Gallery36 Vol 3 No 4 2011 by Gallery36

V o l.3 N o.4 2011

Space For Rent You could advertise your exhibition or product here Call Selene on 021 169 9084 or email editor@gallery36.co.nz

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Eve Gordan Aerialist & director of The Dust Palace. Image for K Road Christmas Carnival

Friday 23 Dec, 4pm-late. St Kevinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Arcade, upstairs and down, comes alive on the last Friday before Santa hits town. Callum Gentleman and Brendan Turner with The KBA present a joyous party of colourful carnival characters, aerial artists, brilliant bands and our own Christmas Candy-Floss Elves.

Join us in celebrating the last working Friday, as only the vibrant quarter that is K Road can. The festivities begin at 4pm up in St Kevinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Arcade then at 8pm roll on through till late when the Elves and their friends pop down to host the Wine Cellar/Whammy Bar Christmas party. Enjoy a Santa Sack full of performers including Bannerman, Reb Fountain, Bond Street Bridge and artists from The Dust Palace with Eve Gordon, above, in flight. Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 3

You and I aren’t so equal; I have tits. Can New Zealand legitimately continue to export a clean green, equal rights reputation to the world? The Value of Vandalism, suggests that New Zealand’s facade of equality may have left us ignorant to the gendered inequalities of our country. Fittingly, the exhibtion opened just two days before Election Day. A combination of video art, street postering, and sculpture is presented as the culmination of Natalie Ellen-Eliza’s tenure as the DEBLYN artist-in-residence at Toi Pôneke Arts Centre. There is also a limited edition artist book of the same title (preface by Alex Papanastasiou) that discusses the effects of gender inequality, the importance of petty crime as a predictor of social decay, and that there is value in acts of vandalism as a 4 / Gallery36

means of communication. Ellen-Eliza’s work is often controversial and she passionately supports Oldenburg’s idea that art needs to do something other than sit on its arse in a museum. Natalie Ellen-Eliza has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) with First Class Honours; she also works for the devil three days a week to pay her rent and to support her dirty art habit. A special thanks to DEBLYN Properties Ltd, WCC, Cory Sarzotti (for the technical help), Lisa Martin (for the cheap whiskey) & all everyone of you who dragged me through, kicking and screaming. www.natalieelleneliza.blogspot.com

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�� Printmaking Classes Ruby Oakley has BA Hons Fine Art, Printmaking & Textiles joint major. Ruby has exhibited extensively in England and in Auckland, and has been teaching both life drawing and printmaking since 2002. Ruby is now teaching Layering, Photographic Printmaking & Introduction to printmaking as summer workshops and evening classes for 2012 at Whitecliffe College Arts and Design. Visit Whitecliffe’s website at www.whitecliffe.ac.nz/ programmes/short-courses/ Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 5

studio tolhurst.com

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Holiday Greetings WOW it is nearly Christmas and I really do not know where the time has gone... except on the dissertation, the art making, the socalising... and moving house two times in one year! How has your year panned out? I am very excited to be bringing you this December issue of Gallery36. There are a lot of exciting artists in this issue and there is a lot happening at the moment.

Cover image: A.Wilson, 2011, Unintentional Sightlines # 3. Acrylic on GIB plasterboard, 120 x 120 cm

Editorial included in this publication re�ects the opinions of the contributing authors and does not necessarily represent the views of Gallery36. Copyright for submissions belong to the contributors unless otherwise speci�ed. Gallery36 | Auckland, New Zealand ISSN 1179-8319 www.gallery36.co.nz Editor: Selene Simcox Ph: 021 169 9084 E: editor@gallery36.co.nz

Personally, I �nd something really exciting about emerging artists. I do not know if it is the energy or the passion, or the so many places that an artists’ career can go, but it I �nd it exciting and exciting being around emerging artists. And we all know it is also a time of challenge, hard work and a lot of commitment. If you are an emerging artist, make sure you sign up with Artists Alliance so you can get their new resources on their website After Art School. There is a great article about the new initiative written Jude Nye in Art All - get your copy now if you haven’t got it yet! Speaking of emerging artists, I have had the pleasure to visit many graduate shows this year. And I am bringing you some of them in the pages that follow. It is also my pleasure to point out to you the end-ofyear exhibition of the artists from the Artist Mentoring Programme this weekend at Corban Estate. I would like to thank everyone for their on-going support and encouragement for Gallery36. Soon to be in its fourth year of production, we are continuing to grow. So keep sharing your issues of Gallery36 and do not forget to email it on to others who you think might like to read it. So while the weather is good, get our your chair, sit in the sun and enjoy the read. See you next year. Merry Christmas.

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Gallery36 is a not-for-pro�t organisation dedicated to showcasing emerging artists and photographers from around New Zealand and also Kiwi emerging artists and photographers working internationally. The quarterly e-zine offers an opportunity for exposure to those still �nding their feet in their career who are passionate about art and/or photography and the role it plays in our society and culture. Gallery36 is dedicated to providing like-minded people with pro�les of emerging artists and photographers they will love to read about, packaged up in an easily accessible format that supports our planet by saving trees. Here at Gallery36 we want YOU to be pro�led. Say what your work is about, what your passion is, and/or what in�uence you want to leave behind. This is your opportunity to be showcased and put yourself out there! If you are an artist or photographer who wants to be pro�led, please submit (Approx 300 words and up to 4 photos of your works (plus a photo of yourself, if you wish to), and email all this to editor@gallery36.co.nz. Please remember to label your photos with the name, year of creation, medium and size. Join our email database so you don’t miss out on each publication. Just email me at editor@gallery36.co.nz with join mailing list in the subject line. So enjoy reading, and don’t forget to share it with your friends! Regards Selene Simcox Editor 8 / Gallery36

Contents

Artists & Photographers 10 14 18 22 24 26 28 34 36 38 40 42 44

Aaron Wilson Paul McLachlan Debbie Stenzel Thomas Loots Eric Nauta Lottie Hedley Kate Lepper Lauren Stewart Blair Barclay Kathy Ready Book Art Studios - Liz Constable Simon Vine BĂŠatrice Carlson

Realise your Potential 30

Heather Bell

Keeping you posted 46 49

28 49

Little Lotus Project Street Art Facelift for Taupo

SmARTips 52

smARTips with Ariane

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Aaron Wilson

Artist

M: 021 108 6344 E: iamaaronwilson@gmail.com W: www.iamaaronwilson.wordpress.com

Aaron Wilson is an artist predominantly using geometric abstraction to paint how he sees the world around him. His practice is in part in�uenced by the tangible and intangible aspects of his Christian faith, Modernism, and the theory of Postproduction. Born in the Wellington region, yet growing up and educated in Whangarei, Wilson experienced a

