Art Career Experts

NC REAL Professional Crafts Artists Entrepreneurship Coming!

ace — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 00:12:53 +0000

I’m heading out this weekend for a June 15-19 “Summer Institute” workshop by TenBiz in the beautiful mountain town of Blowing Rock, NC! I may be the only actual entrepreneur attending but it’s all about their training program for facilitators. I look forward to adding to what I already know to better help those who ask for it!

Now no one says it better than TenBiz and founder and western coordinator of NCREAL, Tonya Snider.

OBJECTIVES

Our objectives for the tenBiz, Inc. Summer Institute are:

to foster professional and personal relationships among participants and between tenBiz, Inc. and other organizations

to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the people and organizations which comprise the REAL network

to recognize and address the varying needs of a diverse group of participants and their students

to model the experiential process, content, and pacing of the REAL curriculum

to expand participants’ knowledge of themselves as facilitators and learners, and of entrepreneurship and small business planning, operations, and management

to facilitate facilitators’ success by familiarizing them with the REAL course curriculum and resource materials, and offering guidance on implementation of the program

to give experienced facilitators opportunities to further develop their skills, to share their experience in the REAL program with others, and to learn to design and lead future REAL training events

to create an atmosphere of fun, cooperation and shared responsibility

So if that doesn’t grab your interest then maybe what I will begin teaching in August of this year will!

NC REAL Professional Crafts Artists Entrepreneurship….. Each class is once every week for seven weeks (3 hours each class). This program is developed for students who have craft and artistry skills, and who need support in applying their talents to entrepreneurial endeavors. Students will experience hands-on activities that have been specifically designed to address needs and challenges faced by craft artists who already have or wish to start their own business.

Finding the Artist’s Retreat-or My Cabin in the Woods

ace — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 00:28:32 +0000

Finding a spot to create. It seems to be a goal for writers, artists and musicians. Often it’s a quest. Maybe that’s a good word for it.
I spend more and more time thinking about it-a cabin in the woods.
I’m not sure why that dreaded “If only….” phrase has kept popping up in my mind but it has me daydreaming of a place to relax, unwind, meditate, recharge-every adjective that an artist needs in order to justify her creativity! Silly. I have a studio that is the envy of most artists. We built it 18 years ago from parts of a 1910 home being torn down in the area. It’s 24 x 30 feet in size with 10 foot ceilings, beautiful reclaimed pine flooring, the old windows-it is stunning!

And I know this! But in reality it is crowded! Oh it started off with SO much space but with 2 working artists that changed quickly
Even the shed we added behind it turned into a storage area. Oh and we have a woodworking shop..the downstairs filled with tools and the upstairs filled with things we are storing but do not need. (easy with 4 grown kids who move around)

(

At the beginning…….:-)

And we have grown rose clippings from abandoned homesteads and they have grown and matured into a profusion of cascading color enjoyed by painters every spring…so WHY was I searching?

Seven Sisters roses cascading down the tobacco stick fence

Red Seven Sisters brought by mother as a cutting from her family homestead in Mississippi.

What am I looking for?

I lean towards mountain properties- a throwback I am sure of my New England upbringing where we lived in an 18th century farmhouse on 50 acre farm in upstate New York (next to MA and VT) and had unfettered run, on foot, skis and horses, of the mature forests and surrounding streams, farmland and towns. Our freedom included the glorious huge beamed barn with its many outbuildings and the secret hideaways within them all. Ah, such memories!

In my mind, my cabin art retreat has to have a stream, mature trees…and of course-a small cabin. Again, I recognize this from childhood memories of running through abandoned farm fields and discovering, in the dark recesses of hemlocks and maples that bordered all the forgotten fields, streams that cascaded down rocks into small pools of cold, pristine water. It was all very magical to a child of ten and I clearly recall the details of discovering Jack in the Pulpits, ripples in the water pools, crawdads under the stones, floating maple leaves and the cool tang of the hemlocks. And other than the delighted sounds of discovery by my twin sister and younger brother, the only other sounds were that of the waterfall. The sound of gurgling water can quickly transport me to that spot anytime I hear it.

