You would think, based on a hubby in retail for so many years, that I would have given packaging more of a priority. Well, no…seems like I’m always rushing to get items ready for shows, and I neglect the packaging. That’s not to say I don’t give a lot of thought to the overall set-up of the art space…just not the packaging.

I had a bit of an epiphany with this upcoming show. I’m sitting in the meeting about the show, listening to explanations of selling, how good a show it is, and the great location. When suddenly I hear “People are gift-buying. They’ll splurge for folks back home with gifts for the holidays.”

Okay, seems obvious. Then hubby says, “Well, they’re not going to buy pieces of fabric, so I’m not sure just what we’ll bring.” That made me fairly depressed. Fabric is what we do: fabric for quilts, wearables, framing – we’ve spent a lot of time brainstorming how folks could use our marbled fabric.

Then it hit. Buy fabric as gifts for the folks in your life who do fiber-related arts. Just package it so it looks like a gift from the heart, not just a piece of fabric in a plastic bag.

Duh. Why did this take so long? We have done so many small shows over the years, including demonstrations, and not once have we packaged ourselves for gift sales. This was definitely something to think about. How could we take a gorgeous piece of fabric that to a non-fiber person just looks like extra pieces of cloth on the table? I started thinking about how I buy small pieces of art, as well as how my local quilt shop packages your purchases. I love having the “back story” or a piece of artwork. In my hutch sits a container of all the small papers of stories collected over the years.

Okay, put together the story of the fabric, the care of the fabric, and ways to contact us (hard to believe we haven’t done all of that in the past).  Wrap the fabric piece with a bow so that it looks special, with the “story” tucked into a fold of the fabric. When purchased, wrap in tissue paper before bagging it.

I played on the computer to come up with something that would have contact information as well as a story about the creation and care of the fabric. With aiming at non-fiber purchasers, I need to provide as many reasons as possible while a piece of “art cloth” would be a great gift. Here’s the “story:”

“This art cloth is a blue silk crepe georgette  fabric, hand-marbled in a contemporary wave pattern, 19 inches by 21 inches. Edges are serged solely to prevent fraying of the fabric. This material has been pre-treated and heat-set, so it is ready to go for your project. If you need to clean this fabric, use warm water and a gentle soap – no Woolite or harsh cleaners, no dry cleaning. Use a dry iron and some Magic Sizing to eliminate wrinkles. Try this as a table-topper, just the way it is, quilt it, or use it in an art quilt for nature elements– lots of imaginative possibilities! This is a great pattern to quilt by itself with lots of decorative threads.”

Along with this is every contact piece – Twitter, Facebook fan page, blog, email and website. Save everything to your computer, and then all you need do is add the new story for each of your pieces.

Here’s the fabric and its packaging:

I will say the piece was up on Etsy for less than an hour before it sold, and all the new pieces of fabric packaged this way have had more views than previously in the shop.

The proof will be the show on November 20; how will people react, and will they buy? Thoughts? What have you done to package your items? Have you noticed a difference in sales?

I had an Etsy store about two years ago, with a grand total of four items in it. I kinda let it go inactive, since I wasn’t doing anything with it. After doing tons of marketing reading last spring and summer, I reopened the store, still not quite sure what I would be selling in it. I started with a few marbled cards from my digital work, put up some marbled remnants, and then I had a bit of an epiphany.

I’m selling art on the website, why not also list some of that cool stuff in my Etsy store? So I did…and then I realized I could list some great art cloth fabrics, and write better descriptions and provide better pictures. And…I sold a piece of hand-marbled art cloth that had been listed for maybe an hour.

Cool. It’s a gorgeous piece of fabric, and the picture doesn’t really do it justice at all.

But I had the nicest message from the buyer: I have no idea what I’ll do with this shimmer of color, but I will honor your work and its beauty.

Wow. How cool is that? I know this amazing piece of fabric is going to a good home, because I always wonder about my babies and where they end up.

I will say there are other great piece in my Etsy – pieces I’ve held on to because they’re so gorgeous, but I also know the reality is I will probably never get to make anything with them. As it is, I put three pieces back in the drawer for me and “someday”…and I’ll be listing a few more tomorrow.

