Read more about the article #178 Celebrating this Podcast

#178 Celebrating this Podcast

Today I’m doing a special episode to celebrate this podcast. After 2 years, 3 months, and 177 episodes, I have reached 150,000 downloads! This episode will give you a small history of my show, and I’ve included clips of some of the best art business tips. I’ve also included some behind the scenes clips and bloopers. I’ll be back to artist interviews on my next episode next Wednesday.  

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Suzanne Redmond

Thanks so much for listening to my podcast!

You can follow me on Instagram @suzanneredmondart or @theleftbrainartist

And on Facebook Suzanne Redmond Art.

Read more about the article #177 Lindsay Ostrom: Lettering Artist

#177 Lindsay Ostrom: Lettering Artist

Artist Lindsay Ostrom started her art career as a retail shop owner who specialized in craft supplies like paper and rubber stamps. As the art trends changed, so did she, and she evolved into a scrapbooker and a lettering artist. Just since the pandemic began, she has brought her artwork to a large Facebook community, and she creates art with them every morning. She’s published many books and has quite a few online lettering art classes.  

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Lindsay Ostrom

This is Lindsay’s website: Lindsay Ostrom — Creator of Cuteness.

And her blog: lindsayostrom.blogspot.com

This is her Etsy shop: the paper rabbit….Lindsay Ostrom. creator of by ThePaperRabbit

Instagram: @lindsayannostrom

You may also join her Facebook group, where she hosts daily art making get togethers, Creative Hand Lettering with Lindsay

And this is her Facebook page, Lindsay Waltman-Ostrom.

Lindsay was recently a guest instructor on Tracy Weinzapfel’s 12-hour Art Party. You can find out when Tracy is hosting that again by going to her website yourartfuljourney.com or her Facebook page Art Journaling with Tracy Weinzapfel.

Here are some great takeaways from our conversation:

  1. I think Lindsay is a prime example of “If you build it, they will come.” When the world first went on lockdown due to Covid-19, she went on her Lettering Facebook page, and just started doing art, every morning. Soon others joined her to see what she was doing. She has been showing up every day ever since, and so have a lot of other people who want to make art with her or just watch her make art. Consistency is key in this case, to growing an audience.
  2. For Lindsay, it’s important to have your own hand lettering in your art. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but it means so much more when it is your own.
  3. She suggests that you do a little bit of hand lettering every day and you will get better at it.
  4. For her classes, she teaches techniques but also provides sheets to download for practicing.
  5. Lindsay offers classes on Facebook that are done Live or later if you didn’t get to it Live. She also offers classes on her Etsy shop that you can do any time.
  6. Lindsay told us about a Facebook feature called Units and Files. These are great to use if you are offering a series of lessons within a class. The group of lessons can be called a Unit. Then people don’t have to search through your page for a certain lesson, they can just look up the Unit and see which Files are in that Unit.
  7. She has also taught through other artist’s sites. That’s a great way to get your name out to a whole new audience, because all of the hosts followers could potentially follow you now that they’ve heard of you through a class you’ve taught on their site.
  8. Lindsay has used a licensing agent before to get her artwork on products. She advises you to make sure that the licensing is working for you and not themselves and that you will actually make money from the arrangement.
  9. It worked better for Lindsay to just call the company owner directly and state what it was she wanted to do with them.
  10. The most important thing to do is align yourself with a company that has the same values as you.
  11. If you have been blogging for many years, there’s no reason to get rid of it if you now have a website. Just link it to your website so people can see all that great content you’ve posted over the years.
Read more about the article #176 Carl Stoveland and Shannon Torrence: An Artist Residency on the Dry Tortugas

#176 Carl Stoveland and Shannon Torrence: An Artist Residency on the Dry Tortugas

The artists Carl Stoveland and Shannon Torrence are from Lake Worth Beach, Florida. In 2 weeks, they’ll be leaving for a month at the Dry Tortugas National Park, which is west of the Florida Keys, for an artist residency through the National Parks Arts Foundation. Carl is a photographer and he also does watercolors. Shannon is a landscape artist who works with acrylics. They’ll be bringing their art supplies, as well as everything else they’ll need to live for a month on a deserted island. They’ll be off the grid while they’re there, but they’ll be very busy making art and working on their residency project, a documentary film about their time on the island. We talk about how they were awarded this residency, and what their plans are for their month on an island. I will be interviewing them again in October when they return from this residency.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Carl Stoveland
Shannon Torrence
Painting by Shannon Torrence
Painting by Shannon Torrence
Painting by Shannon Torrence
Painting by Shannon Torrence
Photography by Carl Stoveland: Big Cypress Swamp
Photography by Carl Stoveland: Milky Way
Photography by Carl Stoveland: Dover Stone Church
Sunrise in Lake Worth
Grand Central

You can find their podcast called The Flying Tortuga Brothers on most podcast apps. You can also follow them on Instagram @flyingtortugabrothers.

They will return from The Dry Tortugas National Park on October 1, 2020. At 3:00 p.m. on October 2, 2020, they will be discussing their residency at Gallery on Greene in Key West. This will be live streamed. 

Carl’s photography can be found on his website carlstovelandphotography.com and Instagram @carlstoveland.

Shannon Torrence can be found on Instagram @tidalcroftstudio.

