Facebook is Awesome

There's so much good in FB.  Yes, it has it's dark side, but during the past year I've been focusing on the light stuff and it's been a wonderful experience.

In our last flood, we lost many Christmas ornaments including photos, the kind you hang on the tree.  So I was thrilled when this missing picture showed up on my daughter's FB feed as I couldn't find it on my PC.  She was able to identify the year instantly, and in a click I had the complete ornament set.  It also sparked memories and conversation around how they were goofing around as I tried to take that annual photo.  

FB provides a place for my family and friends to stay connected, and although it's not a replacement for 3D time, it's become a regular prompt for discussion--most great, a few not.  I've picked up a few lessons-learned tips to keep it all good:

1. Don't share personal info. This includes your full name, address, phone number, primary email (use a spam dedicated account), school/work and important, your birthday.  Why/because you create a googleable presence that brings you up quickly online and there's enough 20/20 footage to remind us why this is not a good thing.  I use my Dad's birthday as it's a few days before mine, it's easy to remember and I'm a ham for birthday wishes.  And don't tag people in photos--they really don't like it when their named picture is all over the web, and think about setting your privacy to disallow your name being tagged as well. Get familiar with those privacy settings so you can control what's "out there" about you.  And that cute Messenger app thing?  You give away your Contact info in order to use it, which is like handing your personal address book to a stranger.
2. Don't share politics.  Being guilty of this myself, I made an effort to stop, because frankly, nobody gives a damn.  (This excludes Trump memes which are lol--why/because it's my blog/page and I said so.)
3. Don't slam people on their own page.  You wouldn't/shouldn't walk into someone's house and tell them it smells like butt--you'd leave unless you like that sort of thing.  So if you don't agree, move on.  
4. Don't posts links to fake news, copy/paste posts that cure cancer/disease/animal cruelty, tag me, etc. It's so easy to fact check before you speak.  And although it may feel righteous, correcting those who do this gets old.  Recipes are pretty safe and provide little fuel to online blazes. 
5. But DO enjoy the benefits of FB!  See what your kids are into (it's how I found out my little darling was ______.) Continue friendships with folks not in your everyday life.  Create a business page and shamelessly plug www.carasmiths.com .  Follow the Grateful Dead--still.

Have fun and be safe.

Christmas Tree skirt hack

For all you doily horders

Barn Wood Walls In a Weekend?

DIY reclaimed wood walls are lining up everywhere, from bistros to bedrooms. Upcycled planks from old barns, school houses, crates and pallets make for a charming focal point or backdrop. Those TV Home Shows make these projects seem like a giant jigsaw puzzle that you can assemble in a weekend... maybe, but a lot more goes into scaling the wall. Armed with some planning basics and know-how, you too can get this look for a fraction of the cost of paying a contractor.

TOOLS AND SUPPLIES:  Quality reclaimed wood, cleaning supplies: borax, dish detergent, watering hose or power washer, insecticide, table saw (optional), measuring tape/ruler, pencil, drill, nails (length dependent on supporting backboard), hammer. Working space to spread out plus some patience!

WOOD SELECTION
The days of driving down a country road and happening upon a barn awaiting disassembly are few and far between, but by all means, ask the owner's permission to do some thrifty scrapping if you are lucky enough to find one.  

Often professional pickers recycle these sites quickly for resale. So when shopping for reclaimed wood, ask questions. A reputable reseller should be able to provide you with your wood's humble beginnings vs. a previous life as a chemical stack pallet. Our supply came from a recycler outside of Philadelphia and cost about $100 for what they called a "scrap pack" comprised of long wall and flooring odds and ends. Also be careful when selecting colors: that charming, chippy red paint may contain lead. Portable test kits can swab for lead presence. Your best bet is to select solid unpainted planks with richly aged natural wood tones as you can enhance the colors with paint before or after you install your wood wall.

WOOD PREPARATION
Skip this step and you can literally trash your project. Those charming knot holes in your wood might be bug condos, so each board needs to be thoroughly cleaned. There are many recommendations online regarding how to go about this, but here's the steps we used: 
1) On a sunny day, lay out all the wood on a hard-scaped location (like a driveway) and hose both sides--if you power wash, just be careful and start on the lowest setting so you don't strip your aged wood's patina. 
2) To remove mold, mildew and general dirt, mix a cup of borax powder (laundry--the 20 mule stuff) and a bit of dish detergent into a full bucket of warm water.  Although we are not experts, borax is supposed to permanently draw out any crawling squatters from the wood, although a professional exterminator laughed at this...but at the very least it will help get it clean. 
3) With a long handled brush, scrub both sides well, hose and allow to dry completely. 