Ebay continues to be slow but somewhat steady. I’m sure the economy isn’t really helping us, but hopefully the holiday season will be better to us. Cafe Press – well, it takes time to rotate items and create the graphics for them, and time is one thing I don’t have a lot of these days. Plus, I gather from all that I have read on Cafe Press that you have good luck with sales if you have an active store – not something we can budget for at this time.

I would love to hear from all of you out there who are running your businesses on the proverbial shoestring. How do you decide where your dollars go? What have been good outlets for you? And how do you maximize every dollar spent?

PS – Newsletter will go out sometime this week. If you’re not a subscriber, you won’t be entered for a chance to win some marbled fabrics. Check the box at the top for more information!

ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHTED 2010.

I haven’t done a lot lately with Photoshop Friday, and as I was thinking about it, I wanted to see the body of work I have completed that I call my Desert Botanicals series. I have been preparing cards for a November show and realized the images really looked good, so that prompted me to look at some of what I consider the “finished” ones.

Last spring was a gorgeous one in the desert, and the ocotillo were in full bloom. This was some “playing around” with a couple of gradients.

We had a blooming palo verde in our back yard, to which I added some background in a marbled fabric. Reminds me of a sunset.

This is some kind of orange succulent from the Desert Botanical Gardens with a grdient applied to it. I am really drawn to black and white.

This was one of my first “successful” manipulations of some succulents. I was just learning a few different tools and stumbled on this finished product. I do enjoy the “mysteries” in Photoshop.

This is my newest, and I’m not sure it’s a “done deal” yet. I love the small ginko tree at the gardens, and I played with the background with some brushes.

I love my garden bench. I have this in several iterations, this one with the fresco filter, for more of a “water color” effect.

This is also in several iterations. The blossom is from a pic hubby took about 5 years ago from some spring plants. That one bloom brings such depth to the piece.

This is another version – with a very different feel to it.

One of my favorites, of an aloe plant superimposed on the grate from one of the drainage areas in the Gardens. I added a “pattern” of marbled fabric to the grate.

Another favorite,  a composite of three different images, part of my playing around to make collages.

This is the one I actually printed – I LOVE that thistle leaf.

Another early one I really like. Even with all the filters, you still get the effect of cactus spines.

This is developing as a nice body of work. I am researching developing and printing these as a collection, even licensing them – one of the many things on my “to do” list. I interested in your comments – what do you like, what would you like to see more of, and any other suggestions.

ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHTED. LOOK AND ENJOY, BUT DON’T EVEN THINK OF TAKING……

I will be glad when November 3rd arrives because I am SOOOOO tired of all the political ads. The negativity and the inaccuracies are ridiculous, on both sides. I lament the decline of rational discourse, the inability of so many Americans to be civil, rational, and truthful. This is on both sides: negativity is an equal-opportunity style of campaigning. In Arizona we are innundated with propositions on our ballot; on the one hand, evidence of democracy and the voice of the people in action. On the other hand, many of these are crafted by very special interests, and these propositions do not have the best interests of the people in mind. Yet they are presented in a slanted manner to try and sway people who have no real grasp of historical impact. Every “solution” brings interesting new problems.

Case in point: the Interstate Highway System, started by Eisenhower as a way of being able to move troops and weapons across this country easily during the Cold War. Resulting new “problems” were decline of small towns and loss of downtown businesses. But without some good grounding in American history, we rarely see these trends from the past.

I believe there is a real lack of understanding of American history. Immigration is a major issue this year, yet so many people do not understand the trends in immigration throughout our history. While we openly admire ourselves for being a “melting pot” of nationalities, the reality is far from this. Native Americans – we tried to exterminate the race. African-Americans – we tried to enslave the race. We tried to send the Chinese back to China. Every immigrant group has had to assimilate and faced issues while doing so. We have never had a “fence” – and the thought of one just smacks – to me – of the Berlin Wall. Do we need to address immigration? Absolutely, but from a reasoned, historical, and economic approach. These are people’s lives, regardless of race or ethnicity. Unless you are 100 percent Native American, we are all immigrants.

There is also major religious intolerance in this country, we who expound our freedom of religion. The Compact of Religious Toleration of 1649 in Maryland (Maryland Toleration Act) is an eye-opener; we use this as the earliest example of the country’s belief in freedom of religion….

