Coffee Cup Shoot Out-Ready, Set, DRAW!!!

The Rio Rancho Art Association is partnering with Rio Rancho Go Local for a 'coffee cup shoot out' on Saturday, June 23rd from 10 a.m. -11 a.m. This event is free and open to ages 8 years to 99 years old (exceptions will be made for centenarians though).

How does this work? Cafe Bella Coffee will supply the blank coffee cups (Eco-friendly) and pens to draw with. Rio Rancho Art Association (RRAA) will supply several artists to assist you in getting a design to draw on your coffee cup. The possibilities are limitless!

To get an idea of what cups can end up looking like, here is a Flickr Photostream from someone who is obsessed with drawing on coffee cups:







And,while you are there, stop by and visit the local artists at the Rio Rancho Go Local Art Expo out on the sidewalk (from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.)

If you are interested in being one of the artists at the Art Expo (no fee to participate) send your bio and logo to: info@cafebellacoffee.com or go the to Rio Rancho Go Local website for more info.

Paint With An Artist At Esther Bone Library

Submitted by Sue Hanauer

Paint With An Artist Was Great Success!!

(to view this full screen, click on the box on the bottom right corner of image)

Paint With An Artist (PWAA) on April 28 came off as a huge success, not only for the artists, but for the participants, the library, and the community. I want to thank Robert Nankin for faithfully calling the participants to get them into the library and to the event. He does a wonderful job for this community.

AND all the artists showed up! I am so happy about that I can’t express my thanks with words. PWAA was awesome and it’s thanks to the artists, some of whom didn’t really know what to expect.

We had more people come than who signed up, which worked out OK. Even I was able to participate by taking a couple boys and making Origami birds with them, so their mother could finish her pastel she was working on. The boys, Eric and Bobby, finished their project with Arlene Weixel and were bugging their mother so she couldn’t concentrate. So even though I didn’t sign up as an artist (how does one actually teach what I do?), I was able to do a project with the kids anyway.

There were more adults than children who wanted to learn. I thought we would get more children, but it seems PWAA presents an opportunity for adults to learn something they always wanted to know. That’s why the age range is 8-99 on the sign-up sheet is so important.

We ended up with 31 participants and 9 artists. I brought a lot of art supplies that people have donated and lots of them were used. The only expense for the RRAA was the 8x10 canvases I purchased. I bought 20, because that’s how many were signed up. I had one left over, because it turned out that several artists weren’t using canvas, but were using pastels, drawing and watercolor. It worked out so well.

We will be doing this again in the fall, October 13th which is the 2nd Saturday of the month. Space is limited, so be sure to sign up for it!

Below are some quotes from the artists:


"This was a great review for me and forced me to go over the steps I was taught when I was first learning to paint. If you feel that you are above review you are in trouble as an artist!" -Carol Larson


"It was so much fun I would do it again. I do not know about others but I learn by teaching." -Ray Huffman

"I had a great time and I know that my little students liked getting to work with a "real" artist. I talked with Ambrosia and her mother, London and they told me that there are just not enough events like this around the community and that she and her fellow home schoolers love getting to do stuff like this. They were both just so thankful that I would take the time to come out and help the kids and adults be more creative."-Paige Bacon

"A home schooled girl seemed very interested in talking her teacher/mother into
attending museums and art shows."- Joe McDonnell

And the thank you sent to us from the library manager, Rob Nankin really summed it up perfectly:

"I want to thank you for coordinating the Paint with an Artist program
at the Esther Bone Memorial Library on Saturday, April 28th, 2012. The
event was a big success that generated much good will for the library,
the art association and the city as a whole. This is the type of event
where everyone was made to feel welcome and cherished no matter what
their level of creativity was.  It was a wonderful inter-generational
event as well with children as young as 8 years old to adults and even
one woman who turned 80 on that day.  In addition the program also
involved some special needs people who were so pleased to be included
and then created beautiful works of art. Thank you and I look forward
to many future cooperative events with the Rio Rancho Art Association." -Rob Nankin
 
Thanks again to all you artists who participated and to Paula who took pictures, because I forgot the camera...again!

Sue Hanauer,
RRAA Community Outreach

It's All In The Details...

Any great art design has great attention to details-whether it's a photograph, a sculpture, a painting, or jewelry.

Lexi Erickson is a contributing editor for Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist and Jewelry Making Daily. This is an excerpt from an article she wrote for Jewelry Making Daily, "Metalsmithing Details: Designing Interesting Pendants"

Her motto: "The back of the piece should be as interesting as the front of the piece," and you have the basis for a delightful array of design ideas. Therefore, the bail can be a richly designed little secret treasure that only the wearer knows about. That's not always the case, as it seems like anytime anyone looks at one of my pendants, the first thing they do is turn it over and look at the back. So I like to make the back interesting and beautiful, too."

(image is Lexi Erikson's Star Shaman 

pendant and Lexi owns the copyright to this work)

Lexi says that if you can make the back a bit more detailed, reflecting the spirit of the piece or the design on the front, it makes the back more interesting. Here, she used a Native American sign as an extension of the bail on her Star Shaman pendant.

You can read the article in its entirety,  "Metalsmithing Details: Designing Interesting Pendants (and Speaking French) with Lexi Erickson" over at the Jewelry Making Daily Blog.

For more great metalsmithing tips, techniques, and projects, check out the jewelry-making tutorial DVDs and video downloads, and learn from Lexi herself in her Metalsmith Essentials DVDs, How to Solder Jewelry Vol. 1 and Jewelry Etching on Copper.