Here are some great takeaways from our conversation:

  1. The artist residency they will be doing in the Dry Tortugas National Park is managed by the National Parks Arts Foundation. They manage about 15 other residencies. You can also find National and State Park residencies by searching on individual location websites.
  2. Many residencies require you to propose a project that you will be doing while you are there. You will need to describe that potential project in the application for the residency.
  3. They believe that a big part of their success in earning this residency was due to their all in strategy of talking about it through their blog, podcast, and social media.
  4. If you are not awarded a residency one year, you can apply again. Often there is a lot of competition for only a couple of spots, so applicants are encouraged to apply again.
  5. Once you are awarded a residency, you need to ask a lot of questions to find out what they will provide and what you will have to bring yourself. In their case, they have to bring all their food as well because they will not have access to stores the whole month they are on the island.
  6. When on a residency such as this, where you are away from other people, it helps to plan your days and structure them a bit so that you get your artwork done, as well as the housekeeping chores you need to do, like cooking and cleaning up.
  7. You’ll also need to plan how you will make art while you’re there and what art supplies you will need to bring. It’s important to be able to estimate how much paint you will need to bring, for example, so you don’t carry too much or you don’t bring too little.
  8. Carl and Shannon plan on completing and debuting their documentary film about a year after their residency. It is a great idea to plan an event to unveil your project that you did from your residency. Of course they can show their art that they made during their time there as well.
  9. While we are still in this Covid-19 time, it’s also a good idea to stream your event too so that others who can’t travel to see your work can enjoy it as well.
  10. They gave themselves the name The Flying Tortuga Brothers for the more than a year they will be working on this project. It’s good to have a name that you can post to and create hashtags so that your host organization can follow you and new people can find you.
  11. They also did a lot of promotion even before they were awarded the residency. They think it increased their chances of being chosen because it shows the Foundation how serious they were about getting this residency.
  12. Because it was a requirement that they apply together, it’s important that you know ahead of time that you can travel together, work together, and get along.
Carl Stoveland
Shannon Torrence
Read more about the article #175 London Kaye: Yarn Bomber and Street Artist

#175 London Kaye: Yarn Bomber and Street Artist

Artist London Kaye is an LA-based yarn bomber. In her form of street art, she creates crocheted art pieces that she leaves in a public place for others to enjoy. She gets commissions to do large crocheted pieces, and has made a name for herself in both New York and Los Angeles. She’s also written a book about the art of crochet and she has patented her own style of crochet hook.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

London Kaye

Justice for George Floyd: London created this and flew to Washington, D.C. to place it at the fencing in front of The White House. It is now a part of the Smithsonian's records of the Black Lives Matter protests.
Crocheted billboard in Times Square.

London’s website is londonkaye.com.

She can be found on Instagram at @madebylondon.

Here are some great takeaways from our conversation:

  1. London is doing street art, meaning she is putting her art out in public places. She installs her creations during the day so she is clear in what she’s doing, and people can engage with her as she is setting it up. She will try to get permission if she can, or she will move something if she is asked.
  2. She also leaves a tag with her name so people can contact her if they want. More than once, that has given her additional future work.
  3. When she does very large crocheted pieces, she will get other crocheters to help her make some of the panels. Always remember that you can ask for help if you have a big project and a tight deadline.
  4. Now that we are doing so many events virtually, think about doing art get togethers through Zoom or other platforms. Everyone can be home working on their own projects, but socializing with other artists virtually.
  5. London talks about a challenge she heard about on a Ted Talk. It suggested doing something new for 30 days. If you still like doing it after 30 days, then that’s probably something you should stick with. That’s a great way to find out what your true passions are.
  6. When accepting commissions, you need to make sure you have a clear budget and timeline from the client, and they have accepted your sketched proposal.
  7. When creating pieces for an installation, it’s best to make extra pieces and also bring extra materials in case you need to alter it at the installation stage.
Read more about the article #174 Megan Auman: Designer, Metalsmith, and Educator

#174 Megan Auman: Designer, Metalsmith, and Educator

Megan Auman is a jewelry artist from Pennsylvania. She majored in metalsmithing in college and now makes stunning jewelry from steel and silver. She has many years of experience with retail sales as well as showing her creations at wholesale trade shows. She now teaches other artists how to profit from their creativity through her classes and coaching.

Listen here or download from iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, CastBox, or Stitcher.

Megan Auman

You can see Megan’s jewelry at meganauman.com.

Her classes are on that website but also on designinganmba.com.

Her newest class is called Sell without Shame. Registration is still open, so you can jump in any time.

Megan can also be found on Instagram.

Here are some great takeaways from our conversation:

  1. Megan went to a trade show to sell her jewelry to wholesalers. One benefit of that is she knows exactly what items to make and how many. She’s not playing a guessing game and making the items before hand like she would when she was selling in a retail show.
  2. If you are looking to create your first online class, start with something that you really know well. Megan’s first class was about how to work trade shows, because that’s where she had a lot of experience.
  3. For anyone who has had a blog for many years, realize that you have a ton of content. That content can be a source for online classes or ebooks.
  4. Megan has kept her blog posts about business on a separate website from where she sells her jewelry. This is a good idea since they are two very different things.
  5. Some of her online classes are live and some are prerecorded. Even with the prerecorded ones, she gives her students a way to interact with her.
  6. She has changed her classes to a self-paced style. That way her students can take it when it is convenient for them.
  7. When you are making an online course, you don’t have to have all the lessons created before you launch the course. You can let the students work through the first couple of lessons, and you can respond to what they want and design the next lessons accordingly.
  8. When offering an online course, you need to have a way to interact with the students. Some instructors do that through a separate Facebook group. Others use a platform that provides that. Megan uses the platform Thinkific which has a discussion section built in.
  9. You don’t have to look at your art as if it will only sell if it solves a problem. Your art can sell simply because it gives an emotional pull to the viewer.
  10. Video is a great way to sell your products now, but the camera doesn’t have to be on your face. It can be on your hands and the product.
  11. However, you should at least have a photo of yourself on your About page of your website. People want to see the artist and know who they are buying from.
  12. Megan makes the point that there are a million ways to market your products. Make sure they make sense for you and you’re not just buying into what a marketing guru says.