...And it was fun too.
For the first time in years I put a brush to canvas. It was not easy.
I have had the paint, brushes and canvases for well over a year and I have periodically ranted about wanting to try painting again. It was good to play in the paint - acrylic - cheap but very functional when you know that this isn't your main gig.
I learned something that helped today too.
The reason that I shied away from visual art, since I could draw OK and could use oils OK was that in my mind, my mother was better, but she didn't paint much and often voiced disatisfaction with some branch or other of the family tree in regards to art. I got turned off and also I didn't want to appear to be competing with her - and maybe that's an only child/daughter hang-up. My mother liked to work on landscapes and painted in a realistic but not photographic fashion. I am very uncomfortable with realism, besides I have a lot of doubt in my ability and I am hung-up on all of this.
But what I learned is that if I pick really contrary colours to work in: green and blue for flesh for example, that the whole activity becomes a lot more fun; after all it is hard to take a green/blue nude seriously.
The three small canvases, I think they are the standard 5x7, will be signed and dated, probably tacked up on the studio wall and will be replaced with several more blanks.
I know that the 'paintings' are NOT gallery quality, at least in my humble and self-detrimental opinion, but I'm still pretty proud of them because it's real progress. It took a lot of time and a good bit of bravery to try something that I gave up on 20 years ago.
Now I wonder what else I can rediscover and try again?
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Viktor & Gerald
Good things happen when you don't expect it...
As you know from the last post we were in Woodstock a couple of weekends ago for a Women's show and we got a nice award. Tanya, the organizer, also placed a new exhibitor next to us and told us the "you will really like them." We do.
Viktor is a superb stylist and he and his business partner, Gerald, have just opened their new salon and boutique in Woodstock. So far the feedback has been terrific for them and they are so pleased with the positive and warm reception that they are experiencing in their new town.
Long story short, David and I hit it off with these two; and Gerald, who had a bit more chat time available than Viktor (who had scissors in hand) that day, was pretty taken with our jewellery work and they decided then and there that they wanted to carry our work.
Now we have always been pretty particular about who has carried our work as we try to place it with folks who "get it" or that we've known for awhile. Besides not every store owner or gallery rep gets it. These guys did & quickly.
We are very pleased to say that Viktor's Blue Rose Salon and Boutique will be featuring our work along with other fabulous finds very soon as Gerald just picked up the order today. So if you get to Woodstock, stop into the salon on Main Street and say "Hi" to two really great guys.
...and I do like nice surprises.
As you know from the last post we were in Woodstock a couple of weekends ago for a Women's show and we got a nice award. Tanya, the organizer, also placed a new exhibitor next to us and told us the "you will really like them." We do.
Viktor is a superb stylist and he and his business partner, Gerald, have just opened their new salon and boutique in Woodstock. So far the feedback has been terrific for them and they are so pleased with the positive and warm reception that they are experiencing in their new town.
Long story short, David and I hit it off with these two; and Gerald, who had a bit more chat time available than Viktor (who had scissors in hand) that day, was pretty taken with our jewellery work and they decided then and there that they wanted to carry our work.
Now we have always been pretty particular about who has carried our work as we try to place it with folks who "get it" or that we've known for awhile. Besides not every store owner or gallery rep gets it. These guys did & quickly.
We are very pleased to say that Viktor's Blue Rose Salon and Boutique will be featuring our work along with other fabulous finds very soon as Gerald just picked up the order today. So if you get to Woodstock, stop into the salon on Main Street and say "Hi" to two really great guys.
...and I do like nice surprises.
Monday, May 19, 2008
From our latest press release
JEWELRY ARTISANS WIN "BEST IN SHOW AWARD"
During a brief presentation on Saturday May 10th. Cynthia and David Ryder were given the Best In Show award for Woodstock's 3rd Annual Women's Show. Miss Woodstock 2008, Caitlin Doucette, and show organizer and promoter Tanya Dixon presented the trophy.
The Ryder's have been participating in the growing Women's Show event since Ms. Dixon introduced the show in Woodstock, NB in May 2005. This year, over 100 exhibitors were present, promoting everything from real estate sales to motor scooters to salon hairstyling, so the annual competition for Best in Show, an award that recognizes a nice looking booth presentation and a good product, is stiff.
The Ryder's stated that they "are really delighted to win this award as our booth has undergone a lot of redesign work since Christmas and this does let us know that we are headed in a good direction. Also, this show has been growing in success for us as well as Tanya, and as it becomes established, a regular clientele is forming for us. The ladies here in Woodstock are very accepting of our handcrafted jewelry style and now we are finally getting a "look" with our booth that suits the quality of work we are doing."
