To quote, “But what’s really needed is a forum with local speakers …to thoroughly explore contemporary art issues.  That’s the only way local artists will be able to measure their own interests against new developments.”

You can read the entire article at:  http://www.ohio.com/entertainment/shinn/96745374.html

And, yes, it’s hard to find the time, the room and sometimes, the desire to work on one’s chosen craft, let alone to set aside the time to go to a meeting.

Personally, I feel like I’m always trying to squeeze in bits of time during the day to actually be able to work on my jewelry.

Keeping the website current, managing the money, trying to update the social media like Facebook, getting ready for shows (and everything that entails), coming up with ideas for classes,  keeping in contact with other artists, gallery owners, promoters, guilds, groups, new products, new designs.  It all eats up big chunks of time.

And, hey, on top of that, somebody’s got to do the dishes.

It’s easy to become isolated.  As Ms. Shinn so succinctly wrote, “Otherwise, each artist is just on his or her little island as new ideas on the horizon sail on by.”

I really don’t think it’s all about the networking, although that’s certainly a big, important part.  It’s about that spark.  That bit of life.  That “ah ha” moment.  That energy.

Especially that energy.

It’s how we grow.  It’s how we deepen our understanding of the world around us.

I started the Ohio Arts Community with the idea of opening an avenue for networking, and discussion, between the different aspects of the art community.  We’ve done the networking to a certain extent, but I think the whole idea of a discussion deserves examination.

Whether you’re able to actually attend a meeting, or take the time to comment via this website, you’re input makes the energy to move this areas art community forward.

Let’s keep it rolling.

This contest was designed for all artists of all crafts and abilities. All you have to do is create a project of your choice using one or more of the products from the Ring of Fire. You can also incorporate elements from your favorite craft.

*Offer valid April 28 – June 30, 2010. 15% discount applies only to the specific 10 products selected for the Ring of Fire contest. No substitutions. Multiple use allowed and can be combined with other offers. Offer good for retail online purchases only. Not valid on previous orders. Enter FIRE15 coupon code during checkout.

Click here to learn more about the Ring of Fire Artist Challenge.

In attendance were:

Karen Thomas, Stan Hywet/ Ohio Mart, Akron

Jennie Thewlis, Beadtini Boutique, Copley

Tony Durtschi, Celebrative Arts, Mansfield

Deb Selden, Stan Hywet/ Ohio Mart, Akron

Bryon Decker, Fluxusmetalworks, Canton

Kristina Malcolm, Fluxusmetalworks, Canton

Paula Atwell, Lake Erie Artists Gallery, Shaker Heights, Cleveland

Bud Graham, Canal Fulton Glassworks, Canal Fulton

Katie Mullins, Bonya’s, Seville

1. Gallery Hop and Bus Tours

Several people had talked about how to get in touch with tour (bus) groups in Ohio.  Bud Graham said a list of tour groups can be found at “Adventures in NE Ohio”, http://adventuresinnortheastohio.com/index-2.html; look under the Adventure Map for a list of Touring Companies.

Additionally, after the meeting, I did a Google search and came up with the following:  http://wwhttp://www.pctbus.com/, http://www.trails.com/list_19158_bus-tours-out-cleveland-ohio.html.

The idea of contacting these companies is to make them aware of your company or event in order to be added to the list of stops.  Paula Atwell and Bud Graham both spoke about their experiences with bus tours and underscored that the tour group should be one that wants to buy or do a workshop, otherwise you end up with a store full of lookers.  You can’t just say “Here I am” without offering something – workshop, event, history, etc.

(During my Google search, I came across the following site:  http://www.artofohio.com/.  Since there’s a “list your gallery” button on the right top of the page, thought I’d pass it along to all of you.)

2. Artists lists of needs from promoters and gallery owners

Kristina Malcolm and Katie Mullins, as the only artists present, both agreed that knowing what the criteria for a shop or show is – as in style, level of expression (craft? fine craft? art?) helps tremendously.  Feedback from promoters and show judges help artists improve, and receiving a standard one size fits all rejection letter doesn’t help.  Tell us why.  The only way we can improve is if we know what we need to change.  It would also help if the judges on the jury had experience with the art/fine craft they’re looking over and if we knew the level of experience they have.