And on a bittersweet, yet telling note, the last family vacation I had with my twin sister was in the NC mountains. Eileen and I were 28 and I had 3 children, the youngest just 4 months old and a too busy life and business when our parents rented a little summer house for us to have a vacation in for our upcoming 29th birthdays . It sat in a valley with a little stream in front of the house. My 6 and 3 year old played for hours on end at the edge of the shallow gurgling water, building and rebuilding little stone houses. There had been no TV, no phone and we had sat on the front porch at night counting stars and waiting for the shooting ones. I had purposely left my guitar at home and brought my new hammered dulcimer. So our evening musical entertainment was the singular sounds of the dulcimer chords.

With my youngest in a backpack (or my mother staying and watching him) we explored caves, pastures, mountains, abandoned farms. We had bought Audubon books and learned the names of the wildflowers we were discovering. The children were at that age where everything held wonder and my parents and sister enjoyed sharing all the wonders with them. Something as simple as watermelon seed spitting contests and watching frogs hop held them in rapture. It was a good summer and even better memories. A year later my twin was gone and all that was left us were the memories.

So I sort of know WHY I am looking….maybe it’s that I am searching for a bit of those memories I have just described. The point was I had a sort of an epiphany the other day.

After spending inordinate amounts of time on Craigslist, looking at properties that I could not afford, or cheap ones simply too far away (there IS a practical side to me!) and …..daydreaming, wasting an awful lot of time…. I shook myself clear of it.

I already have a small “cabin”. I am on a couple of acres of land. I have mature trees. I have deer and wildlife. I have a stone fountain I bought used 3 years ago and never used….hey, I can MAKE my own cabin in the woods and do it right here!

Bought from a friend whose mother had used it first as a pottery studio, then as storage (of course!) it was simply too good an opportunity to pass up!

So $250.00 moving fee later, the 12 x 20 building is finally deposited between our house, studio and pasture. It isn’t very lovely but it was insulated, wired and covered inside with many grungy shelves and a linoleum floor.

We are on 2.5 acres but the back is heavily wooded and alas…there was no way to get the whole shebang to the back area.

At first the changes I did were cosmetic: cleaning the sides, painting the door and trim, replacing the screen door with a vintage door……then I cleaned and painted the grungy insides shelves, thinking of paneling or sheetrock but not getting beyond that. Amazing what a little paint can do.
But within a few months we were storing frames and paintings in it, stymied by the cost of running electric to the inside panel.

And then the epiphany happened and I made a decision-yep-just like that-
The frames and artwork can go where they belong-into the 8 x 16 ft cargo trailer used just for that purpose. I’ll enlist the help of some friends who can make a few things happen….for starters, I want a sliding door off the other end…this one door opens into the driveway-and cannot be a major entrance easily.
So I reasoned that if I bought property with a similar building on it, I would be facing the same economic and design challenges anyway so….what the heck!

So now I have my brain in gear…how to heat? Maybe a propane fireplace? Small woodstove? Must think this through but so many shelves are a bonus to help move my craft and silk work out of the main studio and into a smaller one…..let’s see-add a small deck out the side where the sliding door would be, take that long unused stone waterfall….. are you feeling it now?

What WILL the free range chickens think!? Stay tuned for what starts to happen next!

Labels: art and creativity, artist inspiration, artist motivation, cabin in the woods, m theresa brown, silk art

Arrtists-are you a problem solver or a whiner?

ace — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 13:28:17 +0000

Art Career Experts is a labor of love-not a money making “how to” designed to rip you off! SO as we’ve worked harder to pay our bills with the sales of our art, we’ve simply had less time to post! Like every sel employed person, we have had to solve problems!

The good news is that in spite of the economic woes that are obviously world wide, we find that “having” to sell to pay bills makes us more creative, taps into set aside skills and opens the door to continued creativity! IF you want guarantees, a magic bullet, a secret to success…well there are plenty of people out there professing to know the answers-go see them!

