Updated on May 29, 2015
Hanging a show part 2
Nearly there
This week, as I finish out the details to hang on Saturday, I’m collecting the final liability forms. Most shows require some agreement. Show volunteers do their best to protect and take care of your art but things happen and if so… If you’re worried about your art do your research and buy insurance on it. That’s up to each artist how they want to handle that.
I am also fielding questions about how much art or wall space each artist is allowed. This is one of the trickiest questions to answer. Bring a lot. What really do you say? Walls can hold a lot of art if hung right. Choose work that shows well together and bring plenty.
Make your labels. Labels can be quite simple, anything from printed out on card stock and simply trimmed to mounted with spray adhesive to foam core or matte board. There is no wrong way. Neatly printed and/or mounted they will look sharp no matter what your preferred style. Just having them creates a professionalism to your show.
Vision
To make the walls really pop with art, we are hanging what I call gallery style. Not quite as stuffed as I’ve seen at some galleries but we’d like to pack in a lot of art for people to look at so at least, one above another. There’s also the more austere method of hanging museum style with larger spacing and only one at a time. It simply depends on the feel that you’re going for and the artwork that you’re working with.
Listen to the art
Get down and put your ear right up there. Can you hear it speaking? Okay! If you did hear something then please go seek a specialist. Objects like art don’t really talk but there is a feeling for how close one picture should be to the other, how high, which should go next to another. Does one loud piece outweigh, overshadow or take away the quiet strength of it’s neighbor.
Before you get out the hammer and nails lean the art against the wall where you think it should go. If you just start hanging without this step, you’ll step back and realize it’s just not right and have to switch some around or start all over. Save yourself the trouble and look at it leaning there first. Switch around ones that don’t work next to each other and get a feel for how much space you’d like or have room to allow between each piece and doors, light switches and other breaks in the wall.
Once you’ve got the basic format for how the wall should be hung now it’s time to get out the picture hooks.
Partner Power
This is where you use that other person you asked to come and help. If your face is inches from the art it’s hard to know what it would look like for a viewer. One trick to beat this is make a decent judgement call. Mark the spot with your finger and put in your picture hook, hang the picture, stand back and check. Too high, too low, to tight together, just make a note of how much it’s off by and move the hook. This does mean making several holes in the wall but if you’re on your own its not a bad option.
If you have that partner give them the job of holding the art up to the wall. A little higher, a little lower, more to the right, to the left… Mark the spot and your good. You can also make a light pencil mark on the wall where the frame was hanging. If it’s a very large and heavy frame this allow you to set it down, measure where the back of the frame was and calculate where the hook will be instead of trying to nearly kill yourself holding all that weight while reaching behind to gauge the middle of the wire and where it should touch.
Smaller frames are a lot easier. For these you really can just reach behind, note where the nail should be, set the frame down and nailin the hook.
A quick trick
For a long stretch of wall art that you want fairly level with each other, bring a measuring tape, a roll of string (or twine) and some tape. Hang your first one at the desired height, measure it and then tape a string the length of the wall at that height. This is a very fast way to have a lot of pictures hung evenly across a long expanse. This even works for multiple stacked rows. I’m no great magician on this one. I simply borrowed the idea from landscaping & construction. If it works for them why can’t it work for artists.
Tack it down
Bring a level! When you have anywhere from a few to a few dozen pictures on the wall every little tilt of an unlevel frame makes it look shoddy and poorly hung. You’ve spent all that time making sure it was the right height and right distance etc, now take out that level, put a little bit of poster putty at the two corners and give that wall of art a “professional” look. Sharp and gorgeous for the whole length of the wall and duration of the show.
Tack up your labels, again using more poster putty, adjust the lighting to spot on the work and show it to advantage (if you’re able to), and put out your snacks. You are ready for business!
by 
Updated on May 29, 2015
Are you ready for this?
Are we ever?
I’m leading what has become a rather large undertaking that continues to grow and grow. The mass behind our art show has grown and supposedly I am at the head. Or am I? It’s a humbling experience. If I should trip and fall what then? Life would of course continue on and on. Someone would pick up the pieces or not. The event would happen and be well done or a flop. And life would carry on. I mean really what else could happen. Life does not end simply for one small person or even one event.
