Do You Donate Your Art?



T-Shirt design by he said tee shed
 at http://www.hesaidteeshed.com/

I saw the above on Facebook this past week and it reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend earlier this year.

She has a “No Donations” policy. Period. And here is why.

• The work we donate is always first rate as our names are attached to it.
• We work just as hard on the free work as the work we will sell.
• If there is no return on the investment, why spend all of that time and energy on it?

I donate art because of guilt. Or because I believe in the cause. And because somebody has asked me to do so, and I’m fairly obedient (though my husband might disagree. :)

So, I am wondering, why do you donate your art?

And if you don’t donate your art, why not?

I know I’d love to hear the ins and outs of your decision, and I bet others will too.

Thanks much, and may your day be a creative one.

Q and A Mondays- Finding Your Own Voice

A friend of mine started grad school this past year and periodically asks me for input.

Recently we were talking about her thesis, which isn’t due for a couple of years, but it’s never too early to start thinking about that, me thinks.

So I suggested she start brainstorming with words. Just start yelling them out, (writing them down too, lest they slip out of her mind) and see what words appear. I suggested she do this often to see if any words reappear. After a while a trend will indeed appear and that would be a good place to start, with these random words and thoughts. From there she can build upon them to find out what she wants to say with her work. Like a road map for her art.

How about you; How have you gone about finding your own voice?

Q and A Mondays- Are you a 2D or 3D artist? Or both?

I recently wrote in my sketchbook, “I am a 3D artist.”

That statement came after a show in which I had both 2D and 3D work and I felt the 2D didn’t hold up to the 3D work.

It is a train of thought I have considered before.

Am I one or the other?

Need I be one or the other?

I know we artists all struggle with multiple personalities in our work and it is important for the work to be consistent, but does that mean it must be only 2D or 3D? Or does a consistent theme trump all else, no matter what the materials or method of making?

I think the latter is correct.

But, I could use your feedback.

What do you think? And do you struggle with similar thoughts?

Q and A Monday- How? and What?

Judy Hayes, a fellow Minnesotan, asked the other day, “How did you get started making pattern paper dresses? And, “What inspired you?”

First, what inspired me?

Long story short, I started out life as a potter, and pottery deals with containment. Not that I was a production potter, but I do know how to throw on the potters wheel and have made my own dishes, cups, teapots, etc., so the whole concept of “containment” in deeply entrenched in my brain. Plus, all of us are essentially “containers” moving through the world. Our bodies literally contain our thoughts, ideas, and memories, in addition to the stuff of our physical beings. So, I‘d have to say that concept is the jumping off point for the dresses and almost all other work that I do.

On using actual dress patterns as material, well, that takes a bit longer to explain.

I collect things and vintage dress patterns have long been on my list of favorites. It probably started with the patterns that my Mom used while I was growing up. Both of my sisters and my Mom were great seamstresses. Me on the other hand, not so much. I loved looking for fabric and patterns and wearing clothes that reflected my design sensibilities, I just wasn’t good at sewing. In high school I actually had some of my clothes made by a local seamstress. So the sewing machine as my go to tool didn’t happen by choice.

Fast forward approximately 20 years to when I was invited to do a themed show about “transparency.” My original idea didn’t work out as I had hoped and with a looming deadline, Plan B was hatched. I thought to use some of my vintage patterns but quickly realized that I needed two matching patterns for my vision to work. Nix the vintage patterns and buy new ones. The next hurdle was how to stabilize the patterns to withstand the actual sewing process and survive getting delivered to the gallery. Which I eventually figured out through much trial and error.

I have been making them for 6 or 7 years now and I have fine tuned the process even more. In the past few years I have moved beyond dresses into other forms including a swing set and a boat, with still others yet in the works. I’ll share pictures of the newer work in the near future. In the meantime, here are pictures of the swing set and boat.

Games People Play by Kim Radatz,

installed at

Gala Corina’s iluminación, 2007

Wishful Thinking by Kim Radatz

installed at

C. Emerson Fine Art in St. Petersburg, 2010

Thanks so much for asking, Judy.