But if you have figured out that maybe, just maybe, success in what you do is down to hard work and that there is no ONE answer or secret, then everything we have written so far has made an impression on you! And we have done our job:-)

So are you a problem solver? Or are you still blaming everyone but yourself for your lack of what you consider to be success? Do you meet every suggestion with a whiny voice “But I tried that and it didn’t work!”? Things are changing daily. Look at what was available 20 years ago, 10 years ago and look what is available electronically today! How are you sending mail? How are you communicating? But marketing means you are marketing not just your art product but your skills as a communicator. Can’t communicate well? Then FIND someone to help you! Seriously folks…when I make a suggestion and get a bunch of whiners who say “But, but, but…..” then I am speaking to the wrong entrepreneur and you need to keep your day job! Plain and simple. An entrepreneurial artist FINDS solutions and answers and does not offer up excuses as to why something will not or did not work. I have heard EVERY problem imaginable from artists concerning their careers and when my every suggestion is met with a negative, I am wasting my time. You fall down, you get up. You get lost, find a map. You need sympathy? Go to your mom. Honestly artists, if you want success in your area of expertise, forget everything you ever learned in art school about selling your art and start listening to artists who sell.

Having said that, guess what? We have tried to help you-Don’t try to stab us in the back! We have had artists post on our Facebook pages, show up where we are, steal our articles to promote their own “how to sell your art” sites, try to monopolize our time at a show for free advice (surely worth a cup of coffee?) Seriously? Get your own life! I solved many of the unethical problems by simply slowing down my postings, not giving our locations or specifics and in general, spending more time in the areas in which we do ourselves the most good!

Art is all about problem solving-from creating your art to how to sell it. There are NO shortcuts. If, after all these years you are still waiting for me to give you the key to success, well you’re too late. You could have been there by now. So today you have to make a decision-re-think your goals and get to work or not. Yes. It’s that simple. BUT, if you decide that maybe the life of a full time artist is not for you, have the courtesy and maturity to accept that decision as one that YOU have made and not “blame” your spouse, your job, your kids or life in general for your decision!

Enjoy what you have and be happy!

Follow us on Facebook!

ace — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 02:05:47 +0000

Quite frankly, it is a pain to write articles when our income comes from our art, not our blogging SO in between the business of running an art business, we find it easier to post graphics, hints, tips and comments on our Facebook page rather than log in, add keywords, delete the vast amounts of spam and trash that accumulates (seriously-what do these people do?)

I’ll try to keep up the newsletters but honestly, only those art gurus NOT creating art are the ones who go on and on about how YOU too can be an artist . I like to think that those of us who do live our lives as self employed artists, share the same highs and lows that artists from every previous century have faced. None of them had the time nor was it even an ideal, to wonder about “what is art?” They worked at the craft they were best suited to and that helped them make a living. Period.

So in keeping with evaluating the ROI on our time writing articles on making a living as an artist, it will be easier and more cost effective to share a few things here and there via Facebook. Because honestly, if you have not taken up the challenges to become an artist in the 5 years we have been sharing our knowledge, then you simply aren’t going to. This lifestyle is not for the faint of heart.

SO pop over, add your comments, get inspired.

Theresa and Steve

2013 and the Economy through the Eyes of an Artist

ace — Mon, 27 May 2013 15:12:40 +0000

2013 and the Economy through the Eyes of an Artist
M Theresa Brown

For the totally self employed artist, the past few years have been a huge challenge. If big businesses have failed with all their marketing expertise and service businesses have failed with their consumable products, then what possible chance does an artist have of surviving the lean years? To be frank, no one “needs” your art. No one “has” to have it. Art is a want, not a need.
So just how do you survive financially? And how do you cope emotionally when no one is buying your work? And just how are we, Theresa and Steve, staying in business and paying all of our bills (ie: mortgage, car payment, health insurance, utilities and everything else!)

