More Color Please!

What's your cure for the winter blues? Mine is COLOR!
I love how being around bright colors makes me feel good. If I had my way, every space I occupied would be decorated with primary colors and more. If you aren't feeling the need to repaint your house like a rainbow and you don't have bright colors in your work space, how can you get some bright color in your life without spending loads of money? Here are some terrific ideas-all are hand-crafted by American artists and available to check out at Creative Genius Art Gallery and Studio:

PERK UP YOUR MORNING
Brightly colored and wonderfully scented hand-crafted soaps are a great way to create some vibrant color energy each morning in the shower.

 THINK SPRING! 
Start thinking about beautiful additions to your porch, patio and garden. You can never plan too early!

WEAR IT!
Add some brightly colored wearables to your next ensemble. Perfect pick me up on a gloomy day!

DRESS UP YOUR WORKPLACE
Add some bright colors to the space where you work by hanging some bright little pieces of art wherever you look. And if you have a window in your workspace, dress it up with some sun--a recycled glass sun!

NIGHTLY COLOR SPLASH
A beautiful and colorful nightlight is just the thing to keep in your bedroom or bathroom for a tiny dash of color when you need it.

Art on Demand

I was speaking with an artist/friend of mine recently and we got on the subject of artist commissions. For those who may not be familiar with the concept, a commission is a specific request that a customer makes of an artist. The artist is tasked to create a customized piece of art work for a client which they are paid for. 
Commission work may be more expensive than the artist's regular creations. If you want something special, often you recognize that you will be paying a premium. 

We were chatting about how many people make special requests of artists and how often people just don't understand that, what seems like a simple request to them, may not be simple for an artist to create. It got me thinking about what this concept is really like. If you are willing to pay a premium for your special request then most working artists will happily work with you on whatever it is you envision. But for those who like to make "helpful suggestions", the concept falls apart. 

I think it is important to remember that artists, the ones who actually create art to make a living or work towards making a living, deserve the same respect as anyone else who performs a job or service. An artist is skilled and educated, be it college or specialized classes, to learn and fine tune their craft. They have spent hours and hours learning new techniques, making the process of creating what they do a more efficient one, and producing work that they hope is pleasing to others. Although artists generally create for themselves first, they do hope that someone else (or many others) identify with what they create enough to want to buy it. Art is a business to a working artist. Most are open to a suggestion or two but the ones I know best like to create from their own place and not from what others come up with. They are not a circus act or a trained dog that does tricks when called upon to perform. Asking them to do so can be trying and sometimes, it can be perceived as even rude. 

If you were working with an artist on a commission you are not who I am referring to. But for anyone who isn't a commission client--I know you didn't mean to be rude when asking if an artist could produce/adjust or change something about their work. Let's say you are an accomplished cook who loves the art of preparing a good meal for your family, for guests, etc. Think about how you would feel if every time you cooked something in your home, someone was there with a critique for you.  That someone was not a good cook--in fact, they couldn't really cook well at all. Their critique is intended to be helpful. The critique would be more of a curious one. Could you make this with a different flour? How about with this type of vegetable instead of the one you used? Or another kind of meat? Or could you move the meat over on the plate a little? What if someone were in your kitchen right as you cooked dinner each night offering this "helpful advice"? After a while, might it grate on your nerves? Might it make you want to focus on your own view of how the meal should look. Might you want to say to the person "go cook your own meal, the way you want it?"

I think most artists are way too interested in fostering their creativity to focus on things like this. But I know from speaking to many of them over the past ten years that they feel this way, even if they are too polite to say it out loud. 

The lesson in all of this is to respect those who do what you cannot do. And if you CAN do what someone else does, I would think it would foster even greater respect between you and that other person. I feel fortunate to have plenty of artists and people in general in my work life who I respect but also who respect me and what I do as I run my art gallery. These are people who work with me to create a positive working relationship and to promote my business as much as I promote theirs. The artists that I have a positive working relationship with don't do tricks for others-they simply do what they do and they do it well while operating from a place of honesty and integrity. I think of them as partnering with me and looking out for my business. 

They deserve every award and reward they receive because they know not only how to create their art but also how to create working relationships that move them forward and allow them to help move others forward. Win-win!

Sometimes the small things mean the most...

One of the quotes from my interview with Abbie that she really liked

I was contacted a few weeks ago by a young girl named Abbie Johnson who is 12 years old and a girl scout locally in Burlington County. She had been in my gallery previously with her mom and aunt and now she was working on a project and needed my help. The project was for her to choose a woman who had a job she admired and was interested in learning about. Once she chose the person, she had to interview them and then put together a presentation about the person's job, based on the information gathered during the interview process.

She made an appointment to talk to me and came in to Creative Genius and sat with me for about an hour during which I answered numerous questions about running an art gallery and being a woman in business. Not only is Abbie a very nice girl, she is also polite, well-spoken, and comes across as very mature for her age. She was fun to chat with and I looked forward to hearing about her presentation. 

At the end of the interview she handed me a hand-made invitation to a Sisterhood Tea that her troop was hosting for all their guests of honor. I thought that was really nice and made it a point to be available to go. Normally it would be no problem to be available but in the midst of the holiday season and having a nasty cold to boot, I was definitely pushing myself  to be alert and awake by the evening of the tea. Once I got there, I was happy I was able to be there.
The tea was really lovely and the girls and their leaders and guests were all really fun to chat with. We drank tea, snacked on cookies, cakes and tea sandwiches and shared information. Then each girl in the troop did their presentation. I have received awards in my past career but being chosen as having a job that a 12 year old girl thinks is interesting was just as special as any award I have received. It is a job I created and was one of the biggest compliments I have received. Abbie was a gracious host and I got to chat with her mom a bit too which was nice. It was obvious to me that all of these girls were definitely unique. All of them were very intelligent and very poised, even when speaking in front of a group of people. And all the presentations were interesting. In addition to an art gallery owner/photographer, presentations were made about a construction company owner, an architect, a naturalist and others. The diversity was interesting. 

Posing after the interview

The whole experience was a very important reminder for me about why I actually do what I do. Yes, I know, everyone gets caught up in the nuts and bolts of their job. It is an easy thing to have happen, especially when you are as busy as I am on a daily basis. Seeing my job and experiences through Abbie's eyes was a reminder that I really do this because I love art and want to connect people with it in a positive way. I didn't leave my corporate career to just work another job. I left it to follow a dream and I have successfully followed that dream for a really decent chunk of time. Her perspective actually made me feel proud of what I have accomplished in the past nine plus years with the gallery, from community outreach to connecting people to each other to helping people grow and pursue their own dreams. I think it takes someone special to make you slow down and actually pay attention. That is exactly what Abbie did for me. 

Presentation Board!

I have to say I really liked Abbie's presentation (of course, I AM a little biased-haha!). She loves art and hopes to pursue an arts related job some day so her presentation was colorful and attention-getting. I thought she did a great job and she even presented me with her presentation board before I left along with a candle holder that each of the girls made for their guests. The presentation board is on display at Creative Genius and I really hope people ask me about it. I will look forward to telling them all about Abbie and how special she made me feel.