With the economy in the toilet like a roach slowly trying to crawl its way out, artist need more than ever to know what they are doing in the profession. Understanding the nature of what you are is a good way of stay true to yourself, while understanding the sacrifices or changes you are ok with. I sat down and thought of three questions that (when answered honestly) will give a good idea of where you stand and how to approach future events in your career. (Or whether art is the right field at all!)

The lifestyle has its perks, but if art is just a means to that lifestyle, be something else. You can just as easily attend the same parties and go to the same galleries.

1. Are you attracted to the art you make, or just the lifestyle being an artist provides? Easy question, but be honest with yourself. There really is no shame in enjoying the life of an artist, but enjoying it more than the art you make (in my generation) makes you a hipster.

Being a full time studio artist has its perks.

2. Would you sacrifice your creative freedom for money? This is a question that you can answer in degrees, and may show where you fit in the art world, if at all. Those who say “not at all” are studio artists who will do their thing, collectors be damned! However, those who say “on occassion” tend to be best served looking for commission opportunities. A “somewhat” or other 50/50 type answer often describes someone who would be a good corporate Graphic or Industrial Designer. A full on “YES!”… you may want to be something else.

3. Can you justify your existence as an artist, based on what you make? This is harder than it sounds. Can you seriously say why the art world needs you, based on the work you do? An answer takes an understanding of what it is you provide that the art world lacks. Finding this is actually a sure fire way of understanding what your art is, and what you need to make it function better.

I would love to hear from you guys, about how you answered the three questions, and maybe other questions where artists should know where they stand. Leave ‘em in the comments and I’ll make a post with the best ones later!

As I embark on a new chapter of my life after a period of over 17yrs in some form or academic setting, I decided it was a good time to start networking. After all, an artist is only as commercially viable as his connections. So after scouring the internet for any available outlet of opportunity, I came across Monster.com.

I know what you are saying, “Monster.com is for suit and tie jobs that use buzz-phrases like ‘fast-paced environment’ and ’self motivated individuals’, not for artists.” And to that notion, I will agree. The site offers virtually nothing for most creative fields, the closest listings ever get to art careers is the ocassional Art Director or Graphic Designer listing. Nothing for the fine arts is ever listed. However, when I did join Monster, they did make me aware of their partner site that is far more relevant to my needs, ArtBistro.com.

Think of ArtBistro as part Facebook with a healthy dose of About.com and LinkedIN. I joined the site a week ago, uploaded an avatar (which should ALWAYS be your face, regardless of the social network), and uploaded a “greatest hits” sampler of some of my most representative paintings. Within about 5 hours I had several friend requests and a lot of comments on my work.

Now the site is very useful on numerous fronts, but its strongest point is the access to other artists. One-click access to thousands of artists and their portfolios, and comfort in knowing everyone on the network is a creative of some sort. There is also a review section where users can submit reviews of their favorite art products, from software to books to art supplies. I even submitted a rewiew of my own of my favorite paint medium Galkyd. Yet, after spending some time on the site I came across some of the shortcomings of the service.

For one, I came to the site with the distinct interest in finding an art job. No dice. In fact the job listings are just as threadbare as Monster.com on that front, meaning you are out of luck if you aren’t a Graphic/Web Designer. Here is a concise breakdown of the pros and cons.

The Pros

1. Everyone’s an Artist- It’s a great way to network  and find tons of artists at the same point in their careers as you.
2. Tons of portfolio’s to draw inspiration from- So many people coming from all over the country, there is bound to be things that you didn’t think of trying.
3. A great resource to find out about art tools before you buy. The type of things you wish the local lady at your Art Supply place knew, the crowd here does.
4. Great feedback. Of course its mostly compliments, The internet’s not a good place for a hard hitting critique. Yet it’s good to see your work in context of so many others.