During a brief presentation on Saturday May 10th. Cynthia and David Ryder were given the Best In Show award for Woodstock's 3rd Annual Women's Show. Miss Woodstock 2008, Caitlin Doucette, and show organizer and promoter Tanya Dixon presented the trophy.
The Ryder's have been participating in the growing Women's Show event since Ms. Dixon introduced the show in Woodstock, NB in May 2005. This year, over 100 exhibitors were present, promoting everything from real estate sales to motor scooters to salon hairstyling, so the annual competition for Best in Show, an award that recognizes a nice looking booth presentation and a good product, is stiff.
The Ryder's stated that they "are really delighted to win this award as our booth has undergone a lot of redesign work since Christmas and this does let us know that we are headed in a good direction. Also, this show has been growing in success for us as well as Tanya, and as it becomes established, a regular clientele is forming for us. The ladies here in Woodstock are very accepting of our handcrafted jewelry style and now we are finally getting a "look" with our booth that suits the quality of work we are doing."
Monday, April 7, 2008
Help
Help is an interesting word. We can either get help, have help or be a help. Each use indicates a level of need or giving by those involved in the help process.
Lately, I've gotten help, been a help and had help. I also recently quite my job as CEO of my universe. Mind you that is a hard job post to forget and it's habits rise fairly frequently in day to day activities. I need and have a lot of help in dealing with this welcome vacancy in my life.
I still firmly believe that we are all 100% responsible for our lot in life. We either choose to accept or ignore the opportunities that are tossed in our path. It's like deciding whether or not to pick up a dropped penny. The only problem with being CEO of my universe is that I took responsibility for every dropped or ignored penny rather than just accepting that sometimes somebody else drops them and that I have no control over when and where they fall. It's too big a job with to much false responsibility that gets in the way of looking after what I really can do.
Recently a buddy, who is a musician/artist, and I decided that maybe it would be a good idea if a group of us like-minded individuals got together for bi-monthly gab sessions to compare notes on what works and what doesn't in our art/business worlds. Snagging the name from a magazine I read, we call it the Brain Squad, rather than a Mastermind group. It's a matter of rebelling against semantics and some of the 'new agey' verbiage that goes with the term Mastermind, that we grabbed at brain squad, after all two heads are better than one, so what about 5 or 6.
The catch with this little group is that we have to be committed to showing up at the meetings, hold everything discussed in confidence, share information and sources, and be encouraging as well as honest. So far it has a really good feel to it and it's great to be in room with others who are trying to be proactive about their art/business too and who are not looking for the problem in every idea but ideas in every problem.
My personal opinion is that for most of us that work at art, however one wants to define work and art, is that there is always someone or two or more, who is important to us, but who just never seems to "to get it". They appear to be supportive, try to be encouraging, but if you tell them your good news, theirs is better. If you have a problem, theirs is worse. If you have a headache, they have a brain tumour.... In their attempt to be supportive they are often undermining your confidence and creating some amount of doubt in your abilities and it's not like we don't suffer with confidence and ability issues as it is.
Our hope is that the brain squad can help each of us overcome some of the doubts/fears that creep into our art-lives, and that by keeping the meetings to a bi-monthly schedule that we all stay a bit more focused, and that because of improved focus that we will more readily spot the dropped pennies and actually be in a position to pick them up and use them, and if we can't use them, we can at least pass them on and help somebody else.
Cheers!
Lately, I've gotten help, been a help and had help. I also recently quite my job as CEO of my universe. Mind you that is a hard job post to forget and it's habits rise fairly frequently in day to day activities. I need and have a lot of help in dealing with this welcome vacancy in my life.
I still firmly believe that we are all 100% responsible for our lot in life. We either choose to accept or ignore the opportunities that are tossed in our path. It's like deciding whether or not to pick up a dropped penny. The only problem with being CEO of my universe is that I took responsibility for every dropped or ignored penny rather than just accepting that sometimes somebody else drops them and that I have no control over when and where they fall. It's too big a job with to much false responsibility that gets in the way of looking after what I really can do.
Recently a buddy, who is a musician/artist, and I decided that maybe it would be a good idea if a group of us like-minded individuals got together for bi-monthly gab sessions to compare notes on what works and what doesn't in our art/business worlds. Snagging the name from a magazine I read, we call it the Brain Squad, rather than a Mastermind group. It's a matter of rebelling against semantics and some of the 'new agey' verbiage that goes with the term Mastermind, that we grabbed at brain squad, after all two heads are better than one, so what about 5 or 6.