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kind of culture clash when he moved to Auckland for work. This culture clash was an eye opener, a revealer, a new kind of seeing and this idea of seeing also impacts Wilson’s practice. Wilson’s current art practice is investigating the concepts of protected views or sightlines and who controls or has a say in their creation. Within this investigation is also the concept of religious

Aaron Wilson, 2011, Unintentional Sightlines - Installation view. Acrylic on GIB plasterboard, 120 x 120 cm each

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Aaron Wilson, 2011, Unintentional Sightlines - Installation view. Acrylic on GIB plasterboard, various dimensions

Aaron Wilson, 2011, Unintentional Sightlines - Installation view. Acrylic on GIB plasterboard, 120 x 120 cm each

Above: Aaron Wilson, 2011, Postcard Mountains - details. Acrylic on plywood panel, 20 x 25 cm each Below: Aaron Wilson, 2011, Unintentional Sightlines - Installation view. Acrylic on GIB plasterboard, 120 x 120 cm

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belief and ways of viewing the world. The parallels between a protected view and a religious view are rules. These rules govern how and where people see, what is protected and for how long. Viewshafts or sightlines are often a governing bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way of controlling or protecting certain scenic views from obstruction. This can be seen in the form of point A to point B protection or in the form of a height ceiling, such as in select European cities, where no buildings are allowed to be higher than that of churches. This protecting of point A to point B can also be seen in other areas, where sightlines or viewshafts are created unintentionally. These unintentional sightlines can be found along streets, where buildings or trees frame the end point of roads, creating a point B situation. They can also be seen on Postcards where the viewer is shown the best way to view certain scenery and even in drawings, where the viewer is confronted with a representation of truth.

Aaron Wilson, 2011, Green tape wall - Installation view. Green painters tape on studio wall

This representation or construction can be seen in Wilsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s process, where he employs reduction to view the world around him and shows only the building blocks of the image. These building blocks are missing information, but are still alluding to what they represent. This way of viewing is investigating where other sightlines exist, what is happening at point B and how these areas can inform the viewers thinking of the wider area. Editors note: Wilson is also experimenting with the process as an artform - see below.

Paul McLachlan

Artist

E: pwmclachlan@gmail.com

Paul McLachlan grew up in South Otago before completing his BFA in painting from Massey University in 2008. He then spent a year as a creative arts intern before moving to Canterbury to earn a Masters in Printmaking with Distinction in 2011. His work has been included in Proof2, Nth Degree Masters’ Group Exhibition, Select 2010, the Wallace Art Awards 2011 and his Masters’ graduation exhibition (Un)Common Ground. McLachlan is currently based in the South Island and is in the process of setting up his own printmaking studio, working as a full-time artist. At once voyeuristic and poignant, McLachlan’s works contain a consistent inward focus despite the sense of time and space inherent within (Un)Common Ground. In this most recent output, a series derived from images of the now destroyed Christchurch city centre, his work has a distinctly suggestive rather than representational approach, evoking impressions of, or reactions to, a subject, rather than depicting it literally; theatrical panoramas that are more a meditation on landscape as a genre than a depiction of a particular place. Paul McLachlan, 2011, The Siege (detail). Photo-intaglio print, paper: 500 x 700mm, images: 180 x 415mm 14 / Gallery36

McLachlan removes these urban environments from their context by actively manipulating the source images, digitally painting over, replacing, and altering them to create a surreal representation of the space. This sense of remove is then emphasised by the transferral of the image from photographic record to plate; the �nal images characterised by their interior con�ict between subtle brush-marks, deliberate signs of the artist’s hand, and their photographic clarity and de�nition. The resulting prints become ambiguous and multi-layered; the rich, textured surface lending a sense of impermanence. This is echoed in the barely visible brushstrokes, which up close are angular,

swirling and �uid, hinting at the ever-changing nature of his subject through weathering, erosion and time.This idea of time and temporality is one that haunts the works, especially with the spectre of the quakes looming beyond the edges of the paper. Time is elusive and intangible. In the absence of concrete evidence, poetic documentation is all we have to provide this re�ection of temporal experience; photographs becoming “fossils” that Roland Barthes suggests turn time into “visible artefacts” for our observation, interpretation and experience. McLachlan’s images, Paul McLachlan, 2010-11, Bench Boy (detail). Photo-intaglio print, Paper: 700 x however, are less artefacts, more 100mm, images195 x 195mm myths, or stories; the “truth” of the estrangement, the exterior manifestation of interior photograph deliberately undermined by the artist’s states. In them the ephemeral becomes weighty and active involvement in subverting them. They become certi�cation not certainty; the lineage of documentary weighted; a dichotomy heightened by the mystery of the works. photography he draws upon married to a surrealism or romanticism that beauti�es and isolates the images In a culture �ooded by facile images that race past us in their own indistinct time and space, transforming on a screen, peek out at us from magazines or loom the raw data of source material into a mnemonic of a over us in a city street - pictures so heavily coded, Third Space: a dream-world, or a staged encounter. so easily read that they ask nothing of us but our money – artwork like McLachlan’s demands greater The inhabitants of the artist’s works are captured in investment and allows entry into the enigma of action, not posed; each individual image containing a seeing itself, because we must struggle to make sense brief moment of time. When looked at in series, these characters play out a narrative, a movement, a change of the image in front of us. McLachlan’s works are captivating and inde�nable, both formally skilful and or growth, the images revealing a looping itinerary emotionally evocative, and form a promising entree that retraces routes and revisits previous works. to what will be an indubitably successful career. Somehow McLachlan has created images that claim both passage and pause. In fact, McLachlan’s images Written Suzannah Newton. hold a wealth of contradictions within them; static and moving, memory and forgetting, familiarity and Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 15

Paul McLachlan, 2011, The Procession, installation view. Photo-intaglio print, paper: 500 x 700mm, images: 190 x 415mm

Above & top right: Paul McLachlan, 2011,

Paul McLachlan, 201011, Seep (detail). Photointaglio print, paper: 500 x 700mm, images: 180 x 415mm & above, installation view

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The Procession (details). Photo-intaglio print, paper: 500 x 700mm, images: 190 x 415mm

Right: Paul McLachlan, 2010-11, (Fold)Unfold. Photo-intaglio print, paper: 500 x 700mm, images: 190 x 385mm Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 17