Passed in accordance with instructions from Lord Baltimore, this document protected Maryland from the charge of intolerance toward Protestants. When the Protestants were in charge of the colony for a time after 1654, Catholics were not protected in their faith, but this document was reinstated with the restoration of Lord Baltimore as proprietor. The Maryland Toleration Act constitutes the broadest definition of religious freedom during the seventeenth century and was an important step toward true freedom of religion. It sounds strange to our ears that such a harshly worded document should be called a toleration act, but the breadth of toleration defended also required that the sensibilities of religious people not be offended regardless of denomination. Aside from prohibitions on the calling of names, the meat of the act is found near the end of the text—no one will be punished or disadvantaged because of his religious beliefs. In any case, the harsh blasphemy provisions were never enforced. (http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1048&Itemid=264)

But when you read the actual act, it is “Christian” – nothing about Jewish persecution. (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/497485/Act-of-Religious-Toleration). Strictly Catholics and Protestants. I remember reading this for the first time and realizing that our ideal of religious toleration in this country was not realized.

It is the profession of the ideal…we – everyone in the world – needs to make progress in this direction – toward the ideal. But it seems like those of us who actually refer to the wording in the US Constitution are tagged with the “L” word – when did liberal thinking, respect for all, a desire to help those who need help, and a wish that all could reach for the stars without barriers become something to be ashamed of? When did it become a disease, an affliction?

And when did it become acceptable to slam the office of the Presidency and the President? We may disagree…I certainly did many times over the past 8 years, and that is my right, but never to the level of hate we see today. I truly fear for the direction this country is headed. I will continue to educate my students when I can about the historical connotations of some of the things they see and ask about. I will be respectful of others’ opinions while I try to get a student to think about what they are saying and what facts they have to back up their statement, regardless of whether or not I agree with it.

Rational discourse and civility – much needed, desperately lacking…..

And now, back to our regularly scheduled art programming……

Awright, so they’re not technically WIPs. But I haven’t shown all of them on here before, and I really do love them. And close observers will recognize the blog heading as the fabric in “Salmon Run.”

“Salmon Run” returned from its several-month engagement in Alaska at the Cordova Historical Museum. I love having it back – I am so fond of the fabric.

Here’s a close-up of the quilting.

You also haven’t seen my latest piece, “Bamboo Grove,” in a full shot.

This piece had so many techniques I hadn’t tried before. I am reconsidering the tops of the bamboo stalks…I may decide to take the leaves off and try another way of attaching them to increase their fullness. So I guess it still is a “work in progress.”

What am I working on now? I am doing an art show on November 20 with the Tucson Art and Craft Association, so I am preparing fabric for that, as well as requilting a few small quilts. I am thinking of revising my still-unfinished “Iceberg” piece from several years ago into a series of Icicles for Road to California – I have till December 15. I can still use all the techniques I had planned, just in some different forms. I am still thinking about the next “large” piece with marbled fabric and don’t quite know what it’s going to be……I have some really great large pieces of fabric lying around.

But…I also have about four other quilts in various stages that I need to get to! Such decisions we all have….what’s waiting on your list of to-do?

Ya gotta admit, that’s a catchy picture….the slippers on first glance look like little aliens checking things out. But this indicates it’s something cool from Dumb Little Man, which readers of the Tuesday posts will know always has something cool. This one is 30 Ways to Make TV Watching More Productive. There are some really great ideas here…for you sewing folk I would add “seam ripping stitches” – productive and therapeutic!

Also from Dumb Little Man, 61 Ways to find Inspiration When You’re Stuck and Feeling Down. We can always use a little practical inspiration. Number 13 suggests browsing through Flickr photos, which I have just started to do – serious eye candy. If you want marbled goodies, here’s our Flickr site:

From Maria Brophy comes How to Create Anything Even When You’re Scared, Inexperienced, and Don’t Believe in Yourself. It’s a mouthful, but it’s all about baby steps….

From PlugIn ID comes a great article on the butterfly effect, quoting Gandhi saying “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Problogger is a great source of ideas for writing a blog. Here’s some info on making it easier for customers to buy from you. Great ideas here.