The catch with this little group is that we have to be committed to showing up at the meetings, hold everything discussed in confidence, share information and sources, and be encouraging as well as honest. So far it has a really good feel to it and it's great to be in room with others who are trying to be proactive about their art/business too and who are not looking for the problem in every idea but ideas in every problem.
My personal opinion is that for most of us that work at art, however one wants to define work and art, is that there is always someone or two or more, who is important to us, but who just never seems to "to get it". They appear to be supportive, try to be encouraging, but if you tell them your good news, theirs is better. If you have a problem, theirs is worse. If you have a headache, they have a brain tumour.... In their attempt to be supportive they are often undermining your confidence and creating some amount of doubt in your abilities and it's not like we don't suffer with confidence and ability issues as it is.
Our hope is that the brain squad can help each of us overcome some of the doubts/fears that creep into our art-lives, and that by keeping the meetings to a bi-monthly schedule that we all stay a bit more focused, and that because of improved focus that we will more readily spot the dropped pennies and actually be in a position to pick them up and use them, and if we can't use them, we can at least pass them on and help somebody else.
Cheers!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Revised Artist Statement
Recently ran across this web link from Concordia University's Fine Arts program: http://caps.concordia.ca/forstudents/advice/fa/statement.php
It links to great example of a nice brief statement and instead of the behemoth technical statement that we have been using for a couple of years, it is time to take said behemoth and condense it down to a nice tight thought, which of course makes me think of the Seth Godin quote "If you can't state your position in eight words or less, you don't have a position." When applied to fine craft/art it makes me feel that if we can't say "why" in a few short words, we really don't have a clue why we do this.
As I've explored before in a previous post titled "WHY" getting to the real reason behind the creating is a challenge and is often one of denial and superficial reasons.
In going back to that post and excerpting certain points and following the illustration in the Concordia link I've developed that following more succinct statement:
Our crafting of jewellery is a pursuit of excellence, an adventure in boldness and an exploration of the hidden beauty in our world.
The desire to create and create with excellence is a result of our personal life journeys and our decision to move past years of meeting mediocrity, staying the wallflower, and denying our desire to craft. This absolute decision drives this competition within ourselves for attempting to attain excellence and boldness in each creation.
Through our stone cutting we find a richness of colour and pattern that has been trapped in basaltic formations for millions of years. It is released from this snare annually to be discovered when we are the adventurous rock-hounds in search of treasure in the ordinary. Cutting and setting these stones that we collect is a gratifying way of sharing this previously hidden beauty with the viewer.
Like the stones, each of us hides and protects some of our inner beauty from the everyday world. The bold jewellery that we craft using these stones are amulets of strength and confidence that draw attention and show the wearer as an extraordinary person in pursuit of their own adventure.
Be bold, be excellent, join the adventure. (might make a good tag line)
I think that I'm warming up to this more honest statement....
It links to great example of a nice brief statement and instead of the behemoth technical statement that we have been using for a couple of years, it is time to take said behemoth and condense it down to a nice tight thought, which of course makes me think of the Seth Godin quote "If you can't state your position in eight words or less, you don't have a position." When applied to fine craft/art it makes me feel that if we can't say "why" in a few short words, we really don't have a clue why we do this.
As I've explored before in a previous post titled "WHY" getting to the real reason behind the creating is a challenge and is often one of denial and superficial reasons.
In going back to that post and excerpting certain points and following the illustration in the Concordia link I've developed that following more succinct statement:
Our crafting of jewellery is a pursuit of excellence, an adventure in boldness and an exploration of the hidden beauty in our world.
The desire to create and create with excellence is a result of our personal life journeys and our decision to move past years of meeting mediocrity, staying the wallflower, and denying our desire to craft. This absolute decision drives this competition within ourselves for attempting to attain excellence and boldness in each creation.
Through our stone cutting we find a richness of colour and pattern that has been trapped in basaltic formations for millions of years. It is released from this snare annually to be discovered when we are the adventurous rock-hounds in search of treasure in the ordinary. Cutting and setting these stones that we collect is a gratifying way of sharing this previously hidden beauty with the viewer.
Like the stones, each of us hides and protects some of our inner beauty from the everyday world. The bold jewellery that we craft using these stones are amulets of strength and confidence that draw attention and show the wearer as an extraordinary person in pursuit of their own adventure.
