Time Again To Ruminate

March 31st, 2008 Daryle Dickens

Ruminate is a literature and art magazine published here in Fort Collins. The quarterly magazine just released issue #7. This is what the publishers have to say about it…

"Our Spring 2008 Issue 07: Addiction is officially released! It features exciting art from Deanne Moulten and Josh J. Peters, fiction from Linda McCullough Moore and Stacy Barton, nonfiction from Christopher J. Gaumer, and poetry from Jeffry C. Davis and Amanda McQuade…just to name a few. And all of it engages the theme of "Addiction" in surprising and profound ways."

And they have also created a poetry prize…

"The Janet B. McCabe Poetry Prize was established to honor a woman who loved words, books, and most of all "things of beauty" as Keats would say.  Janet–the grandmother of RUMINATE’s founding editor–was also a large part of the inspiration for our magazine. And so it only seemed fitting to create this poetry prize in order to honor the poets today who are pursuing beauty and the amazing woman who inspired our pursuit of RUMINATE.

We invite you to enter your poetry! The submission deadline is May 15th, 2008; entry fee is $15. $300 will be awarded to the winner and $150 to the runner-up. The winner will be featured in the 2008 Fall Issue."

Go to http://ruminatemagazine.com/ for all the detail on how to get your copy and also to submit.

Posted in Call For Entries | 1 Comment »

Free Photoshop

March 28th, 2008 Daryle Dickens

Photoshop is a tool. A tool that can be useful for more than just photographers. Artist can use it to edit photos of their work to use in promotion efforts. I  know what your thinking, Photoshop is expensive. Even Photoshop Elements, the lighter consumer friendly version, will set you back about $100. Which for a lot of people is money that could be better spent elsewhere.

Adobe just released a web based version of Photoshop called Photoshop Express. The site will allow you to do basic photo editing right on the web in your browser. It also offers 2GB of storage and an online gallery. You can find it right here.

I have not had a chance to kick the tires yet to tell you if it works or not. But it seemed like it had potential and could be a useful tool for the thrifty artist.

http://www.photoshop.com/express/ is that web site again.

Posted in Productivity | No Comments »

Art Palaver’s Web Finds

March 27th, 2008 Daryle Dickens

Decided I needed a more original and better title than "Art Round-Up." Not sure if "Web Finds" is any better but it works this week. On to the discoveries…

1. The Rocky Mountain Chronicle thinks your face could use a little work.

2. There is a big gap between #1 and #2.

3. Maybe this is why it is so hard to be a writer in the art world.

4. No wonder the war continues. Half a percent is not very much.

5. I did this. It works. I have extras if you need one.

And for the bonus link…

6. Watch a comic being built on a blog.

.

.

.

.

Thank you Beet Street for sponsoring this post!

Posted in Art on the Web | No Comments »

ZAF622 Episode 001

March 26th, 2008 Daryle Dickens

In case you did not know it this blog is part of another web site called ZAF622.com. I started ZAF622 to help art and artists through Q&A style interviews. That was way back in 2005. I’ve done 22 interviews in that time. (One is still in the works.) The interviews are a slow and cumbersome process. It has been frustrating for me and for the people I interview as they wait for them to be published. That is why I am now pushing my tiny boat out into the waters of video interviewing.

Bryan Collins is the artist in Episode 001. Bryan has been a good and supportive sport as I begin this new adventure. I am hoping there are more artists out there like him willing to get in front of the camera. I believe video will enable me to get artists and their art out to more people. These days a lot of people would rather watch a video than read a page full of text.

I still have a lot to learn and a lot to improve. But I have started. And starting is often the hardest part.

Check out Bryan’s website: www.bryandrinkscoffee.com.

Posted in The Process | 7 Comments »

Take A Moment To Introduce Yourself

March 25th, 2008 Daryle Dickens

I recently read a post on a blog were the author asked his readers to introduce themselves via comments. I thought I would give it a try. If my server reports and Google stats can be trusted there are more readers of Art Palaver than there are people who leave comments. (A lot more.)

I can understand that. I read a lot of blogs but rarely leave comments. Either I am too busy or simply have nothing to say. And I am not one to comment for comments sake. That is what I am asking you to do now though. Say "hello." Even if that is all you say. Feel free to type "hi" in the comment box and push send.