Here’s some fabulous fiber art to look at – the fabric collages of Wycliffe Lincoln.

These guys always have great stuff – I’ve posted from them before. This is 60 Creative Examples of Infographics. If you like data presented in a very visual manner, check this out.

Now who among us hasn’t given some thought to making art from Post-Its? I create little cubes when I’m bored, but this kind of goes waaayyy beyond that! Check out Georgia O’Keefe…..

From Selfgrowth.com comes a really helpful article on pricing digital painting, something I’m becoming very interested in.

And finally, treating yourself like a Ferrari – something we should all do!

What have you found as you’ve been surfing?? Pass it along – I love looking at new stuff!

The high school I work at is the arts magnet high school for the city. The kids have some amazing opportunities in both performing and visual arts. Imagine taking a class three times a week in all the Adobe programs – all updated, where you don’t have to worry about buying the programs, getting updates, and making sure your computer always works, plus hands-on instruction rather than learning yourself. Can you say “jealous?”

I think back to learning Pagemill waaaaayyyyy back when I was just starting my website in 1998…I still know a little code from teaching myself. Everything I’ve done has been self-taught, so I love the opportunities the kids have. About two weeks ago I walked to the end of the hallway to discover a new exhibit of student work, using Illustrator – a program I just haven’t had time to explore. The kids had to recreate some organic shapes (the pen tool makes me nuts….) and use some filters to develop their piece even further. All I could think of was what cool quilts these would make. There is glare (and the remains of some graffiti) on the showcase window, but I think you can get a good idea of what the kids are doing.

What I like about this is the blossoms. I am thinking they would look good in free-motion on a solid area of a quilt. See my dilemma below the pictures…….

Now, speaking of quilting designs….I need some help. I have two “older” quilts that I am requilting. I took the stitches out of one while in the hospital, and I’m working on the other one. I need suggestions as to quilting. I have grown beyond stippling, but I am still having trouble with actual designs that will work with the patterns. Here’s the first – four traditional blocks with marbled stars in a neon paint.

You can see all the old quilting. When I get all the invisible thread out, I’m going to soak it in warm water to see if I can make the lines disappear. But what should I do for quilting?

Here’s the other – a log cabin table runner done with marbled fabrics. What do you think? Just stitch in the ditch??

Leave me comments on the blog, and I’ll do a giveaway for the best suggestions for each – some digital note cards based on marbled patterns. Come on, help me out!!

Still lots of photos from Thursday’s trip to the Tucson Botanical Gardens. Plus some cool art the kids at school have done, and lots of great images from a bookbinder’s convention here in Tucson. All in good time…….To recap, I was looking for texture, color, interesting combinations, trying some new things for framing beyond centering items, and playing with my exposure settings. No color touch-ups.

Pineapple rooted and growing – I will need to try this.

I love the orange against all that green.

This is one of the more successful pictures of this fountain I have gotten – you can see the water dripping.

I love the variety of greens as you head up to the sky, with the first pomegranates.

Interesting lines with the stones.

My zen garden – one of my favorite spots in the whole garden.

Another shot of the zen garden.

Great leaf, lots of greens – and so big!

I really like the composition of this one – I’d like the purple to be stronger.

I love the light and shadow in this one.

Great lines…..

Spider plants

These look so velvety.

More fence throughout the garden.

I want to take the gate and work with it some more in a collage.

Let me know what you think – ideas, suggestions, improvements……….

It is so good to be back doing some photography, some Photoshop, and just generally playing around. Hubby and I went for a two-hour stroll through the Tucson Botanical Gardens, since it now is mid-80’s, and you can be out and about and not feel like you’re burning up.

Took the camera and just looked at texture and framing. Color has not been adjusted at all. I did play around a bit with exposure…discovered that on the camera, so had to try it out.

It always amazes me that no matter how many times I go to the Botanical Gardens in Tucson, I always find something new.  Yes, it’s still comparatively green here in the desert, even in mid-October. Take a look, and let me know your favorites. What would you change, which ones do you like, what suggestions do you have for framing?

So what do you think?

Those of you who are readers of my blog (and thank you for those who emailed me to see where I was!) know that I struggle with being a teacher and trying to develop an art business. Well, let me warn you now, this is both a rant and a pity party, so pass on if you’re not interested. It’s just that I have found my blog a great way to process what’s going on in this overactive head of mine.

