Another successfull Artful Sunday

The Artful Sunday event this year for is a success! Despite the weather being so drizzly and a tad cold, I had a steady stream of people at my tent interested in my wares.  We arrived to set up at a little past 10AM and it was pretty much  non-stop for me talking with people. I managed to do a little bit of painting and showed my process to those who are interested. One of the people who bought a few of my art cards told me that she first saw me last year, missed my art show in Steveston last year and have been wanting to get a hold of me. Voila! Seeing me back at the Artful Sunday on a rainy August Sunday was both our lucky days. It was just a really nice thought that I actually have some fans/patrons. One of the new products I introduced this year are the magnetic bookmarks. Indeed it was my best seller in terms of quantity for this show. Here’s some pictures of my set up for this show.

These are among my best sellers!

Artful Sunday 2010

One of the new displays for my art pendants

My new (ever-evolving) display set up

Looking forward to another show at this Artful Sunday if there is cancellation for August 29 or September 5. I had fun talking to people about my process and my art. Thank you to all those who came by and especially those who supported the local artists.

 

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Artful Sunday, Aug 8 noon to 5PM

I am excited to be a vendor participant for the Artful Sunday event this Sunday August 8th. The Artful Sunday event is every Sunday in August but I am participating only for the August 8th show. This is the poster I created for the event.

Stop by, come and say hi, I have lots of new art pendants, glass gem magnets, silhouette art cards with some never been published before, and some original art. Thank you for supporting local artists.

Artful Sundays (August 8, 15,  22, and 29)

1661 Napier Street, Vancouver, BC

(Napier and Commercial Drive)

The Reluctant Entrepreneur No More!

It will be almost 2 years since I officially started as a freelance graphic designer. I have been doing it on a part-time basis and have mostly relied on word of mouth for getting projects. Now that my daughter is in full time preschool I have more time to build my business. I have been keeping myself busy with other creative pursuits like creating and selling my original art pendants, creating digital painting, and art shows. It is now time to jump in with both feet and full steam ahead! While my beloved city of Vancouver was ramping up for the 2010 Olympics opening ceremony, I have been part of mentoring group specifically for women who have been in business for less than 2 years. We have a dynamic group facilitated by a dedicated and well-connected facilitator. It is inspiring and encouraging to be part of this group knowing that you are not alone. I realize that I can’t just work IN the business (as creative like me like to do) but more importantly work ON the business, and working on ME. I am also excited to be taking a course for marketing my creative services starting next week!

Being good at what you do and being good in business are mutually exclusive, talent is not enough! As in any creative pursuit, half of your time will be spend in marketing. Learn it, read about it, do it.

A few things you can to to jump start your business or business idea:

1. Get out there and meet people (networking)
2. Practice your 10 second introduction (what do you do?)
3. Ask for help (advisory board, mentor group, get a life/business coach)
4. Dream big (commit it in writing as it makes it more concrete)
5. Enjoy the process, you will get there. Don’t lose sight of WHY you’re doing it in the first place.

My art has grown organically

This term was recently coined by a fellow artist when referring to, how I got to where I am now. Since my last blog post in early July, a lot has happened in my art journey. My first two attempts in getting to a show were rejected. After receiving the second rejection letter, I created a file which I called “Rejected Art Submissions”. I thought I might as well start a file on it since I am not planning to give up submitting to calls for artists. Since those 2 rejections, I have been accepted to 3 juried shows and will also be showing at a group exhibition in addition to 2 outdoor art shows and 2 trade shows. August was busy with shows and trade show every weekend and October is turning out to be even busier.

I also started creating original wearable art in the form of glass gem pendants in August. This was not done on purpose but “just happened” out not being a wasteful. I started painting leftover paint after a painting session, onto pieces of art paper. I used those artworks for my pendants. My original intention was to reproduce my artwork on a smaller scale and use partial artwork to create a glass gem pendant and glass gem magnets. Due to a time crunch in trying to get some art finished to sell at an outdoor art event the following day, I ended up using original, unique, and beautiful pieces or wearable art. I was so happy that it was so well received and made enough money to buy more supplies for the next trade show, and I did the same thing at the shows that follow. I will be launching my new website specifically for my artwork but primarily for my original wearable art called Marilou Strait Designs.

I am wonderfully surprised and grateful at this turn of events. I share this good feeling of luck with my husband and he remembered recently reading out “being lucky”. I read the article which is titled, “Be lucky – its’ an easy skill to learn”.

October is speeding by with 2 art openings back to back. The Red Dot Affair at Maple Ridge Art Gallery from Oct 17 – Nov 28/09, opening reception is Oct 22/09 at 6PM and the Burnaby Artists Guild Fall Exhibit and Sale at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts on Oct 23-25/09. See hours and details on my website.

The other show I am excited about is the Connect Community Art Show. They accepted 6 of the 7 artworks I submitted. I just finished the photo shoot for the artists catalogue they are producing. The show will be from Feb 5 to Mar 30/09 just in time for the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics, here in Vancouver.