Read more about the article #15 e’Layne Kelley: Artist and Business Creator

#15 e’Layne Kelley: Artist and Business Creator

Artist e’Layne Kelley has sold hand painted clothing, jewelry, run an art district, opened galleries, and created many businesses. Today she is writing a book, Crafting Your Creative Life, and teaching people how to remove the obstacles of obsessive thoughts blocking the light of creative flow. E’Layne is a woman who is filled with ideas and always busy and creating something new.

Listen here or download from iTunes, CastBox, or Stitcher.

e'Layne Kelley

Here are some of the things we discussed on this episode (click on the names to follow the links):

You can find e’Layne’s  artwork and hear about her journey on her website elaynekelley.com.

You can find her on Facebook. 

And also on Instagram.

You can find her jewelry at her Etsy shop, This Mindful Moment.

Other artwork can be found on her Etsy Shop Choose Good Thoughts.

For many years she ran the Railroad Square Art Park, which you can still find in Tallahassee, Florida.

E’Layne talks in a most interesting way about art and life, that most of my takeaways today are direct quotes from her. Here are some of my favorites.

  1. Your life is good if you can make things with your hands. The things that you make touch other people’s lives. That’s important work that you do.
  2. We have a spiritual DNA. What comes through us is who we truly are. We are constantly co-creating the universe.
  3. Not eating well, not sleeping well will take a toll on your psyche.
  4. You need to develop a watchful observer of your thoughts.
  5. What informs you life can inform your creative expression in your business.
  6. It’s just as easy to think good thoughts as bad thoughts. So why not choose good thoughts?
  7. Artists and creatives need to think about What is their genius work? What is it that excites them?
  8. We are distracted from the moments of our life and we need to work to get to a quiet mind. Creativity finds expression in the quiet moments.

e’Layne has certainly given us a lot to think about.

Read more about the article #14 What is a Call to Artists and How do you Respond to It?

#14 What is a Call to Artists and How do you Respond to It?

In my interview with artist Jen Fisher, she talked about how she she applied for art shows by responding to a Call to Artists. Now that she is known in our County, she is being invited to show at museums or galleries. But before she got to that point, she and many other artists get their work into shows by responding to a Call to Artists. Listen to this episode so you will learn how to respond to a Call to Artists. I have links below where you can find Calls to Artists.

Listen here or download from iTunes, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Call for Entry is a general site that lists Calls from all over the United States. 

The Art Guide is another website that lists many Calls to Artists.

You can also try Zapplication.

I haven’t used this website before, but I’ve heard artists have had good luck using The Entry Thingy to find Calls.

And here’s one more to try: Side Arts.

In Palm Beach County, Florida, we have a resource called The Rickie Report which lists Calls to Artists.

In addition, on Instagram you can try different hashtags to find Calls to artists. Try out #calltoartists #callforart and #callforentry.

You can also go directly to gallery websites or arts organization websites to find their latest Calls for Art.

Read more about the article #13 Jen Fisher: From Interior Designer to Artistic Painter

#13 Jen Fisher: From Interior Designer to Artistic Painter

Originally from New York, Jen Fisher now lives in Boca Raton, Florida, where she paints in acrylics and makes jewelry. After receiving a BFA in Interior Design, and working many years in that field, she connected with a local art school where she started teaching. Eventually she developed her own style of painting, incorporating her love of technical drawings with a palette-style of painting. Her artwork is now in demand by local museums and galleries.

Listen here or download from iTunes, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Jen Fisher

Pink City Sketch
Pink City
Neal's Yard
Uncovered
Sagrada
Blue Chair
Bloom

Here are some of the things we discussed on this episode (click on the names to follow the links):

You can find Jen Fisher’s artwork on Facebook.

She also can be found on Instagram.

She has taught classes at the Boca Raton Museum of Art.

Her artwork has been exhibited at The Cornell Museum of Art in Delray Beach, Florida.

