White Oak Studio

This past weekend was the Blue Coast artists www.bluecoastartists.com annual Thanksgiving weekend open house. This was our 17th annual year.

Each of our individual member studios held an open house with group hours and we were all trying to sell the handcrafted items we - and our consigning artists create.

This year the weather in Michigan was a warm and sunny 55-60 degrees and we had a fabulous turn out of visitors for a holiday weekend! My quick head count was that 200+ visitors attended our three-day event with gross sales of over $700.00. What stood out to me was that the majority of our customers were not buying Christmas gifts. The majority bought a small item, sort of a “curtesy” $5.00 purchase. As the owner of a retail art gallery all the signs I see tell me that the economy is still in trouble in Michigan. We don’t see the signs of the “upturn” we read about in the newspaper and hear about on the televison.

In 2005 we had terrible winter weather - cold and snow and according to my records and as a result had less than 90 people who attended. And my records say that sales were pittiful - around $250.00 for three days worth of work, comparied to the $1,700+ the year prior.

Because the weather was so cooperative this year we had the White Oak Blacksmith Forge open for tours. That is a “first” for Thanksgiving as typically no one will walk across the grass in the snow and cold to see the unheated foge. My husband Gene gave tours all weekend.

It was a hectic and very tiring four days. Thanksgiving we spent in the kitchen cooking my husband’s “famous” Italian lasagne followed by the the three days open house event. Poor Spirit, our 3 1/2 year old labrador who is our official “gallery greeter” was exhausted and definitely over stimulated by the end of the event!

I have taken workshops here and there but I am mainly a self-taught papermaker. I learned my craft primarily by reading, from the Yahoo papermakers list http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PaperMaking/ and from a lot of in-the-studio experimenting. I am definitely a “kinesthetic” learner.

One of the best workshops I have taken was the two-week paper and book workshops on Beaver Island, through CMU (Central Michigan University). We stayed in group dorms, ate cafeteria style and were staying right on the shores of gorgeous Lake Michigan in August. It was a hot, sunny and creative two weeks!

An intensive two-week workshop, the first week we learned how to set up the “pulp pit”, how to pigment  and mix pulp, how to beat raw kozo into paper and we made handmade sheets of paper from dusk to dawn. The second week we made bookboard boxes covered with our handmade paper, learning the in’s and out’s of glue on paper. The small, 4″ paper covered box (business card size box) was the hardest thing I have ever made.

At the end of the workshop there was a student art show and I met a watercolorist who attends this workshop every year and sells enough watercolors to pay for her workshop. Smart girl!

I feel as if I have mastered the basics of sheet making and making paper with plants and I am now ready for my next challenge. Currently I am searching for a workshop on aramature. Because I’ll be in North Carolina visiting family in April of 2007 and in New York in August, I would like to combine a workshop with our family vacation. To this end, I visited the websites of 1) Penland www.penlan.com, 2) John C. Campbell and 3) Carriage House in New York  http://www.carriagehousepaper.com/. I also asked to be alerted for the dates and locations of the next “Book and Paper Intensive” event http://www.paperbookintensive.org. So far, I have not found the workshop I need and want.

If you know of one that might interest me, please let me know!

It was from the Beaver Island workshop that I learned my current paper drying system using a frame of ripped 2X4’s with screen print materials stretched over the wooden frames. This photo shows several students working on making sheets of paper with a mold prior to dipping into the vat. They were participating in our White Oak  ”Intergenerational Papermaking Workshop.”

Another recently completed grouping of work - handmade plant papers on canvas - is the 12″ X 24″ dyptic “Ancient Ferns.”

This work pictured today is part of my new “Winter Air” series experimenting with white on white shades of handmade papers. This photo is definitely not of a professional quality but rather just a quickie digital shot in the studio under regular gallery lighting but it gives you an idea of my current style of artwork.