The Cons

1. Everyone’s a Nail, but there are few hammers. Tons are looking for art jobs, since the primary feeder to this site is Monster.com. If you came only for that, it will be disappointing. Job listings are just as threadbare in the creative professions as they are in most other job sites. Do creative fields other than Graphic design bother posting their jobs anywhere?
2. Not as good as other sites when it comes to communicating. The site UI is not as snappy as Facebook and LinkedIN, and it leads to a lot of unnecessary steps to do simple tasks. It’s not as easy to see the activities of others, nor is it clear how active the site is in its entirety. The user experience just doesn’t seem to look outward enough, and you feel like you looking at a social network instead of being in one.
3. You may be a big fish in a small pond. I am not one to boast, but I consider myself to be a decent artist, not amazing, but not embarrassingly bad either. I would say after 7 days on the site, 70 percent of the sites users are pretty mediocre or at least not really serious. I guess that’s the case in real life as well. Luckily good portfolios float to the surface once discovered. So you don’t have to wade through shit (pardon the expression).
4. You probably already juggle more social networks than you’d like. If you are like me, you got a Facebook account when you were in college. Then you got a LinkedIn account, because like eating your veggies, it was supposed to be good for you. Then you get on to Twitter and it became your life, and you probably used Friendfeed for a while, to juggle the ones above. So adding ArtBistro to the mix sounds unbearable. But think of ArtBistro more like that friend that you don’t have to call too often because they understand.
5. It’s delayed gratification. Like Twitter, ArtBistro takes a little commitment to get any tangible rewards from it.

Will I keep using it? I am currently not sure. I think it is too soon for me to make a judgment one way or the other. If I do end up using it, I will do a little more digging to find people more on my level, find uses other the the obvious ones on the surface, and take more time crafting my presence on the site. Stay tuned for any updates I give on how its going.

What do irreverent toy set ups, friendly chipmunks, and a huge supply of almonds have in common? A flickr user by the name of Chris McVeigh. His most notable photos involve toys interacting with each other in scenes, and some with chipmunks he befriended in his family’s backyard. The little toys range from Star Wars action figures to Lego men, posed and shot as if human.  Check out his photography on Flickr, and if you are a Twitter user, he’s recently joined Twitter as ActionFigured.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3322/3260736444_446fbb63a9_b.jpg

I have been living and working at the Coleman Center for the Arts in York, AL for just over three months, and have witnessed the planting and growth of the garden created by three artists from Pittsburgh.   Here are some pictures:

Strawberries were great when we beat the birds to them!

Partial view of the garden

More pretty plants

It’s so important to me to make art that has an impact, in this case a direct one, on the community in which you live.  I appreciate art whose impact is as simple as making someone who wouldn’t usually go out of their way to look at a painting take pause when they see what you made, or as complex as creating social interaction between groups who usually avoid one another.  In the case of the One Mile Garden, the Coleman Center’s community garden, it’s about creating something beautiful that is constantly being tended to by community members, and about the collaboration that is inherent in such a process.

Strangers who walk past the garden when I am there always comment, and seem excited that such a place exists in York, where many buildings are caving in and often property is not well-cared for.  Even those who are not avid plant and garden-lovers are interested and affected by what they see.  I love that when such a beatiful space is created, people admire AND interact if they so choose.  If art is about aesthetics, the garden certainly has an aesthetic appeal, a color palatte, and visual structure.  If art is about changing and enriching lives, then the garden does that as well.

The artists are Bob Bingham, Robin Hewlett, and Ally Reeves.  More on the project can be found here: http://colemanarts.org/2005/artists_OMG.php

As a step towards the initial mission of this blog, to create a platform where artists can be featured, ARTKAMP is making an Artist Directory! Emerging, established professionals, illustrators, designers, and even student artists are welcome to submit. Once we have enough entries, we will list them on a dedicated page. Here are the basic things we need.

• Name

• Link to your artist site, or whatever form of web presence for your work.

• A brief statement about you and/or work. Don’t feel forced to write anything new or prolific, we aren’t a museum, we’ll take what you have.

• An image, or link to an image that you would prefer to be a representative of your work. Web resolution (72dpi) is fine but a higher res image is preferable, just be sure that its at least 400px in shortest dimension. (hate being technical here, but come on! Just give us something of decent image quality to work with. It’s your work afterall.)

