August 13, 2012 Program

The program for the August 13, 2012 membership meeting will be presented by RRAA member, Anna Doo.

Anna Doo, a photojournalist, graphic designer and website designer, will
share with us some tips and topics that you should know if you are thinking about
creating a website for your art and or small business. Anna is a pro who
knows how to communicate technical issues to people who are not techies!

Some of the topics will include:

How to decide if you really need a website
How to hire a website developer or designer, including questions you
should ask and expect to have answered.
What are realistic timelines?

Can you do your own website?
What you should be prepared to provide for your developer.

Plus, much, much, more!

This event is free to the public and you need not be an RRAA member to attend. Feel free to bring a friend!

Great Article on: PHOTOGRAPHY & THE LAW: Fair Use

I ran in to this great article on the JPG blog in regards to fair use practice in regards to photography and the law. All of us have much reservations (some more than others to the point of non-participation) about posting our images on the internet. A double edged sword as once you do, you feel that your images are vulnerable to internet 'pirating' whether it is intentional or not. Yet, we all know that this is one of the best ways to get your work 'out there'.

"Posted by Mickey H. Osterreicher — 19 Jul 2012

Photography & The Law: Copyright and Fair Use

It is fair to say that millions of images have been posted on the Internet since the first photo was uploaded only twenty years ago. In light of that fact I think it is important to have a discussion about "fair use.""

READ MORE HERE...

Announcing: ArtSpark ISEA Event 9/17/12

Attention all artists and art organizations in the Albuquerque/Rio Rancho metro area: a major and relevant symposium in our neck of the woods:

" ArtSpark is happily teaming up again with Aspiration Tech on September 17, 2012 in Albuquerque (right before ISEA opens).  We’ll co-facilitate an entire day of opportunities for learning and sharing across artistic disciplines and communities, including small group discussions, case studies, interactive brainstorming and hands-on training.   Topics (many suggested by ArtSparkers) on the agenda so far:

1)   Which social media channels work best for me, especially for visibility and audience development/engagement?

2)   What are the pluses and minuses of online fundraising platforms like kickstarter.com and indiegogo.com?

3)   How can I effectively track my goals and activities, including work flow?

4)   Five questions I’ve been wanting to ask another artist (about anything!)

5)   What does “sustainability” really mean for me as an artist and/or arts organization?"

READ MORE HERE...



Be sure to put this down on your calendar! We do not often get opportunities like this in our neck of the woods!

52 Blogging Topics for Artists by Barney Davey

Ever wonder what to write about on your blog? I just found this article by Barney Davey and wanted to share.
Have a great Monday!

www.artprintissues.com

The 'Why" Behind Why Buy Art?

Was it back in the '70's or '80's that people justified buying art because it was an, 'investment'? I don't know when that was, but I do recall that position as to, why buy art'.

From The Economist, comes an article about the motivation behind buying art, based on
a new report (Barclay Bank) entitled “Profit or Pleasure? Exploring the Motivations Behind Treasure Trends”, only a tenth of those questioned said they bought art purely as an investment, whereas 75% cited enjoyment as the key. The study is based on interviews with 2,000 rich people in 17 countries. Read more here...

(image from artasmoney site)

Xanadu Gallery's Art and the Internet Survey

Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale also runs a very informative blog that reaches out to artists everywhere. This is one of the unique things about this gallery-the fact that it takes on a level of art activism and advocacy for the sake of the artists.
Recently, they launched a survey in "an effort to help artists better understand what other fellow artists are doing on their websites. They had a great response to the survey with 749 artists participating. They had a pretty geographically diverse group of respondents, though most came from the U.S. with slightly stronger participation from Pacific and East Coast artists (which probably makes sense considering the population distribution of the country). Their respondents tended to be older than 45, and a strong majority of the participants were female."
All in all, much like the demographics we see within our art association. So, I would hope that you will find their survey results to be very insightful and useful.
They broke down their report into two sections-one was the preliminary results and the other focused on specific information as to the artists who DO have websites and are very successful and identifying what it is that they do to obtain their sales goals.
So, whether or not you like the internet, it is here to stay and it is a very valuable tool in marketing yourself. Not to mention that much of it can be done for free or at a very low cost. It does involve sweat equity though.
To read the first portion of the survey, the preliminary results, go here.
To read the rest of the results of the survey (about those artists who are successful on the internet), go here.

Image pictured here is from Xanadu Gallery's blog showing when the artists surveyed first launched their internet site:

Earth Without Art

Need we say more?

(from artpromotives)

A Visual Artist's Guide To Estate Planning

Something that we artists do not give much thought to-estate planning.

The Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation offers a book (also available as a PDF) that is intended to be a comprehensive handbook meant to aid artists in planning their estates-practical and legal issues.

If you don't want to miss out on future articles posted here at the Rio Rancho Art Blog, be sure to sign up for the email subscription box on the ride side bar on this blog! Safe and secure-no spamming and no sharing of the email address will take place as a result of your signing up!

Trash To Treasures: A Call for Recycled Art Entries

The Idalia Road Marketplace broke an attendance record on the weekend of June 23rd with their Lavender Festival. In spite of the record heat-a weekend for records, I guess!

It's safe to say that they are finally picking up momentum on their audience and attendance-it will only get better. And, kudos (and congratulations) to them for managing to build and survive during a sluggish and damaged economy!

With that said, don't miss out on their event on July 21st: the "Trash to Treasures" featuring art made from recyclables:

(image from the Idalia Road Marketplace vendor newsletter: no attribution given)

July 21st

The 3rd Annual Trash to Treasures Recycled Art Contests. It's always fun and interesting to see what amazingly creative concepts people come up with for this event.  

If you, or someone you know recycles, reuses or re-purposes something to make something else have them get in touch with us and enter the contest today! If you are an existing Vendor with a great idea for the contest you can enter with just a $5.00 Entry Fee.

There will be prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. On-site we'll be hosting Waste Management and Rio Rancho Community Services. Make plans today to be a part of this event.

For more info, contact Mark and Phyllis at: idaliaroadmarketplace@live.com

 

Momma Always Said It Was Dangerous to Doodle!

Doodling-a universal and age old art form. I see cave paintings and petroglyphs as 'doodling'. It's a great way to pass the time and it reduces your cortisol levels (the measure of stress). Which would explain why, when you get to spend a nice chunk of time doing your art, that you feel so euphoric afterwards.

You Tube has a lot of folks that have a 'channel'-it's like their own site on You Tube for their videos. Mine is: pmondoy (which goes to show you that when I first set up my You Tube account, I had no idea what I was doing!). Who would ever randomly search for, 'pmondoy'?

I digress.

Back to the subject of doodling. There is a channel called, "Miraculous Mosquito"-which is a channel dedicated to doodling and Zentangles. Check it out:




In fact,if you would like to get notification of when a new video is posted, click on 'subscribe to this channel' and don't forget to check the email notification box!

Bartering the ARt of Medicine for the Medicine of ARt

O+'s efforts is to connect uninsured artists with necessary health services; it's all about fostering sustainable creative communities.

 

About the O+ Festival

The O+ Festival is a festival of art and music wherein artists barter their contributions directly for medical, dental, and other wellness services from art-loving health care providers. You can read more about the O+ Festival and how you can get involved here.




The First Annual O+ Festival from O+ Festival on Vimeo.


If you don't want to miss out on future articles posted here at the Rio Rancho Art Blog, be sure to sign up for the email subscription box on the ride side bar on this blog! Safe and secure-no spamming and no sharing of the email address will take place as a result of your signing up!