If you're not ready to use the wood immediately, it's important to store it in a dry area.  We didn't, which takes us to the final prep step:  insect removal.  We stacked our wood after cleaning it, but it did get a bit damp before we got to using it. Covered and still looking clean, we skipped spraying for bugs only to frantically rip down our first nailed board as the ants went marching. You are hunting termites and ants at a minimum, so read the insecticide label of your chosen product.  We sprayed each board, both sides, and once again allowed them to completely dry in the sun and kept them outside for a few days. (Ideally, if you purchased reclaimed wood, it's already been kiln dried which removes pests, but we errored on vigilance.) 

Get passed this point, you are on your way to a very stylin' wall!

CUTS
Safety first:  glasses, masks and gloves. Get some basic wall measurements down on paper to guide the lengths of your board cuts. As you can see in the blank wall photo, our dimensions were pretty consistent. When planning your design, you may choose an irregular, random pattern--great if you want an organic chunky wood wall look, and it doesn't necessarily require a lot of trimming.

If you want a more linear matchy look--we did, as our wood had many irregularities plus broken tongue and groove, then you'll want to square up each piece.  This way all the edges butt up tight against each other on the wall. Examine your wood and be careful to remove any hidden nails embedded in your boards before trimming.  We used a table saw to plane, creating straight horizontal and vertical edges. Also, save some time by planing your project's entire wood supply, as well as sorting your boards into piles of like sizes.

 

PLACEMENT
We had a drawing, and knew exactly which boards would go where.  It was even color coded. All that went right out the window after the placement of the first board. The wood decided for us where it would go on the wall, and here's a few things to be mindful of:  

• Know your frame.  Our wall is hollow, had an existing mantle and fireplace with two studs running up the middle and one on each side, so four studs total.  We measured and used those studs for support and created a 4 hole template out of scrap wood...why? (and they don't tell you this on TV)... aged barn wood is notoriously brittle. By predrilling holes into the wood before hammering them into the wall, you gain the advantage of accurate and secure nail placement without splitting your boards.
• If you're using a more solid substrate backdrop (such as cinder block) you'll need to align furring strips in order to create grip for your nailed boards. Again, create a template--a simple guide that helps mark hole placement for your boards, which will save time and expletives.  

  

  Create a template to mark and predrill holes

• A tip on nails:  To create a rustic look, paint the heads black or bronze. We wanted the look of antique cut nails until we priced them.  So one night, black permanent marker in hand plus a glass or three of wine, I painted the heads of ~600 nails while watching Scandal.  Instant vintage, gladiators!

We then started arranging and nailing the boards on the wall, one row at time, being mindful of electrical or other buried wall lines. Our placement for each board was guided by the random look we wanted which actually needed some thought to accomplish.  We kept the boards horizontal for each row as well as the same height, but didn't worry about lengths, just making sure we had pleasing coverage without short, stubby ends.  For some rows we used one large board next to two stacked boards running horizontal.  No rules here, which led to a great outcome.

TOUCH-UP
You may have some gaps where your background substrate shows through--use some matching paint or, like we did, a marker to fill in those lines. We also decided that the edges would look good painted the same color as the wall, so if you have exposed ends, this is a quick solution to blend it all together.  We then used various shades of watered-down white and beige paint to dry brush some highlights on the darker wood. 

Start to finish, our reclaimed barn wood wall took about 4 full days:  1 to shop, 1 to clean, and 2 or so to install. Hopefully these real life steps will cut down on your time.  Enjoy!

Potless Melt

Pot melts are all the rage these days in fused glass studios and a plethora of shiny $tainless $teel tools have hit the market. Molds, frames, custom grids, fibers thick and thin...they're all out there for the experimental artist.  But if you're on a budget and want to use glass scraps as a cost effective medium, how about going potless?

Tools and Materials:

-Clean, unused, unglazed red clay plant saucer with no cracks

-Scrap kiln paper

-Scrap glass of many colors (be sure it's all the same COE!) 