We can’t really call it a jurying process, but we do reserve the right to opt not to include an artist. We want it to be worth both your time and the time of the other artists included. It is from this list that ARTKAMP will make future artist features, interviews, etc! This is meant to be as accessible as possible. Designers and Illustrator who identify as artists can also apply (no stigma from us on that front) so please do.  You can contact us with the above info by email [artkampblog(at)gmail(dot)com], or simply @reply to @ARTKAMP on Twitter to express interest and we can create some form of correspondance.

Thanks, looking forward to the submissions!

BrandonJD (bobeotm)
Founder of Artkamp

If you are an artist on twitter, you definitely have heard of Etsy. Etsy positions almost like an Amazon Martketplace for only handmade items. The service skews towards craft generally (some might object to that, but that’s another discussion) and as a result also skews towards the inexpensive. So as visual artist in a conventional medium (painting) I gave the site a look.

First of all, before getting into any caveats, it’s important to not that Etsy is for strictly selling, not for building any sort of reputation with the art establishment. So if you want to one day be on Art:21, Etsy is likely not the path you will take to get there. But If you are looking for a few dollars here and there, it might be the place if your work fits. So here is my list of caveats:

1. Your work has to be small. No one will want to play for a $100 work that has $50 shipping. If you look through the site, things rarely get larger than 20 or so inches in any direction.
2. Your work has to be fast. If you are making time consuming stuff, you will likely not be able to sell it for enough to recoup your labor costs. YOUR TIME IS WORTH SOMETHING! You shouldn’t work a month on something that is only going to get you 30 bucks outside of materials.
3. You work has to be cheap. This not only applies to the retail price, but the the materials that went into it. Since hardly anything on the site breaks $250, its probably wise to consider cheaper materials to make as much profit as possible. If you normally use high end materials, opt for cheaper alternatives. It’s not like this stuff is going to be put in a museum. It is a great venue for prints of work, and photographs. Think of your work as a product more so than an artwork, then you will see why its important to keep the prices low.
4. It’s a store not a gallery. Keep your high-minded work at the door. Aesthetically pleasing is more important than conceptually stimulating. You are competing with craft painters, so nothing you would consider for a gallery should be considered for Etsy.

Am I on Etsy? No. Because of all the aforementioned reasons. My work is slow, at times fairly large, not cheap enough, and somewhat gallery minded. I would to create a separate vein of work to be able to sell anything on Etsy, but maybe this is a perfect fit for you!

Are there any Etsy sellers out there that agree with this list? Any tips I missed? If so leave them in the comments.

In Defense of Eye Candy – http://www.alistapart.com/articles/indefenseofeyecandy

Article about the importance of makin’ things pretty.  All you web site designers out there…check it.  I can personally say that I don’t spend more than a few seconds on a webpage if it isn’t easy to navigate, but I don’t like to be bored (or visually assaulted, as the case may be) either.

Have you ever been so excited about the prospects of an idea, that you’re on board before the idea has matured? That has just happened with me in regards to a new service that has recently launched, Art Babble. Art Babble is positioning itself to be the “YouTube of Art Content” by allowing institutions to post video, partnering with Museums and Art Organizations to get content from their sources. The “YouTube” descriptor is a bit misplaced as you will find out later in the post.  The service is in its nascent stage, the hardest phase of development for a social media network, because this is the make or break period as to whether it will take off or not.

Currently the only content is from the partners, and content submission is currently restricted to institutional providers like museums.. I can totally see video from Juxtapose and Fecal Face making a home here, but they seem to currently accept only “institutions” which causes a problem with artists and outlets that exist and thrive somewhat outside of mainstream museum and gallery recognition. Created by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, it makes sense that they have a vested interest in keeping the content quality high, but if they have to tight a hold on the content, they will stunt the growth of their service. Users can’t currently add video, but only comment and make quotes from existing videos.

This could be big, if they are willing to let go their vice-like grip on the content and content publishing. It’s clear by what they currently have available is that they want the quality of the video itself to be high, as well as the content therein. Understandably it’s hard keeping the quality at such a high level when you open up content submission, and get Jane-16yr old posting video of herself with lame iMovie effect filters over it. So it’s makes sense to restrict content, but if they are going to be the sole decider, they definitely need to broaden the tent of providers to include more than a hand full of Museums, to perhaps allow some respected publications that have video content to contribute. There is a video into after the break.

