Art Marketing

I discovered anew how bad I am at art marketing! Trying to treat art as a business is something I am struggling with.... All I want to do as an artist is to make art and hope art lovers will just discover my awesome talent and I will be all set for life! Apparently, that's not happening! Since people really don't know I exist I have to make them know about my existence!!And herein comes the need for relentless self promotion! I was part of the City Wide Open Studios in New Haven, CT and learned my lessons well from my studio mate! The sheer variety of art marketing arsenal at her disposal  is something to admire! She had brochures, testimonials, tee-shirts, posters, greeting cards and what not!She networked constantly while I lurked in the shadows! She is a good artist and her work do speaks for themselves but she also knows how to market and has a clear business goal, which it seems I don't!!Reading all these business of art books have not taught me as much as this weekend with the artist entrepreneur taught me about self promotion! I might not have enjoyed the open studio event as such but it was a sort of art marketing workshop for me. I am hoping I will be able to apply these tactics soon..... If I am not overcome by my natural inertia and disdain for self promotion!! Will keep you posted how it goes:)

Notes from the Universe

It might sound strange, but every morning I get little notes from the Universe! I really do! Well, they might be computer generated and sent by some sketchy guy lurking in a basement in Helsinki but to me they are invaluable. I get up in the morning, open up computer with that cup of tea and I read my emails.... And amidst all those stupid emails about male enhancement products, there is a little note that brings a smile to my face:) Here is today's note: 

"Sometimes it just sneaks up on you, Ishita, doesn't it? You don't even see it coming. Suddenly and without warning, you're surrounded by the best friends you've ever known. You're waking up in the mornings just "dying" to get into the day. There's a lightness in your step and a gleam in your eye. Your thinking is new, your laughter frequent, and you're drawn to tears whenever you hear happy tales. You're on a roll, so it's not like you're thinking about it, but if you were to think about it, you wouldn't know what's gotten into you, nor would you recall just when. You'd only shake your head whenever you thought of how quickly everything can change...
Just something to remember the next time you don't see something coming.
By the way, you row my oars - "
    The Universe
And you know what? That's exactly how I have been feeling for the last week! It seems the Universe knows what it's talking about! If anyone asks me what is making me so happy, I wouldn't be able to define it.... But that does not matter; as long as I feel one with the Universe and the Universe "gets" me, I will plod along with a silly grin on my face. Until next time.......

A Painting from a Poem

Defrauded I a Butterfly,
The Rightful Heir..For Thee..


I started my new painting, Defrauded I a Butterfly, after I read this poem. Not that I was trying to put in paint what Emily Dickinson tried to express through words! Its just that sometime after reading something beautiful and touching I have this irresistible desire to put those words in my work.... I wove the text around in the painting with different mediums, including stencils and written words. I think I will make this a series where I will chose different poems by Dickinson and make them a part of my paintings! Will keep you posted on  how it goes!

                                                                   Mixed Media,12x24

Goals

I have never taken an online class before! A friend recommended that I take a class from Alyson Stanfield about being more productive in my art career! I can't say I was not skeptical about it... What can someone teach me about art that I don't know? I forgot one thing; I have been taught technique, art theory and art history but have never been taught to think about my motivation to produce art! I know that I love to make art and that's why I do it! But what do I expect from my art? Money? Fame? Immortality? Neither have I considered setting goals for myself or envisioning what my future should be.... These are new things for me to process! So I sit down with my journal (something I never do) and try to figure out what my goals are....I always thought making enough money to live in style would be my goal! But after thinking about it long and hard, it turned out that all I want to do with my art is to leave a part of myself in this world. Most of us just leave dust and ash but I want to leave a part of my soul in this world. I think immortality is not living forever physically, but leaving a part of our psyche. If another person feels connected to my art then I live through them. All who had left a mark on this world through their art are immortal. Even the unknown artist  who carved the Venus of Willendorf  thirty thousand years ago! We still think and wonder about this artist, so his presence is still among us! I want the same thing that humans had wanted since the birth of civilization: immortality! Simple enough, isn't it? What do you want from your art (writer, musician, sculptor...)? I would love to hear from you.