Amie Gillingham

1. 29 Faces of May: Scars – Christine Striemer and several other EBSQ artists are participating in the 29 Faces of May challenge. Throughout May I will feature one of those faces in the Friday Five. Today’s face is creepy and captivating!

2. May MOTM: Helpless – Maureen Frank offers an exercise to help with those feelings of helplessness in this month’s mandala. All of Maureen’s Mandala’s are free to download and color how you want!

3. Quillers to join me on EBSQ? – First off, I want to welcome Sandra White to EBSQ! Second, she’s looking for other Quillers to join her. What is Quilling? Check out her blog–it’s amazing.

4. Distance and Time – Niki Soppelsa shares her sketchbook from the 2012 Sketchbook Project. If you love collage don’t miss this one.

5. Arts Goggle in Fort Worth, Texas – Later this month, Melanie Douthit will be participating in a huge art crawl. Check her blog for more details!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Filed under: membernews Tagged: 29 Faces of May, art, art crawl, artist blogs, ebsq, friday five, mandala, news, quilling, sketchbook project

The 4th with be with you. Always.  Happy Star Wars Day from EBSQ!

Who and where are you?

Lisa Wiktorek of Chesapeake VA.

How were you introduced to Facebook?

My teen daughter introduced me to Facebook! I realized I could make a separate page for just my Jewelry and did just that!

Any tips for other artists starting a Facebook Page?

I think beautiful pictures make all the difference. I also think you should have a direct link from your photo to the item in the store its being sold in, such as ETSY or eBay.

What’s your favorite Facebook Page feature?

I LOVE that I am able to right click and “copy” the web address of my jewelry item in the store, and “paste” it on my FB page! The main picture and store link pops up!

What’s coming next from your studio?

I am working on Travel and Flower themed Altered Art Charm bracelets. I have been working on triple strand bracelet designs as a different twist to my bracelets.

1. Babette – This week’s Face comes to us from EBSQ artist, Patience. Something about this portrait pulls me in and I can’t help but wonder what she is thinking, what she might be looking at with those thoughtful eyes.

2. The Tangerine Process – Oh! You must see the WIP images from Sara Burrier’s latest painting. Wow!!

3. Ten Reasons to Commission a Portrait – An insightful look at portrait art by Miriam Schulman, and why you should commission a portrait today.

4. Painting with Don Cincone – Melanie Douthit had the opportunity to paint with internationally recognized artist, Don Cicone! She has a wonderful post on her blog about the workshop.

5. I’m always on the look out for great blog articles from EBSQ artists. If you have something you’d like to share in the Friday Five drop me a line at amanda[at]ebsqart[dot]com.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Who and where are you?

Claudia Goodell Albuquerque, New Mexico. Seven years ago I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), or Myalgic Encephalomyopathy (ME) as it’s called elsewhere.  May 12^th is the international awareness day for ME/CFS, and there is a blue ribbon campaign the entire month of May to increase awareness for this disabling illness that effects 1-4 million Americans.  There is still no known cause, no approved treatment and no cure.   To increase awareness and to raise research funds I will be donating a portion of proceeds from sales of my art during the month of May, to The CFIDS Association of America.

How were you introduced to Facebook?

I do my best to stay current with digital means for promoting art, fundraising, and other personal interests, and Facebook has provided an excellent platform for disseminating information to the masses.

Any tips for other artists starting a Facebook Page?

Review as many other Facebook pages representing businesses similar to yours to gather information and ideas on what you think works. Make sure you think carefully about the name of your page because once you reach 500 subscribers Facebook will not allow a name change. Also, be sure the name clearly states what the page is, and possibly your name or the name of your business because the name you select becomes the URL. If you want people to find your FB page when they do a web search by your name, then include that in the name of your FB page.

What’s your favorite Facebook Page feature?

I think having the ability to share useful information and images is the best feature on FB. This is how things go viral.

What’s coming next from your studio?

Currently I am taking private lessons from Ricardo Chavez-Mendez, a local seasoned artist, and we are working to develop my own style based on Curvismo, a style Ricardo has developed and mastered. This new style is somewhat of a departure from my previous work as it incorporates realism, surrealism, abstractionism, and Curvismo or curvism. Eventually I will exhibit these pieces.

We are also working to finish some oil paintings created by my late son-in-law, who inspired me to start painting. These pieces were left in various states of completion at the time of his death. The goal of this project is to exhibit these works in a future show, demonstrating how they were created through a combined effort, allowing me to tell his story and mine through the art.

http://goodellcl.ebsqart.com/

http://www.facebook.com/goodellcl

Filed under: Artist Interviews, EBSQ 1:1 Tagged: abstract art, art, Claudia Goodell, Curvismo, ebsq, ebsq1:1, Facebook artists, floral paintings

1. 29 Faces in May ‘Air Element’ – As a collector of Matryoshka Dolls I could not resist sharing artist, Sherry Key’s face #10 for the 29 Faces in May Challenge. Isn’t she darling?!

