posted by Deborah at
8:20 AM
>1 comments
Monday, November 20, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Artist Choice Awards
I'm in a state of shock since I have discovered that I have been nominated by my fellow eBay artists for an award in the Large Format Abstract category. The final voting just began today, and by jove....there is my name in the poll! The voting will continue until the end of the month, and I have no earthly idea how I will fare in this category, but just to be nominated is enough to bring tears to my eyes.
We have 45 different categories to vote in with our ACA group, and there are over 1,000 artists in the group. I was in there doing some voting tonite, and I have to say....it's HARD to do. I have dozens upon dozens of favorite artists and when they are in the same category, it is very difficult to make a decision....so I have had to skip a few and will go back later.
This awards process is something that was just created in the past few years, and I was not involved with it at all last year when I first began selling on eBay. I've never been much interested in winning awards, unless there was money involved...and the competition in those awards processes is stiff indeed. Although no money is involved in this one, I am completely surprised to have received a nomination and it's a tremendous honor for me.
My fellow artists like my work that much that they would nominate me? What??? Don't get me wrong....I love my artwork (well, most of it). I simply never expected anything like this to happen to me. I have no idea what I have done to deserve such an honor. I've run out of adjectives, but I think you can tell how moved I am by this.
We have 45 different categories to vote in with our ACA group, and there are over 1,000 artists in the group. I was in there doing some voting tonite, and I have to say....it's HARD to do. I have dozens upon dozens of favorite artists and when they are in the same category, it is very difficult to make a decision....so I have had to skip a few and will go back later.
This awards process is something that was just created in the past few years, and I was not involved with it at all last year when I first began selling on eBay. I've never been much interested in winning awards, unless there was money involved...and the competition in those awards processes is stiff indeed. Although no money is involved in this one, I am completely surprised to have received a nomination and it's a tremendous honor for me.
My fellow artists like my work that much that they would nominate me? What??? Don't get me wrong....I love my artwork (well, most of it). I simply never expected anything like this to happen to me. I have no idea what I have done to deserve such an honor. I've run out of adjectives, but I think you can tell how moved I am by this.
posted by Deborah at
11:19 PM
>2 comments
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
A Local Photo
I was experimenting with my Nikon Coolpix camera the other day and this shot happened. I have no idea how it even came about because I was just flipping thru various settings on my camera and not even tracking what I was doing. When I downloaded this shot into my computer, this is what it looked like without any software manipulations at all. It reminds me of some 'old west' shot rather than a 2006 Florida shot.
posted by Deborah at
11:51 PM
>2 comments
Sunday, November 12, 2006
The Free Hugs T-shirt
Well, it worked. I was out toodling around town yesterday afternoon and some white-haired lady came walking up to me with her arms open wide and asked for one. By this time I had already forgotten that I was even wearing one of my Free Hugs t-shirts, so it caught me by surprise. Which was even better.
I have to say, this made me feel really, really good. It was the only hug that I got yesterday and coming from a complete stranger made it even more wonderful and enjoyable. This could definately be an addicting activity!
A new group has been created on YouTube, which I may have mentioned already. It's a band of merry-makers who are taking this Free Hugs movement to the far corners of the world. My video from yesterday was already posted there and someone else must have picked it up and put it in the group because I didn't do it.
As for the Iron Man Triathlon....I never made it there to see what was happening. I attempted to get across town to find a location to watch them go by, but the police were blockading so many streets that traffic was backed up for miles. This was completely discouraging to me, so I bagged that idea. I'll see if I can find it on tv and watch it that way like most of the rest of the world.
I have to say, this made me feel really, really good. It was the only hug that I got yesterday and coming from a complete stranger made it even more wonderful and enjoyable. This could definately be an addicting activity!
A new group has been created on YouTube, which I may have mentioned already. It's a band of merry-makers who are taking this Free Hugs movement to the far corners of the world. My video from yesterday was already posted there and someone else must have picked it up and put it in the group because I didn't do it.
As for the Iron Man Triathlon....I never made it there to see what was happening. I attempted to get across town to find a location to watch them go by, but the police were blockading so many streets that traffic was backed up for miles. This was completely discouraging to me, so I bagged that idea. I'll see if I can find it on tv and watch it that way like most of the rest of the world.
posted by Deborah at
10:29 AM
>0 comments
Friday, November 10, 2006
A lovely feeling
The person who bought my Brain Damage collage just called me up nearly screaming in the phone because she was so happy and delighted with the artwork! I always love hearing that good news...as I am sure nearly any artist does. It actually makes my day to have someone be so thrilled with their purchase as that.
More often than not, the monetary rewards of being an artist are a bit scarce relative to the amount of time invested and the cost of materials. Real artists continue to create in spite of this, and can't seem to prevent the creativity from happening...
When I was fresh from the 'business world' and embarking upon my new career, I was aghast at the amount of time that some artists obviously spent creating some of their work. I knew they had to be making less than 50 cents an hour...so why were they doing it? What was the point in doing this career path at all if you couldn't make a living at it?
As time has passed and I have experienced the ups and downs that are part of any business, I have come to realize that the rewards that I get from creating my own original artwork far exceeds the assembly-line mentality of the Mr. Gotbucks. Not that money is bad or that we don't need it to live. That's not the point I am making here.
You hear people speak of 'following your bliss' and other such sayings, and until I actually experienced these things myself......I never fully understood all the babble. I haven't lost sight of the fact that I have a business and as a business owner I have a responsibility to myself, my suppliers, employees and even my customers to make this a successful endeavor.
It's all a balancing act and I try to do what makes me happy so that I can in turn do the same for others. If this means that I take a loss on producing a product, or shipping a product....I can live with that so long as I am feeling good about what I am doing. That's really the true bottom line of any business. I truly believe in 'exchange in abundance'.
More often than not, the monetary rewards of being an artist are a bit scarce relative to the amount of time invested and the cost of materials. Real artists continue to create in spite of this, and can't seem to prevent the creativity from happening...
When I was fresh from the 'business world' and embarking upon my new career, I was aghast at the amount of time that some artists obviously spent creating some of their work. I knew they had to be making less than 50 cents an hour...so why were they doing it? What was the point in doing this career path at all if you couldn't make a living at it?
As time has passed and I have experienced the ups and downs that are part of any business, I have come to realize that the rewards that I get from creating my own original artwork far exceeds the assembly-line mentality of the Mr. Gotbucks. Not that money is bad or that we don't need it to live. That's not the point I am making here.
You hear people speak of 'following your bliss' and other such sayings, and until I actually experienced these things myself......I never fully understood all the babble. I haven't lost sight of the fact that I have a business and as a business owner I have a responsibility to myself, my suppliers, employees and even my customers to make this a successful endeavor.
It's all a balancing act and I try to do what makes me happy so that I can in turn do the same for others. If this means that I take a loss on producing a product, or shipping a product....I can live with that so long as I am feeling good about what I am doing. That's really the true bottom line of any business. I truly believe in 'exchange in abundance'.
posted by Deborah at
3:07 PM
>4 comments