Where did it begin?
Planning art shows or art fairs begins in January or February. That’s just how it is. Signing up and paying fees. If you see a show in the spring or summer it all begins months before.
I’ve been extremely busy this year. I put in the fees and appropriate paper work on time at the end of January. Then life carried me on to mid March when I called our church, where our show is held yearly, to reserve the space that we needed. You can imagine my shock as I heard “by the way the dining room has been reserved by another group.” Shock. And quite a bit of silence. What really do you say to that. This party had specifically asked for that space. Fair and square they got there first and just because it’s our church doesn’t give us the right to strong arm them out of that reservation. They have plans and dreams. Invitations. Just like we do or will once we get all this mess squared away you think.
My mind doesn’t stop with puzzles like this it goes into overdrive. That’s simply how I’m wired. Within 5 min I had an alternative plan and had reserved the only secondary space in the church that had enough wall space and could display about 6-7 artists. The only thing was that because it wasn’t the main area of the church we needed to go harder and dig a lot deeper this year to make hanging a show worth the work.
How in the world can I balance all this?
Nothing has changed in my life except it just got a little busier. I have a donation pickup on Saturday morning the day of our art show. I have an infant son who will be tired and a mess by nap time at the same time the art show should be opening. And my husband, my other half, has to work that day. I will be on my own with 4 of our 5 children. Life is definitely interesting.
Just give the donation to someone else you might say. No. This is one pick-up we’ve done as a family spring and fall for 5 years. This is a part of who our family is. It’s important to my kids just as much as to myself to be there at this one.
So what now?
What followed next was a stream of e-mails. Annoying to some but necessary. Was this possible? How much support is out there to make this event happen? Is there money? Can we get some live music? The responses came back: silence to the money question till the church meeting but yes there was interest and the support was there.
As we’ve gone through days of planning, yes, I have wanted to say never mind, especially early on. I’m just too busy. If one person backed out I may have done just that. I’ve been on the edge this year its just so busy. But everyone has been very supportive. We gathered in our regular artists along with new faces and then the question came up of guest artists and an artist selling jewelry. We are now at maybe 11 artist. I researched liability forms. I set up guidelines – no sexual or violent images. I pushed and stressed the importance of postcards and inviting friends and family. Why go to all this work if no one knows we’re even doing it?
Musicians were few but our church talent graciously stepped in and filled the gaps. That’s where we were and then, one Sunday, in talking with someone during our church gathering I mentioned that we’ll have greeters. “Yes, we need greeters.” And this wonderful lady wondered off and started asking. I had people lined up to take care of this but she had a vision and she’s leading the march. She is now at 3-4 greeters throughout the whole show and she and her husband are leading a group to walk the neighborhood around the church and invite the neighborhood.
How did we get here? One step at a time. Will we open and have a good show? I think we will. Yesterday, 6 of my artists came and hung their work for 6 hours. One more is coming on Wed. I had a new artist sign up today to hang on Thursday. He’s been sober now for a long time and is trying to get his art out there. Our church would like to support his efforts as an artist and of sobriety by showing his work.
On Friday, I’ll also be hanging for an elderly artist. We also want all ages to be able to show with us. He just doesn’t have the physical strength for long hours of hanging.
Life is busy. But we’re nearly there. And it’s shaping up to be a very amazing day of art at our church.
by
Updated on May 29, 2015
Hanging a show part 1
Are you alone on this one?
Hanging a show can take a lot longer then you think. If you’re alone try to spread out the prep work. Make yourself a list if your a list person. If you know someone with experiencing hanging, even the arrangement on their home walls that you’ve admired, ask them for help!
Learning? Where do I begin?