And may all of you have a creative day!

More Targets to Shoot At. More Bullets to Fire.

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. There have been many deadlines as of late. More targets to shoot at. More bullets to fire.

Which is good, as they keep me moving forward. Most are easy-breezy applications. Fill in the blanks and send in your money. But, I am also applying for a residency. Minimum of 2 months. Which has this homebody a bit nervous.

Well, actually, I am afraid.

And yes, it is easy to say “face your fears,” but it is much harder to do so.

So, I have had some sleepless nights. And heart wrenching conversations.

Is this right for me?
Should I do it?
What if I am not selected?
What if I am selected?
Do I really want to do it?
Will it really be good for me?
And on and on.

In the end, the pros outweigh the cons. So I gotta do it.

Scary, indeed, but I’m just gonna ride it out and see where it takes me.

I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

Do You Do Morning Pages?

Julia Cameron hit a home run with The Artist’s Way. Have you read the book? Done your 3 pages daily? If you haven’t read it, I would highly recommend doing so. It is well worth the read. Check out Julia Cameron’s website here for information on the book and more.

The reason I ask you about the 3 pages is that today I stumbled upon a notebook full of my daily pages from early 2000 and what an interesting read it has been!

Here is an excerpt from March 2000.
“I really, really, really do want to be successful…but I don’t know if I’ll ever get there. I don’t’ think I’m talented enough. I don’t think I work hard enough…what if the ideas don’t come.”

When I first read this I was saddened to hear such self doubt. But, wait a minute. I needn’t feel sad, I should be glad as I don’t feel this way anymore.

Not talented enough? As you already know, I accept that I have never been the most talented artist, but I have tenacity and that takes me much further. And I work very hard in my studio daily.

Ideas won’t come? Hardly. I can’t turn off the ideas. There currently aren’t enough hours in the day to finish all of them.

And success? Well, I’ve matured since then. I’m not sure what I was pining for back then, but I imagine it had to do with accolades from my peers. Fortunately, I have received recognition for my work since then in the form of awards and such, but more importantly, I realize that success isn’t measured by outside sources, but how I feel within.

All of this to say, wow, I honestly feel the pages worked for me. I am happy I took the advice to heart and devoted the time to them. I feel certain they had a great impact upon who I am today. Seeing hard work come to fruition, well, what better testimonial can there be.

So, my advice is to check out the book, if you haven’t already done so, and do the pages, whether you are new to them or starting anew.  And I plan to do the same. Keep me posted on how they go, and I shall do the same.

May your day be filled with new beginnings!

Show and Tell Sundays – Inquiring Minds Want to Know

I’m still playing catch up after my surgery and taking the time to heal. Feeling great too, except I have not been consistent in my communications with you. Please pardon my absence. Back on track and ready to roll.

As I said above, I’m turning the tables on this Show and Tell Sunday and asking you instead of telling you something.  And this is what I want to know –

Do you belong to a support group for artists?

If yes, good for you.  Would you like to share your information?

If not, have you considered starting one?

I am a one of the founding members of BRAVA, a group that has been meeting for 14 years now. We meet on the last Friday of each month to discuss our latest work, upcoming shows, and in general support each other on this often lonely path of being an artist.

What a WONDERFUL thing that we do for each other!

I highly recommend all artists belong to such a group. And if you can’t find one, make one.

It’s easy, really. Especially now with the help of social media. In fact, you might end up with too many potential members, so be picky. Don’t accept everybody or nobody will benefit.

There are as many different ways to go about forming a group as there are individuals doing the forming. And all groups are valid; just make sure you are surrounded by like minded people in order to get the most benefit out of it. Let’s face it; you are taking time away from actually making art, so use your time well.