Above all, we do what successful artists have done all along-we get creative!
Creativity encompasses not just artsy inspiration but creative marketing and the willingness to explore options. The key to our survival during this dry spell has been versatility. Artists have always been told to focus on one aspect of their art. Good advice until it stops selling. But was it all for nothing? No. Nothing is ever “for nothing.” It all joins together to create what it is you identify with as an artist. Picasso is a good example of an artist who used his wits to re-invent himself every time one phase stopped selling. The phrase “growing in my/her art” is so overused. The reality is that you can offer your collectors more of your artistic abilities-not just one thing! If you need “proof” of the many artists who were amazingly versatile and offered clients many options within their abilities to collect more than one form, type, medium of art, spend some serious time studying art history. And if you want to be successful in this challenging economy you need to be able to offer your clients the opportunity to add YOUR art to their collections with more than just the one form you have always offered! Not only does it generate new interest (and sales) but if they have already purchased work from you, they will again!

Encompassing your new found decision to explore other art forms means getting rid of whatever emotional baggage or education has held you back!
Giving yourself permission to step out of the box you or someone else put you in as an artist is serious emotional power! And it is the hardest thing you will do in your journey for versatility. Working on another art form, medium, genre…..you are experimenting, sharing with your collectors, seeing what is working, what is not. It is art entrepreneurship at its finest. It is creativity at it’s finest. And it is perfectly all right to do so! Shake off any negativism. It takes determination and courage to stand up to or ignore the opinionated “wanna be’s” out there who feel their job in life is to make you doubt yourself. Don’t give them that power!
If your slow sales the past few years have left you discouraged and uninterested in creating your art, the huge positive in your versatility explorations is discovering (or re-discovering) a new excitement in creating your art. You will find new enthusiasm in experimenting, thinking about and researching your ideas. And it will show in your work!
For us, now half way through 2013, our niche of the economy is showing signs of a comeback. People are slowly loosening their purse strings and allowing themselves to feel it is OK to make a “want” purchase. Our collectors enjoy seeing what new things we have created and that adds to our encouragement and explorations of new art forms.
Perhaps the best bit of advice we could share with you is simple: “Nothing works if you don’t try it!”
Until next time!
Theresa and Steve
http://www.artcareerexperts.com

The Golden Rule of ethics for artists on Facebook

ace — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 14:16:45 +0000

Facebook is one of those marketing areas that is new enough to have vague “rules of conduct.
Most of us grew up with the Golden Rule of conduct, “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.”
And in its learning and growing pains, Facebook is now pro-active in giving us the tools in dealing with lewd, malicious or hateful intent and posts on Facebook. We can report, block, unfriend or otherwise eliminate the offending party.

For artists, photographers and musicians, there is another arena of behavior, along with the Golden Rule, which, although not written in stone, should be observed. It is assumed that if you opt to friend or like an artist or his page, it is because you like that artist or his work. To friend or like an artist with hopes of piggy backing off his possible success is unethical. There are plenty of sites on Facebook that are expressly there to encourage artists to interact with advice, tips and ideas without going through your artist friends pages and hoping to score a commission from their friends.

Observing the following “Code of Conduct” will insure that the respect that you show an artist will be reciprocated. Feel free to add more!

1. Do not post photos of your work on another artist’s page without permission. Private message or email him first. This applies to those 1:00 am posts with photos that will stay up for hours on another artist’s site until discovered.

2. Do not comment/post on another artist’s work and then add links to your work.

3. Do not try to get around #2 by commenting on how you “do it” (work in a articular medium, apply shadows, whatever, etc) in the hopes of having viewers click on your site through your avatar.

4. Do not try to make the artist’s friends “your” friends for the express purpose of showing them your work (in hopes of luring them away or getting a commission.)

5. Never contact another artist’s friends or friends of friends with promises of “doing it better” or “cheaper.”

If you have done any of the 5 “Don’ts” above, either intentionally or unintentionally, start living the “Golden Rules of Facebook for Artists” and keep your friends for a long time!

By respecting your artist friends and their hard work, you are also respecting yourself and what you have put into your art and your livelihood.

