Thursday, January 28, 2010

Eye See You See Art Exhibition

Hi Artists!
January has come and is almost gone....zooooom!  Where did the time go?

There are only 3 more days to get your art piece submitted for the first monthly EYE SEE YOU SEE Art Exhibition.  If you would still like to participate, the image of the month is, yes, you guessed it, eyes!  These beautiful eyes belong to my niece, Kristina.


As a review, this month, the rules are:


  • Please use your style and medium of choice.
  • the image size should be in a dimension ratio of 3 wide x 1 high ( i.e, 3" x 1" or 6x2"  9x3")
  • Each submission must be emailed to us in a digital file. Please send a photo or digital file of your art  to fit into a 800 pixel x 800 pixel square, saved as a JPG.  If the image is not square, the longest side should be 800 pixels. 
  • With your submission, you must include your name, and an email address.
  • Your submission will be posted to the EyeSeeYouSee art blog. And this month's submissions will be used in the blog banner.
  • Submissions are due by Feb 1, 2010, so there is still time!!!
  • Click here to submit your art file



Looking forward to seeing the results!

Friday, January 15, 2010

What does a Graphic Designer do?

Hey everyone! Although I have narrowed my focus for Visual Tapestry Design to create photo montages, I am a Graphic Designer.  I often get asked "What does a graphic designer do"" I usually say "I can design any print material you might need, like logos, brochures, posters brochures, etc."  but I'm not sure that that is a clear answer.  So I went to Wikipedia and this is what it says is:

...graphic design can refer to a number of artistic and professional disciplines which focus on visual communication and presentation. Various methods are used to create and combine symbols, images and/or words to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. A graphic designer may use typographyvisual arts and page layout techniques to produce the final result. Graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated.
Common uses of graphic design include magazines, advertisements and product packaging. For example, a product package might include a logo or other artwork, organized text and pure design elements such as shapes and color which unify the piece. Composition is one of the most important features of graphic design especially when using pre-existing materials or diverse elements.
Recently I have been working with my church on an identity and brochure for a new program that they are starting (or re-vamping is probably a better way to put it).  The name of the program is Starting Point.  It is a visitors class for people to learn about our church, the programs available, and our foundational beliefs. They asked for a typographical logo (meaning all type/words). So after brainstorming we came up with a list of words that pertain to starting out somewhere on a faith journey and I came up with 2 logos for them to choose between.


 

After they chose the logo they liked, I worked it into a booklet design. After that was finished, I re-formatted the design to put on several other pieces.



That is the quick and easy version of my design process, which is really not all that quick, but I thought you might like an opportunity to see the process I go through when I design.  This process is actually very similar to the process of drawing or painting.  I research, brainstorm, sketch, design and refine.  There are  times when I struggle with the design or I just can't make the vision in my head translate on paper. There are times where happy accidents happen or my ideas morph into something that makes the design better or someone can say something, and how I interpret it (which may not be how they meant it), sends me in a new and better direction for the design.  It's all a part of the process, and that's the fun part...well also the satisfaction of seeing the final printed project.

Well that's it for now.  As always, please feel free to add your comments. I love feedback!
Blessings, Andrea

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Is There Really A Third Person Doing This Blog?

Yes, there is. And as usual, I'm late to the party.

Hi, I'm Kathy - the third part of the mother-daughter creative trio. I work with polymer clay and jewelry. I have played with clay, painting, drawing, sewing and many other crafty things. I learned to create at the hands of my mother and her relatives - there is nothing that they could not create: from tin can tiaras to egg carton flowers, they did it all.

Why do I work with polymer clay? I am drawn to color and pattern. Polymer clay comes in all these really great bright colors, which then can be mixed to form just about any color. It is also an awesomely versatile medium that can mimic so many materials: glass, metal, semi-precious stones, metal, and many others. Patterns can be created in so many ways. I have not even scratched the surface of polymer clay techniques, so I can see myself claying around for years to come. Which is good, since I have the attention span of a gnat.

In my next post (which, hopefully, will not take as long as this one), I will let you know what is currently inspiring me.

Kathy

Monday, January 11, 2010

I'm excited!