-Frit (optional)

Instructions:

1.  Gather that good intentions scrap glass you've been saving.  Sort same COE colors into like piles. Not only will this utilize your expensive scraps, but you'll feel so good about cleaning it up!

2.  Overlap scrap kiln papers (note the theme here $$) and line the saucer--pretty doesn't matter.

3.  Layer glass into the saucer. Depending on how you plan to use your potless melt, reserve your "good" glass for the bottom and top layers.  Use frit or less attractive scraps in the middle layer as filler.  Orphan beads not meant for daylight make an excellent foreground, I save them just for this.

When you're happy with your design, full fuse with a slow cool down.  Sandblast or sand the paper residue off prior to using your potless melt in a mold, etc. Your saucer may break...you'll be out a $1.  But you'll get much more control of your final abstract design--all at the cost of running your kiln.  

Give it try and share your thoughts!

Saturday Night Beading

Love going online and seeing something I made gracing someone I appreciate!

Mark Karan of Grateful Dead bands Other Ones, Ratdog, photo by Alan Hess: http://alanhessphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Mark_karan-43.jpg

Can You Do Better?

As artists we've been there, that awkward moment when you hear, "How much will you knock off" on your one-of-a-kind creation. I have several (said with a smile) one-liners at the ready for these moments, such as, "Are you inquiring about a wholesale account" or when pressed, the snarkier "Hmmm, you'd like me to discount my already less than minimum wage salary?"

I'm not against the art of the deal. We haggle on real estate. Cars. At a flea market. In many cultures it's expected. But there's something about the juried art show that's a benefit for underprivileged children, where participants pay a fee to enter and vendors donate a percentage of their sales to the cause that knocks off kilter even my expectant disenchantment. In this case, it's two matching but unique hand-molded glass lampshades (count the production hours) priced as a duo that are not greated with inquisition, a complement or even the courtesy of a response to "hello" but with a blunt, "Can you do better on the pair?" Pat responses don't do this justice.

It started off the regular way, a group checking out my space, no eye contact, repeated visits, your business card scooped up like a secret file in "Mission Impossible." But here's the blue sky: I recognize the Negotiator as my paperboy from days gone by. The one who would stand on my porch, laser beam eye contact, a wonderul smile, chatting away. He was great at his job. Finally that winning grin, as I remind him of how fondly I remember him, sharing my thoughts with his family and confirming, "I did tip you well for your service?"..."Yes you did."

Negotiations ended without a sale as my patrons quietly left the booth promising to stay in touch, which is ok as I truly did not want to sell those lamps. In my opinion, they're some of my best work and look great on my mantel where they'll stay with a story to tell. My paperboy is now a successful internet mogul. I am an artist that will continue to do better.

Carasmiths Published in Stampington's Jewelry Affaire!

What fun to see my pendant and tutorial...check out page 107!

Come SPRING @>~

It's finally here, and we've been doing some big renovations around Casa Carasmiths.  A redesigned studio with more space.  New equipment.  And a new website.

More to come, but please check us out at www.carasmiths.com!

A Little Christmas Story

The holidays do seem to get crazier.  Things become a drag, traditions a chore, and I may turn into that lady I swore I'd never be:  The one with the tiny ceramic tree on top of the TV.  Couldn't even get cards out which used to be a joy. I'm not old and miserable, just a tad disenchanted with all the hoopla as there's so much more going on.

Things are going pretty well this year considering the aggressive cancer treatment my Dad's been nailing out of the park.  A good friend my age also battles the same cancer as my Dad, they share it like playmates, both of them are incredible--I have no room to complain AT ALL.  So many others I know are having very dark holidays.  So even when the kids have their imperfect moments, I step back to breath...they can shock you with an early college admission...a scholarship!...and an "I love you"...and I thank God for the blessings.  

One of those has been a layoff (the one that happened after I came back from the Federally sanctioned Family Leave Act after helping my folks) which forced my hand to consider my Art as a full time business.  It still feels like cheating, and pays nothing like that day job did, but boy is it rewarding.  Then came that last minute custom Christmas order, the one you know you're stretching to do, but hey, I'll get it done.  It was for Eternabeads, the custom beads I make with, yes, cremate.  And the deceased was fond of trains.  

The tone of the request led me to believe it was a puppy that passed, one that loved to chase after locomotives.   My Eternabead communication with customers is a bit more detailed than my regular glass commision sales, and the requester was surfing the web and found my site a few weeks back.  She asked me short and sweet if I could make her beads with a train.  Sure!