Learn from other peoples mistakes so you make a few less of your own. My first show was in college. It was our Senior thesis to have a series of work, to prep the walls and hang a show, make and send out postcards, and organize an opening night. Just creating a series of work that is finished and framed is time consuming. Our professor put his whole heart into teaching us which included bellowing and criticizing our work and clumsy attempts to frame and finish if need be. It was a high stress time and there were a lot of tears and frustration. We opened one hour late, exhausted and weary and the crowd waiting for the opening ate all our food before we’d unlocked the doors. The only way we could have known how much work and time went into a show opening is by doing. We were dragged through the wringer and then some. But experience is grand and I haven’t had as much trouble since.
Hanging? I thought you said hanging.
Yes, this post is “entitled Hanging a show part 1”. And I know your saying so when do I begin. For me hanging a good show has a prep list.
As I write this, I am currently organizing a group of 10 artists to hang a show in 2 weeks. Right now the postcards have just come in, the flyers are printed, I’m looking into ordering further signs and I am stressing to the whole group to send, send, send! Tell people! Spread the word! This will not be a successful show unless people know it’s happening.
If you haven’t done postcards yet, a great company for business cards and postcards is Vista Print. They’re easy to use, have a very professional look and are some of the best priced around. You can also look for a local printing company, which is what our College Senior group did. That was back before anyone ever told me about Vista Print. But either option works great!
What’s the next step?
In my 2 week count down, it’s finish up art work that I want to be hung, make a trip to the store for some hanging purchases I’ll talk about in the next post and send off my postcards. This is a church show, a part of a larger community show called Art-a-Whirl. I’ve sent out slides to the church with the information for the projector info that is flashed up front as people sit down before the service and have entered an invitation to the church publication to let them know we’re having a great event and they’re all invited.
Now that part 1 is all wrapped up or in good form I’ll begin on the next step:
“Hanging a show part 2“
by
Updated on May 29, 2015
Busy and antsy?
Spring fever!!
The sun is shining but your house and your life are a mess. Seriously! The schedule and life that you try to keep up with means that other details like cleaning and dishes are way out of hand. Then, on top of all the mess, spring is the season for art shows — Time to dust off your paints and get some art out there and your artistic self in circulation again.
Antsy to get out and enjoy the sun yet needing to clean, reorganize life and jump start your art. What do you do first?
Take a deep breath!
Don’t let yourself get tied up in knots. Take one step at a time! That’s all it takes to make it all happen. Spring is the season to shake off winter and soak up sun and warmth in your life!
As much as you can try to get outside with your art. Scoop up that pile of toys or clutter that is always out of hand and donate it or box it and put it away so you can enjoy one less thing to constantly be picking up. As much as you can simplify, streamline the basic running of your household and enjoy the refreshing and rejuvenating warmth of spring in your life and your art.
If you’re behind in cleaning, try to choose one thing each day to clean. By the end of a few days you’ll begin to feel your messy clutter slowly disappearing.
What about my art?
Let yourself have 30 min of art (at least) each day maybe do a series of quick sketches to showcase this year. Art can still happen and you can have fun doing it even in a cluttered life.
If you can work in a visit to the park and sketch on site… Wonderful! Choose a simple object or scene and quick sketch it. Add a bit of color if you want to but keep it to 30 min. Don’t stress about how well it will or is turning out. Keep your hand loose and simply work. Free yourself from the need to create a masterpiece every time. See how much you can create within that time.
The next time, see if you can capture the lines just a little faster.
In between art moments, while you’re busy cleaning or in another area of life, think through what details are important in a scene and which aren’t.
Every time you allow yourself 30 minutes, you’ll find yourself focusing on what elements are most important to the mood or your artistic eye and be able to capture them faster and become surer of yourself.
Don’t get frustrated or give up!
You’re doing art! That’s the key! It takes time and practice to increase your skill and your own vision and style of art. Every little doodle is a valuable accomplishment in such a busy life. Even a doodle can lead to an idea and an idea into something really big. One step at a time is how you get there in the end.
Try to mix up all the “have to get it done’s” with a bit of “I want to” like art each day, soak up some rejuvenating sun and keep moving forward.
Enjoy YOUR spring!
by
Posted on April 13, 2015
Time off
I’ve graduated and I’m not creating is that okay?
