School of Creative Business - Creative Entrepreneurship

Investing in You or Your Child's Education

 Everyone knows that I am a strong believer of education. And the more of it you receive the better. I understand that everyone is not made to go to college, but I do know that everyone who wants to advance in life will need to educate themselves beyond their present knowledge. Learning is fun! And the more you learn the more the world opens up to you. This is way I started a blog- I want others to learn from my experiences - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Here's research support on the increasing income of earning a degree- Article.

Share with others- let them apply the formula and then decide if it is worth it.

Positive Messages for Artists

Feeling a little down about your art business. Check out this slide production from artbizcoach.com

Offering Prints of My Artwork for the Holidays

Just set up my gallery on ImageKind.com. I am offering 14 of my favorite collages as prints. They start off at very low prices - $9.00 and you have the option of different sizes, paper, and framing options. You can even order greeting cards.

If you have never used Imagekind to sell prints of your artwork,then you should give it a try. It is real easy to set up. If I can do it, then anyone can. They also offer marketing tips to help you sell more prints.

Try it out- Send me a link, so i can purchase a print or two.

Making Money as An Artist

Ran across this article Transforming Art A More Lucrative Careers when reading Art Biz Blog. Makes me feel good that I chose the right career path. Now I need to get myself on the same plan of action as Claudine Hellmuth , there is no wonder why she is one of my favorite collage artist. She is truly an inspiration to other artist entrepreneurs.

Read the article and let me know of your thoughts.

What is Your Plan for 2009?

I know and understand that we are in an economic crisis, but to ensure our future we have to come up with a plan of action to make life better for ourselves and our families. I read some where- that a person should have at least 2 to 3 streams of income coming into the household. We have to decide on what talents do we have and which ones could bring in extra income for us.

Can you sew? Then make extra money, designing or tailoring clothes. Are you handy? Then offer your services to those who need your help around the house. Can you paint or draw? Then make extra money creating one of a kind artwork.

Lets stop sitting around waiting for a miracle check to appear in our mailboxes. Lets go out there and make it happen- it takes work, but in the long run it will pay off toward our future well being.

Below is a video clip of President- Elect ,  Barack Obama discussing his action plans for 2009. Gather up your team and make a plan for your future - It is our time!

Role Model and Mentor

 

I think I have always considered myself a person who enjoys art, but not until about 4 years ago did I consider myself an artist. I have to thank a co-worker - Mike Watson who actually encouraged me to practice my artwork more. He challenged me to push my artistic style. I am very thankful for his help and encouragement. He still serves as my mentor, but lately he has serve even more as a role model. Mike constantly reinvents himself by applying for public art exhibits, art grants, graphic design work, and commissioned projects. I often say to him that I want to be just like him when I grow up.

View a few images of Mike's artwork at Edge Gallery.   

Mike is a fashion instructor at The Art Institute of Charlotte, where the both of us teach. He is a great instructor and the students at the Art Institute of Charlotte love him. As you can see from the picture to the right- he has an outstanding fashion style that clearly reflects his artwork. Read more about Mike Watson's style

The Love I Seek

During the 2008 election I watched Michelle and Barack interactions with other while on television. You may ask why? I have always loved to watch the interactions of couples that seem to be in love. And during my years of "couple watching", I have observed that the one key thing that they all seem to have is - FRIENDSHIP! Barack and Michelle seem to be truly friends and I would guess that is what makes them a super team. It is a true blessing to have such role models, even when you have reached the wised age of 37- I too still seek role models to help me on this journey of life.

Do your own "couple watching" of these two wonderful people and you make your own judgment call? I my mind is made up – This is BLACK LOVE on a national level.

Preparing for an Artist Lecture

 

 

This week was my artist reception and lyceum lecture. The artist reception on Tuesday went very well and I received really positive responses. Wednesday morning I talked to a group of 5^th graders at North Side Elementary and college students at Clinton Jr. College, both in my hometown of Rock Hill, SC. Now, please understand this is my first time ever talking about my work to a group and the process sort of stressed me out. But once I got going the process became pretty easy.

My 5^th grade audience was my first and toughest group. They asked really good, insightful questions. These 5^th graders asked me about my color choices, what certain items meant in my collages, why and how long had I been an artist and they even asked me what inspired me. This presentation to the elementary school prepared me for the adults later that morning.

The students at Clinton Jr. College seem to be more interested in understanding how my passion for art translated into my current career. These questions allowed me to reflect on how my background in art studio related to fashion and how fashion related to my artwork. The students at this college were really intrigued with what inspired me and how my inspiration kept me going. Some of them asked me to design tattoos for them, some wanted to share their poetry with me and some just wanted to talk about my career in fashion. It really felt good to share my experiences with them. It just solidified my reason for becoming a teacher.

So my advice to artist who have been asked to prepare a lecture about their work, be ready for all the basic questions – like why this color, what inspires you, how long have you been doing this type of artwork and other art related questions. But I also ask for you to be ready to answer life questions about yourself as an artist and how this new experience has changed your life. I've come to believe that people these days are looking for speakers – all speakers, even artist - to share life advice and their real uncensored failure and success stories.

My hope and prayers are to provide those around me with positive life experiences. Reality shows can sometimes be more foolish then real- So if you can provide real stories that inspire instead of entertains, then we are one step ahead of the game. Get to sharing your life experiences with others –Everyone has a story to tell- share yours!