Here are a few things I think are important to consider as you are in the planning stages of forming your potential group:

• Do you want to show together?
• Do you just want to have fun and be social or grow your art?
• Do you want constructive criticism? (This sounds great, but many people don’t deal well with any criticism, no matter how it will benefit them.)
• Can you devote half a day once a month to participate in the group? (Life does get in the way, so consider your other obligations before committing to a group. If you aren’t devoted, you aren’t a positive contributor to the group.)
• All women? All men? Or a mixed group?
• Large group? Small group?
• Everybody shares work at each meeting? Or only a few members are featured at each meeting?
• Mornings, evenings, or weekends?
• Meetings rotate from home to home? Or held in a restaurant or library?
• Etc., etc., etc.

Much depends on how many members, and again, all the above are valid variations, just tailor the meetings to fit the group in general. It might take some tweaking along the way, but there are always growing pains, yes? Keep with it and I think you’ll be thrilled with how a group can help you along your artistic path.

Good luck to you and let us know how it goes.

Rejection and Failure Go Hand in Hand

I have kept the word “failure” at the forefront of my mind since posting about rejection and how it helped me along my merry way as an artist. Hmmm, I wondered, if rejection can help, how about failures?

And then I stumbled upon the Cloth Paper Scissors questionnaire and see that failure has been on my mind much longer than just last week.

Below are two of CPS's question and my corresponding answers that deal with failure.

-If you could go back in time five years, what would you tell yourself about your art?
To trust in yourself and your art. There will be failures, mistakes, wrong turns, and distractions, but keep forging ahead. Work through the problems as in time they will resolve themselves.

-What do you wish they taught kids in school about art?
To trust in their inner artist and appreciate that they have been given a gift. But of utmost importance is that it takes more than just being gifted to make it as an artist.

Artists of all ages must persevere in times of doubt. Accept failure as part of the process. Be disciplined and focused even when it’s hard to find the time to do so. Be tenacious in their endeavor. And to be humble and open to change as teachers appear along their paths.

Maybe failure and rejection go hand in hand with being an artist. Or, more importantly, it just comes as part of this game called life. Might as well take advantage of them both and learn from them, me thinks.

Now I’m gonna go ponder mistakes that I have made. Surely there will be lessons there too.  I'll keep you posted on that front.

Until next time, have a creative day!



Hand in Hand, Kim Radatz



Sandwich as Muse

What is your muse?
 
Hmmm, for me it’s hard to narrow it down to one as I am inspired by many things.
 
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I started out life as a potter, so rusty, crusty, earthy textures make my heart race. And old, decaying things too.
 
Text of any kind does the same. Which is why it can be found on almost all of my work. That could stem from graffiti, or billboards, or t-shirts which have turned us into walking billboards. Or maybe it is just the simple beauty of the line a letter or word makes that captivates me.
 
I am not sure.
 
But a sandwich has never been among the items on my list.
 
Which is why the Cuban Sandwich Show conceived by David Audet of the Artist and Writers Group and the Festival of Moving Image, is appealing to me.
 
A formal prospectus will be out soon, but in the meantime, David sent out this brief description of the show.

"All the art, in all mediums, has to be about Tampa AND/OR Cuban Sandwiches. Thus, whether the art form is visual, film, dance, theater, music, cuisine, poetry, literature, the root subject is somehow about Tampa, past, present, future."

A Cuban Sandwich Show.  Fantastic.  I shall chew on that subject (pun intended) for many days to come.

Makes me yearn for a good Cuban sandwich too.

And makes me wonder if it is all of our experiences that become our muses?

What do you think?

Whatever form your muse takes, may she keep you moving forward on your path.

Have a great one!

An Artful Life

I think I could cycle back to the questionnaire from Cloth Paper Scissors magazine over and over and still never complete it. I see a question, ponder it, and arrive at an answer only to have it evolve into another answer and then prompt another thought and continue to evolve as the days go by.

The one question I have been thinking about repeatedly this holiday season is:

• Where do you find ideas for your work?

If I could push it one step further, I would ask:

• How does your art find its way into your life?

And this year, I can say my holiday decorations where definitely inspired by the decorations used in the altar the Artist Advisory Committee made for the Day of the Dead show at Tampa Museum of Art this past October. (Whew, that is a mouth full.)