Debbie Stenzel

Artist

M: 027 460 7940 E: DPStenzel@xtra.co.nz W: www.debbiestenzel.com

Debbie Stenzel is an Auckland artist who has recently completed a BFA (hons) at Elam School of Fine Arts. Stenzel’s work is informed by an expansive career in IT systems and processes, and frequently begins from quantitative subsets of data, further fuelled by interests in memetics, complexity theory, quantum and information theories that seek ways to make sense of sociologically evolutionary or devolutionary situations. Assuming the order and disorder of life underpinned by mathematical certainty and data integrity, matrices of pattern and randomness are used to inform aesthetic decisions. Universal laws hold constant, providing a grid structure of support for today’s human/posthuman hybrid whose roots have been replaced by aerials. This woven mesh of interconnectedness strengthens when stretched and distorted by extraordinary events that occur within the ordinariness of everyday life. The use of ordinary materials and basic methods of production affirm the value of the human, the ordinary, and present an aesthetic that is familiar to today’s punk author/producer/consumer, while slick fabricated elements capture mechanical 18 / Gallery36

methods and marks registering values sympathetic to the posthuman. The use of quasi-objects as signi�ers, placeholders, memory keepers, or archive provide physical representation of a reconstructed moment in time; a message exchange system or universal language performing speci�c functions. Today’s chronoscopic (compressive) timescale with its expectation of instantaneous message exchange has eroded feedback loops and opportunities for selfre�exivity. Within the Debbie Stenzel, 2011, Starshake: 5928. Plastic, plaster, blu tac, pins, glue, acrylic enamel paint, perspex con�guration variable - install approx 30m2

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making of artworks, Stenzel designs systems that employ chronotopic (expansive) processes, making multiple repetitious marks or objects to archive a time/value equation of temporal distortion. The result is an excess that requires embodiment or registration as a way of grounding, or crystallising a new reality; an expression of the process undertaken both affectively and cognitively through the desire to make sense of the inexplicable and unknowable. Below: Debbie Stenzel, 2011, Cupshakes. Gesso, gouache, acrylic, silkscreen on board, 800x800, conďż˝guration variable

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Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 17

Left and right: Debbie Stenzel, 2011, Starshake: 5928 (detail). Plastic, plaster, blu tac, pins, glue, acrylic enamel paint, perspex conďż˝guration variable

Thomas Loots

Artist

M: 021 303 418 E: users_guide@hotmail.com W: www.thomasloots.blogspot.com

My place, Your place? Perception, memory, time, place: all essential vivid that they attain a kind of physicality. aspects of my experiential places that I have In the body of work My place, Your place? I exploit sought to create this year through my ďż˝lm and the feeling that I had as a young adolescent on the installation works. I expressed these ideas through edge of denial and acceptance, and through my multiform combinations of image, sound, sculptural installation and/or architectural interventions. My program has endeavored to weave temporal, locational and perceptual information into scenarios that challenge the perception of personal place: metaphorically and physically. Rather than treating my installations as various zones of discrete operations, my works emphasize the spaces of exchange where states Thomas Loots, 2011, Lounge by David Lynch Designs. Carpet, armchair, coffee table, record of memory become so player, record. Song: Blue Velvet 3.49minutes, 2.3m x 1.6m. 22 / Gallery36

lived experiences I re-interpret found objects, installations and paintings. I further explore the ambiguity of place by referencing popular �lm, literature and art history of a certain era. The �lms, literature and historical paintings I reference have previously explored the conceptual ideals I seek to express. I pass backwards through what has come before me and assert my own social ideologies alongside those of my installations. The work looks deeper into the relationships between place and its inhabitants and also the characteristics they share, the belongings that de�ne them and the secrets they hide. I explore the homoerotic under codes from heterosexual ideals and outcomes and juxtapose social activity with homosexual perception. These sculptural installations desire interpretation interpretations free from pre-conceived ideologies, of social understanding and knowledge of upbringing and not a �xed state of authoritative truth.

Thomas Loots, 2011, Huckleberry shed. Plymouth shed, chair, book, found objects, projector and Film: 3.38 minutes, 1.2 m x 1.2 m x 2.1 m

Thomas Loots, 2011, I am Sleep Walker. Grass, beach chair, television, and Film: 4.38 minutes, 1.6 m x 1.8m. Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 23

Eric Nauta

Artist

E: ericnauta@xtra.co.nz W: www.ericnauta.trumblr.com

Light is Love. Love is Light.

We are already each of us beings of light. The evolution from the Homo-sapiens to Homo-luminous, means that our conscious capacity will develop to enable us to experience the true meaning of Light which is Love. For the past couple of years my focus has been strongly about discovering the process of consciousness evolution that is currently unfolding on the planet. My practice and especially the paintings presented, is aimed at manifesting the energy that allows this shift in human consciousness. The idea is to provide a powerful subliminal effect in the viewers consciousness, much like marketing works in the media. This subliminal effect will trigger in the viewer a personal understanding of the process of Light/Love. All of my paintings are created through a technique called Psychic Automatism which is a form of expression channeled through the subconscious. I ďż˝rst discovered this method whilst painting on large canvases in the dark which has lead to creating two expansive series of paintings composed of abstract and translucent marks that create an 24 / Gallery36

environment that saturates the viewer in the energy that is inherently radiating through them. The lack of conscious control is fundamental to the creation of my work. Just as important is having the intention of allowing the energy to manifest freely within the painting. My paintings provide a journey in which the viewer can follow and understand the process that is being revealed. Eric Nauta, 2011, Agujero II. Acrylic on canvas, 210 x 210cm

Right: Eric Nauta, 2011, Passaje. Acrylic on canvas, 210 x 210cm Far right: Eric Nauta, 2011, Merkaba II. Acrylic on canvas, 210 x 210cm

Below: Eric Nauta, 2011, Merkaba. Acrylic on canvas, 230 x 210cm

Eric Nauta, 2011, Agujero. Acrylic on canvas, 160 x 160cm

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Lottie Hedley

Artist

E: charlotte.hedley@gmail.com W: www.lottiehedleyphotography.com B: www.lottiehedleyphotography.wordpress.com

Lottie Hedley believes that beauty, inspiration, con�ict, determination, and intrigue all exist in our own backyards and deserve our attention. Her drive is to tell local stories which are often overlooked because of their proximity. Taking a break from her career as a corporate lawyer where Hedley practised in Wellington, London and Moscow, she attended the Maine Media College in Rockport, Maine where she completed the year-long certi�cate program in 2011 and was awarded the Paul Caponigro scholarship by the school. During her time at the Maine Media College Hedley focused on issues related to the vulnerability of the family farm, allowing her to pull on the muddy boots of her childhood growing up on a dairy farm in the Wairarapa. Following graduation from the Maine Media College, Hedley spent the 2011 summer at the Maine Media Workshops as a teaching assistant for

Lottie Hedley, 2010, Amy’s Question. Archival inkjet print, 13 x 19 inches 26 / Gallery36

photographers and reporters including Sam Abell, Sue Bloom, Nancy Donaldson, Ron Haviv, Sarah Kramer, Bob Krist and David H. Wells. Hedley was selected as one of the one hundred students to attend the 24th Eddie Adams Workshop in upstate New York during the fall of 2011 and was also selected to attend the 2011 portfolio review at Atlanta Celebrates Photography. Hedley’s work Rural Harvest is due to be exhibited as a solo show at the Maine Farmland Trust in Belfast, Maine in 2012.