Then the perfect storm:  Slow mail and overlapping commitments.  The beads I can roll in my sleep suddenly stall as my printer goes out.  I can't add the design.  Thinking the customer will understand, I drop her a note with some alternatives.  After two days I start to get a bit fidgety, it's now a week before Christmas and I haven't heard back from her.  I Google her for a phone number, but come up empty.  I try to email again, as I still don't know who the beads actually are...then comes the reply:  My customer is in tears.

And she's sweet like an angel.  These beads are her husband, and they are for her daughters.  Is there anything I can do for now?  Now I'm crying. I ring up anyone who could possibly have the one-of-a-kind printer it takes to make the images.  I email acquaintances, but it's Christmas weekend.   In desperation I call the manufacturer of the paper that I use to print the images, a long shot.  I beg, and Nicole from http://www.diamondtechglass.com who's experienced the longest, twisted whine of the century not only sends me the images printed from their printer, they arrive on Christmas Eve.  By the day after Christmas, the beads were completed and sent out to the customer.

In the mean time, I sent her beads with a temporary tattoo of the image so that she would had something to give her daughters.  She loved them, and her email again made me weep.    

So much nonsense in the attitudes many (including myself) hold around Christmas.  All it takes is a "train that could" and a few earthling angels to really get it.  And I left the ceramic tree in it's box, we have grander fir about.

Happy New Year...love!

In the Round with Kris Schaible: Finding Your Style

An earlier interview with Jen Cushman focused on the “art-to-market” spectrum where a passion grows from a hobby to becoming a published expert. Along that path are life steps that I felt needed some more exploration, such as the balance of raising a family while defining your style as an artist. I’ve known Kris Schaible for some time and have watched her art and abode grow. Her journey started when she first purchased a flameworked art bead—as some of us do (a common attribute being the love of fire) she ordered some glass rods, a torch and mostly taught herself to fire things up and make her own beads. That was eight years ago, and three children later Kris owns and manages Noodlesaurus Glass Studio where she works and trains others. She’s also the Mid-Atlantic regional director for the International Society of Glass Bead Makers. CS: Kris, we’ve know each other from our Penn Dragons days. As an artist, how did creating glass beads become your primary passion and focus? KS: Growing up I was exposed to numerous art mediums--paint, paper, fabric. I learned to sew on my grandmother’s tredle Singer and to crochet when I was six. I made quilts, did needle point, strung seed bead bracelets and painted canvas, but glass--WOW!!!---what a captivating medium. The ability to take a solid and convert it into a semi-liquid, alter its shape and color then allow it to cool back to a solid. The rich gem tone color palette is one of the biggest things that drew me into glass as well as the ability to layer it to get cast shadows and create depth. Melting glass seems to have centered my creativity as I design mini works of art inside of each bead. I love to create beads that appear to glow from within or have layers that shadow each other and create a new color. CS: You took over the part of your home that for most would house their car and turned it into a studio. How did that come together? KS: My husband and children are the center of my world, so it just seemed natural to have the studio here as well. Being a creative spirit, I have to create every day. Having converted half of our garage into my studio allows me to work and to make beads but still have my family close to me. We have chosen to home school our children, so my schedule varies with my husband’s work schedule. Having the studio here at the house and being able to go out there when he gets home or when the kids are out playing gives me a lot of flexibility. There is the safety factor as well. The kiln runs at a temperature of around 970 degrees, glass fractures and ends up on the floor and my torch mixes oxygen and propane. So it’s a place to tuck everything away. Kris Schaible’s signature round beads CS: How did your signature style evolve and in retrospect, what’s worked best towards supporting the direction you’re heading in today? KS: My goal when it comes to my style: If you found my bead on the floor at a show, you would know it was mine. So I spent a lot of time, years actually, developing my style of bead. I tried this and that, and really in hindsight was forcing a style to develop. I would say the first five years of my bead making was this way. It worked because I was able to support a wonderful organization called Beads of Courage, an art-in-medicine program for children battling serious illness. Beadmakers donate handmade beads that recognize and celebrate the courage and milestones of treatment. Starting in late 2009, I had the opportunity to take part in Bead Fest. I shared a booth with someone at this very large event and mingled with other beadmakers who’s work I admired. They gave me this advise: “Relax, it will happen one day.” Sure enough it did. I started making round beads, honestly it was an accident as I was working on an oval bead but somehow couldn’t get the shape quite right so decided to make it round. I was in love, and I now make all of my beads perfectly round with 5-9 layers of glass in them. The shape allows me to layer and create depth in a bead. This year, in my own booth at the same show, a returning customer stopped in and said, “I saw a lady at another booth buying components to create a necklace and she had your beads, I just knew it by looking at them.” CS: That’s a great complement, and having watched your style over the years, I still “see” you in your artwork. What’s driving you now, where will Kris be by 2015? KS: As my style has developed, I’ve become more comfortable with my work and the quality of it. I’m doing more shows, last year two, this year eleven. Next year I’m hoping to travel out of state to do shows and visit others studios around the country to teach my style to others. As I evolve as an artist, I’d like to publish my work. Knowing Kris and watching her talent grow, she’ll be around and heating things up for a long time. ** Photographs of Kris Schaible and Glass Beads are the exclusive intellectual property of Kris Schaible and are being reproduced for this article with her explicit written consent.