It's so exciting, we got our first submission for the exhibition!  I can't wait to see them all!

Friday, January 8, 2010

2010 Business Goals

Many of us have already made our resolutions for 2010.  Did we include our art goals for the year?  I know that I hesitiate to to write down my goals for fear of not meeting my own expectations.  Rmember the old saying "Hitch you wagon to a star"?  It is far better for us to reach some of our goals than to have no goals at all.  And if we don't have something to work toward, we don't know where we are going.

The first thing I have done is to buy 3 new notebooks, one for my financial records, art inventory, and show/exhibits.  I have divided my goals  into the following categories:
  • Business-areas that I need to improve.  1)  I have developed an inventory sheet to use for the shows and exhibits I which enter each year.  2)  I am working on an inventory sheet for all my art work which will include a small digital image of the art piece, cost information, price and disposition. 3)  I plan to invest in professional business cards and maybe a brochure --it's nice to have an in-family graphic designer.  4)  I have bought a journal to keep a record of my art activities and art work.
  • Art Work-how I am going to work at my art and challenge myself.  1)  I am going to try to do simple daily sketches.  2)  I would like to try some new techniques this year. 3)  Complete a minimum of 1 painting per week.   3)  Paint at least 3 series in either oil or pastel.
  • Education--classes and workshops which will increase my knowledge base and techniques.  1)  Attend a minium of two workshops this year.  2)  Take advantage of local seminars.  3)  Explore and study at least 2 new artists and their work through books, videos, or classes.  Several of those on my want list are Kim English and Richard McKinley.  4)  Read my art journals and participate in exercises offered.  The first will be completing an underpainting project outlined by Richard McKinley in the Pastel Journal.
  • Peer Groups--I find that peer groups are very motivating.  1) Increase activity in local organizations.  2)  Look for new groups to paint with on a regular basis.
Let's make 2010 the year we try something new!  Please feel free to comment and share your goals with us.  If you would like copies of my inventory sheets when they are completed, I will be glad to share them with you.

May God bless you and keep you!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

New Years Resolutions...a bit late

The first exhibition, which is by invitation only until we figure out how to get a group going on one of the photo sites, is underway.  We have invited many of our friends and family, young and old, to participate.  We will be posting the photos, and creating a blog banner from this month's art.   We are so excited to see the different images we get back.

Mom is going to post on resolutions for her art business, and I think that maybe I should too.  I am thinking that because I have "tried" to start a company before and it didn't work....why?  Because I didn't have any goals set.  Since I didn't set goals, I didn't know where I was going, and since I didn't know where I was going, my business failed.  I am going to think about this and post my goals to my other blog - visualtapestrydesigns.blogspot.com - since it is all about starting my business.

All comments, ideas and feedback are welcomed!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Andrea's New Year

Hi everyone, I hope you are having a wonderful new year so far.

I have been busy. First I started decided on a name for my company.  I came up with the name Visual Tapestry Design as a description of my style of combining multiple images to create a beautiful and cohesive image.  My tag line is Beautifully integrated custom photo montages for families, groups and businesses.  Second, I have started designing my website for Visual Tapestry Design, www.visualtapestrydesign.com. It is still under construction, but has a placeholder that has a sample of my Visual Tapestry style.  In addition, I also started another blog to journal about the process of starting my business, visualtapestrydesigns.blogspot.com  I accidently added an s on the end of design so unfortunately it's different than my website.  I'm still figuring out how to change it around.  My next quest is to design a logo....harder than you think...I'm a perfectionist and have a tough time coming up with my own designs.

Today I met with Karen at church to work on 2 logos and booklets for the membership classes.  I've already designed one logo for the first class called Starting Point.  The name for the second logo is "Count Me In", and I am drawing a blank on how to visualize it.  I'm open to ideas if you have any suggestions!  I'll post the logos when I am finished.

Being a new year and starting a new business, I have started thinking about goals that I need to set for this year.  One of my goals is to market business.  I'm still working on how to do that best, but I'm thinking. Another goal is to join art groups and associations.  Still working on the rest of it.  As I make goals, I'll let you know.

Have a great day!  Blessings, Andrea