Diane Clancy's Art Blog

Every week Illustration Friday has a challenge for a specific word. It is a great way to showcase your work and a wonderful opportunity to meet lots of wonderful people!  Anyone can join in with their entry to Illustration Friday.  I so much enjoy doing this challenge. This week is Contained. I encourage you to check it out! Lots of fun people and paintings!

Contained, Digital © Diane Clancy

How do you tackle your Illustration Friday projects – or for that matter, how do you tackle any creative endeavor that you are producing? Thank you for stopping by!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: Illustration Friday

A portal is a brand new concept – a storefront with items of an artist from different shops all together.

Both shoppers and sellers have a great variety of choices online … in fact this incredible range of choices is both very freeing and can also be fairly overwhelming.  One shop has mugs, tiles and totes, another has custom postage while a third has prints of those luscious, vibrant, colorful paintings. How can one even know what is available?  There is a brand new concept – a storefront, a portal, where you can see items from all sorts of shops all together.  This idea solves much of the problem of searching through multiple shops to see what a particular artist or crafter makes.

Dreamscape, Digital © Diane Clancy

The Arcade at The Hand Made Product Directory allows one to do just that!  It is a pretty simple concept once you get the idea. I put my mugs and tiles from CafePress, cusomter US postage from Zazzle, posters from RedBubble, Art Cards (ACEOs) and framed reproductions from Etsy all in one spot so people have more choices in a manageable way.

Take a look at my storefront – Diane Clancy’s Art – it is a portal where you can go to look at merchandise from many of my shops all at once.  Conundrum I is one of my vibrant, colorful paintings that many of my customers love. On one page you can see Conundrum I as a mug, tile, tote, postage, ACEO, poster and card.

To me this is a revolutionary way to make online marking much more convenient for both artists and our collectors.  Another big advantage for us as artists and crafters is that this whole site is “human edited” … this means that someone helps make sure the images and the descriptions showcase your merchandise to a good advantage.  Most sites are computer edited … so this is a big plus … personalized help.

I encourage you to check out the whole Arcade – both for sellers and buyers.  My post from a few days ago talks more about the Arcade. Starting Monday each week one seller will be featured – I am going to be the first one on Monday … so I hope you will check it out.

Please share your thoughts with us on this … I would love to hear how  YOU handle shopping and selling with so many choices!  Thanks for coming by!!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: Online Art Marketing, vibrant colorful paintings, storefront, Arcade, The Hand Made Product Directory, CafePress, Zazzle, RedBubble, Etsy, portal, artist, art

I have promised to look at my goals for 2009 and share them with you.  You can see my assessment of last year’s goals on Assessing My Goals for 2008.  As expected, many of my assessments of how I did go right into what I want to do this year. You will note that several categories of what I have been doing have been dropped.

Between Worlds II, Digital © Diane Clancy

Local Art Networking

• Continue on the board of Fostering the Arts to build the creative economy
• Artists of Franklin County – focus on supporting new leadership
• AWE Project (Artists Window Exhibit) for Spring and once or twice more.  We are expanding the artist and store base, and I am focusing on sharing responsibility and empowering others to step up.
• Maintain the art sales I have locally and be open to new ones
• Much of my focus this year will be in streamlining this time

Online Sales

• Expanding my offerings in the (many) various stores where I offer my work.  Continuing to offer more images on added merchandise.
• Maintaining these shops
• Continuing to tweak my presentation
• Consolidate rather than continue to expand (mostly)
• Increase sales

Networking

• Continue my leadership roles in the art networking I do
• Continue to empower people to take over more responsibility
• Continue to develop as an artist
• Figure out how to leverage all the networking I have done – and the building of trust and knowing me – into more sales

Licensing

• Assess whether I want to pursue licensing and decide whether offering my paintings on merchandise fulfills my purpose of having my art widely available
• Seriously assess whether my work would be licensable by companies

Graphic Design & Web Design Clients

• Continue with clients as they come along

Rework My Website and Blog

• Rework the blog to make the sidebar shorter and put the info onto pages instead
• Add galleries of new work to my website (particularly bubblescapes as has been requested)
• Continue to add technology – in moderation

Create Lots of Art

• Continue to play and create
• Get back into the studio to work with traditional mediums
• Stay in my creative channel
• Go to another level

Health, Harmony & Well-Being

• Move my life forward
• Gently continue to move my life into total harmony
• Live with joy, excitement and love
• Simplify and clarify
• Learn to make decisions more efficiently

Thank you for being in this journey with me in my life as an artist.  It helps me stay focused to know that I am sharing this path with others … both artists and fans.  I would love to hear your thoughts … both about my life and yours … and the world.  Thank you for coming by!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: goals, art, art marketing, online sales, licensing, Creative Economy, networking

There is a very exciting online store that I want to share with you – both for the sellers and buyers.  It is a new concept and very helpful. It is a portal … sounds exciting, doesn’t it?  Keep reading to find out.  If you can’t wait, skip to the bolded paragraph below. As you know, there are tons of new online stores in that have begun in the last year … and even more in the last few years … It has become confusing and a bit overwhelming for many of us artists and crafters to know how to navigate all the choices to decide where to put our work.  Customers too are able to go to so many different stores that it can all get a bit much.