Most College graduates I’ve known, including myself, took a year off from their art after they graduated. There is a transition time between teachers telling you what to do and what to make and you finding your own pace and vision of what you want to create.
There’s also a heady feeling of getting away with laziness, done with school, on your own from parents and teachers, which is fun for a time but don’t stay away for to long! You’ve worked hard learning a lot of skills and developing your talent. Definitely, take a year off and relax. Once that time is up, search out a competition you’d like to try for and see what you can create. Or just start creating again!
In each piece you create, you’ll see your skill develop and mature beyond the college stage into a mature body of work. That’s something beautiful and amazing to work for! There will come a time several years down the road, after steadily working, that you’ll look back on your college body of work and be amazed at how far you’ve come.
You were good then and today, and every year you continue to work, your work will become better and better!
The goal isn’t just tomorrow but a lifetime of works of art! So don’t worry about breaks and taking rests as life becomes too busy or you need a breather. We all need a rest every now and again. Focus on life’s big picture — a lifetime of art — and you will get there in the end little breaks and all!
by
Updated on April 10, 2015
Wagon Wheels
Watercolor is a challenging and very beautiful medium.
This painting of abandoned wagon wheels was painted during several quiet evenings in my studio. I generally work from photos.
Take photos everywhere you go. As we take an outing or trips as a family, I snap shots that would be beautiful paintings and then store these on my computer. In working this way I do loose a lot of the natural beauty and depth of color that working plein-air would give to me. But life is busy and we’re always on the go, so working from photo in my studio, in the evenings after the kids are tucked in bed, is a small sacrifice to work and focus on my art.
Play with the photo before you print it out. Photoshop and other photo programs allow for you to enhance your colors. Recreate a little of that vitality you felt when your took the photograph. Turn up the saturation and don’t be afraid to let those colors be a little crazy.
Turning your photo into a painting: How to begin
#1 Find a simply photo. Choose one that has good coloring and a simple scene that you can work with. To much detail to soon, if your new to painting or don’t have a lot of free time, can leave you frustrated. To simple isn’t bad, whether your new to painting or trying to fit it into your busy life. It allows you to use your limited time to best advantage, practice your sketching and painting skills and move on fairly quickly. But over all, pick a scene that fits your tastes. You’re the one that will be sitting there working. Make it a scene you want to spend your time on.
#2 Sketch away! Watercolor allows for no mistakes. Sketching your image is a must, either all or only the parts you want to show in full detain. One Artist I admire is Mary Whyte. She creates images using both detail and blurred impressions.
If you’re using a porous paper, the paint will soak in like a sponge and every stroke is permanent. I like to use standard cold press paper. I do not stretch or soak the paper to remove the sizing. This allows for fairly easy lifting off of color. Remember some colors are more staining than others so get to know your colors and what each is capable of. You can never fully recover white if you’ve accidentally painted that space so sketching allows for you to do a bit of planning ahead.
#3 Underlays. I like to underlay my shadows and warm sun patches with color. The transparent nature of watercolor means that by adding an underlay it gives depth to your painting. An underwash of warm cadmium yellow on the key warm elements of the painting, a sun warmed cliff or path, adds a translucent warmth and depth to that area that draws the viewer eye into the scene.
Here I used a warm cerulean blue on the wheel closest to the viewer to bring the shadows closer and a cool ultramarine on the wheel behind to push it visually to the back. I washed the near wheel, wood work and rim with a very, very light underlay of warm cadmium yellow and then added a warm cadmium red to the wheel rim giving it a warmth that was a pleasure to work with and jump started the mood and feeling of the entire piece.
#4 Continue painting. Use light washes to build up color and depth. I work with a tissue in my left hand to occasionally blot the paint as I lay it down to give it a mottled or lighter tone as needed. Here I started with the bright yellow flowers and then worked around them. I wanted them to stand out in the piece. Their color in the wheels was a key element. They also decided for me how much grass and leaves I should use to fill in around them without crowding the space.