The dyptic, “Ancient Ferns” and is made with the Oregon, ocean sea weed and kelp paper with ferns collected from the “Tall Grass Marsh” near our rural Allegan County home. This pair is priced at $550.00 and currently hangs in the White Oak Gallery.

I found it funny that the art challenge for ISABA (altered book artists) this month was also the color white. It appears that white was on the minds of other artists as well as myself of late.

A peek at the newsletter can be seen at newsletter@alteredbookartists.com

The mission of this group is to;

The entire electronic newsletter for December (published on the day of Michigan first snow storm no less) used the subject of white as a theme. White art, white materials, white art products, quotes and so on was the theme at hand.

I just completed a triptic series of ferns on canvas that I am calling “Spring - Summer - Autumn” incorporating our woods ferns (dried)  and incorporated into canvas. This work has been created in the 12″ X 24″ (long and narrow) canvas’s format I have been working in of late. I incoporated the ferns from our wood lot selecting examples in various stages of growth.

The “Spring” panel of course is in a fresh green color, the “Summer” panel is a fern that is a lighter (and older) mid-green tone and part yellow, and “Autumn” panel is a yellow/brown tone. I completed this three piece series just in time to send it to the South Haven Center for the Arts 2006 Mistletoe Mart boutique, pictured here at the center top of photograph.

I hope to get some feedback from this showing and maybe even sell it. Price for the three panels $650.00.

This weekend will be a major promotional weekend for White Oak Studio and the Blue Coast Artists www.bluecoastartists.com I am hoping my injured left knee can take the walking!

Today, Friday, I will drive to Fennville and distribute the postcards and posters for the Thanksgiving weekend open house, two weeks away. I will make a special effort to tap into the Bed & Breakfast establishments, the coffee shops and restaurants - everywhere people congregate.

 Then tonight, there is the reception for the Mistletoe Mart boutique opening and I will distribute both postcards and rack cards there as well as do the “personal promo thing” (with rack cards in hand.)

Tomorrow, Saturday is the evening “cocktail party” for the Celery Pond Advocates with 30+ couples mingling and I will do the same marketing thing there as well.

If there is time, I would like to distribute postcards throughout downtown South Haven tonight as this begins the two week Mistletoe Stroll event and many churches will be hosting bazarrs and bake sales. 

 ARTIST SECRET OF THE WEEK: Plan to spend at least 40% of your time marketing your work. Don’t expect that you can just stay in the studio and that customers will “find” you.

I was in the studio at the crack of dawn today. I needed to get my art pieces priced and inventoried for delivery by noon. Today was the first of only three days available to deliver artwork to the South Haven Art Center for this weekend “Mistletoe Mart” and I wanted to coodinate my trip into South Haven.  Because of the 20 mile trip each way I needed to:

• Deliver artwork to the art center
• Attend garden club meeting
• Deliver Thanksgivig weekend open house flyers to the Chamber of Commerce, Visitor & Convention Bureau, Library and so on

Today, I delivered collages on canvas in varying sizes (and budgets), my hand painted tissue papers and 12 handmade paper bookmarks. Last year a large $400.00 collage sold and hopefully a collage or two will sell again this year!

This will be the first public showing of my new 12″ X 24″ sized canvas collages.

Promote - promote - promote!!

I’ve been working on my art marketing goals and project list for 2006-2007-2008.

2006 TASKS                                                                                       WHEN COMPLETED

1. Make changes to gallery business                                          DONE
2. Create new website                                                               DONE
3. Get blog up and running                                                         DONE
4. Get word out to BCA and consignment artists                        DONE
5. Begin “Winter Air” series                                                        DONE
6. Research Chicago, possible venues

2007 TASKS

1. Find new markets
2. Find new audience’s 
3. Set up local/regional exhibitions (Kalamazoo Art Hop/Kalamazoo Nature Center/Krasl exhibitions)
4. Research Chicago exhibition sites
5. Create a body of work for the “Tall Grass Marsh”