Snowy Owl Tile from CafePress © Diane Clancy

I have been lucky enough to be steered in the direction of an unusual site – The Handmade Product Shopping Directory. This shop is different from most shops that nothing is actually sold to customers there … Instead artists and others can list their shops and items there and then customers are directed to the individual shops. There are about 40 categories … and art is only 1 category – so you can see there are lots of types of merchandise. This place is worth checking out!  When you go there … look on the left bar and you will see all the many choices.  My listing is under the art one.

Emma in Flowers I Ornament from CafePress © Diane Clancy

But there is a very exciting new concept at Handmade Product Directory!! They have started an Arcade … which consists of storefronts of many customers … This Arcade has 8 categories on the side .. you can see them when you go there.  If you click on Art, you get a list of items from different shops in the Arcade. So, as a customer, you get to go through all the listings from the various shops at once.  As an artist, people who go to the Arcade and look for art, can see my work without looking specifically for me.  It is a win-win storefront.

Conundrum I Postage from Zazzle © Diane Clancy

In this Arcade you can have your own storefront. This is an incredible new concept and great for me! In one place I can show my vibrant, colorful paintings on mugs, postage and prints all in one place. My Arcade Shop has mugs from CafePress, postage from Zazzle and prints from Etsy. I am delighted with this concept!  For me to be able to show the variety of my work on the different merchandise is wonderful!!

Violet Mist Print from Etsy © Diane Clancy

This way I do not have to send you to lots of different shops so you can see what my paintings look like as prints, mugs, tiles, totes, postage, cards and more. When you click on an item, you go to the actual shop where it is sold.  That is what is so unique – listing merchandise from different shops – all under ONE roof!

In the Garden Mug from CafePress © Diane Clancy

It costs nothing to open an Arcade and only 10 cents – for a whole year – to list an item.  I think it is a brilliant idea and I will be putting many more of my works into my Arcade!! What do you think … does this concept work for you as an artist, crafter, other seller or buyer?  Thanks for coming by!!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: portal, online stores, The Handmade Product Shopping Directory, Arcade, vibrant, colorful paintings, CafePress, digital painting, creative process

Technorati Tags: 2 Things Challenge

Illustration Friday has a challenge every week. I so much enjoy doing this challenge. This week is Resolve. These bubbles with Resolve have a whole gaggle of children … and it takes great Resolve to be loving and patient. Or is this a field where a group of little ones face two large bubbles with great Resolve as they tackle each other? Life takes Resolve to go for what you want, one way or another.

Resolve, Digital © Diane Clancy

Some of you know I use Bryce (a fun computer program) for some of my bubblescapes. I tap into the vibration of the word for Illustration Friday and start to play with a scene. I play with the shapes and they need to feel “right” inside me.  Then then I also play with color and materials. Today I started with the idea that these 2 parents were going downtown on their stroll with all their little ones in tow. That was the idea I had in mind.

Sometimes it comes quickly and other times it takes hours, going back and forth, not quite finding the correct feel.  How do you tackle your Illustration Friday projects – or for that matter, how do you tackle any creative endeavor that you are producing?

I hope you enjoy this! Illustration Friday is a great way to showcase your work and a wonderful opportunity to meet lots of wonderful people! I encourage you to check it out! Lots of fun people and paintings!

Tomorrow I may well do my goals for 2009. I am going to add a few enhancements to my blog, but bit by bit as I can … I will let you know as I do it so you can see the effect and perhaps try it yourself! Thank you for stopping by!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: Bryce, bubblescapes, Illustration Friday, goals

Ok … I promised that today I would assess how I did on my goals for 2008.  You can see my goals on Goals for 2008.  On the day before that day, you can see my assessment what I did in 2007. Below I look at some of my goals and give my assessment of how I did. I may change some of how I am using this blog, but I definitely want to finish up talking about goals as I said I would.