Rural Harvest is the start of a project considering the question of tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farmers. Coming from New Zealand and a culture that values farming Hedley is interested in Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seeming lack of interest in family farmers and the rise of corporate farming. There is a small pocket of renaissance farmers and a sustainable farming movement which she is also interested in. Rural Harvest sought to implant the question about who tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farmers will be; will they be able to make a living farming; and does anyone even care? All photos from the Rural Harvest series were made in the northern hemisphere autumn of 2010.

Lottie Hedley, 2010, Working. Archival inkjet print, 13 x 19 inches Lottie Hedley, 2010, Amy and Jim. Archival inkjet print, 13 x 19 inches Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 27

Kate Lepper

Artist

E: kate.lepper@gmail.com W: www.katelepper.com

I eat with my eyes. I am nourished by visual delight. I want to proliferate visual nourishment to improve public well-being. Sensual tactility, delicious colour, yielding forms, playful surfaces, humorous propositions and incidental absurdity are all qualities that I admire. It is an easy aesthetic, drawing on toys, furniture, clothing, domestic utensils, seeking to seduce with an unsophisticated accessibility. Often involving vegetables, plants or animal remnants and plastic, psuedo functional objects and installations attribute emotional experience to the inanimate, and suggest unlikely uses for the useless. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all in the name of providing an opportunity to put the tyranny of oneeyed rationality in perspective and burst the bubble of earnest existentialism. I am always assuming the presence of bodies which I appeal to with familiar objects that have undergone denaturing and renaturing, emerging as odd, previously un-manifested, human-made vegetations. Celebrating the potential simultaneity in the handmade of both contrivance and habit. A nod to the animal human, like a contemporary vegetable, cultivated and feral. Perhaps this visceral materiality is what pre-enlightenment experience was all about. In any case, I make sense 28 / Gallery36

Kate Lepper, 2007, The Beetroot Bra (A Hanging Garden detail). Organic beetroot, underwear elastic, synthetic fabric, tensioners, paint.

Kate Lepper, 2007, A Hanging Garden. Site Speci�c Installation.

of it as the offspring of 1960s inner voyaging sensibilities and a social conscience, the dilemma of Vegan intentions in a plastic world, and the desire to reclaim experiences of well-being away from a contemporary materialistic consumer role.

Kate Lepper, 2011, Leaf Preserver (Plastic Hippie). Re-used & virgin PVC, re-used plastic packaging, London Plane Tree leaves, Reused suit fabric & terrycloth Elastic, Plastic buckles & adjusters.

Kate Lepper, 2010, The Vegan Island. Found in�atable sofa, reused synthetic fabric & plastic, arti�cial turf, 53x150x85cm.

Kate Lepper currently divides her time between London, UK, and Wellington, NZ. Having completed a BFA at the Quay School of the Arts, Whanganui UCOL, in 2007, Lepper went on to study at the Slade School of Fine Art, London, gaining a MFA with distinction in 2011. During her post-graduate studies she received a Research Images award from the UCL Graduate School and the Thomas Scholarship from the Slade School of Fine Art. Her work has featured in exhibitions across NZ, including shows at Enjoy! Public Art Gallery, Wellington, and the Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth. Most recently Lepper has exhibited in Finland, Turkey and across the UK. Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 29

Realise Your Potential

Enrol in a year long mentoring programme at Corban Estate Arts Centre Artists Anne-Sophie Adelys and Andy Tolhurst have teamed up to offer a year long course to take intermediate level artists to the next step of their arts practice. ‘Realising your potential’ is an exciting year long course providing guidance and mentoring from Tutors and professional arts practitioners, with each term covering one aspect of arts practice. This course encourages artists of any media to develop a professional art practice, create a body of work and to be better prepared to navigate the arts

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environment and understand its expectations. ‘Realising Your Potential’ is divided into 4 school terms, classes run in the evenings and some weekends to �t around participants work commitments. For information about enrolling in the 2012 intake, please email: info@ceac.org.nz

Realise Your Potential Artists

Heather Bell

Ceramicist M: 027 421 7849 E: heatherbellnz@gmail.com W: www.heatherbell.yolasite.com

I have worked with clay for many years - my fascination began when my mother brought home small, perfect vases and bowls she had made at night school. At �rst I made traditional pots on the wheel, but soon found far more satisfaction in creating unique hand-built sculptural works. In 2005 I graduated from Australian National University with a Diploma of Art in Ceramics after four years of distance study, which set me on my current creative path. This year (2011) I’ve been a student in Corban Estate Arts Centre’s Artist Mentoring Programme, to strengthen my

knowledge and practice in the professional aspects of working as an artist, and was a �nalist in the Portage Ceramics Awards. My artwork re�ects my South Paci�c environment: the rhythms of the sea, the �ow of light and dark, and the effects of time. I use patterns I �nd in nature’s architecture in my sculptural forms: wood

Healther Bell, 2011, Relic detail. Ceramic, LED light, sand, dune grass, 1100 x 1100 x 400h Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 31

Realise Your Potential Artists

Below: Healther Bell, 2011, Cones. Ceramic, 18 x 33h Right: Healther Bell, 2011, Cones - detail. Ceramic, 18 x 33h

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In my current body of work, the vessels’ layered structure represents gradual growth and the wearing effects of time. The openings are like mouths or windows, perhaps into the past, throat, or womb. These vessels explore ideas of protection, erosion, containment and release - they can’t hold matter as vessels usually do, though they contain and release light, sound, and air. Sound also belongs in the installation. I hope that these pieces will one day exist on a much larger scale in public spaces, so that people can interact with them – go inside the structures, climb the outside; and see a different aspect at night with interior lighting. Below: Healther Bell, 2011, Relic. Ceramic, LED light, sand, dune grass, 1100 x 1100x 400h

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Realise Your Potential Artists

grain, especially driftwood washed ashore after being rounded by the sea; ribs and veins in leaves; the structure of feathers and bones - I have a skeleton collection in my studio for inspiration.