There is no right or wrong area to begin painting. As you work, you might think about what details are important, which ones add to the painting and which to leave out. If I did this painting again how would I change it? One of the greatest helps you can do for yourself is to paint the same scene again and again. You will gain a familiarity of you subject and a depth in your painting that you can achieve in no other way. It’s like honing in on a skill. Yes, it may feel like homework to do it again but maybe next time I wouldn’t let the wagon take up so much time or space or I’d focus the scene a little differently. Painting it again gives me that freedom. My sketching becomes faster. My hand is looser. All in all, it is a very freeing practice.
#5 Keep working & finish strong. At this stage I loved it and was tempted to stop. I loved the clean simplicity of the color and lines. But, I wanted the wheels in a scene so I compromised and kept the foreground clean and simple.
If you feel like your close and don’t want to mess up the image, go ahead and tape or tack it to a wall close to where you work. Sometimes that little something that the painting needs doesn’t come to you right away but when you pause, and maybe even start sketching out a new painting, it will just come to you — maybe a little more shading here or a over balance in one area. One other trick is to look through a camera at the image or even turn it upside down to give your eyes a new way to look at it.
Once you’ve put in those final strokes sign your name. It’s beautiful!
by
Updated on May 29, 2015
Gala Time
Make it an EVENT!
People come for the atmosphere and to be a part of something, its that, just as much as seeing your work, that is the draw. So, make the most of that atmosphere! Music, finger food, whatever atmosphere means to you. Make it an EVENT!
How do you organize?
If you can, delegate small tasks to people who know what they are doing or have a special interest in that area… Do It! If music, ask someone who knows musicians to help even if its only to provide a few possible names. Possibly line up someone who knows about wiring and sound to be on hand to advise. If you’re new to the area or don’t have a lot of connections yet, see if you can put a flier up at the local college. A gala doesn’t need a lot of music but a harp, guitar or any kind of live music can add a lot to the environment. If you know people that can help, definitely ask and if not keep it simply to one or two instruments or hire a local hot group. Expect to pay for this service either a modest honorarium to thank whomever you ask so you can honor the time and work that went into coming and being a part of your event or a full fee for a professional. This is one thing your going to want to do right so don’t worry about the cost. It’s all part and parcel to making it a success amazing EVENT for folks to come and be a part of!
How about food and drinks?
If it’s your first time, there’s always the desire to save money and do little homemade cookies or treats. That works fine, just make sure to make more than two batches. But, before you fire up the oven think it through. You’ve got a lot to remember and a lot to do. It takes a lot of work and small details to put up a good show and at the show you need to be looking your best, you are after all the host of the evening. Food is one thing that can be purchased or delegated to volunteers leaving your shoulders free to focus on putting on the best show possible.
Don’t forget the invitations!
Post cards, fliers in local businesses, advertise in the local paper or arts community and get people talking about your event! Fan the excitement level. This is going to be awesome! Believe in your EVENT and get others to start believing in it too. If you believe it, your excitement, your friends and families excitement, will be infectious!
If you just put art on the walls and don’t invite or create an event people will not come. Well, maybe mom and dad. You’ll have spent time and work going into making a show for a small outcome. So don’t be shy, make this an EVENT one that your friends are excited about and are excited to invite their friends to. It’s like a domino effect. If you have a great show and good atmosphere, several draws or reasons for people to come, something that makes people want to come. They will come!
Make it count! Making your Gala an EVENT will make it a success!
by
Updated on April 13, 2015
How to say NO
JUST SAY IT
No ifs ands or buts… Just say no!
Quite often the only way to release a commitment is to walk away for a time and take a breather.
The funny thing is: how in the world can someone so busy as myself right now even deign to give that advice. Well, maybe others can learn from my distress, fatigue and decisions.
Here’s my story:
I love to be active, busy, and doing things. I always have. I was the type of student who got antsy just sitting around in the college dorm watching TV. I’d pick up another work shift and another. I still do that today in a way.
One thing builds into another and another…
We as a family love to get clothing for the homeless, then working in Kidz Klozet and then along came being asked to be the curator for the church.