Photos, collage and such...

I've been stuck on how to add some old photos that I don't want to cut up into a collage painting.  Being ever so lazy, don't want to run out to Staples to get laser color photo copies, but if you've ever tried to gloss a piece of ink jet printed paper, you know it gets messy quick. 

This morning I found a blog by Piddix that gives great ideas, check it out~
http://piddix.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-prevent-smudges-and-bleeding.html

Good Times

I got a feelin ♫...

Some people who look at my work ask me how my mind works.  It's a strange, anxious world in there.  I'm not a fine artist, I'm an arter, someone who can make something from something else.  So is my Dad, as was his Mom.  

"Momoo" had a sewing studio that was my Sunday work space.  She taught me straight lines, a clean back (because people WILL look on the flip side) and inspired do-it-yourself creativity.  "Popoo" had a metal shop that I'd run to after breaking sewing needles.  I was routing steel and drilling wood by the time I was 12, demanding to be one of the first girls in Jr. High to take shop instead of home ec.  

Grammie's kitchen was different.  It was chaos on any given Saturday, with a quilt being sewn at the table while she was baking up a storm--cabinets doors ajar and flour all about.  I thrived in that multi-tasking wonderland.

CacoPop brings it all home with his pickings.  Driftwood becomes a display case.  A potbelly stove--a lamp.  That corroded bench in the back room boiler room at Bethlehem Steel is now at my kitchen table.  And no metal is ever scrap.

Mom creates order and does all things perfectly perfect--always has, and that's how everything gels.  And I'm fortunate to have an amazingly supportive DH, amused children and Ferris as a brother.

Good things are happening :) ...

The Arte of Metal: A Conversation with Beth Botak of Kabela Design

Many beading magazines grace the racks in stores, and when you look closely, you’ll likely spy at least one arte metal creation from Kabela Design.

Kabela (named after their two first grandchildren, Katie and Isabella) specializes in US manufactured jewelry components made from original filigree, Art Deco and Art Nouveau stampings in raw brass, copper and fine silver coating. Using dye plates dating back as far as 1904, these works of art in their right offer designers the opportunity to create vintage style jewelry with a contemporary twist.

CS: Kabela has become a well-branded name in the arte metal jewelry space. Tell me about how you and your family got your business plan into action?

BB: I was an activities director for a nursing home for 25 years. It was an amazing opportunity to educate others, but I knew I had to do something different. My daughter Kelly made flameworked pendants and we walked into A Queen Bead in Media, PA to sell some of her wares. The shop needed help, and I ended up working there. Then I started doing bead shows. I always felt there was a force behind me gently pushing. I needed to offer something that no one else had.

That niche item? Displays. Velveteen busts—not readily available at the time and she sold them to other jewelers at shows. It was high margin business. Vintage lucite was the rage

BB: I loved the Deco-Nouveau look and colorations so I investigated making my own jewelry component products in the US. I got online to look for manufacturers but found a very closed book. After months of searching, there it was: My line of perfect components, made here in the US. I contacted them and ordered 12 trays to start. That was 4 years ago.

Beth and her husband Tom grew the business together after his job in railroad logistics changed. Now with their daughter Kelly and co-worker Gina, this selling team does 48 bead shows a year around the country, as well as keep up with their full time website. (If you see Bethy at a show, mention you read this blog and expect a big hug and a gift.)

