It's Been One Year!

The other day, I got the renewal notice for my domain, juuriart.com. This means that it's almost a year since I've started "being serious" about my art. And I mark my first "JUURI" painting as this one, "Captive -Torawarebito-" which was just sold recently. Oh such a long, long time ago it seems that I painted her and discovered my favorite method of working!



Hmmm, those were the days that I had 3 FB fans, when I had never uttered one Tweet, when I didn't know what gallery representation meant, and when I was very excited yet very confused about everything in the art world... and just barely getting the notion in my head that any of this was possible anyway. I'd been told so long that no one makes a living as a fine artist.

So, what has changed in one year? Luckily, I've no bad things to report! It's all good things. I'm going to list them for you: not to show how great I am... I am never satisfied with anything I do. It's to show you that anyone can accomplish these types of goals in a short period of time. You've just got to stop making excuses and DO IT!

1. Have a good following on all the social media networks— THANK YOU GUYS! I did this just by keeping things updated, passing out my business card to interested people, and posting nice work often for people to enjoy. Just a note: most of my sales come from people who follow me on these sites. Random sales don't often happen. You have to work to get your stuff out there!

2. Totally got over my shyness of calling myself an artist. I do it now without even thinking. Even the people at my day job hardly think of me as the receptionist. Everyone knows I'm an artist. Hurray! It feels great, especially since I felt like this not so very long ago. (I'm sure everyone can relate.) I'm glad I could believe in my ability and stop belittling myself.

3. Networking— SUPER networking. I've gotten some high-end clients, wonderful contacts, became friends with people I read about in magazines... by the power of networking. It's mostly also by the power of Facebook and Twitter, but also by just meeting people. Everyone knows somebody. Talk to them! Opportunities come from people you meet, not those you haven't met yet!

4. Brainpowers went up. I didn't know the first thing about galleries, or self-representation, or what any of that stuff even meant. But I know soooo much more now because I attended some low-cost or free seminars (both locally and online,) read books, and talked to people. Make friends and see how much you can learn!

Lastly, I'd love to say my art has gotten better. But, "better" is a hard thing to judge about yourself. The pieces I like often aren't the ones other people like. There are still days (like today) when I feel like I can't flipping draw. I am not as prolific as I want to be.

BUT...

I will work on remedying those things by next year. I'd love to hear about everyone's accomplishments and advice, too! Let's learn from each other~ ^^



<3 JUURI

7 Ways to Establish That Your Art Has Value by Alyson B Stanfield

Look at this great list that was delivered to my email today. Alyson B Stanfield aka "art biz coach" always has wonderful tips especially for artists trying to move from part-time to full time. I still have difficulty with several of these items (especially belittling my art... I'm part Japanese and it's actually a normal part of our behavior to belittle ourselves and complement others. Bah!) See what you can learn and practice from the list below!

"1. Make great art.

I mean really great art. The kind of art that makes the heavens sing. Don’t settle for mediocre or “good enough” where your work is concerned. It’s time to stand out!

2. Treat your art with care.

One of the first newsletters I wrote back in 2002 begged you to treat your art like it belongs in a museum. I repeat this mantra often. This means keeping a detailed inventory, using high-quality materials, handling (and shipping) your art with great care, and talking about it with respect. This brings me to . . .

3. Don’t ever belittle your art.

Don’t talk despairingly about what you have created. Don’t point out the flaws. Don’t reveal how easy it was to make.

4. Speak the words “I’m an artist” with confidence.

Learn to talk about yourself and your art like the pro you are. Spend lots of time writing your artist statement and honing the words you use to define your art. The rest of the world is waiting for you to embrace your role.

5. Keep a price list handy.

Don’t appear to be grasping for figures when someone asks you a price. Print out your price list so that you can refer quickly to the numbers. Making up prices on the spot (or not showing confidence in the number you give) doesn’t instill confidence.

6. Maintain a list of collectors and collections.

You won’t have a long list immediately, but you will steadily grow your connections. People will be impressed when you tell them you sold 24 pairs of earrings, 10 bracelets, and 14 necklaces at your recent show. But imagine if you had a list of all your buyers. That’s a visual!

Better yet: Snap photos of buyers in your booth wearing their new jewelry or showing off their new painting.

7. Mention your venues and galleries.

Potential buyers gain confidence knowing that your work has been given a stamp of approval by professionals who exhibit art.

Practice these ideas whenever you can in order to establish value for your art. It’s not just for your potential collectors. Each one of these suggestions will help you gain confidence in your work.

How do you relate to yourself and to others that your art has value?"

You can sign up for these great email lessons for free here.

Snowy Day Triumph! My Blog is Looking Better

Today is a blizzard in Oklahoma. Alas, I haven't stepped a foot outside and haven't been able to do any painting because, alas again, I have left all my paints and materials at the studio. (La! I get to call it "my studio" now... I have secured a space in my office in which to paint! But more about that riveting topic later.)

In any case, after lots of lying around, eating snacks, eating food, watching movies one after another, I decided to make myself productive and started reading about successful blogs. And then I realized that my blog was horrific! It didn't match my website at all and everything was so, so, default-y. BORING. For some reason I'd just assumed that I needed my super knowledgeable friend Robert's help in making my blog look better. But thanks heavens I broke free from that spell and just started messing with Blogger's settings like I've never messed before. And now... I am quite pleased with my work. It's still not perfect (Robert, I am going to start stalking you until you help me) but much better than before.

Admittedly this is the first time I've done a public blog. So if anyone has any tips or tricks, please let me know. I am extremely eager to learn! (As long as it's not some complicated CSS or web language stuff... ugh...)

Have fun in the snow drifts (if you are close to this vicinity) <3

Etsy shop... yes or no?

I've been in a quandary over Etsy recently because the impression I get from it is crafty-vintage-cutesy stuff... not a place to sell fine art. However I've had my art listed on Etsy for like a year. I've considered ditching them, but I read that there are an increasing number of fine artists trying to sell there... so I decided to give it another chance. I fixed up my store and made it as pretty as possible. We shall see.

Go to my store >