Be bold, be excellent, join the adventure. (might make a good tag line)
I think that I'm warming up to this more honest statement....
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Survival and learning
We got through the trade show. It was a long weekend with some high points and a few low ones.
It's not unusual that events like this give one a great opportunity to 'think things through'. The realization is that what we really like to make does not fit the usual 'wholesale' concept. What does fit into wholesale is at an uncomfortable price point for some and OK for others. Nothing surprising in that conclusion. This also means that our marketing has been wildly misdirected to some extent and that we need to reconsider some of our business activities and go back to our strategic plan and rewrite it to better fit what we now know about ourselves to be all too true. It is in following that truth that we will find our niche and our success.
The other thing that has arisen lately is the incontrovertible realization that we will never again be "doing" a certain show in our home town. I'm still not sure if I need to feel bad or just glad that I have a definitive answer to the question and no longer need to wonder about what we are doing the first weekend of November each year. Somehow, writting it down and reading this makes me feel thankful and relieved, and that's a good thing. Another query answered.
I learned another important thing this week, that it's not just artisans/artists that can suffer from intense amounts of insecurity, the people that work around them and try to provide them with opportunities for advancement do as well. Sometimes these people suffer so much so that anyone that questions any of their associations or decisions, even in the smallest way, are subject to an absolute reactionist asperity based on their perception of the questioner's words as highflown and laden with antipathy. A little sang-froid handles that.
It is good to learn.
It's not unusual that events like this give one a great opportunity to 'think things through'. The realization is that what we really like to make does not fit the usual 'wholesale' concept. What does fit into wholesale is at an uncomfortable price point for some and OK for others. Nothing surprising in that conclusion. This also means that our marketing has been wildly misdirected to some extent and that we need to reconsider some of our business activities and go back to our strategic plan and rewrite it to better fit what we now know about ourselves to be all too true. It is in following that truth that we will find our niche and our success.
The other thing that has arisen lately is the incontrovertible realization that we will never again be "doing" a certain show in our home town. I'm still not sure if I need to feel bad or just glad that I have a definitive answer to the question and no longer need to wonder about what we are doing the first weekend of November each year. Somehow, writting it down and reading this makes me feel thankful and relieved, and that's a good thing. Another query answered.
I learned another important thing this week, that it's not just artisans/artists that can suffer from intense amounts of insecurity, the people that work around them and try to provide them with opportunities for advancement do as well. Sometimes these people suffer so much so that anyone that questions any of their associations or decisions, even in the smallest way, are subject to an absolute reactionist asperity based on their perception of the questioner's words as highflown and laden with antipathy. A little sang-froid handles that.
It is good to learn.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Why wait when you can do it now?
It's been an eventful couple of months with all the Christmas shows to do and then getting home on the 17th. of December and rushing right into the mad dash of last minute Christmas shopping for the few things that a person can't buy at a craft show: like gadgets for a teenage girl. It was fun to shop late for a change.
January has come and almost gone at this point. I spent a lot of time since Christmas just reading and getting ready for the wholesale show in Halifax. Most of what I have been devouring has been trade magazines and the ubiquitous self-help/success books which hasn't really been a bad thing. It lead to an A-HA moment last week.
Why some A-HA moments seem to take years to conclude, I'm not sure, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the impracticality of the choice and the fact that we can here our family members whispering over our shoulder about how that isn't a money making or stable career choice. Well damn them all, sometimes you just have to go with your gut in order to be happy... and to be happy doesn't mean that you have to make scads of money either, it just means that you are satisfied with what you do, and look forward to doing more of it tomorrow.
What I realized is that I have always wanted to work in fashion, as a designer/artist. Jewellery making is a type of fashion and like some clothing designers, we establish a sense of our own style and work with that to make our statement. This really didn't come as a great revelation to me, I've always known it just like I've always known that I wanted to be an artist. I also know that it was discouraged and that I was told that it was an impractical way to "make a living".
At some point in our adult lives we have to stop listening to the voices of our parents that are still in our heads, especially when they have finally, at 60+, decided to pursue their dreams of a business in the arts too. So why wait when you can do it now.
My partner reminds me that if all the business does is "right minus wrong equals zero" then we're OK, because it didn't cost anything and if what it takes to make it r-w=0 is to make and show the work, then go for it and stop getting hung up in the numbers.
What I realized is that all I need to do is what I want to do: make and show the type of art that I make everyday.
Yes, it really is that simple.