Lauren Stewart

Artist

M: 027 489 1915 E: laurenlikestopaint@gmail.com W: www/laurenlikestopaint.wordpress.com

Lauren Stewart is an artist living in Wellington who recently completed a PgDip in Fine Arts at Massey University after receiving a Bachelor of Media Arts from Wintec in Hamilton. The work I have made is a series of paintings called Artiďż˝cial Landscapes. They are paintings inďż˝uenced by sites such as mines and quarries where the physical surface of the earth has been excavated. I have always been interested in the materiality of paint when it is diluted, the way it pools and moves across the surface and the element of chance that it has as it cannot be completely controlled. The most important idea behind this work to me is loss, the land that is excavated will never be returned and that landscape is forever altered. I have responded to the removal of the land by using a solvent to remove the top surface of paint and exposing what is underneath. The portraits are about the dislocation of place felt when moving and traveling. There is a strong sense of nostalgia for the place lost. The painting seems to be in a state of dissolving, similar to memories. Lauren Stewart, 2010, Artiďż˝cial Landscapes, acrylic and oil on board1220 x 800cm. 34 / Gallery36

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Portraits top left to right: Lauren Stewart, 2010, Rebecca, acrylic and oil on board, 600 x 800cm, Frances, acrylic and oil on board, 600 x 800cm, and right: Laura, acrylic and oil on board, 600 x 800cm

Blair Barclay

Photographer

M: 0212058195 E: blbarcl@gmail.com Barclay works in documentary style of photography, combining the analytical characteristics of the medium with a more subjective vision of personal experience, using a series of images to create a stream of consciousness that implies a narrative. Shooting in black and white Barclay creates a distance between the image and the event depicted, making them appear more allusive. This series Moving Between was shoot while working and traveling in Europe. These photos are an honest account of his experience, focusing on less obvious details with a sense of displacement mixed in with the excitement of travel. His work deals with aspects of this experience that are perhaps less desirable to remember than images of monuments, architecture and tourist attractions however were nonetheless inextricably intertwined with his experience. This body of work is presented as a series of photos both on the gallery wall and in the form of a book. When viewed as a series, the photos have an accumulative effect, which is aimed to create an impression of the experience for the viewer. All works are by Blair Barclay, 2009-10, Untitled. Fibre based paper, 280 x 355mm 36 / Gallery36

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Kathy Ready

Artist

M: 027 555 1349 E: kathyready@hotmail.com W: www.kathyready.net

“Colour has got me. I no longer need to chase it. It has got me forever. I know it. That is the meaning of this happy hour”. Paul Klee My physical and emotional environment provides the initial catalyst for my paintings, but colour is the underlying foundation and the ultimate driving force behind all my work. I love the way colours change and interact with each other and I love the challenge of trying to make colours come alive. I grew up in Whangarei, but got my Fine Art (Hons) degree at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. I took a break from painting while I travelled and worked in Europe, but when I returned to New Zealand �ve years ago, I put paint to canvas seriously again. Since then, I have focused on developing my practice and trying to �nd a place for my paintings in the slippery world of art! My current body of work is about exploring more deeply, the nature of paint and the process of painting. By building up the surface with layers of paint, different shades, tones and dimensions are created. Sometimes I have clear vision in my mind of what the �nished piece will look like, other times I will start with an idea or colour and follow the many twists and turns of the creative process, not knowing what the end product will be. Essentially I like to produce vibrant and accessible works of art that have the ability to invoke an array of responses from viewer to viewer. 38 / Gallery36

Kathy Ready, 2010, Prints. Oil on canvas, 71 x 56cm.

Above left: Kathy Ready, 2010, Celebration. Oil on canvas, 102 x 120cm. Far right: Kathy Ready, 2010, Cavern. Oil on canvas, 90 x 60cm. Right: Kathy Ready, 2011, Study (detail). Oil on canvas 51 x 26cm.

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Book Art Studios Liz Constable

My passion is creating bespoke books and journals. I �rst started creating and selling work when I was 12. I spotted a gap in the market in my home town of Manchester, England for bead curtains! It was thanks to my mum collecting necklaces with me at jumble sales, and my dad chopping up the bamboo that I went into production. I was therefore encouraged to be an entrepreneur from a very young age. I’ve run three very different businesses all in New Zealand all of which have been challenging one way or another. I set up Book Art Studios just over four years ago turning my then hobby into a business. I couldn’t stop making books so creating a business around my passion was the most logical step to

E: liz@bookartstudios.co.nz W: www.bookartstudios.co.nz FB: www.facebook.com/pages/BookArt-Studios/139173826115266 take. Teaching is something I’ve done since I was 16. Originally I taught children, now I teach adults how to enjoy creative bookmaking classes. I teach regularly in Auckland, Warkworth and Wellington. More recently Book Art Studios has ventured into the corporate market. I was thrilled to create a series of notebooks this year for Coca Cola and Fonterra. I love that handmade is making an impact on the bigger companies and I love being part of that. Book Art Studios – Liz Constable Bespoke books and journals created by Liz Constable of Book Art Studios. Engage in a delightful creative adventure when viewing her beautiful books. Journals to write precious thoughts in. Unique book art pieces. Her creativity and passion simply �ow into her scrumptious works of art. Liz creates books and journals for all occasions such as: • •

40 / Gallery36

Weddings Graduations

• Proposal books • Recipe books • New babies • Funerals (to sign in) • Memory books • Retirement • Travel albums Liz sells her work mostly from her studio which you are welcome to visit (by appointment) and sometimes online. Commissioned books are her specialty. If you have an idea in mind for a book she would love to chat with you about it. Teaching bookmaking and bookbinding are also Liz’s passions. Any student who has attended her classes will tell you they are known as creative adventures! Liz currently teaches in Auckland, Warkworth and Wellington.