2007 PROJECTS:

1.”Wild Places” Decide format

• Tall Grass Marsh
• The Meadow
• The Forest

2. Create artist book using wooden frame

• Decide theme and format

3. Continue working on “Winter Air” canvas series

 2008:

1. Begin exhibiting in Chicago area
2. Create the table-top “artist book”
3. Exhibit ”Meadow” part two of a three-part-series “Marsh/Meadow/Bog/Pond”

Today, like a squirrel, I began to stock up on my art supplies for the coming winter. I bought 12 canvas’s in various sizes and shapes and ordered two gallons of acrylic matte medium. (From my last years records it appears that 2 gallons of medium lasts me about one year.) I still plan to mail order some of the hard-to-find square 8″ X 8″ canvas.

Last year I created 9 of the 8″ X 8″ square canvas’s all in the same basic theme/colors/style so that they could be purchased in singles, doubles or triples. These were affordably priced at $123.00 and apparently they were a hit as I only have 2, 8″ X 8″ size canvas left. These were popular so I definitely plan to make some more in that compac size.

My experience as a gallery owner has taught me, among other lessons, to have work made in all sizes and price ranges. You never know the budget of the art appreciator, so my motto is be prepared for all budgets!

I have always found it interesting when a consigning artist came in with this attitude….”I want to make what I want to make, when I want to make it.” In my experience, that artist does not sell the most artwork.

CONSIGMNENT TIP OF THE DAY: If you wish to sell your artwork on sonsignment I recommend you do the following. 

1) Create work in various price ranges.

2) Create work in seasonal styles. Research the catalogues and magazines to see what home decor or clothing colors are currently “in style.”

3) And be willing to create custom work, if asked.

4)  Try to meet the needs of the specific galleries, whenever possible.

Although it is early winter in Michigan (the middle of November) typically by this time we are usually under a few inches snow. Instead, we are enjoying a bit of unexpected and glorious “Indian Summer.” The past few days have been a sunny and warm 65 degrees and I have been spending as much time out-of-doors in the woods and marshes as possible. Spirit and I have been out hiking every day and it has been wonderful.

I have been collecting dried marsh grasses for a project I am calling ”The Tall Grass Marsh” as well as lovely grey twigs with red berries (we think they are decidious holly) and White Pine and Juniper greens for our gallery whiskey barrell pots and window boxes. Although it feel quite odd to be collecting greens in mid-November, I know this is just a temporary lull in the real winter to come. In a few weeks I will be happy that I have the decorations set at the gallery and even more happy that I was able to collect and arrange them when it was warm outside!!

I’ve done some experimenting with the marsh grasses this fall. I have been simply soaking, hand cutting and blendering and adding them to the pulp. This has worked quite well. They dry as thin, soft tan colored bits in the finished paper and have been working well for me in the new “Winter Air” series I am working on.

Today I plan to look for others grasses or fibers in the marsh that I might collect and experiment with.

Maybe I could create”Indian Summer” papers or collages!

I have been busy getting ready for the Nov. 17th Mistletoe Mart Holiday Sale at the South Haven Center for the Arts.  I want to have several new canvas’s ready by this date so have been working hard to get them completed. I have been experienting with working orizontally on canvas - a new formay for me.

 The creating of the collages is satisfying to me but the WORST part of holiday shows is getting them inventoried and individually tagged in the centers required system.  The system is time consuming and laborious. I wish that the center could come up with a better tagging system as the current system is time consuming and a total pain for the artist’s to complete. If they streamlined the system they might get more artists participating!

Gene and I do enjoy the annual opening reception which is traditionally held the Friday evening as a “show opening.” This year the reception will be held, on November 17.  It’s a great social time for the both of us.

I plan to take a variety of collages on canvas in a variety of sizes and price ranges.

This is the only holiday sale I am doing this year. I have participated in the Krasl Art Center (St. Joseph, MI) holiday sales in years past but after all the prep work and delivery - artwork at Krasl had not been selling so I stopped participating (as did my photography friend Karen Murphy www.karenmurphyphoto.org.)