CS: You’re in many publications and I see you advertise in so many places…how do you target where to place ads and measure success?

BB: When you do 48 shows a year your name gets out there. We’re in practically every issue of Bead Design (formerly Bead Unique). Also Bead Style and several others. I’ve met so many writers and publishers. Debbie Simon is using our components in her new Interweave book. I am a firm believer in advertising. I think it’s important when you have a business to get to know everyone. Tom and I travel all over the country, we have made so many friends in advertising and feel incredibly fortunate to be part of some very big bead companies such as Artbeads and Fusion Beads to name a few.

Innovative Bead Expo is a favorite show for Kabela. I met Beth there as I glanced at a finding in her display and paused to consider how I might mount my fused glass cabochons in her components. Not only did she spend a great amount of quality time training me to think differently about how to set my handmade cabs, she and Tom offered unique ideas. I’ve seen similar components on the market, but was hooked by Kabela as I could visualize my final design.

CaraSmiths fused glass cabochon wrapped in Kabela filigree

CS: How do you differentiate yourself from your competition?

BB: We’re a small family business and that allows us to be much more personal with our customers. We hand sign every invoice and add personalized gifts based on what they ordered and what we think they might like. A large percentage of our line comes from a fourth generation US-based family business and we have our components treated with the highest quality, nickel free plating available. We do not try to cut costs or corners and we believe it shows in our pieces.

I love people. In Sante Fe there was a group in our booth as I explained our wholesale policy. A woman handed me her card which said she was world renowned sculptor Estella Loretto. The next day we went touring, and at the Basilica saw her Indian version of the Madonna. My cell rang and it was Estella, inviting us to see her studio in the mountains. Her whole yard is full of sculptures, and she wanted to trade with ME for a piece of my art. Not only has Kabela been a wonderful business for us, but it has also allowed us to meet so many amazing people. I feel blessed.

** Photographs of Beth Botak and art pieces are the exclusive intellectual property of Beth Botak; and are being reproduced for this article with her explicit written consent.

Exciting things brewing...

IS IT REAL?

Had an interesting conversation this weekend at a bead show re the amount of "faux" tibetan silver components for sale on the web from unknowing (and knowing) resellers:

eBay Guides - Tibetan Silver - A Buyer s Advisory

reviews.ebay.com

The Wannabe Artist:  Running a Small Business

 An Interview with Jen Cushman

Last month I shared steps that artists need to think about when promoting their business.  One of the challenges of being right brained is that logic is not the dominant switch.  Not all artists are right brained, by the way.  And successful ones know that creating a path is important.  One of those is Jen Cushman.  

Cushman is a mixed media artist, well known if you’re a fan of what’s referred to as “Altered Art”--think skeleton key combined with an antique porcelain doll head adorned with horsehair and connected to a weathered construction ruler…on a pendant.  She’s “drawn to the imperfect, the funky, the quirky, the artsy and the authentic, be it people or objects or art.”

Cushman has arrived in the altered art world.  Her book Explore, Create, Resinate: Mixed Media Techniques with ICE Resin® features her art jewelry work and won a national bronze metal in the Independent Book Publishers Association.  She’s the Director of Education and Marketing for ICE Resin with partner Susan Lenart Kazmer, and regularly published in Belle Armoire Jewelry, Jewelry Affaire, Somerset Studios, Somerset Life,  Cloth, Paper, Scissors, WireWork magazine and the Crafts Channel of Lifetime Television’s interactive website. 

HOW did she get here?  I connected with Cushman after reading her recent column in  Belle Armoire Jewelry where she eloquently but pointedly called out someone that “borrowed” and promoted the art workshop she created.  She’s been my hero since, and we recently talked about her journey.

   

CS:  You are such a talented mixed media artist and have a very unique style.  How did you get started?

JC:  I was a closet artist originally.  I made the decision to be a journalist in high school as I wanted to be like Barbara Walters.  Then came 30 and a growing family, and I felt that I couldn’t do the daily grind at the newspaper.  As a stay at home mom experiencing a major identity crisis, I found a scrapbooking club.  Excited, I brought my supplies to the first gathering:  rubber cement, beige paint and the poly mesh bag from our Thanksgiving turkey, you know, to create texture on the beach theme page I planned to create.

The sound of welcome was deafening:  She wasn’t using the mandatory scrapbook stickers or die cut corners.  And didn’t get invited back to the mommy crop circle.