Saturday saw me admitted to the hospital with chest pains and shortness of breath. 72 hours later and one fairly incompetent doctor I am released with absolutely no answers beyond “it’s probably stress.” Between family history and my own history of lung clots, these symptoms were something I couldn’t ignore. I had been feeling poorly the week before: lots of bloating (and knowing I wasn’t putting weight on), tiredness, anger, and frustration. While I am in the last three years of teaching, I really want to be retired, and that isn’t going to happen any time soon.

Friday last week was homecoming at our high school, and as I watched the band and pom line and cheerleaders parade through the halls, I felt a little teary about what I would be missing when I do retire. I can remember back – way more years than I want to – to marching band (in fact, the first kiss happened in the uniform closet of the band room…). I do love teaching, and I am positive that this was my correct life’s work. But I am tired, especially with all the changes to the field in the last 15 years. This is certainly a job for young people – or at least younger that their 6th decade.

Couple that with being in Arizona, the second poorest state in the country, with a state legislature that wants to disband public education, no budgets and large class sizes. As much as I despise NCLB, I recognize for me that the emphasis on curriculum development and standards has helped me teach. But I also know that the end-all of test scores has been a death knell to thinking and creativity. Kids need to know what they “will get” for learning something. The complete joy of learning is totally gone. No more reading a book because it sounds like a great story. No more pursuing an idea to see where it will take us.

Now I have always had a problem with the less-than-competent in my field, and I take criticism of teachers very personally. I had my share of bad ones, but there were more good ones than bad. I am so fortunate right now to be in a great school with very supportive administrators and a lot of really fine teachers. But I’m tired….tired of constant papers, lesson plans, students who can’t be motivated, pressure to improve test scores, and probably the biggest – a living wage.

This is year 33 for me, and I still make less money than I did in Vermont some 16 years ago. That to me is criminal. Part of the stress is trying to live on the income, especially when the school district decided to put everyone on the same pay dates, and we have to go for three weeks at the end of the summer without a check….that has totally screwed up finances for the start of this school year. We had to borrow to pay a life insurance bill before the end of the grace period. After all these years as a public employee, things should have gotten a little easier.

And yes, I am well aware that I still have a job in this economy. Which is killing any attempt I am making to build an art business. I have been very productive art-wise this year, and readers for years know I tend to be very fallow during the school year. Not so since January of this school year. I have completed a couple of large pieces, and I spent a lot of time this summer working on marketing. Now I did a lot of reading (as I always do…) about building an online business, and I must say I did everything suggested that I could afford to do.

Ebay is down, Etsy isn’t happening, my blog numbers aren’t up, nobody’s buying off the newsletter or the website, and I was rejected for a major art show. And there are all theses classes and techniques and supplies I want to try, with no extra money. We have to scrimp to buy fabric.

Don’t get me wrong, I have NEVER expected a free ride. I work very hard at everything I do. But I think it’s about time for things to ease up a bit. This summer I had a taste of what retirement will be – time to visit friends, work on art, write, all those activities that make my heart and mind sing. But it’s not happening right now. I look at people working full time on their art and I am so jealous. I want to do this NOW.

And that’s what’s stressing me out. Why can’t I build a business without having to wait for retirement? This is what I’m going to have to struggle with; what can I do in the time I have? While I love teaching, it makes huge demands on you emotionally and physically, and lots of weekends – and evenings – there is no energy for anything else, even a doodle. I haven’t written in the blog in 3 weeks, something I love to do. My brain is tired, my body is tired, and now I’m recovering from paying the penalty of stress.

Sure it could have been worse. I’m very thankful it wasn’t. But I need some breaks NOW….

In the meantime, I am attempting to prepare for Tucson Arts and Crafts Association holiday show on November 20. Every member says they do really well selling during the show…….hmmmmm, what about fiber? We’ll just have to see……

Looks to be a good week – feeling good, making progress, actually working on some sewing projects…life is good! And…lots of good stuff on line. Enjoy!

I guess it was a great week over at the folks at Best Article – here’s Top 10 Facebook pages for businesses.

The history major in me found this editorial interesting. A reflection on September 11. Do you recognize the photo?