Sphere Dance, Digital © Diane Clancy

Continue my work with the Creative Economy

• I stayed on the board of Fostering the Arts and feel like I am being effective at being a bridge between artists and those who are organizing around the creative economy – I get good feedback about my participation.
• Artists of Franklin County – I have chaired and taken minutes as I committed to.  The group has really gelled this year and more people are taking true ownership of the group.  The group is finding itself and now can decide what to do … it is at a different stage of evolution.
• We did the AWE Project (Artists Window Exhibit) three times last year.  For the Holiday AWE we even did an Art Fair and Art Stroll also. I received a grant which helped me carve out the time to do this.
• I would say my work with the Creative Economy was a success this year and I fulfilled and surpassed my goals.
• A hint toward my goals for this year – this work has taken up way too much of my time … let me rephrase that … I have allowed this organizing work to be done in an excellent way – somewhat at the cost of my creative time.

Build my Online Sales

• I have expanded my Etsy and CafePress Shops with items and images. That part has been fairly successful.  I still need to keep expanding at CafePress with my bubblescapes and putting my vibrant, colorful paintings on more merchandise.
• I have opened shops at lots of other online stores … I feel really good about that!  I think that has been very successful. Now I need to add more items to these various shops.
• I have made some sales this last year for sure – obviously I want to increase them.

Networking

• Networking – I have networked a really lot!! I am a leader in several artists teams and have become active in social media. Again – this is taking a lot of time and I need to reassess how much time it does take. There is so much opportunity out there!! I certainly have been effective at getting connected in 2008!!!

Licensing

• I did license Conundrum I to be used on a book cover this year.  I listened to a phone class to help artists know about licensing.
• On seriously pursuing licensing, I did a very poor job.

Graphic Design & Web Design Clients

• I had several and we did some good work.  I enjoy this work (the way I do it working closely with clients) and it brings in a stream of income. So this was successful.

Rework My Website

• I have reworked the front page a little to add a link to CafePress (with an image of one of my mugs) and a link to purchase an ACEO.
• I did not add the bubblescape galleries as I had planned … and I have someone asking where they can see them all together – so obviously I need to make some decisions about this.

Pursue Design Work for Hire

• I tried one or two potential opportunities – and I am not at all sure that is worth pursuing right now.

Develop Resources for Artists

• We set up the Artists Marketing Forum. I spent a lot of time writing and getting articles ready for that.  Initially it generated a lot of interest, but it was not sustained. I had been hoping to perhaps get some coaching work from that. I have chosen not pursue it more for awhile .. but perhaps I can use some of the writing in a useful way.

Create Lots of Art

• I have created lots of vibrant, colorful digital paintings.  Several have sold in my Etsy shop.  People have expressed a lot of delight in them – so that has been highly successful.
• Getting back into the studio to work with traditional mediums has been less so … obviously part of my goals for 2009.

Health, Harmony & Well-Being

• In certain ways this year has been wildly successful – and that is probably the most important thing.  I have made some very important changes.
• In other ways, I still have lots of room for improvement – but then again, who doesn’t?

How about you?  Have you been assessing how your last year went?  I would love to hear about it. Did you fill your goals?  Did you do things important to you that were not on your list of goals?  I would love to hear how others are thinking about this for themselves and for their work and passions. Love and blessings to all life! Thanks for coming by!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: goals, Creative Economy, Fostering the Arts, Artists of Franklin County, AWE Project, grant, Online Sales, Etsy, CafePress, social media, licensing

Technorati Tags: 2 Things Challenge

Thanks for all the feedback from yesterday … look here if you want to see some comments on Facebook besides the comments right here on my blog …  I have been busy today .. so I hope tomorrow to assess my goals for 2008 to see how I did.  But that might be Monday so I can do the Two Things Challenge tomorrow.  That would put this year’s goals until at least Tuesday.  But maybe for me that is progress – not to be so careful to be always on time. Again I would love your help since I always feel the title is one way to guide a viewer at looking at an image … but today I would like to hear from YOU!! Thank you so much!  I am so eager to sit down with yesterday’s feedback and name yesterday’s image – thank you!!

Frog Queen Mantra, Digital © Diane Clancy

Frog Queen Mantra is the title of this piece – thank you for your help! Love and blessings to all life! Thanks for coming by!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: Facebook, goals, title

Today was Remicade (at the hospital) and it was one of the rougher ones – so I am going to take it easy the rest of the day.  But I have a question for you … I have gotten some good feedback about a few new images … and I would love to hear what you think. What do you see in this picture and what would you suggest as a title?  I always feel the title is one way to guide a viewer at looking at an image … but today I would like to hear from YOU!! Thank you so much!

Oasis of Awakening, Digital © Diane Clancy

Oasis of Awakening is the new title – thank you for all your help! Love and blessings to all life! Thanks for coming by!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: title