They at least get a thumbs up for trying the idea, hopefully they are quick learners. Do join and let them know how they can impove upon their good idea. Visit Art Babble Here.

With the latest Facebook iteration looking to grab a piece of the Twitter pie, has it inadvertently created the blueprint for its successor?

Facebook, love it or hate it, over the course of a few years has become a formidable network of social utility. I like many other college students and recent grads know its evolution intimately. We experienced it first hand move from its early days as a series of small college based networks- islands really- to the open sprawl it is today. However despite its near indespensable nature in terms of social management for so many, its most recent iteration may be the architect of it’s demise.

I don’t want to seem reactionary or averse to change. Afterall, this isn’t the first time Facebook as changed much to the chagrin of many of its users. I more than welcomed some of even the more drastic of Facebook’s modifications. It is just that in this case in particular the change aims to modify the very DNA the site and most of what is built upon it is based on.

That foundation is the “real” personal relationship. From the beginning, Facebook contrasted itself from the pack by being based on actual connections with people; your friends, your co-workers and classmates, etc. This destinction diminished the relevance of the “friend count” since each persons criteria for friendship was different. Interactions with those within your network existed on statified levels of intimacy and privacy, from the very public, to one-on-one conversations. Yet with the recent Twitter-like changes, the emphasis is now placed on a collective stream on consciousness, not on intimacy.

No longer does event management or profile information rank high on the list of Facebook uses and priorities. Now the priority relies on the status update, a feature that due to ingrained Facebook user psychology rarely provides much of any real utility. This is where Facebook creates its own Achilles heel, making the most inconsequential of its features the hingepin. Because staus updates were created when Facebook had a much more private feel, the psychology behind what to say never evolved to motivate one to say something interesting or userful to other people.  Whereas Twitter’s lazer-like dedication to this sole feature creates an environment where “good” and “bad” users are defined by they quality of their updates.

Twitter is less personal by nature, but becomes so because the relationships are based on the content. You surround yourself with a group you share spheres of interest with. Facebook isn’t designed around content based relationships, but actually personally connections. So the problem arises when these two worlds collide, “My interests are not met exclusively by the people I physically know” or “My classmates, friends and coworkers are not my sole ‘interest-keepers’”. So with Facebook leaving the niche it helped the create, has it somewhat left a schematic for what will end up making it obsolete? The answer is yes.

The Facebook successor will enter the spot Facebook left and pick up the torch for the personal social network. It will have in some form many of the features below.

• Updates will be tagged. A status update or post about an art exhibit will be tagged differently from an update about you taking a dump. This would allow for filtration, and also allow for some to specify themselves as being accessible/of interest to a certain group of people.
• It will be designed from inception to focus on the small circle of people, instead of the big picture. Probably requiring categorization of users before you friend them, where your relationship with the person determines the presentation (like a classmate will be presented in one sphere, a person you don’t know that you share an interest with will exist in another). This also can add a level of exclusivity on some levels, and the discovery of new people on the other.
• User-customizable info presentation. The experience from the outside world to your profile will be uniform, but your view logged-in would be customizable to fit your needs. In other words, you would for instance be able to have the homepage prominently feature photo posts, or events, or certain friends. The site would remember your configuration, and allow you to change the cosmetic look of your personal logged-in experience while keeping things uniform for everyone else. This simultaneously merges the advantages of  the strict visual experience of Facebook, and the freedoms of Myspace without creating a mess.

Facebook may not change back to its initial focus on the personal, but is someone waiting the take the reins to the market they are leaving behind. What do you think the future holds for the social network?

A little over a month ago, I decided to try the “oft talked about but rarely explained” microblogging service Twitter. It was hard to wrap my head around what it was, and even harder to understand why it would be useful. Nevertheless I gave it a chance, and after a few weeks I. AM. HOOKED.