Fully recovered from her social misstep, Cushman forged ahead as a freelance writer for artist Mary Engelbright’s Home Companion where she produced and penned the, “Paper, Scissors, Art” column for the magazine.  “In 2004, I was writing and met mixed media artists Susan Lenart Kazmer and Michael DeMeng but didn’t dare show them my work until much later.  As artists, we put our heart and soul into what we do.  Back when I was writing for the paper, I simply collected the current news of the day and wrote about it.  I was scared to show work to the people I admire.  With art, it’s only me and my ideas.  I think as artists we’re insecure.  We think we’re not good enough.” 

It took 4 years for Cushman to share her art with Lenart Kazmer and DeMeng.  “They encouraged me, I learned at the feet of the masters and I’m indebted to them.”

CS:  Tell me about how you started your business as an artist.

JC:  The business part.  Artists think we’re different, but we have to be in a business frame of mind.  Whether you’re opening a restaurant or a clothing store, you need business principals.  We cannot just go at it based on our art.

Cushman is very humble when it comes to how she has and continues to build her business.  She’s clearly worked a plan based on values and what’s important to her and her family.  “This is where I’m different, it’s not a blueprint.  I was still working as a journalist.  Susan’s book came out, and she asked me to help market it.  And I did.  She took me to France.  We became business partners.  Her line is well-known and on the shelves at Michaels.  She has arrived.” 

CS:  What about your work?

JC:  For me, it’s very difficult to say, “look at me I’m fabulous.”  Having a network of friends saying it in the background is a great support system.   

And people do think she’s grand.  Full workshops in France with Lenart Kazmer where she teaches others.  A regular cast of followers on her website, the blogs she updates regularly, and articles.  Now when she opens her email opportunities are coming to her.  “In the beginning when I was publishing, I was comfortable.  But I needed to sell myself.  Make art and sell it.  Put a price tag on it?  Will they pay for it?  I started writing for a well known blog and in trade, they let me publish my own work.  From that I was able to network with the editors of the Stampington publications.  Now I write for them.  Always have business cards everywhere you go.  Contacts are everyone.  I believe the universe is about meeting people.” 

CS:  Uh, Jen…Stampington is the queen of art pubs and that’s a pretty huge leap, would you share more about how you did that?

JC:  In 2003 I saw my first mixed media magazine in a store.  I was stunned and just stared at it for long time.  There was ALTERED ART.  I do this.  Lightening bolt moment.  I got to know the people at that magazine and they asked me to write a column.  That was the opportunity, they asked me to write for them.  I was lucky.

Not really.  Cushman knows publishing.  She’s a natural born story teller.  She knows how to make an editor’s life easier. 

CS:  We’re not all writers, Jen. What can we do to get our art out there?

JC:  Contact the publication by email with an idea.  They are always looking for new artists and ideas. You see the same people again and again in magazines.  THEY make the editor’s life easy.

CS:  What if you’re turned down?

JC:  Do not take it personally.  You can’t, it’s not that you’re not good enough.  It means the timing is wrong.  The worse thing people do is to present similar things that appeared in last month’s edition because, “I make that too.”  Offer fresh ideas.  Confidently move forward in the direction of your dream.  Every day do something. Social media.  Studio time.

Cushman is doing just that.  Her second book will be published by North Light later this year and focus on beginner metalsmithing.  “Now I have less time to make art. My thing is all about trying to get people to a better spot, with permission to play.”

The Wannabe Artist: Running an Artisan Small Business

There are many like me, corporate by day types that dream of packing it in and selling their works to adoring benefactors. We’re not as cool as starving artists nor are we Van Gogh self-mutilating types. I’m just a Mom who can wiggle a pencil into something enchanting…a wannabe artist. And we’re out there en masse on sites like artfire.com and etsy.com self promoting our creations, awaiting discovery. Our mega million lotto win looks like this: The editor of (insert big name trade magazine) tweets a submission call and we trip over our workbench to get our masterpiece on the cover (so what if it’s only a postage stamp sized insert) followed immediately by our website crashing due to all the exposure.

