Kreativ Blogger Award

I have just been nominated for the Kreativ Blogger Award by an Etsy friend, Pam of Fanciful Creations by Pam. Thanks Pam.
I have not heard of this award before so I did a little research…because that’s what I do…check out new things.
Enough blogs have been written about this award so I won’t go into it further. If you are also interested in reading about this Kreativ Blogger Award check out these blogs.
http://careann.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/kreativ-blogger-award-part-2/
and
http://simonfoodfavourites.blogspot.com/2009/08/original-designer-of-kreativ-blogger.html
There are some rules surrounding this award. Here they are:
1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link the person who has nominated you for the award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

The first three are done. Number 4 is a little tough…7 things that you might find interesting…hmmm!
OK how’s this?
1. I have lived in the following provinces…Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta.
2. I have visited the following places…Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Maine, Vermont, New York State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Jamaica, Japan, England, Scotland and Wales.
3. Places I want to visit some day…Newfoundland/Labrador, Yukon, North West Territories, Nunavut, Alaska, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Australia, New Zealand, Greece (there are more but these one’s are at the top).
4. I use to cross country ski. When I was first learning I couldn’t even get out of the driveway…it is big enough for only one car but it is up hill! Talk about Sports Goofy!
5. I love to listen to J.J.Cale. His music is great! Eric Clapton performs some of his songs.
6. I love to read.
7. I enjoy baking cookies.
That’s done, now for number 5..Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers. In my opinion, seven is too many. I think I will only nominate 2.
My first nominee is
Dan Felstead’s blog - Wood and Pixels Narratives - A photo blog encouraging the art of prose
And
Andrea Kobayashi’s blog - The Armchair Antiquarian. - explores images of ancient places and the reception of prehistoric sites in art.
Dan is a photographer and writer. His blog is a combination of his photographs and his musings on the photos.
Andrea’s blog reaches out to me through her art. We share an interest in prehistoric art.

I'm Back to Blogging...Again

So here I am back to blogging. Where have I been? What have I been doing?

Well, I moved from Alberta to Ontario back in May and I have been busy with getting thins organized. It took a few months to get my computer up and running. I do tend to put things off...did I mention that I'm a procrastinator? Well I am and I'm very, very good at it! Anyway I think I've got my life back in order at last and I'm not putting things off any longer.

I'm still working my Etsy store. It's a little slow right now but I'm willing to give it a few more years to get going. I do have one of my ACEO’s featured in this spotlight in the By Hand Gallery.

I've been on a few art trips in and around town. The pictures are below.

ALBERTA MaY MaDnEsS SALE MAY1-7

I am a member of the Etsy Alberta Street Team and we are having a "May Madness Sale" featuring extremely talented artists/artisans who would love nothing more than to assist you in finding the perfect gift for yourself or someone special. With this many artists at your fingertips (39 shops in all), you are virtually guaranteed to find something that you simply can no longer live without. The sale begins May 1st at 12:01 sharp to May 7th at midnight. Each shop is offering different special deals for you; so please see their announcements for more detailed information.

Check the Alberta Street Team blog for any updates Have a great first week of May! Let the madness take you away Ha Ha; Hee Hee; Ho Ho!

Scavenger Hunt

One of the teams I belong to on Etsy is the Original Artists on Etsy. This weekend, we are featuring a contest in the form of a scavenger hunt.

Join the fun! Put on your thinking caps, do a little sleuthing and find the treasure! Well, maybe not a treasure chest, but a darn nice reward! Find the clues in our team member stores and they will lead you to your reward. If you are the first to correctly identify the object and post a comment with the listing number, on our team blog at www.originalartistsonetsy.blogspot.com, you will win it. Along the way, check out our stores and tell us what is your favourite item and who's shop it is in. A list of our members can be found at www.OriginalArtists.etsy.com.

Here is my clue for the hunt.

..... It's home to clowns, and I'm not just fishin' around.....

For more clues go to www.OriginalArtists.etsy.com

Wood Carving an update

I started word carving in November of last year. I have been steadily learning about the craft from the other members. This is the biggest project that I have been working on. It is a relief carving. You may recognize the design from one of my paintings. It takes quite a lot of time to do this type of carving. This is still not finished. I’ve taken some time off to take a small course on caricature carving. I’ll show you my results when I finish the course.

My February Art Trip - A Free Workshop

Did you ever want to take a workshop but couldn’t afford one? Well here is how you can take one – visit your local library! Your library will have many many videos on many different subjects, including painting.

My art trip today was to workshop in painting portraits in oil Steps to a Likeness: Oil Portraits with professional artist, Perri Sparks. The workshop is reduced to 1 hour and 46 minutes long showing the important aspects of the techniques being taught. I’m sitting on my nice comfortable couch not a hard chair. I’m not missing any of these techniques by scribbling down notes. I can stop and start the video at any time and rewatch any part of the video or rewatch the whole video.

My trip to the library also provided me with an art history art trip and an art cultural trip. Three art trips with one visit to the library.

Marketing Plan

I have been doing some researching on how to run a business and found that I am missing some very important documents. These documents when put together form a Business Plan. I do have a Business Plan that I created when I took a course on starting a small business in 1999. Oddly enough, even though this is 10 years old, quite a bit of that plan is still applicable with some minor adjustments.

The part of my Business Plan that needs a total overhaul is the Marketing Plan. When I first wrote it I imagined that I would be teaching painting combined with selling my paintings to the public via gallery sales. I did not envision myself selling on the internet in a shop type store.

Some questions needing answers are:
Who is my target market? How do I plan to reach that market? Do I know who my competition is? What types of customers are best for what I offer? What is my marketing budget? I don’t think the answer “I don’t know” is going to be much help.

So for the month of March my goal is to write out my Goals and Objectives for my Etsy store and to write my Marketing Plan for my store.

There are many good books and websites out there to help develop these documents. The book I am using is called The Market Planning Guide – Creating a Plan to Successfully Market your Business, Product, or Service; 6th Edition by David H. Bangs, Jr. This book explains the different aspects that make up a Marketing Plan, a sample of a Marketing Plan and blank forms to use to create your own plan.

Some websites are:
http://www.artbizcoach.com/consulting/mktgplans.html
http://www.nitaleland.com/articles/marketing.htm
http://reviews.ebay.com/Why-All-Artists-Need-An-On-Going-Marketing-Plan_W0QQugidZ10000000008576464
http://www.business.vic.gov.au/BUSVIC/STANDARD/pc=PC_62518.html
http://www.knowthis.com/topic-areas/management/the-marketing-plan.htm