I think out of all of the social networking I have done over the years, Twitter is the service that most effectively enhanced my profile as an artist. I decided a month ago to specifically use twitter to network with other creatives and help establish a idea net of like minded people to exchange ideas with. In many ways achieving that (on a modest scale however), I decided to share my 10 Tips for Emerging Artists on Twitter. Through trial and error, these are the things that I felt mattered most to my experience on Twitter as an emerging creative professional.

1. Do not go on a following spree.
   I know you want exposure, and I know it’s tempting to follow every thing with a pulse on Twitter to help raise your profile. However, if you do this, you will render your tweet feed essentially useless, and unreadable. It pays to have 100 quality people who are interesting and in your field, than 2,000 random schmoes.

2. Do not aim to get the most followers.

   This is the other side of the coin to tip number one. Quality matters over quantity here as well. Sure it’s nice having tons of people follow you, but its better that they give a damn about what you tweet. Most people who mindlessly follow and seem to have nothing in common with you, typically just want you to follow them too (to boost their ego driven follower count), or they are trying to sell you something.

3. Search for people of your same career level.

   This has proven extremely important for me in creating a group that provide a wealth of feedback. When you have followers of the same level in their careers, the dialogue is more open and unexpected benefits will arise. I have found out about shows worth submitting to (that I actually have a chance of getting in) just by following someone who is also a painter fresh from college. It also helps if they are at the same stage as far as Twitter is concerned, which brings me to my next tip.

4. There is an ideal Follower/Follow count to Tweet count ratio, find it and look for these people!

   There is a bit of a sweet spot with these numbers, because the relationship between them illustrates what type of person they are in the Twitterverse. For example there are lurkers that follow a lot of people, but have few followers and low tweet count. They are basically dead weight, they read, but don’t contribute. There are chatterboxes that have extremely high tweet counts, but rarely is any of it relevant to the world beyond their inflated sense of self worth. Then there are the internet famous, not useful at all; too popular to do much one on one interaction and all to often tweet about bodily functions.

5. Newbies are fine, don’t avoid them!

   My personal sweet spot for the ideal twitter colleague resides in the slightly-past-noob twitterers. These people have a combined Follower/Follow/Tweet Count that probably doesn’t break 400. These people are new but are wanting to jump in and be active, interacting one on one is easy and responsive, and they are positively thrilled to have someone interested in them. One thing to note, some are actually new, but just very selective in their following, tweeting and overall interaction. These people have taste, find them as well!

6. Use twitpic a lot when applicable.

   It gives your followers quick visual access to the things you work on, and helps generate feedback. I find most enjoy seeing work in the process of being made, but if thats to invasive, show works as they are completed to give greater insight into your creative workings. Clients like TweetDeck make uploading images to twitpic a very painless process.

7. Tailer your background and bio to market yourself.

   The first thing I did in Twitter once I found out I could was create a custom background image. Its a great way of sneaking in tons of extra info in a straightforward and acessable way. Be sure to include contact info, other networks you belong to, and your personal site if you have one. The bio serves a related but separate purpose, it’s a brief intro/marketing tool. I let the first brief sentence sum me up in a relevant way to my twitter presence. If you present yourself as an artist, the first sentence is where you say it. The rest I left to be a laundry list of the things I am liable to tweet about (because ultimately thats what the bio is used for). The template  “I am a(n)____________ interested in _____” serves well.

8. Be a human being, not a marketing drone.

   Followers come from being interesting and having interesting relevant content. If you spend more time trying to push yourself and shit out tons of tweets detailing every minor blog update, you are essentially a spammer.

9. Replies, DM’s and Retweets are good for keeping things Personal.
   You are here to create a venue for networking and feedback right? So do it!

10. Add yourself to the various Twitter directories.
    There are numerous sites that function as directories for thousands of Twitter accounts. All generally are arranged by field, so people finding you according to your interests wont be hard. Likewise, its a good way to find dedicated people in art as well.

All of these tips are guidelines, not rules. This is what is working for me, but something else entirely may be what works for you. The only holdfast idea I can think of is that openness comes with great reward as long as it is not at the expense of interestf you managed to read all of this, pat yourself on the back and follow me on twitter at BrandonJD. You can find the twitter accounts of the other Artkamp bloggers on the sidebar.