From Cool Hunting, an interesting exhibit at the Palace de Versailles.

Alyson Stanfield has some good info, as usual, on her ArtBiz blog, all about setting up Fan pages on Facebook.

The Denver Post photo blog has fabulous stuff! These are photos captured from 1939 to 1943. These images, by photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information, are some of the only color photographs taken of the effects of the Depression on America’s rural and small town populations. The photographs are the property of the Library of Congress and were included in a 2006 exhibit Bound for Glory: America in Color.

This river in South America is amazing – all the colors!!!

And…how about Dirty Car Art?

This next is paper sculpture. Look at the intricacies of this amazing work.

Cedar Canyon Textiles has LOADS of goodies for creativity and unleashing your ideas. I love the stencils!

And finally, Amazing Quilts by Grace, a quilt artist I’ve just discovered – some amazing work here.

Enjoy! Let m eknow what you’ve found this week……

This has been my latest project. Rachel of Rayela Art does an amazing job, having only started this in February. Members include working artists, textile businesses, galleries, suppliers and other fiber/textile people. All have an established web presence. Our common connection weaves us together: a love for textiles and fiber art. Getting this together was not an easy task…biographies, store links – there is a LOT of thought put into developing this, and the site is getting a lot of viewers.

I’ve been analyzing all the various areas where I have a presence – some stronger than others. There will be an Etsy group on the Textile and Fiber Art list, and I am looking forward to being mentored, as I need assistance in creating a good Etsy shop. My current shop has a dozen items (as of tomorrow night), and part of what I was stressing over was creating new work just for my Etsy store. Well, duh – it occurred to me that I could list some of the work from our website that gets admired, but no one thinks to buy. So we shall see……

Now along with this was getting the connections to Twitter and Facebook and the Facebook fan page…all of which require time. It’s a good thing I have some basic computer knowledge and can find my way around the web and individual sites. Some just aren’t as intuitive as they could be……But I think Facebook is now linked to my blog, my networked blog, my Etsy…..

I’ve just begun to look at ArtFire as another outlet, but I need to read about that more. I can’t add widgets for Cafe Press and Ebay because I am still using just the free listings for Cafe Press (limited items) and weekly auctions for Ebay. I know you have to spend money to make money, but a store on Cafe Press and Ebay costs additional….need to make good use of marketing dollars, as we still need to buy supplies to continue to make art to sell in these various outlets.

I did enjoy yesterday – spent the majority of the day at the computer, working with Photoshop on some new images, writing bios, and looking for a pic of hubby and moi for the TAFA site. Those of you who know me know it’s not really a current picture, but it is a good one!

Had a great time doing all this yesterday, and then it’s always coming down to reality when Monday morning hits and it’s back into the classroom. I also got the new newsletter out – special on Sampler Package 1 – 20% off….check it out – perfect for collage, mixed media, small quilt projects….

Didn’t get to read my blogs this weekend, and I miss knowing what people are up to. But I do have some good stuff for tomorrow’s post on the Top Ten on the web this week. Stay tuned for Wednesday with unveiling of two pieces that are either home from shows or aren’t traveling to any at this point.

Make art this week! Tell me what you’re working on!

It’s Top Ten Tuesday again….seems like it was just a day or so when it was Tuesday…that’s what happens during the school week – time usually goes so fast! Some interesting stuff this week gleaned from the blogs I read each week. Enjoy!

The Top 75 Art Blogs – some interesting stats here  -I am hoping to discover a couple of new ones to read.

Alyson Stanfield of ArtBiz always has great ideas and hints on her blog – this one in particular – photographing your art on  a wall so potential buyers can see what it would actually look like.

Tara Reed at Art Licensing asks the question Do You Need a Password Protected Portfolio? Something I had never thought about, and it’s certainly worth pondering.

BBC has done some spectacular work on the planet and the environment. We were enthralled with Planet Earth and then fell in love with Galapagos. This site has some amazing photography.

I am rapidly falling in love with Daily Grommet. This time it’s heated or cooled stadium seats…..

Dumb Little Man – once again so much stuff I never knew existed…it would have bee wonderful to have had this note-taking ability when I was doing my thesis (as it was, thank goodness for word processing…).  Eight Awesome Tools for taking notes.