THe Life of an Artist and 2013!

theresa — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 13:33:11 +0000

Welcome new members and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our members! To new members-there is much in the archives and links-browse through them all!
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/ArtistPaycheck/

This past year I have made more of a transition to our Facebook page …and that’s to help me out. I pretty much work all the blogs, newsletters, etc. single handed. So if there are far fewer posts that is the reason! Of course all of you are all welcome to add your comments, recommendations, etc here and on our FB page!

The other reason I have not posted as much is, yes, you guessed it, work!. As artists whose every bill is paid solely from the sales of our art, our priority is creating and selling our art.

So I have about 20 minutes this morning, here in front of the fire with hot coffee on a cold rainy (and not sure why it’s not snowing!) 37 degree morning here in NC. We plan to leave to see family in Pennsylvania tomorrow where I KNOW there is snow and return just after New Years.

We worked our tails off this month! Steve painted enough to need ice on his shoulder each night a week before Christmas and I kept just as busy with the portraits, the deliveries , the art classes and the displays. We both were zapped with some creeping crud around Thanksgiving and hacked our way through the studio for two weeks…but hey, we got through it! There is an old saying “Make hay while the sun shines” and for every month where the sales are overwhelming, there are two months where they are so so and 1, sometimes 2 during the year where I wonder what a regular paycheck would feel like! Then I remember the days where I did not want to work and drove through the countryside at random, walked wooded trails or took out a kayak or spent the day working in my herb and flower garden or just messed about with random art for the fun of it….and I think “Nah-h-h!”

So we’ll be sending out Jan newsletter when we return and I will share just HOW we are able to “live the life of an artist”. SO if that doesn’t keep you on pins and needles, nothing will
To see that Steve and I are real people, below is a list of our FB pages. Don’t like or use FB? You should…many of our collectors respond quicker to our messaging through FB than even the phone!

Happy NEW Year!

Theresa www.facebook.com/MTheresaBrown
Steve http://www.facebook.com/stephen.filarsky

www.facebook.com/artcareerexperts

Checklist for Outdoor and Indoor Art Shows-Stop forgetting!

ace — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 02:14:17 +0000

Setting up your tent at an art show as the wind starts to pick up is not a good time to realize that you forgot to bring the weights and tie downs. Feeling the sweat roll down your back while you slow bake over the asphalt at an outdoor art fair in Florida is not a good time to realize that you forgot the sunblock or your hat or the cooler. Discovering that the artists must all park 30 blocks from the show is not a good time to realize that you left the hand cart in the studio!

I could go on and on but you get the picture. Make a list. Make it detailed and make it thorough. Use ours as a beginning guide (all art forms are different) and life as an artist on the road will be easier, calmer and far less stressful when you know that you checked everything off on your list!

ART SHOW CHECKLIST coutesy of www.ArtCareerExperts.com
Use our list and add to it as needed for your partciular situation/art product. Make as detailed a checklist as necessary to make it easier to zip through your list for each show. For multiple day shows, have an idea of what you will wear each day and make sure that you bring those items.
Your personal list may be separate but it too should be itemized to prevent hyperventilating situations!

The following is divided into Outdoor and Indoor shows.

OUTDOOR Set up Tent or Canopy (Always know if your tent is UV protected and what winds/rain it can withstand. Be prepared!) All art shows tents should be 10′ x 10′. Booth display designs are built to accomodate that size.

One day or multi day shows

Tent

Weights and Stakes and ratchet tie downs

Carpet or Mat (RV Patio Mat or Indoor/Outdoor Carpet)

Hand truck / luggage cart (can be critical)

Rope and bungee cords

Cable ties

Booth SIGN

Display

Display Walls

Wall covers and hardware

Hooks and Hangers, velcro

Display Cases

Display Stands

Print Rack/prints

Table (4, 6 or 8 ft)

Table cloth/cover

Business Signs

Plastic drop cloths or tarps

Artwork!