Retail shops snub us until we’re established. So we need to be savvy. Blogs, Social Networking, weekend shows become our brick and mortar. What I’ll focus on is the many hats worn running and promoting artisan work -- the crafty side of business. I have the benefit of a few years under my belt regarding this topic and there’s many do’s and don’ts I’ve learned along the way. Artsy types tend not to be good salespeople. My day job is sales, so some of my skills come naturally, but I don’t particularly like hawking myself. It feels weird, not to mention that the rejection that you receive (often) is multiplied when it’s about something you’ve created. You have to grow some skin and be able to put yourself out there. I’ve learned the hard way, and here’s my net-net on what the marketing gurus teach:

Do #1: Create a Presence. This is a place or places you will frequent to talk about your work. The Web is a great place to start. Begin by searching for what you do online. Who’s out there? What’s trending? How do you differentiate yourself? Art is about you. Don’t follow what others are doing. I can go on any of the craft websites and find what I create, but I think I do it a little differently and that uniqueness helped me define my presence. In the beginning I felt that I had to have a whiz-bang website, that it was critical to success. What I got was carpel tunnel syndrome and frustrated as I’m way behind the web design learning curve. So don’t try to build a be-all website. Start out with a blog or a Facebook page to get acclimated. Unless you are, you are not a website designer. The do-it-yourself sites that say it’s easy? Not really. Create your presence slowly and be consistent about it. And if you have a teenager around, by all means entice them into helping you.

 Do #2: Establish a Brand. Yes, YOU need a brand. Why? Because there are thousands of artisans doing what you do. And that number is growing exponentially. In less than two years, my brand is beginning to gain traction, and that you're reading this helps, thank you! Creating a brand and gaining recognition takes some time. I use key words that place my website on the first Google page…go ahead, type “cremate bead” into search (I know, what’s that about?) It took many web hits for my carasmiths.com site to get this ranking. I’m still not really sure how I did it, but it’s our friend SEO, search engine optimization, which I’ll write about down the road as we’re just getting acquainted—she’s picky, I’ll tell you that. As you’re likely creating your brand on a shoestring, you need to focus your time, energy and dollars. In retrospect, this would have served me better:
 • Define yourself. If you don’t know you, your clientele won’t. I have a look that’s organic, not everyone likes it, and I know it. Being an artist at heart, I really didn’t care at first. Deep down though we all really want to be liked. To gain more appeal, I took what made my designs unique and made some changes. A glass pendant, no matter how stunning, that has “bitch” etched on it has a pretty limited target market. I went broader with “hope” and that opened some new doors.
 • Define your buyer. I’m using buyer purposely here as the person purchasing may not be your ultimate customer. They may be buying for someone else and you want their business too. So this is where you mark you spot. Your style tends to mirror your life, but needs to appeal to others. My favorite color is teal and I’m mad about waves. These wind up in my daily accessories. That a big part of my emerging wholesale business contains ocean scenes for high-end beach boutiques is no accident.
 • Define your plan. And work it. Be selective and learn about your initial selling venues. Your time is best spent creating your art, but you’ve got to work the room too. Go easy on yourself and start slow. A Facebook page is the friendliest place because you can talk with your cohorts and ease into the promotion conversation if you’re shy about it. Something as simple as a photo of your work with, “I made this today” can help you get started. A blog is likely your next step as you have more room to expand your conversation with a larger population...and of course you’ll invite all your Facebook friends. All the major selling venues (Etsy, Artfire, Ruby Lane, etc.) have conversation rooms where registered users can hang together at a virtual water cooler. Chat and learn with other artists. These are low/no cost options, and again, do these before you go with a website so that you can “crawl before your walk.”

 Do # 3: Become an Expert. At what? What you know. A while back I was asked to teach a technique to a glass artisan group far more advanced in skill than I was. But no one had ever tried the process I was demonstrating and I was the (temporary) expert. Seek out venues where you can share your wisdom. It can be as easy as a video on YouTube where many unwittingly have become viral celebrities. A demo that you write up and offer for free on a technique can lead to a workshop, more followers and buyers of your work.

One of the most important lessons I learned was not to try to be and do everything. Create a plan and work it, adjust accordingly. And stay true to your art — the Sistine Chapel took time to paint.

Spring cleaning and organizing...new art, website, blogs all coming soon! WHEW!

Like those artsy beer/wine bottles that morph into vases and glasses? After many a case of broken attempts, CaraSmiths is toasting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFXngPx3w3M for posting just the right directions without all the hype. Worked in minutes, quick trip to the grinder...instant bar ware!

Small Business holiday shopping at www.carasmiths.com