I don’t have pix of the altar, but it is the white pom pom flowers on my tree that were inspired by the multicolored ones we used in October.

Must be a week of dogs; I see a poodle tail on the top of my tree!

May your holidays be happy and your troubles few.

I’ll talk to you in a few days.

Happy, happy, merry, merry!

Distracted Again

The other day I posted that I was thinking about starting an Etsy shop, but I have decided against it, thanks to your help. It is a wonderful tool for those that want to sell their work on their own. And it is so very gratifying when a sale happens. Plus you have direct contact with the buyer. Etsy is the perfect tool for accomplishing that. But…

But, in order to sell well, one must work at it and that takes time away from actually making art. I would rather make it than sell it, especially since I am not a natural born salesperson. That gift went to my sisters, so why do it? As the song says,
     You've got to accentuate the positive
     Eliminate the negative
     And latch on to the affirmative
     Don't mess with Mister In-Between

Sage advice that I shall take. No messin’ with the in-between stuff. Because in-between stuff is just another name for distraction. I shall leave the selling to the professionals, who are oh, so talented at doing it. And I love them for it.

So…. instead of thinking about selling my work, and having a body of work that is more suitable for sales, I’ve been working on these “skins”. They are far from finished, but I like where they are going.

Skinned-You Say, Kim Radatz©

Skinned-Wishful Thinking, KimRadatz©

Skinned-Wishful Thinking, detail, KimRadatz©

And yes, I know myself well enough to know that I will get distracted again and probably in the very near future. Hopefully I’ll be able to see the distractions for what they are and get back on track quicker.

As usual, time will tell on that front. I’ll keep you posted.

Stay warm tonight.

Do You Know the Secret?

To Etsy, that is.

Periodically I will think to myself, “I should try to sell some smaller works with my own Etsy shop.” And then if I take it one step further and actually log onto Etsy to check it out and try to navigate my way around the site I break into a cold sweat and immediately want to run.

Far away.

And fast.

Is this unique to me? Or have you experienced that too?

And I also wonder, do you buy or sell on Etsy?

If yes, maybe you have some secrets to share on how to do it well?

Please, do tell.  I could use your help.

Artists Are Not Lemmings

A while back an acquaintance asked how I would describe being an artist. Without any preconceived thought I exclaimed, “artists are visionaries.”

“Hmm, where the heck did that come from?” I thought.

If a gun had been held to my head in the moments prior I don’t think I could have answered the question in the same way.

In hindsight, I feel it was, and still is, the perfect answer.

We artists look at things in a different way. We keep striving to find our own voices. We are not lemmings.

And that explains why watching this clip from The Dead Poets Society still gives me chills. Robin Williams’ character was a true visionary and a great teacher.

Happy December to you. And may it be lemming free!

Killing Two Birds With One Stone

I just finished my walk, which I love.  I’m meditating and exercising all in one fell swoop.

When I first started walking years ago I didn’t set out to do both at once, it just sort of happened.  Now I do it intentionally.  No iPod with music or books, just wide open spaces for my mind to wander. And that allows the ideas to find a cozy spot to land.  An oh, so very cool thing to watch unfold.

Today this process reminded of the questionnaire I recently filled out for the Cloth Paper Scissor magazine. The one question in particular that came to mind was, “Where do you find ideas for your work?” I can’t remember how I answered exactly, but I know it had something to do with having no control over the ideas, they just come. I suppose I should have answered through meditation, but that might sound too esoteric. And it’s not. It’s just plain and simple walking. And thinking. One foot in front of the other and I am worlds away. It is a beautiful thing.

Naturally there are other ways for ideas to formulate and land; this is just one of the ways that came to mind today.

But now I gotta know; where do you find ideas for your work?

The title of this blog reminded me of these mixed media on cardboard pieces I did two years ago.



mixed media, Kim Radatz©



 

mixed media, Kim Radatz©









Two pieces, two birds, two years ago, lots of twos going on in this blog.

There could be a reason for that. But more on that later.

I hope you have a creative day!