approved my construction loan and I got a great interest rate to boot.

I close on the loan on the 24th and will start building hopefully the 27th. We should have the permit from the city some time next week. Everything came together nicely.

Yay!!! I’m getting closer.

Pretty much it worked out way better than I might have expected, which is so often the case.

Resources

A few artist resource I want to recommend. First are some artist interviews that Alyson Stanfield is presenting. I signed up for all 5 of them. I’ve found listening to artist talk about their business and their choices is a huge benefit to me so I’m looking forward to hearing what they have to say. I missed the first one but the great deal on these is you can download the mp3 to listen to over and over again at any time. If you are interested here’s a link: Insights - Artist Interviews with Alyson Stanfield.

In addition, Alyson is taking applications for another artist breakthrough program that starts in November. I participated in one this spring and it was excellent. I am thinking I might do it again later next year after my studio is finished also as it really great to have some group energy to keep a project going. Here’s a link for that: Artist Breakthrough Program

For truth in advertising, these are both affiliate links, which means I get money if you sign up through one of these links, which is nice, but it’s not why I’m recommending them. I’ve recommended Alyson’s stuff long before this program was in place because I believe in it very strongly.

I’ve known Alyson for years and have taken several workshops and classes with her. I can honestly say if it weren’t for her I’m not sure I’d be very far along on the art business path. She’s makes it all so clear and obvious. She’s the best so I’m always happy to send business her way.