3. Gallery, shops and promoters lists of needs from artists

Artists need to promote the event, show, shop & gallery, too.  Artists should participate in promoting with rack cards, listings on their websites, their mailing and email lists.  Galleries, shops and shows need feedback from the artists just as the artists need feedback from them.  Let us know what shows you’re going to be in and we’ll put your rack cards out or link to your site from ours.  If we tell you we need more of a specific item, create more of that item – NOT a completely different piece.  READ THE INSTRUCTIONS on the show application.

4. Suggested topics or demos for future meetings

Bud will look into the possibility of using the Akron Marble Museum for the May meeting and report at the April meeting (website: http://www.americantoymarbles.com).  Paula Atwell also offered her gallery for a future meeting & everyone agreed the idea of meeting at members locations sounded like a great idea & one we will explore fully in future months.

5. Next meeting

April 19th, 4:30pm @ Panera Bread, 2855 West Market Street, Fairlawn, Ohio 44333.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2855+west+market+street+fairlawn+ohio+44333&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=2855+W+Market+St,+Fairlawn,+OH+44333&gl=us&ei=li22S5eKJsL-8AbC15mfAQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ8gEwAA

6.  Follow up for the April meeting.

A. Bud is to provide a list of Google sites & forms.

B. Katie will invite representatives from Visit Akron-Summit, Cose Art Network and Cleveland Film Society.

C. Deb and Karen will contact a representative of the Cleveland Film Society to inquire about the possibility of doing some cross promotion (advertising/email lists).

Now that all the snow is out of the way, I’m hoping you can make it to the March 22nd meeting of the Ohio Arts Community.  The meeting is at Panera Bread, 2855 West Market Street, Fairlawn, OH 44333, and will start at 4:30pm.  Panera Bread is in the Fairlawn Plaza Shopping Center (there’s a Target in the same shopping plaza).  I have reserved the meeting room from 4:00pm to 7:00pm.

Hope to see you there!

Katie Mullins

Love Knot Ring

The idea of a group of artists, promotors, gallery and bead/art shop owners meeting to network and share resources came to me for several reasons.  First, the economy.   Second, sharing wants, needs and perspectives.  Third, networking and support.

As I, and others, have said during the first two meetings, the impact of the economic quake is continuing to send out aftershocks.  Even if/when there’s a recovery, our economy will never be the same.  If we want the arts community in Ohio to remain alive and kicking, I strongly believe it’s not going to happen individually.  Whether you use the “Join, or Die” image from the Colonial era – the snake chopped into 13 pieces – or another analogy, the message is the same.  Groups are more powerfull than the individual.

During working hours at a gallery, shop or arts & crafts show is not a good time for an owner or promoter to gather information on the artists perspective, or for the artist to give constructive feedback.  While we all want to make money, we all have different reasons, different goals, different needs.  Having the “best” work hanging in your gallery, or offering the new “coolest” class in your shop, or simply filling spaces at the show doesn’t automatically give your gallery, shop or show the highest marks with the artists – or the public.  Drawing artists & traffic in is one thing, but making them stay and plan to come back is another.  Sure, you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to please everyone & that’s really not feasable or the point.  We want a public that wants to look at pretty things and BUY them or PAY to learn a new skill, and we want them to keep coming back.  And if we don’t know what our fellow promoters, gallery and shop owners and artists want and need, we aren’t going to be successfull.

Networking and support are just simply smart business.  Would you rather sit down with a family member, internet wiz, community leader, etc., that doesn’t quite get the whole creative process, whoes eyes roll back in their heads while they tune you out, or someone that’s working and struggling through the same world as you?