I love Vicki Welsh’s dyed fabrics. She posts some incredible designs and combinations of colors. Hop on over to her blog ad then her Etsy shop.

The Best Article Every Day has at least one bonus each week that I love. This one is about the poster at the bottom of the article….which I particularly loved this week, as it seemed like my algebra students didn’t really want to do any math this past week.

I am slowly becoming a fan of science fiction movies, and I must confess a Trek fan for a long while (although not as obsessed as I probably could be…).  Also from Best Article Every Day, 5 big budget films that understand actual science.

And again from The Best Article every Day – 25 websites to download free photos. We all need this for our blogs. Send me some good stuff to surf!!!

I think all artists grapple with this. For me right now it is incredibly frustrating….I spent about 5 hours each day through the month of July and the first week in August, working on art and the business of art. School starts again, and there are some weeks when everything comes to a screeching halt. I am trying very hard not to let this fact become a monkey on my back, but it’s very hard.

So I have to change my mindset, and I’m not quite sure how to do this. What is keeping me sane is actually doing the artwork on weekdays, as I can clear my mind and it doesn’t seem quite like work. So that’s good, because we still need to continue creating art.

But what about the marketing? I have a couple of solutions….

* Schedule my Tweets on the weekend whenever possible, and then just check in periodically.

* Write a couple of blog entries and schedule them ahead of time. I seem to be getting at least two done on the weekends. I’m trying to stay up with my Top Ten, as that seems to be drawing comments.

* Take two nights a week to read my blog subscriptions and comment. I really do enjoy reading about people’s art lives, and I don’t want to skip this. You never know when something comes up that’s a lead.

But I’m sure there are more ideas out there….. So –

I want to hear from you – how do you fit marketing into your busy schedule? What suggestions do you have? I’d like to compile all the comments for next Monday’s blog. Head below to the comment section and let us know what you do!

I attended an interesting meeting after school today, a discussion about what makes an honors program at the high school. We brought up loads of ideas and good points to pursue further, but a number of things stuck in my mind – maybe it’s because I have been at teaching for over 30 years.

Point 1 – and I think the MOST important when it comes to learning – is that the JOY of learning is gone for students. Everything is assessment-based, to the detriment of actually learning. Students no longer know what to do with an idea that might be interesting, or a book to read that’s recommended just because it’s good. A number of years ago – and this was before the mess that is NCLB – I asked my fifth graders to choose a piece of science fiction and read it. I then spent 15 minutes trying to convince them that there was no assignment or test – they might just find the book interesting. It truly was a foreign concept. Nowadays it seems that students try to figure out just what they need to do to pass a test and get the grade. The actualy learning is way down the scale.

Point 2 – “regular” classes are now considered the “stupid” classes. This was a shock to me. I am three years into teaching at this school, and I know there’s a strong Honors/AP set of classes. For two years I’ve been working with the kids who had difficulty all through middle school with math. A good many of them didn’t belong in the support classes, and they would admit they didn’t want to do the work. Now I am teaching “regular” algebra classes, and trying to improve on the rigor in the classes. It never occurred to me that is was considered “poor form” to be in a regular class as opposed to an honors class. The big question is how to we provide an education that is rigorous and appropriate for every student? Given the class sizes this year, it’s even harder than in the past.

Point 3 – should there be requirements for being in an honors class? When I taught AP US History, I let anyone in who waned the challenge. My biggest class was 33 and most of them worked really hard in the class. When we looked at stats last year for our students who are exceeding on the #^$%@$# state assessment test, we found we had fewer and fewer kids who were excelling. Students were getting by. So requirements or open invitation? How do we get kids to take the challenge and want to do some appropriate and different work?

From the meeting I went to the chiropractor. This year is taking a huge toll on me physically: cement floors for very sore legs, white board writing which is throwing out my shoulder, long class periods that are messing with my bladder – this is definitely a job for young people. And then I listen to discussions, and I think that nothing ever changes, it only gets worse. I guess I really do recognize that it’s getting to be time to retire…I can’t generate the enthusiasm that I used to, even two years ago.

Education will always continue to be a work in progress, which is as it should be…..but we need to see some progress somewhere along the way….