2. An End Leads to a New Beginning – Stephanie Amos has an informative blog post on the business of art, specifically artist blogs, that you will not want to miss.

3. Addicted to Artistic Improvement – Delilah Smith made a list of five things you can do to improve your skill as an artist. Are there anymore you would add?

4. ArtView App for iPhone – Stacey Zimmerman has the rundown on Imagekind’s new App that will let you see how art looks on your own walls. Very cool!

5. Creative Reading – I have a blog post on my other blog about creative reading (fiction and nonfiction). What are some of your favorite art books?

Have a wonderful weekend!

For this giveaway, we’ve teamed up with our friends at PrintRunner to give one lucky reader 100 5 x 7 postcards, perfect for promoting your art.  Interested? Read on for the details!

About PrintRunner

PrintRunner.com was established with little more than a small press and a dream. Ten years later our company became one of the foremost quality printers in Southern California. Our commitment to provide the best value and high quality full color printing at affordable price made our company grow.  PrintRunner is a full service high quality printing company located in Chatsworth, California. Try PrintRunner’s postcard printing through their online printing services.

Giveaway Details

Postcard Size: Postcards 5×7

Quantity: 100

Colors: 4/0 Front Only Printing

Paper: 14 PT. UV Coating on Front,

Rounded Corners: Yes

Proof: None

Ready to Ship In: 4 Business Days

Standard shipping is free. Expedited shipping will be shouldered by the winner.

*Giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above.

Consider giving PrintRunner some love by following them on Twitter and Liking them on Facebook

How to Win

For a chance to win, simply answer the following question in the comments:

• What would you do with your 100 postcards?
  

Deadlines

Our submission deadline is May 29, 2012. Our winner will be notified via email on 31 May 2012, as well as announced in a separate post. Why not subscribe to our RSS feed so that you can be quickly notified when the winner announcement post has been published?

Our thanks to PrintRunner for providing us this giveaway. EBSQ will be compensated with postcards as well for hosting this event.

The time is here. Are you ready for summer vacation? I’m not referring to vacations to the beach or canoe trips in the mountains. I’m talking about those three months every summer when US school children are home 24/7. For an artist, or anyone who runs a creative business from their home, this can be a challenging time. But it doesn’t have to be a stressful one. If your business is a large percentage of your income then you might consider summer camps and babysitters. However, if you’re like me and your business is only a supplement it’s time to think about priorities. Children come first. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun summer with your kids and run your business. I’m going to share how I do it and would love to hear about other strategies from artists who work from home.

1. Change your Schedule: My summer schedule changes drastically when my daughter is home, but it’s the same schedule I’ve kept for the last five years. It may be summer, but I get up early, have my coffee and work till about lunchtime. After lunch I do something with my child. The rest of the afternoon is her time.

2. Activities with Friends: Make arrangements with your child’s friends so that 1-2 times a week you do have an entire day to yourself! There’s nothing wrong with this and your child will love being able to see their friends.

3. Art Activities: I’ve always made a point of buying my daughter art supplies of her own, but what a child loves even more is when you buy them the same sketchbook you use. It makes them feel like an artist! I take my daughter on sketching days. I pack up our sketchbooks and go to the local botanical gardens. Not only am I spending time with my child (outside of the house) but I’m also creating art. This is a perfect time for sketching out ideas for future projects or just letting my inner artist doodle for a bit.

• Sometimes we take cameras too and go on Nature walks. I always find great inspiration for my art on walks.
• Call your local community arts center, sometimes they have mini classes for parent and child–like Try Clay classes.
• Are you a jewelry artist? Make jewelry together!
• Visit an art museum.

4. Take a Day Off: Just do it! Your creative muse will thank you. Creating non-stop is a good way to burn out. We need other experiences in our lives from which to draw creativity. It’s never been easier to take time off but still be in touch with your business. If you sell on Esty, there’s an Etsy app that will keep you in touch with your customers while you’re away.

Children grow up so fast. Don’t let the most important years pass you buy!

Are you an artist and a mother, or father, who works from home? Share how you adjust each year to the kids being home for the summer.

A few years ago, EBSQ Artist, Art Blogger, and regular Mashable contributor Natasha Wescoat put together a list of apps that turn the iPhone into a tool for creativity.  You can read her original article on Mashable.

3 years is an eternity on the interwebs.  Technology and tastes have both evolved since then. And there are a veritable plethora of new creativity-boosting apps to choose from.

The one that would top my personal list is Instagram. Sure, the filters are nice (and unlike my previous favourite, Toy Camera, I can actually pre-view and choose my filter pre-processing). But the thing I like best (and this is probably silly) is that it makes me think in squares. Folks that are familiar with my artwork know that the bulk of my paintings from the past 10 years have been square. With Instagram, I can automatically compose in square format. The fact that I can also easily push my photos to Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook is another bonus.

What’s on your list?