Rio Rancho Art Association Members,

If you are interested in finding new material for your art, I did a trip to Quemado that was very interesting. It was organized and guided by Ranger Jen and is offered every second Sunday of each month. I found it through meetup.com Arts-New-Mexico. (Check out meetup.com online- there are many groups that you might be interested in as well as this one) You meet up at the Ranger Station 9 miles west of I-40, (the Quemado exit off I-40), Highway 117, at 9:00 and Ranger Jen caravans us to various sites around the Grants area and the Quemado National Conservation Area. It doesn’t involve a lot of real strenuous hiking to get to the sites, most are very close to parking and there are facilities as well, but does offer you an awful lot of great vistas and close-ups. The guided part of the tour only lasts 3 hours (way too short!), but the group may stay as long as they'd care/need to.

It has been suggested that if a lot of the Art Association members would be interested in making this trip that instead of carpooling, we could take a Parks and Rec. bus if that would be available. Ranger Jen was excited by the possibility of an having an actual art association visiting there and would tailor our visit accordingly. And, for anyone who wanted to, for just the cost of a Cibola Arts Council 1 year membership of $25.00, the National Parks Service and the Bureau of Land Management encourage you to enter any past, present or future work highlighting the malpais area, including La Ventana Arch, Sandstone Bluffs and the lava flows, to hang for sale at the Double Six Gallery in Grants to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of El Malpais as a national monument and National Conservation Area. The exhibit will draw lots of statewide and national attention. Deadline for submissions will be August 17, 2012 and the show will open September 4th and run through December 31st, 2012. Information and membership forms are available at: cibolaarts@7cities.net  Their phone number is 505-287-7311, Robert Gallegos. Website is cibolaartscouncil.com

There are probably other National Forest and BLM offerings available as well and I will check and see.

As an aside, the trip turned out very profitably as well, as I did have to make a pit stop and chose the Route 66 Casino. The jackpot I hit more than defrayed the cost of the trip! So, the possibility of an art excursion could be combined with a casino/buffet type of thing!

I have attached several pics of the area to give you an idea of what you might find there.

Anyone who is interested, start talking it up with Annette Kingman and we'll see if we have enough interest to make it happen!

Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything!

Joe McDonnell

Blogs, Email Marketing, Social Media, Websites-Oh, No!!!!

You do email. Perhaps begrudgingly. You hate spending much time at the computer and the thought of learning new technology has you running in the opposite direction. Which means that the thought of harnessing social media platforms, marketing yourself on the internet, let alone maintaining a website is more time than you ever want to spend on a computer. In fact, you fear that in trying to learn these things, it just might dominate too much of your time.

But, with the ever changing landscape of marketing and selling, learning how (and what) to use these tools can help you gain a presence in the art world-whether that world is only defined as your local community, or reaching farther than that. Even global. 15 years ago, global marketing required a lot of money. Not so much anymore with the advent of social media and websites. But, how does one figure out which way to go and how much time to spend with what? Art Biz coach, Alyson Stanfield (author of, "I'd Rather Be In The Studio!") has written a great article which includes a practical 'formula' in regards to how much time you should spend doing what.

How to Prioritize Your Online Marketing

by Alyson Stanfield on February 22, 2012

Understanding the mission for various online marketing platforms might just save your sanity. Once you know how you’re going to use something – or how you should be using it – it’s easier to prioritize your efforts. The article continues here.

Surely You Have Something to Say-Let your Voice be Heard!

Art Blogging 101: Why independent art writing is important

by Brian Sherwin

Independent art writing has grown steadily over the last decade. Independent art writers -- by utilizing blogs and social media -- have widened the scope of art criticism and appreciation. [...]

                                                     "Happy Buddha" by Paula Scott

Read the rest of this article at:
http://fineartviews.com/blog/43247/art-blogging-101-why-independent-art-writing-is-important

----------------------------------------------
This excerpt appears courtesy of FineArtViews Art Marketing Newsletter by FASO,
a free email newsletter about art, marketing, inspiration and fine living for artists,
collectors and galleries (and anyone else who loves art).


For a complimentary subscription, visit: http://www.fineartviews.com

Painting for the Trash Can

You paint for yourself and for others. Have you ever heard of painting for the trash can?

Curious? Then, keep reading.....(click here)



Arting Around With a Cuppa

(a 'teaser' from the Art Biz blog-click on the link to see the entire article)

In Louisville, Colorado, Barbara McKee provides surprising entertainment for coffee-shop patrons.

The Routine

Barbara walks to Vic’s Espresso 3-4 times a week for morning coffee. Then she returns 3-4 more times to paint.

Barbara loves getting out of the house and connecting with people. She admits she’s naturally shy, so she was a little self-conscious at first. Painting at coffee shops challenges Barbara to be more out front as an artist.
Sometimes Don, Barbara’s husband, accompanies her. He’s a sculptor and works on small 3-D pieces while sipping Joe.

It’s become such a habit that the first thing Barbara and Don do on vacation is seek out a coffee shop for their art sessions.

Opportunity to Amass Fans (read the rest of the article here)

Are You Covered? Insurance resources for artists that you should know about

By Carolyn Edlund

You might be under the impression that your homeowners or renters insurance will cover your home studio and your business. You would be wrong.
You might think that you can’t afford to purchase business insurance because it’s too expensive.  Compared to being a defendant in a liability lawsuit or losing your studio, office contents and inventory in a fire or disaster, insurance premiums are an incredible deal. And, you might be surprised that they aren’t as expensive as you thought. Read more here