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Simon Vine

Artist

M: 027 283 7236 E: svine1@hotmail.com W: www.simon-vine.com

I grew up during the later half of the 70s and the 80s with the backdrop of the hill country behind Whanganui. The presence of the Sargeant gallery and an impressive museum collection sparked an interest in the fact that artists had been here. They lived and worked in those dark hills but were gone now. Like myth and legend they leave rumours and fragments. Epic ďż˝gures of which remain paintings, poems, music and photographs. It is not difficult to become lethargic with the weight of being when considering what it is to be animal. To be here, and not to be here. Within this the necessity remains, for someone who strives to represent the human form, to confront the anatomical realities of this form. A project in and of itself, massive to the extent of being a separate ďż˝eld of investigation. The concerns of realism and representation become complex beyond comprehension when is added the weight of investigation, information and representation in the ďż˝eld of the human body, its workings and appearance. The result of the practice, the painting. It is, in particular, the qualities of the object as transient Simon Vine, 2011, Geo. Pencil & gesso on ply, 600 x 600mm 42 / Gallery36

as well as the mutable nature of experience fuelling my anxiety to paint. My work re�ects this anxiety through the variety of levels of �nish employed. No matter how a person tries they won’t pin down the visible, and under close investigation it is not difficult to understand why. There is no thing that remains stationary and constant. If the world were simply made up of the things we can see, immovable and unchanging would not be qualities that could be reasonably attached to any thing. As far as fancy can � y the ultimate de�ning boundaries are time and change. Simon Vine, 2010, Anatomia. Pencil & gesso on ply, 740 x 2000mm

Right: Simon Vine, 2011, Nude. Acrylic on ply, 340 x 550mm Below: Simon Vine, 2011, Old Colonial Woman - detail. Acrylic on mdf, 600 x 600mm Below right: Simon Vine, 2011, Tiger. Pencil & gesso on ply, 390 x 500mm

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Béatrice Carlson

I am not a painter, I am not a photographer, I am a Teller… E: abcfamily2004@xtra.co.nz W: www.beatricecarlson.com

My work is dictated by my roots and the different medium I experimented in my life. I am a French New Media Artist living in Auckland. Oil Painting gave me an understanding of layers and transparency I use in my digital work. Solarplate creates another atmosphere to the photographs I have taken and blended with my computer. Etching printmaking is the ultimate step. It gives poetry. Perspex let me work in big size with vibrant colours. It gives life. I started painting on a computer to experiment a new way of expressing my sensibility. From the last 9 years, I have been re�ning my digital work as a proper painting technique. The gesture is the same, I use a 44 / Gallery36

graphic palette with a pen like a brush. My hand moves in a �uid, spontaneous way embracing the space of the screen , my canvas. I have been taking photographs for 20 years. I keep those instant moments as a collector… It starts always with a photograph that will tell me a story. Then, the image will inspire me to work on a direction and I will start painting, blending with another image to create my story. Sometimes, I need 4-5-6 photos to create it. My work is based on personal feelings of Universe. Everything can be everywhere, anytime, Synchronicity. To embrace a Culture, I need to understand all of them or none. I need to destroy to built. I need to empty my mind to feed my soul. The stories I tell are from nowhere because everywhere, anytime. They speak about your culture thru mine, they speak about depth with lightness, they speak about me because you.

Right: Béatrice Carlson, Mise Amore. Solarplate etching digital print on perspecx, 1020 x 190mm, limited edition of 10

Right: Béatrice Carlson, Matador, je t’adore. Multi media, 800 x 350mm, limited edition of 10 Below: Béatrice Carlson, Baroque Koru? Giclé print on archival paper, 500 x 180mm, limited edition of 10

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work with the children on a variety of art workshops including soft toy making, a masquerade ball and the painting of a school mural. Tanja Jade, Peap Tarr, Alex Chalmers and Pat Shepherd worked with the children from schools supported by the charity SpinningTop. Here’s a little bit of a look back to the 2010 project: Soft Toy Making The SpinningTop Little Lotus Project is a collaborative art project, linking twelve international artists with refugee and migrant children on the Thai/Burma border. Through a variety of art workshops the children experience the joys of creativity while also being part of a huge multi-media project which brings exposure to the children’s cause. Access to education and art supplies is a luxury for these children and all funds raised from Little Lotus will go towards their ongoing welfare and education. Follow Little Lotus on the adventure. The 2010 Little Lotus Project took place over 3 weeks in November 2010 and saw 4 incredible artists 46 / Gallery36

The children at Thoo Mwee Khee School started off with sock toys, then moved onto creating their own fun characters through material donated by The Body Shop in Singapore. It was so much fun working with the children on the soft toy making as they all had such fun designs. The toy making has continued after our departure as local art gallery, Borderline, has been working with the kids to further their skills in the world of craft. The Masquerade Ball The masquerade ball sure was one of the highlights of the project. Peacefully is the school president of Thoo Mwee Khee

and he loves his music. He got together his band, set up the sound system and threw an incredible party that had us and all the kids dancing away under the stars. The children with musical skills even took turns on the mic with all the other kids bringing them �owers on stage, apparently it’s what they do in Burma. Sky Blue School Mural It took 6 days to complete the mural at Sky Blue School. The artists worked in the intense heat from 10am until 5pm. The children had art classes with local art tutor Nyan Soe during the afternoon and then worked on their elements of the mural for the last 2 days. Many would now say it’s the best looking school in Thailand and I think we can all agree with that statement! 2011: The Background SpinningTop’s Little Lotus Project 2011 is the follow up to the 2010 Little Lotus Project, which saw four NZ artists and volunteers, Tanja Jade (aka Misery), Peap Tarr, Alex Chalmers and Pat Shepherd travel to the Thai/Burma border in November 2010 to work on art projects with refugee and

migrant children from Burma. The Art During this trip the artists will work together with the children of Sky Blue School and SAW School for two weeks where they will undertake a number of youth development and education projects with an artistic focus, including murals based around the alphabet. Each school will celebrate the completion of their mural with a paint party where the artists and children will collaborate on a huge canvas that will be cut up into smaller works and auctioned off in New Zealand and LA at post trip fundraising exhibitions. The Music This project also has a musical element to it, as the children will be recording sound samples and vocals

with music engineer Leon Dalton from College Hill Productions. These recordings will be provided to musicians based in New Zealand and the USA where they will be sampled and songs will be created and collated into an online fundraising album. All proďż˝ts from this digital album will go towards the charity SpinningTop. The album provides a very exciting opportunity for New Zealand musicians to reach a huge US market through the worldwide availability and promo of the album. The Charity SpinningTop works hard to bring balance to the lives of vulnerable children living in poverty. Creative charity projects like these help them to raise awareness and funds to continue supporting the ongoing education and health of children who need it the most. These funds are invested in long-term sustainable charity projects, which means that your Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 47

Sot. Visit http://spinningtop.org/ for more information on �nances and such. To further support our project make sure to ‘like’ Little Lotus on facebook. This is also a great way to follow our journey in Thailand: http://www.facebook.com/LittleLotusProject

investment doesn’t just provide food or support until the money runs out, it means your investment is integral building things like sustainable gardens so the food continues to grow without sponsorship. Funds that are raised from Little Lotus Pt 2 will go towards the ongoing welfare and education of all the children in the SpinningTop sponsored schools. Last year the Spinning Top organization only did one art show in Wellington and raised around $30k for the kids back in Mae Sot….imagine what we can do with two art shows, more artists plus the music component that will be adding to the mix this year. Leon Dalton will be recording sounds from our trip and musicians from NZ and USA will record with these sounds to create a CD you can buy and download online. The really special thing about this organization is the people behind it. My �rst time meeting Shelly and Pat, I new straight away that they were people I wanted to work with and I really believe in what they are doing. On top of the great people, The Body Shop NZ generously supports the Spinning Top Organization admin costs, so all of the pro�ts made from fund raising goes straight to the schools in Mae 40 / Gallery36

