Over five years ago, I designed and created my own version of magnetic poetry.  It took a full Sunday looking though the dictionary to select the seven hundred words that ended up being  printed and cut into individual words that very same day.

So now, I’m sharing both a 1600×1200 and 1024×768 desktop in honor of that day and this fabulous tutorial on Technical Advisory Service for Images [TASI] that features my photograph of Magnetic Poetry under the Creative Commons license.  The tutorial explains in great detail how to find images on Flickr.  It also provides links to some interesting third party Flickr search sites.  My favorite is Color Fields, which allows you to search simply by selecting a color of interest.  In addition, it featured some color selection tools that limit your search to certain search terms such as flowers, urban decay, and stock images.

Blogger Clint Watson, in his FineArtsView Blog gives a very interesting view on how to price your artwork if it just isn’t selling. He suggests that the normal laws of supply-and-demand do not apply to the art market, and that increasing the price of your pieces may actually be beneficial, as counter-intuitive as it may seem. There apears to be a psychological element to the perceived critical value of a piece based upon its price and how the buyer feels about that price. Although I don’t thinking selling all of your napkin doodles for a million dollars each will get you rich quick soon, he clearly offers some valuable insights into the mind of the art buyer. This is something anyone actively selling their own artwork should read.

[Original story via FineArtsView Blog.]

Chris Parry, a fellow blogger and Etsy seller, recently posted an extremely useful article on his blog, Chris Parry -Bespoke Jewellery. that features an Excel spreadsheet that you can download for free to assist you in calculating your retail price for your art.

In reviewing the spreadsheet, I was quickly impressed with how user-friendly and organized the format was laid out. While the format is designed for pricing just one item, it really helps break down pricing your artwork into a science and not simply a guessing game.

To give you a brief outline of the comprehensive pricing spreadsheet that Chris has designed, here is a summary of what you’ll find on the individual tabs of the spreadsheet:

• Overview: Assists in calculating your how much money you want to make
• Direct Costs: Has you plug in your raw material costs for the item such as paint brushes and canvas. Then it has you take into consideration your packaging. If you don’t have to take into account packaging or shipping costs, you could also enter the cost of framing your artwork.
• Indirect Costs: This tab has you enter your indirect costs, which include your overhead and marketing. In order to help you lists these costs, Chris clearly outlines detailed examples of what these costs might be. Some examples of the market costs that caught my eye include website costs, printing fees, and Etsy fees.
• Your selling price: This section outlines the reality of pricing by showing you how much you thought you would make and what you can actually make at a wholesale and retail price based on your costs. Leaving you only allowed to adjust your profit margin at this point. But I think it could also get you to re-think your original estimates too.

I have yet to try the spreadsheet out myself. With the holidays coming up, I’m pretty busy, but it’s definitely listed as something to do in the near future. So a big thanks goes out to Chris for sharing this with his fellow artists! Please leave him a comment if you find the spreadsheet useful. I’m sure he’d love to hear your feedback!

When it comes to living a creative lifestyle, we often know deep down what keeps us going. For me, it’s a myriad of regular activities:

1. Walking
2. Keeping lists
3. Daily Affirmations
4. Sketching in my pastel journal
5. Connecting with fellow artists
6. Keeping an image folder
7. Treating myself occasionally to new art supplies or books/mags on art
8. Checking out local art events
9. Experimenting with new methods of creating art
10. Participating in online art challenges such as Inspire Me Thursday

When constructing your top 10 list of creative endeavors, seek out activities that aim for a balanced creative lifestyle. Keep an image folder of inspirational images that call out to you. Experiment with new methods of creating art. Create a list of daily affirmations to keep you thinking positive thoughts. Seek out opportunities to connect with fellow artists by attending local art events. Get out of the house and go for walks to keep your body, mind, and soul healthy.

These are just some ideas to get you brainstorming on your own list. As Goethe once exclaimed:

Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action (boldness) has magic, grace and power in it.

You get the idea. Just seek out small steps each day to take you closer to your long term goals. And if you get off track, just dust your shoes off and begin once more.

Feel free to add one of your own favorite creative endeavors in the comments or even link to your own list in your blog.

[Illustration inspired from Create a Connection’s artist tip on creating word art]