January has come and almost gone at this point. I spent a lot of time since Christmas just reading and getting ready for the wholesale show in Halifax. Most of what I have been devouring has been trade magazines and the ubiquitous self-help/success books which hasn't really been a bad thing. It lead to an A-HA moment last week.
Why some A-HA moments seem to take years to conclude, I'm not sure, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the impracticality of the choice and the fact that we can here our family members whispering over our shoulder about how that isn't a money making or stable career choice. Well damn them all, sometimes you just have to go with your gut in order to be happy... and to be happy doesn't mean that you have to make scads of money either, it just means that you are satisfied with what you do, and look forward to doing more of it tomorrow.
What I realized is that I have always wanted to work in fashion, as a designer/artist. Jewellery making is a type of fashion and like some clothing designers, we establish a sense of our own style and work with that to make our statement. This really didn't come as a great revelation to me, I've always known it just like I've always known that I wanted to be an artist. I also know that it was discouraged and that I was told that it was an impractical way to "make a living".
At some point in our adult lives we have to stop listening to the voices of our parents that are still in our heads, especially when they have finally, at 60+, decided to pursue their dreams of a business in the arts too. So why wait when you can do it now.
My partner reminds me that if all the business does is "right minus wrong equals zero" then we're OK, because it didn't cost anything and if what it takes to make it r-w=0 is to make and show the work, then go for it and stop getting hung up in the numbers.
What I realized is that all I need to do is what I want to do: make and show the type of art that I make everyday.
Yes, it really is that simple.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Promise kept
I said that I would blog today and I refuse to not keep this commitment.
A blog that I love and read this morning discussed professional jealousy - yep, been there and felt the monster growing inside too. Also been on the receiving end too. Either way, it's a pretty unpleasant experience.
The challenge presented to me by the read this AM was this: how do I handle it when I am the jealous monster? The answer: Not well, not well at all. I run, I hide, I sulk, I bemoan my seeming lack of skill and promptly retire into a funk from which I have to kick myself in the seat of my pants to refocus and motivate myself.
It seems that we are not alone in this either. David has been having an ongoing email conversation with a childhood friend and a fellow artisan for the past couple of days. She's been there too, both as a giver and receiver. The problem with jealousy is that this not a situation where it is better to be a giver than a receiver either.
Maybe this jealous streak is pretty normal in the arts world, otherwise what would inspire to try 'new' things and to stretch beyond our comfort zone? What would inspire the willingness to compete?
If you have a different answer, let me know.
The best solution that I have found for me with this problem, when the monster arises, is to be thankful. It's the quickest cure for me and it is the most humbling and often constructive. When we feel it hit, and it usually does by knocking us straight back on our behinds, is to start being thankful for the opportunities that we have and will have, for the talent we already have and will polish, for the recognition that we have received already for our work and for what we will receive, even if it is only to acknowledge that pay-day is Friday. We start to realize that we are better off than some folks at that point and that is a 'good thing'.
Finally dusting myself off after a poor weekend and starting to feel more capable already.
Cheers,
-C
A blog that I love and read this morning discussed professional jealousy - yep, been there and felt the monster growing inside too. Also been on the receiving end too. Either way, it's a pretty unpleasant experience.
The challenge presented to me by the read this AM was this: how do I handle it when I am the jealous monster? The answer: Not well, not well at all. I run, I hide, I sulk, I bemoan my seeming lack of skill and promptly retire into a funk from which I have to kick myself in the seat of my pants to refocus and motivate myself.
It seems that we are not alone in this either. David has been having an ongoing email conversation with a childhood friend and a fellow artisan for the past couple of days. She's been there too, both as a giver and receiver. The problem with jealousy is that this not a situation where it is better to be a giver than a receiver either.
Maybe this jealous streak is pretty normal in the arts world, otherwise what would inspire to try 'new' things and to stretch beyond our comfort zone? What would inspire the willingness to compete?
If you have a different answer, let me know.
The best solution that I have found for me with this problem, when the monster arises, is to be thankful. It's the quickest cure for me and it is the most humbling and often constructive. When we feel it hit, and it usually does by knocking us straight back on our behinds, is to start being thankful for the opportunities that we have and will have, for the talent we already have and will polish, for the recognition that we have received already for our work and for what we will receive, even if it is only to acknowledge that pay-day is Friday. We start to realize that we are better off than some folks at that point and that is a 'good thing'.
Finally dusting myself off after a poor weekend and starting to feel more capable already.
Cheers,
-C
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