RosehipsOctober 2007
copyright Jeanette Jobson
Early in January this year, I set myself 10 goals to reach and thought it would be interesting to check and see just where I was in terms of reaching them. In the past year, lots has happened in terms of art for me and I think I have made progress. But the proof is in the pudding, so lets go through the list and see.
1. Offer more drawing classes for different levels
I'm just starting to do this now. I will teach a class online in the near future. This month I start with a kids' class in drawing and in November I start in earnest teaching 2 adult and 1 childrens class a week. I am also booked to teach a workshop late this year or early next year for the Art Association.
2. Start a art club locally
I've joined the Art Association of Newfoundland and Labrador and sit on the Board as Treasurer. I have also joined the Realist Artist Association of Newfoundland and Labrador. As its always said, you have more leverage within than outside, so I have ideas for these art associations to expand and grow to offer modules under their umbrella.
3. Complete a series of drawings or paintings.
I haven't done this yet, but there are many ideas for series that come to me. I seem to get bogged down with practicalities and distractions. I need to commit to a series and just do it!
4. Enter at least 4 art exhibitions
I entered a exhibition in April The piece sold and I received Best of Show for it. A piece has been entered in the Woman in Newfoundland Art show which opens today and runs til October 26th in Corner Brook. I will enter 4 pieces in a show on October 21 and finally another exhibit for a Christmas show on December 2nd. So I guess I will meet my target there. These are all local shows and I would like to try my hand at some national or international shows and be accepted into a juried exhibition.
5. Develop a web site
The concept is in my head, but not on paper. I believe this is a must for the near future and I'll be working on achieving this before the end of the year. I'm not sure about the rate of sales through websites. Some are more successful than others, but I believe that a web presences is crucial. For now, my blog will have to do as my electronic presence.
6. Market and sell my prints
Well, they're still sitting in the cupboard. I have sold some, but I haven't put an active process into place to market them. I see this tied into the website in some ways, but I know there are other more effective ways of marketing them.
7. Rediscover oil painting and do at least one small oil painting a month (I'll never make it into the Painting A Day category)
I have pulled out my oil paints and produced three or four small pieces. I will continue to push myself with that medium.
8. Go to a different art exhibition each month
I haven't done this. Time has been a limiting factor for me. Or maybe that's just an excuse. I hope to go to The Rooms this weekend and see the current Albrecht Dürer exhibition. I really have no excuse for not going to exhibitions, I simply need to make time. They always are a source of inspiration, no mater what the theme.
9. Attend a class in a new medium
I have tried to sign up for several classes, but scheduling conflicts with work or other commitments always come up. I have looked unsuccessfully for life classes and just haven't found any. Its a challenge in a small city to find the services that you need. The Art Association does hold a variety of workshop during the year and I may be able to fulfil my needs through some of them.
10. Develop my market for animal portraiture locally
I have produced marketing brochures and flyers for animal portraiture and distributed them to animal grooming parlours, local stores and some pet stores. Reception for having brochures or flyers in stores has been limited as has been my time for distributing brochures. Working and trying to create and market art is a real challenge. I still need to push this through other sources.
I have just gotten some marketing pieces from the printer promoting animal and people portraiture. I have glossy postcards and magnetic business cards as well as regular business cards. I'll choose wisely where the more expensive marketing pieces go and track results that I get with them.
I've achieved 50% of my goals 9 months into the year with some movement in other areas, but not completion. I don't consider this bad, bearing in mind that I have a full time job as well as producing art. But there is room for improvement. I've learned from writing this down that I procrastinate and I must learn to make time to do what I want and need to do. I need to focus on my priorities and ensure they are taken care of.
So where are you in your list? Do you have a list? If not, why not? Its never too soon to set goals for yourself. Don't wait until January, do it now! A goal for a day, a week or a month can be enough to start your creative juices flowing and push you in the right direction.
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Beautiful photo.
Jeanette - I've been putting off looking at mine. I have a feeling I've diverted - or maybe continued with the same old diversions. I think you've done really well on a number of fronts.
Websites are mainly about providing a portfolio for people to look at your work. More useful for 'having a presence' and commissions and galleries I think - along the lines of more credible 'with' than 'without' if you want to pitch to people you may not meet face to face. However I do know a few people who have managed to sell work through them. They seem to work better for prints and lower priced items or commissions.
My website now gets much more browser traffic from a wide variety of sources because of the blog. However in a web2.0 world, generally static websites no longer seem to fare so well in keyword searches now that they're in the company of more dynamic sites like blogs which tend to get ranked higher by search engines. Traffic has to be driven to a website.
Thanks Terry. I love the bright reds in the rosehips against the dark background.
Yes, your comments are quite true Katherine. Are blogs the trend away from websites? I think its expected that most professionals have a website which then acts as the anchor point for offshoots such as blogs, lenses, etc, still remaining your personal 'gallery.
Jeannette, you are doing great at achieving your goals! Congrats on winning best of show. I have monthly goals but not yearly ones. On the first day of every month, I write down what I want to accomplish in the month. I have a vague overall goal of becoming a professional artist and a less vague intermediate goal of developing my skills as an artist. I do pretty well at achieving goals unless pressure from my job hits ... then I crumble. Food and the mortgage before art. :-)
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