Can I do all these things? Yes, and fairly well, my professors put their hearts and souls into training us to be artists and setting up a gallery show and our family shops garages sales with a vengeance. But then I need to pause and ask myself: “Should I?” On top of those volunteer positions I also home-school my children, have a infant son and am helping my husband rehab an abandoned house.
Here’s where it all hits the fan. I am human!
Put too much on your shoulders and you will start to crumble or various aspects of your life will. I am an educator. When I mess up or don’t spend the proper time on teaching that affects my students. I’ve been blessed with finding a very supportive homeschooling program at Sonlight and now K12 for the older ones but I see areas where I should be in there doing more for my students. Right now they come first!
There are a lot of things that we cannot control: We cannot control the attitudes of others namely my students; We cannot control rejections when we cry out for help; We cannot even control deadlines and fines that come our way.
But I can control what I spend my time on and when I say “No. My plate is full. I need to regain balance.”
My choice, my no, is I will no longer curate shows for the church we attend maybe for a time maybe permanently. This busy time in my life may not last but right now the need is to refocus and find balance. There is a chance that this part of my talent and time is over, maybe life is leading me in another direction. All I know is that I need to take the first step and this is it: saying no.
Take the first step!
What’s your first step: To reengage, step in there, help out and get more involved so you can help to carry the load, or unplug, because this season in your life and those in your life, what you hold most dear, require it.
by
Posted on March 19, 2015
On Stage? Yes, you can!
What happens when you’re asked to do live art for the first time?
Just say yes!
Will you be nervous? Most likely! But you’ll be ready. So relax and have fun with your short moment of fame. You can do it!
(This is Mary and Child my 20 min of on stage fame.)
How do you plan?
Decide what image or images best fit your theme. If its a complex scene (or even simple) it may take time to do a few sketches. It’s not cheating! Just like every runner needs to warm up so does an artist.
Once you have your idea try it out a few times. If you’re coordinating a program with another person, maybe they’re talking or singing as you draw be forewarned the other person or people may change their theme on you, so if the event is a year out don’t over plan. Just get a basic idea down, something you know you can do, and relax.
As the month approaches revisit your ideas, check on the theme of the program. Does your original idea work? Tweak or change where needed and get started in earnest to planning. Gather your models, whether live or photo images and practice the angles and layout. What is the flow and movement of your piece? Think about how much detail you will be adding and what details can be left out if you run short of time. Practice, think, plan and practice more!
It may be a free-hand, live piece but there’s a lot of intentional thought into it’s creation.
Purchase all your supplies and think about how they will be positioned on stage. Do you need a table, stand or stool to place them on? The key is to have your supplies easy to access. No mess and no fuss. Save yourself that much trouble if you can.
Even if you’re not naturally a planner thinking through the details saves precious time during the performance and embarrassing mishaps. Put little notations on your calendar to spread out the steps to make this event a success and leave you as stress free as possible.
Finally, if you can, practice in the size or nearly the size that you’ll use for the live performance, do so! Set yourself up for success as much as you possibly can. Sounds stressful? No not at all! Anything at all will do to practice. Some of the kids butcher paper taped to the wall or their chalk board. The trick is to simply practice the strokes. Get the feel of shapes and lines in what will be your real space.
Slowly, inexorably the day will dawn. Treat yourself to a hot shower to relax your muscles. Everything is ready so no worries!
If you can bring a friend along to chat backstage with you and keep the nerves away.
Finally, it’s time! There’s your cue. Take a deep breath and go out there and have fun! You are ready for this moment!
by
Updated on March 25, 2015
What’s in the term low income?
One day this past week I thought I’d see if I could find #’s to support Kidz Klozet. The motto is: helping low income families make ends meet. Found some #’s indeed. After seeing this, I’m glad the choice was made to keep the closet going. Puts a little more understanding behind the blanket term low-income.
“More than 16 million children in the United States – 22% of all children – live in families with incomes below the Federal poverty level – $23,550 a year for a family of four. Research shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice that level to cover basic expenses. Using this standard, 45% of children live in low income families.
Most of these children have parents who work, but low wages and unstable employment leave their families struggling to make ends meet.”
“Child Poverty”
The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)
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