Maybe your not the type to leave comments. That is fine. Drop me an email. Daryle [at] zaf622.com. Say hello that way.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Artists Book Party

March 24th, 2008 Daryle Dickens

Author Alyson B. Stanfield, an internationally recognized art-marketing consultant, will kick off her nationwide studio tour and book signing for I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion in Fort Collins, Colorado, at Moon-Lily Art Studio & Gift Gallery, 4032 S. College Avenue, Suite 7, on Wednesday, March 26th, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Ms. Stanfield has helped thousands of artists develop their careers through her online classes, publications, workshops, and free weekly Art Marketing Action newsletter—all available at ArtBizCoach.com. She used the self-promotion tools she describes in the book to launch her art-marketing consulting business and Web site in 2002. Prior to that, she counseled artists informally throughout her ten years as an art museum curator and educator in the Midwest.
I’d Rather Be in the Studio! teaches any artist—sculptor, painter, metalsmith, glass artist, fiber artist, or woodworker–how to take advantage of traditional self-promotion techniques, as well as how to expand their reach into Internet marketing. For each book sold at this event, Ms. Stanfield has pledged to give ten dollars to Fort Collin’s community arts organization, Arts Alive.

Click here for more information.

.

.

.

this post sponsored by:

Posted in Event | 2 Comments »

It Is Artathon Time Again

March 21st, 2008 Daryle Dickens

I wonder if they’d let me do a blogathon to go along with it?

Posted in Event | No Comments »

Art Round-Up

March 20th, 2008 Daryle Dickens

Here we are folks once again at the post of random links. Which one is your favorite?

1. Take this site for a spin.

2. Modern Living.

3. The ideal pancreas.

4. Jim Henson sans Muppets.

5. Stuff most people in Fort Collins like.

And lastly we have Luigi Parker…

.

.

.

This post sponsored by:

Posted in Art on the Web | No Comments »

Ever Consider A Blog? (Part 3)

March 19th, 2008 Daryle Dickens

Okay, back to talking about blogs. One of the biggest fears an artist has when considering a blog is having enough content. How often will you post? What will you write about? Or, I hate to write, and I am not completely comfortable with computers and the internet.

Before all these fears swimming around in your head get you locked up and unable to begin your blog journey know that you can start and not tell anybody. I had the same fears when I started this blog. So I quietly posted. I did not send out a mass email to my newsletter list or tell all my friends to go check out my blog. Nope I just took the time to learn my way around blogging and writing for a blog. I highly recommend a slow start. This takes a lot of pressure off of your blogging endeavor. And allows you to build some content before announcing to the world that you have a blog.

But what to write?

Since your blogging as an artist think about how you tell people about your art now. Are you one to tell friends when you have a new idea your excited about? Or when you start a new piece? Maybe your the type who calls other artists seeking to solve a problem you’ve run into on a piece. Then again maybe your hush until the work is done and you unveil the finalized work to your waiting fans. How you talk about your art is how you should blog about your art.

There are artists who keep the world updated through their whole process. Sharing pictures and even video of the journey. This often generates a lot of comments and gets potential buyers involved in the artists creative process. The more common approach is to blog about finished work. Simply posting a picture of the finished piece with a few details and a price.

What ever approach you take create a blogging goal that you can keep. For example, "I am going to post once a week." And then schedule that once a week post. Make it part of your weekly routine. I have the goal of 5 posts a week with Art Palaver. 1 every weekday. I don’t allows make that goal but I am getting better.

Are you ready to start a blog? If not what is stopping you? Leave a comment I’d like to hear about it.

Posted in Business | No Comments »

The Art Of Brewing And Giving

March 18th, 2008 admin

Odell Brewing Company has been making great beer in Fort Collins since 1989. And doing a lot of good all the while. In fact I am sure one could create an Odell Brewing blog just to highlight all the good they do for Fort Collins and the world. Instead of doing that I am just here to tell you about something good they do with their tasting room.

Every month Odells gives all taster tray proceeds to two charities of the month. This turns out to be an average of about $1500 to each charity. Beer sampling for good causes, now that is creative.

Why am I bring this up? This month one of the charities is The Matthews House, a not for profit that I really believe in. The Matthews House is an organization that serves at-risk youth ages 16-21 that lack significant family support in their lives. They work to create opportunities for positive life change for these youth as they make the transition to living on their own. The Matthews House believes that, given the correct resources and support, these youth can take control of their lives and shape positive futures for themselves. They strive to fill the current gap in services for at-risk youth transitioning to adulthood by providing the resources and support necessary to empower these youth to take control of their lives, shape positive futures for themselves and become successful contributors to their community.

If you have not been down to Odells in a while or if you have never been the month of March is a great time to sample some of their great brews and help out the Matthews House. Click here for directions to Odell Brewing.

this post sponsored by:

Posted in Event | No Comments »