Street Art Facelift for Taupo Taupô has truly broken its conservative reputation with the creation of 18 unique and vibrant large scale murals, created by a selection of New Zealand’s leading street artists who descended on the Central North Island town over Labour Weekend. Entitled Graffiato, this unique Street Art Festival attracted thousands of observers who enjoyed the chance to get up close and personal with the eighteen invited artists – who had been provided with an abundance of blank walls and a weekend to create vibrant and colourful permanent artworks. Curated by Cut Collective member, Ross Liew, the inaugural Graffiato is a new biennial festival delivered by Erupt Events, Taupô’s Arts Trust, who also deliver the nationally renowned biennial ‘Erupt Lake Taupô Festival’. “Graffiato has permanently changed the face of street art in New Zealand,” said Mr Liew. “It was an outstanding creative collaboration by many of our best and most recognised street artists, who thrived on the opportunity to come Right: Drypnz at work on this collaborative 8 metre long artwork with Enforce1, alongside Taupo Plastics

together for an intensive and energising weekend of Street Art.” “Street Art is more than decoration,” continues Mr Liew. “It is not surprising that the compulsion that drives artists to work with such a challenging site also affects the tone and content of their work. It takes passion to deal with the unpredictable nature of what you face when making art out in the streets. Public scrutiny, the rain, the wind, the unpredictable surfaces are just part of the challenge. If an artist is going to endure this then it makes sense that their work re�ects the passion that drives them outside in the �rst place.” An eclectic mix of established and emerging artists were selected by Mr Liew to participate at Graffiato, including those specialising in freehand, stencil,

airbrush and chalk art techniques. “Our guest artists have exhibited and painted all over the world, and now they have brought their truly international �avour to Taupô,” said Mr Liew. “We hosted artists from Russia, North America, Columbia, South Africa, England and New Zealand who each created standalone and joint artworks in their own distinctive style.” Erupt Events General Manager, Kylie Hawker worked with Taupô business and property owners to secure the artwork sites, which are primarily in and around the Central Business District. “Without doubt, Graffiato has achieved our goal of transforming the public spaces of Taupô and has left an indelible mark on the town,” said Ms Hawker. “It was incredible to watch our artists share their skills, talent and passion with the thousands of people who �ocked to the art sites to observe the artworks developing.” “It was also incredibly rewarding and heartening to see locals and visitors of all ages and demographics engage with our artists, praise them for their incredible creative talents, and truly appreciate the artistic integrity of the event,’ said Ms Hawker. “I have nothing but the hugest respect for our guest artists, such passionate and dedicated members of our communities, who freely contributed their time and talent to beautify our public spaces.” In addition to the numerous permanent artwork sites around the Taupô CBD, Graffiato also included the delivery of a free workshop for local emerging artists. “We wanted to really showcase the talents of our guest artists,” said Ms Hawker, “and provide our young people with an inspirational and aspirational opportunity to work alongside New Zealand’s best street artists. It was great to see �fteen young people, 50 / Gallery36

including an Art Student who had driven down from Tauranga especially, spend the morning learning tips and skills with TrustMe, Cinzah Seekayem and Tanja Jade, and working on a collaborative large scale artwork on the Tongariro Domain. These young artists then spent the remainder of the weekend as volunteers working alongside the artists and hopefully being motivated to explore a career in the arts.” Artist bios and portfolio images are available at

City’s Picasso-pop-art adorning Shirley’s Shoes Wall

Some Graffiato facts & �gures:

Tanja Jade adding detail to her collaborative artwork with Miss Mica, outside Hi Fashion Large Scale Work: BMD at work on their 3 story high artwork on the exterior of Starlight Cinema

Ghstie’s iconic �sh adorn the Taupo Sea Scout Den walls

• 390 cans of Montana professional spray paint used • 280 litres of various acrylic and house paint used • 250 metres of drop-cloth used to protect pavement areas around Taupo • Over 400 hours of total painting time over the weekend • First time ever in Australasia this type of event has been held • Signi�cant interest overseas, with news about Graffiato retweeted by numerous UK and USA based Street Art Collectives reaching over 100,000 followers • 18 completed artworks, including 8 collaborations with two or more artists working together • 1000 maps issued to the public within four hours on Saturday 22 October • Delivered as a charitable community arts event, with no major commercial benefactors • Graffiato is one of �ve new Erupt Events that are being presented in Taupô, and is set to become a biennial Labour Weekend activity

Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 35

smARTist

smARTist By Ariane Goodwin, Ed.D.

Ariane of smARTist: http://smartistcareerblog.com/about/ smARTist Interest List: http://bit.ly/smARTistILmain smARTist Telesummit: http://smartist.com/live-telesummit/2012/ OR - http://bit.ly/smARTistILmain smARTips: http://smartist.com/live-telesummit/weekly-smartips/ Hi! – In the August issue of this august mag, I offered 4 smARTips to encourage 1) rockin’ out in your local scene, 2) connecting the dots between marketing and your website 3) and why looking good counts. Then I challenged you to get yourself some free publicity, for you and your art, from one local venue. So, tell me -> ariane@smARTist.com did you nail any press coverage in the last 3 months? I sure hope so, because building recognition for your work is part of your artist job description. Otherwise, making art becomes sort of like having children and keeping them in the back room where they can’t go anywhere to ful�ll their destiny. Today’s series of smARTips are four “back door” ways to sell your art. This isn’t the “in your face” at an exhibition selling. This is turning the soil, making sure the stones and roots are cleared. This is prepping your buyers to buy because, then, selling gets a whole lot easier. 52 / Gallery36

I’m Ariane of smARTist and I’ve been passionate about artists since I was a toddler tripping out on the cliffs of Big Sur, California while my artist mother held her breath hoping I wouldn’t fall into the Paci�c before she could get to me. These days, I hang out on the smARTist® cliffs, soaking in the sweet salt air of artists who love what they do in the studio, and feel just a bit lost when they come out. For the last �ve years I’ve been running the only professional development, art career conference for visual �ne artists (the smARTist Telesummit) coaching private clients so they can fast forward their art careers, and developing information, inspiration, and insight for artists who want to bridge the gap between making art and making a living. (Hey! The 6th Annual conference is coming up! Get on the Early Noti�cation Interest List and be the �rst to learn about the Early Bird Special. Plus, I’ve got lots of goodies just for this list! Go here -> www.smARTist-Telesummit.com I also write a free weekly newsletter, smARTips™, offering you one tip a week, which sculptor Kevin Caron tells me are “scintillating, practical insights that really help my career.” Here in Gallery36, I’ll be pulling together a series of four of my best tips for each issue. Enjoy… then go forth and thrive!

