We’ve been silent for a while as we’re hard at work developing an online store focused on selling stylish, hand-crafted functional art.

It’s an exciting new venture that will promote handmade, fashionable pieces for the home, garden or office. We’re busily building the marketing and selling platform that will promote California artisans and their pieces to consumers of fine artisan craftwork.

The focus is on tabletop items, furniture and furnishings, as well as jewelry made from ceramics, glass, metals, textiles, wood and stone.  We are particularly interested in pieces “made from scratch” with as few pre-made elements as possible or pieces made by recycling pre-used materials.

We are looking at artists and pieces to be featured in our premiere exhibit.  If you produce functional art that may be a fit for this online store please contact me directly.  Or kindly pass this info along to your artist associates who may be interested.

Stay tuned for more details as they emerge.

Elizabeth Bush Photos at Satori

Check out the fantastic exhibit from emerging Napa fine art photographer Elizabeth Bush at Satori Yoga Studio in San Francisco.

The exhibit highlights abstract and representational photographs from Elizabeth’s travels to France, Mexico and New Mexico in 2009, as well as forays closer to home in the San Francisco bay area. 

The visual impressions that shine through the imagery are expansive and intimate, sentimental and curious, offering insight into both beauty and decay.  Ms. Bush brings her unique perspective to each thoughtful photograph.

All photos are available for purchase.

Satori Yoga Studio is located in the heart of San Francisco’ SoMA District at 40 1^st Street, between Market and Mission Streets. Click here for more info on Satori.

Standouts at O’Hanlon's Blage Exhibit

Whether you consider collage to be one of the riverheads of modernism or a simple, playful pastime, the current exhibit at the O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Blage, has something for everyone. The collages in this exhibit represent such a wide range of styles and a variety of compositional elements the impact is visually overwhelming when first entering the gallery. But soon the eye acclimates and is able to focus on individual pieces like those of Nicollette Smith.

Nicollette Smith’s Japan Airline Maps attracts the viewer with the face of the geisha, but Smith’s mastery in assembling the background of map pieces into an outline of blue and white is what brings form to the backdrop and a third dimension to the piece. It appears as if the geisha is afloat over her city. This dramatic diptych (each panel is 24 ½” X 30 ½”) has an entertaining yet thoughtful quality.

Another prominent collagist, Napa artist, Maash Pascal shows her firm footing in the traditions of painting and drawing, and expands on those skills with two expertly composed collages on display here.

Her Temblor piece (16” X 20”, pen & ink, oil, rice paper collage) balances a soulful exploration with visually stimulating colors. Rather than manufacturing cleverness, Pascal’s works show artistic poise that invite the viewer’s gaze as in the piece Four Square (8 ¼ X 8 ¼, pencil, rice paper, pen & ink collage), which uses minimal colors and pieces to find an equilibrium that relaxes the eyes and the mind.

The O’Hanlon Gallery is perched on a woodsy hillside of Mill Valley with plenty of windows providing natural light and a charming, natural setting for the exhibit.  

Catch the Blage exhibit before it closes on Thursday, February 25th.  

The Web Site: Your Online Portfolio

Galleries are searching online for the art that best matches their customer base.

If you don’t have a web site, it’s gotten relatively easy to get one.  There are plenty of resources available for creating your own, or joining one of the available artist portal sites.  Here are some leads to get you started.

One of the easiest and more moderately priced options is online Artist Portals such as Mesart and Fine Art Studio Online. Both have ready-made web sites where you can have your own url (e.g. www.YourNameHere.com) and easily upload your images and descriptions, and set up an e-commerce shop. Pricing varies, and customization is minimal, but they both have low monthly fees for hosting your web presence.

Etsy is an online mall where anything handmade or vintage is sold. If you have pieces that are crafty, usable or wearable art, this may be where you want to set up shop. The pricing is based on the number of items posted in your store, plus a low 3.5% commission on anything sold.

You might want to check out print-on-demand web sites such as redbubble, cafepress, zazzle and greetingcarduniverse where you can get your art printed on t-shirts, greeting cards, mugs, etc. They manage the printing, your online shop, returns, customer service, all for a big percentage of the sale price. But if you want to spend more time in your studio making art and less time managing the store, these sites could be just the ticket.

Once you set up shop, keeping it fresh with frequent updates of your latest creations will show galleries and collectors that you are professional and serious about marketing your art.

Next time, we’ll take a look at options for creating your own web site.

Bio and CV Essentials

Updating the biography or curriculum vitae (CV). This is a key document that lists all your accomplishments as an artist.  Here are some suggested guidelines to help artists get the CV tuned up for submission to the art world.

Keep it current. As the artist participates in more shows, receives awards or gains collectors, these activities should all be added to the resume.

Most recent at the top. Start with the most recent shows and recognition and work back chronologically. Don’t start with art education and work forward. The gallery or agent wants to know what the artist has done lately, so don’t hide it at the bottom of the page.

If there is too much to fit on one page, use more pages.  Keep the older accomplishments on the CV, but highlight shows that are juried, or where artwork received any recognition, or exhibits in highly esteemed venues. Create new categories if needed, to keep spotlighting the most rewarding achievements at the top of Page One.

What if the artist is newly emerging and doesn’t have much to report yet?  Try a narrative-style statement that says a few words about your background, your training (could be self-taught) and a few sentences about the work. 

With an up-to-date CV, galleries looking for emerging talent don’t have to struggle to see how and where your work is exhibited.