Prints or Cards

Price tags / labels

Stool or chair

Extension cords

1 or 2 fans

Easels

Any art supplies needed if demonstrating on site

bungee cords

Tools

Hammer
Pliers
Screwdrivers
Cable/electrical ties
Duct tape
Spring clamps
Glass Cleaner
Paper towels
Towel

Office/Sales Supplies

Calculator
Money
Money box/fanny pack
Sales/receipt book
Pens/Pencil/Marker
Scissors
Stapler and staples
Price tags/labels
Credit card signs/logos
Square credit card processor/your cell phone
Boxes and/or Bags
Promotional items
Business Cards
Business Card Holders
Guest Book
Guest book pages
Portfolio of past work
Post Cards
Brochures
Name tag

Personal

Cooler / thermos
Paper towels
Sunscreen
Hat (optional)
Sweater
Insect Repellant
Towel
Breath mints/gum
Baby wipes
Hand sanitizer
Comfortable shoes

Medicines

aspirin/tylenol/ibuprofen
anti-nausea anti-diarrheal
hayfever/allergy

Cooler
Bottled Water
ice/drinks
Coffee
Food – sandwiches/ snacks

Not to do!
NO READING BOOKS
NO CELL PHONE CONVERSATIONS
NO WEB BROWSING/EMAIL CHECKING
NO NEWSPAPERS
NO FAMILY REUNIONS OR NEIGHBORHOOD GET TOGETHERS
__________________________________________________________
ART SHOW CHECKLIST ArtCareerExperts.com
INDOOR Set up (No tent)

With the exception of no tent, everything stays the same EXCEPT yo will need many lights. ALWAYS have lights in an indoor booth. Put up more than you think you need! Using the energy efficient bulbs will keep your booth cool and not blow electrical circuits!

Lights LOTS of LIGHTS for indoor shows!

Extension Cords
Power Strip
Extra Light bulbs/energy savings bulbs (to not blow circuits)
Carpet or Mat RV Patio Mat or Indoor/Outdoor Carpet or Foam tiles, gel mats
Stool or chair
electrical ties-lots of them

Follow the list above from this point on for the outdoor shows. You may not need sunscreen but you may need a sweater. Be prepared!

Working with the wholesale market

ace — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 15:39:02 +0000

Depending on what your art product is, the ability to find wholesale outlets can be a challenge. Partnering with active organizations or having an arts council that can do that is, as they say, a “win win” situation for all concerned. The critical point is that this organizations “gets it.” There is always more impetus to create art when there is a buyers market. Although this is Kentucky-long a crafters market and with a long term understanding and clearer vision than many states of what attracts visitors to the state, there is a lot of good information here that should get the brain cells perking! It is continued in the link.

Arts Council Announces Kentucky Crafted Retailer Designations

Nineteen businesses in three states have been designated Kentucky Crafted Retailers by the Kentucky Arts Council, the agency announced today.

Each of the businesses – 17 from Kentucky and one each from Ohio and Indiana – met specific qualifications to be part of the initiative, a new endeavor of the arts council. The retailers are listed online in the Kentucky Arts Council Web directory.

“We had an excellent response to the call for participation in this program,” said Lori Meadows, arts council executive director. “We are excited to form new partnerships with businesses that work daily to strengthen the bonds between art and economic development in their communities. Kentucky Crafted Retailers have proven they have the capacity to promote the state as a leading producer of high-quality art and craft.”

http://surfky.com/index.php/news/kentucky/15656-arts-council-announces-kentucky-crafted-retailer-designations

The Key to Clutter Free art Studio-a Tribute to my Dad

ace — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 12:10:09 +0000

There was a time in my life where I thought that if I heard the phrase “A place for everything and everything in its place” from my Dad one more time, I would scream. I had the usual teenage responses when caught in the act ….”I know, I know” or “yeah, yeah” and of course had the proper body language for it – rolling the eyes, stiffening of the spine, dismissive hand wave, looking bored, all while trying to emanate “cool”.