Now, yes, I’ve run into artists at shows who just don’t feel comfortable sharing with their peers.  They view their fellows as the competition.  They don’t want the other guy to find out who their suppliers are, what the best tools are, who has the best rates for credit card processing and so forth.  They don’t want their business, their customers “stolen” away from them.  While I do understand where that’s coming from – really, I do – we all have indivdual talents, techniques, skills, looks and styles.  Art doesn’t, and shouldn’t, compete on price.  It competes on style.  I make jewelry and Kristina Malcolm makes jewelry.  Are we competing for the same customer?  Not necessarily.  The consumer that falls in love with one of Kristi’s pieces probably won’t find my work appealing, and vise versa.  Has Kristi “stolen” my customer if we’re side by side and the customer buys her piece and not mine?  Nope.  It’s simply a matter of taste.  Just like artists, shows, shops and galleries have different decors, flavors and styles.  We are not found in your local mall.  We are unique.

So, there it is, the why and the how of the Ohio Arts Community.  Please join us.  Become part of the continued growth of arts in Ohio.

Katie Mullins, Founder

Ohio Arts Community

In order to write articles online, you just need to find an article website, sign up for it, and start writing. Most websites will allow you to place at least one link to your website in the article, and you can also place at least one other link in your profile. All it takes is your time and effort.

Here are some of the article websites that are available:

Hubpages
Squidoo
Xomba
Yousaytoo
Bukisa

Each website has slightly different rules, so make sure to read the TOS and FAQ.

Another way to drive traffic to your website is to start a blog. Blogs can also be free, although once you get comfortable, it is best to create a website name for your blog, and host it. This will give your blog more authority online.

Blue Bird Abstract by lakeerieartists
More Bird Posters

In attendence:

Anna Durtschi, Celebrative Art

Bud Graham, Canal Fulton Glassworks

Kristina Malcolm & Bryon Decker, fluxusmetalworks

Donna Stuver & Linda Loveless, Creative Keepsakes Craftshows

Eva Sherman, Grand River Beads & Gift Gallery

Deb Selden, Ohio Mart/Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens

Gary Bernauer, Heartfelt Holidays – Purple Door Gifts

Paula Atwell, Lake Erie Artists Gallery

Katie Mullins, Bonya’s

Everyone is concerned with how the current economic situation is affecting their businesses, and also how to market their businesses better.

We discussed several things:

• networking
• website management
• getting more sales and traffic to websites
• cooperating with marketing
• advertising on Facebook

We had a great time networking and sharing ideas.  One of our topics was keywords for driving traffic to websites.

Here is the information we discussed about website traffic:

Getting Your Website Noticed

Celtic Star by Katie Mullins

Text is what gets your website noticed by search engines.  Your text should be typed directly onto your website page, not put on in a jpg or pdf.

Keywords are how people find your website.    For instance, let’s assume that we are looking for a jewelry artist in Cleveland who works with metalsmithing.  When I search on Google or Yahoo, I will enter the words “jewelry” “Cleveland” “, possibly “metals””artist”.  If you would like to be found for these words when people search, these are some of the keywords that you will include on your website.

This works best when you naturally include these words in your text in different combinations.  It works even better if you can string them together in two or three word groups called “long tail keywords”.

Example:  Kristina Malcolm is a Cleveland jewelry artist who specializes in working with metals.  Kristina is a trained metals artist.  Her metals artist studio in Cleveland is where she makes her metal jewelry.

The more you can repeat your keywords in a natural manner on your webpage, the better chance you have of improving your search engine optimization (SEO)—or getting found via search engines.

]]> http://neohioartists.com/website-help/networking-amongst-artists/feed/ 0 http://neohioartists.com/meeting-notes/hello-world/ http://neohioartists.com/meeting-notes/hello-world/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:05:52 +0000 Paula Atwell http://neohioartists.com/?p=1 The Ohio Arts Community had our very first meeting in the Barnes and Noble in Fairlawn, Ohio. Our first meeting went very well, attended by Linda Loveless and Donna Stuver from Creative Keepsakes Craft Shows, Kristina Malcolm, Katie Mullins, and Paula Atwell.

We started talking about how we could help each other get more sales online, and drive more traffic to our art shows. Lots of introductions all around, and some talk about improving traffic to our existing websites. We are going to meet again at the same location on Monday February 14. If you would like to join us, please contact us through the contact form on this website.

Where Ever the Wind Blows by lakeerieartists
Browse Summer Invitations