smARTip #1: Get the must-have, worldwide, 24/7 marketing strategy: Are you uncomfortable talking with potential buyers because you don’t want to seem pushy? No worries, it all starts with forgetting about their wallets. ---------------------

Your smARTist® Move on smARTip1: The next time a buyer asks you a question, remind yourself that it’s not the opening for a sales pitch. It’s a sincere request for more information. Answer it fully, without wondering if you’ll eventually make a sale. *****

Every sale starts with a conversation. But not every conversation ends up as a sale. Lots of conversations between artists and potential buyers are just that—interesting chats. If someone is interested enough in your work to ask questions about it, answer them as fully as you can. Only, be sure to ask them about their art interests, what they collect, where they hang or put it. And inside this “collector-centric” conversation, you can sprinkle info about your work, what you do, why you do it, what you love about it. If you’re clear in your own mind that you’re not pitching a sale, both you and the buyer will thoroughly enjoy yourselves. You’re asking about their world, involving them in your world, opening a door into an experience they may not otherwise be able to have. You might eventually sell a piece of your work— and you might not. But somebody once said that conversation is the sex of the soul. And that’s a pretty good way to spend your time. ---------------------

smARTip #2: Cultivate Collectors: When you want to turn your business up a notch, it can be tempting to start searching for new buyers. But the real goldmine might be right under your nose. ---------------------

More buyers do have the potential to increase your sales. The only trouble with more buyers is �guring out where they are. Then actually getting your work in front of them—one by one. Hmmm. But you already know where some of your buyers are. And they already have your work in front of them. And some of them probably have more than one piece. If the standard rule of thumb for business holds true for you, 80% of your pro�ts will come from 20% of your buyers, instead of looking for lots of one-time shoppers, consider the people who’ve already made Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 53

smARTist

Four December smARTips™ on “How to Use Collector Connections to Sell Your Art”

smARTist

a commitment to your work. What are you doing to keep them engaged on a regular basis? Do you send them updates of new work, write a blog about your process for them, offer then exclusive previews? Think of 3 ways you can engage the people who have already bought from you, and put each one into action one at a time. ---------------------

Your smARTist Move on smARTip2: ®

Once you’ve got a plan in place for on-going engagment, then you can look for other buyers just like the ones you have. Here’s how: 1. Identify your best collectors. 2. Jot down a few things they have in common. 3. Write a “my ideal collector” pro�le. 4. Now, focus on �nding more people who share those characteristics. *****

Instead of using your artist statement as a recitation of bio facts, let people behind the canvas, under the clay, or into your darkroom. People might ask you where you learned your technique, but what they really want to know is…. What’s it like to be an artist? What time of day do you most like to work? Do you listen to music while you work? What do you do when the muse deserts you? How does inspiration �nd you? Letting your collectors close to you will create a sticky factor that’s the next best thing besides the art itself. ---------------------

Your smARTist® move on smARTip3: Rewrite your artist statement. Bring your potential buyers right into your studio, using words to create an image of what it’s like to be you, making art. Hint #1: always use �rst person. Hint #2: take a page from �ction writers and see if you can use at least 2 or 3 of the 5 direct physical senses in you statement (sight, sound, smell, taste, feel) P.S. If writing your statement stumps you, check this out: http://www.writingtheartiststatement.com/

smARTip #3: Expose Yourself: No, silly, not like that! (funny how I know just where your mind went, huh?) Is there a disconnect between the effort you put into writing your artist statement and its marketing impact? Make it more powerful by getting a little naked. --------------------Listing your credentials can be impressive… but how many times have you been drawn to someone because of their credentials? Facts inform, but they don’t draw people to you. 54 / Gallery36

*****

smARTip #4: Feeling Shy? Follow-up anyway: Are you waiting for people to call you back because you’re too shy to ‘bother’ them? I suggest you feel the fear and follow-up anyway even if it’s outside your comfort zone. ---------------------

True Story: I was working with one of my private coaching artists when she told me about a two-time collector

“Have you followed up with her?” I asked (since that’s my job!) “Oh, no. I don’t want to bother her.” (Trust me, this kind of nonsense comes second nature to us women!) Me: How long ago did she say this? Artist: About nine months ago, I think. Me: Where is she now? Artist: In New Mexico. Me: In that same “second home?” (working hard not to jump through the phone lines and tackle my client)

read more.” Here’s the thing. You can still feel shy if you want to. Just make the phone calls or send the emails, anyway. ---------------------

Your smARTist® move on smARTip4: If you’ve been avoiding following up, what step can you take today? Because, the best antidote for fear (which is what shyness is) is action. Any action. Even failed action is better than no action at all. Choose one person to get back in touch with. If you need to, write down exactly what you’re going to say. or do it by email. But do it.

Artist: Yes. Me: Okay, here’s what you do. You send her a followup email, friendly, chit chat in the beginning, then ask if she’s still interested in a piece for that home.

*****

Artist: After nine months? (can you feel the resistance revving up here?)

Now that you have some speci�c ways to cultivate your collectors, here’s another challenge for you: Identify your best, all time collector and reach out to establish contact by inviting them to re-connect with you (or even buy something again!).

Me: Today. You’re going to send out that email today! End of Story: Collector responded, thrilled the artist remembered! And immediately commissioned a painting. Myth: Hollywood abounds with stories of struggling artists who are plucked from obscurity by the hand of fate. If only. For every artist who’s plucked from obscurity, millions more labor on in shy solitude. So get out there and follow up. Lack of follow-up can be devastating to any career, artistic or otherwise. Follow up with everyone who’s ever expressed any interest in your art. Gallery dealers, buyers, curators, agents, anyone who’s ever said, “I’d like to see/hear/

Then pop me over an email and tell me how it went. Every once in a while, an extra idea pops into my head that I can share with you -> ariane@smARTist.com BTW – If you want to understand more about selling your art to collectors and buyers, check out the upcoming professional development, art career conference where this year it’s all about collectors, you, and your art! Check it out here -> www.smARTistTelesummit.com Vol 3. No. 4 2011 / 55

smARTist

who had mentioned that she’d like a piece for her Southwest, second home.