I don’t think I ever knew if my dad was naturally neat or if his years in the military honed his skills, but the fact remains that his legacy is with me always when I am tempted to leave the yard tools out, not unload the dishwasher or more importantly for my art business, after using supplies in the art studio.

My dad’s workshops, wherever we lived, had vast expanses of pegboard with items not only hung up but outlined with marker. His rationale, when asked, was that if there was an empty hook, he knew what was missing by the outline and could look for it or find the culprit who borrowed it and did not put it back. Nails, screws, wire, electrical thingies, all were sitting in clear plastic (“they don’t break,” he said) instant coffee jars on shelves. Everything had a place, and everything was in it’s place.

It’s hard to argue with that logic.

I think I rebelled for awhile. I am not anal neat. But I am, I discovered, anti-clutter. Weird. When it gets to the point where I feel there is too much clutter in every room, everywhere….my brain rebels and the “clean slate” mentality takes over and my family hustles. Ask my 4 kids who knew that if mom says she was going into their rooms the next day with a big black trash bag, ( after repeated, useless efforts to get them to do it themselves) she WOULD fill it and she WOULD take it to the dump. The amazing result of this happening, get this, one time, was that it never happened again (go figure). After the first event, I would only have to give fair warning and it was like I switched on hidden kid motivation motors and the room cleaning activity by four kids went into 4th gear. They were too bent to the tasks in their rooms for me to see the eye rolling or hear the muttered comments, but I didn’t care. Everything was going into….some place.

The kids are all on their own now and there are only two people to blame if the clutter gets bad. My artist husband does not have my father’s sense of cleaning up behind himself. He too has seen the results of my anti-clutter blitz. He may think that as a spouse he is exempt to my one woman war on “shit everywhere”, but he knows better. Just like my kids, too much stuff means you don’t really know what you have, even when it is gone. And the Goodwill is all the better for it.

Now let me clarify that it takes a lot to get me to the blitz mode. It is bad. It is 2 days of dirty dishes in the sink, paths through the studio, unloaded art supplies from the vehicles from shows, classes, exhibitions…..all set inside the door like the area around the top of some attic stairs. When it is too cluttered, there is an area in my brain that is cluttered. Most importantly, it affects my creativity. There is something to be said for reaching for whatever supply you need and having it right there.

Perhaps the one iconic moment that marked the end of my “oh it doesn’t matter” attitude was searching for my car keys one day. My dad used to refer to such moments as “the great treasure hunt.” When I found the keys where I had tossed them upon entering the house, it dawned on me as clearly as the sun outside that if today had taken twenty minutes to find this one item, I had probably wasted at least a year of my life, over time, trying to find something that had not been put back in it’s place. It was one of those “Ah Ha!” moments. I could say that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, or I was truly my father’s daughter but the truth was that I was tired of disorganization that affected my life. The car key problem was solved easily (and I might add for the whole family of driving teens) by putting a key ring hold by the front and side entrances to the house. Every time someone walked into the house with car keys, any keys, they were hung up in plain site. It worked.

I think it was like losing weight-once the first few pounds come off, the motivation to keep doing whatever you’re doing, intensifies. So I set about organizing everything, all the paperwork files for the business, appliance warranties, insurance papers, kids’ papers…and the feeling of needing something and being able to lay hands on it was…..miraculous.

Oh it creeps back and you have to stay vigilant. Yesterday I attacked the studio. It was actually unplanned. But I have a student art camp coming up soon and was not getting my act together to plan what I needed to do. My “list” was not growing. So one thing led to the other and I moved, tossed out, hung, secured, dragged and otherwise organized the art studio back to a positive, creative, “want to be there” space and I am happy. My brain is not cluttered in the art corner part of it and I am ready to attack my plans and organize the activities. It is a good place to be.

Funny thing is that the trend today is to hire someone to unclutter your life, organize your closets, design the perfect clutter free environment, or join on line groups that make your lists for you .

But in the long run, you have to have the self motivation to do it yourself.

And it really is as simple as finding a place for everything and then putting it all back in its place.

Thanks Dad. You would be proud (mostly)