Here are some takeaways from this episode:

  1. Don’t be afraid to email and approach galleries about showing your work.
  2. Any degree you have, no matter what it is, can be used to help your business or inspire your art. Jen uses her love of technical drawing from her time in interior design as a component in her paintings.
  3. Jen was also inspired by kids painting with credit cards to try that with her acrylic paintings. Get involved with teaching if you need some new art inspiration.
  4. Search for Calls to Artists to find art shows you can apply for.
  5. Develop relationships with gallery owners – they may just ask you to display your work, no applying necessary.
  6. Paint or make art in a series when creating many pieces to go together in a gallery show.
  7. Consider showing different types of your art in one show – Jen included jewelry pieces in her gallery show of paintings, and they look quite good with them.

My next business episode will be about Calls to Artists — What are they, and how can you increase your chances of being accepted into a show. Calls to Artists are a primary way that artists can find opportunities, so you don’t want to miss this episode.

Read more about the article #12 Take the Adventure of a Destination Art Class

#12 Take the Adventure of a Destination Art Class

On the Left Brain Artist podcast, I will bring you weekly interviews with artists who are actively creating art and actively selling their art. Of course, I’ve chosen these artists because of the quality of their artwork. But I’ve also chosen them because they have experience showing their work in galleries, stores, festivals, and they have stories to share that can help other artists who want to sell their work. Each week I will bring you an interview with one of these artists. Later in the week, I’ll take one thing we discussed that I think it’s important to expand upon – one thing that they’ve done to increase their business. They’ve had success doing this one thing, and I want to share that success with you.

Listen here or download from iTunes, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Have you ever dreamed of taking a destination art class? These can be wonderful crafting vacations, where you learn a new skill, meet new people, and visit a new area. They can last anywhere from a day to a week, and they can be held at rustic farms, exotic beaches, hotels in cool cities, as well as art stores and artist studios, all over the world. Listen to this episode to find out about these workshops, where to find them, how to teach at them, and how to host them.

Here are some links so you can find one that will look fun and interesting to you.

Multi-class retreats:

Art & Soul Retreat

Art Unraveled (always in Phoenix in August)

Art is You, Stamford, CT

Art is You, Ogden, UT

Locations that host individual instructors and their classes:

Hacienda Mosaico, Puerta Vallarta, Mexico

Way Art Yonder Studio, San Diego, CA

Donna Downey Studios

Idyllwild Arts, CA

John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

Penland School of Crafts

Check out these artists who have upcoming destination workshops:

Stephanie Lee

Jodi Ohl

Roxanne Evans Stout

Michael deMeng

Seth Apter

Dina Wakley

Jesse Reno

If you know of any I can add to this list, give me a link in the comments.

Read more about the article #11 Stephanie Lee: Jewelry Artist, Painter, and Instructor

#11 Stephanie Lee: Jewelry Artist, Painter, and Instructor

Stephanie Lee is a painting and jewelry artist who has a long history of teaching incredibly interesting classes. She has taught many live workshops, as well as online classes. She’s very generous with her teaching, giving so much more content than you’d expect. She gives you art, words, and courses, that come straight from her heart.

Listen here or download from iTunes, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Stephanie Lee

Here are some of the things we discussed on this episode (click on the names to follow the links):

You can find Stephanie’s classes and artwork on her website.

She also can be found on Instagram.

She has taught at this national art retreat: Art & Soul Retreat

She teaches a class called Stephanie Lee’s How to Create an Online Course.

She also teaches The Wholehearted Artist.

You can find her book Semi-Precious Salvage on Amazon.

Here are some takeaways from my conversation with Stephanie:

  1. This is one of my favorite quotes from our conversation. “I have the teacher spirit, which is being willing to share what you know, because you think it will be useful to someone else, without thinking that you know more than somebody else.” Isn’t that wonderful?
  2. She doesn’t use Etsy or her website anymore to sell artwork. She’s had good success just posting items on Instagram and Facebook.
  3. People still want to hear stories from artists; they’re just not on blogs. She utilizes the Instagram stories feature.
  4. Don’t spend a lot of time on something if it’s not profitable. It’s a good thing to analyze this about so many things you do.
  5. She can handle about two platforms on social media and engage consistently. There’s no reason to force yourself to do too many.
  6. When her book came out, she was able to teach at more venues and the classes filled up faster.
  7. She chose to offer mini-courses for $15 so they would be affordable and can cover an art topic.
  8. And finally, do you your best and get going, or else you’re never going to create it. I think those are good words to live by.

My next business episode will be about destination art classes.