Sunday, February 17, 2008
wow - I forgot I had this blog
Ummm - how sad is that - nearly three years since my last update. In spite of many requests I haven't done any art shows in a few years. It just got to be too much along with my day job. Of course that could change again at any time or I might just decide to do one or two a year. Haven't really decided yet. But for right now there is no place to buy and of my art. Occasionally I donate a couple paintings to be auctioned for good causes but that it really the extent of it.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Art Cards!
I have a new addiction - Art Cards! These are tiny little paintings that are done in trading card size. There are two basic kinds Art Trading Cards (ATC's) which are created by Artists just for trade with each other and Art Cards Editions & Originals (ACEO's) which are created by Artists for sale to the public. After all - we love these little tiny works of art - why shouldn't everyone have the opportunity to own them?
Personally, as someone that grew up without much money, it is very important to me to have artwork I can offer for sale to people of any income and means. I tried selling prints but that didn't work very well - people want original artwork - they can buy prints at any department store. Now I have tiny paintings I can offer for sale at only $5 which means pretty much anyone can afford to own some of my original artwork. I love it! I wish all artist would do this and offer them for sale. I have been to many art shows when I have had all of $30 that I could spend.... if you've been to art shows you know I came home empty handed. Had their been art cards I could buy, I could have come home with maybe 6 different paintings!
How does one find these wonderful, fun and highly addicting treasures? The easiest way is to go to ebay and search for ACEO and that will give you a complete listing of what is available. Or to find out a little more about the artists involved in this and other information, please visit http://www.art-cards.org - you will be amazed at some of the wonderful artwork available!
Carol
Personally, as someone that grew up without much money, it is very important to me to have artwork I can offer for sale to people of any income and means. I tried selling prints but that didn't work very well - people want original artwork - they can buy prints at any department store. Now I have tiny paintings I can offer for sale at only $5 which means pretty much anyone can afford to own some of my original artwork. I love it! I wish all artist would do this and offer them for sale. I have been to many art shows when I have had all of $30 that I could spend.... if you've been to art shows you know I came home empty handed. Had their been art cards I could buy, I could have come home with maybe 6 different paintings!
How does one find these wonderful, fun and highly addicting treasures? The easiest way is to go to ebay and search for ACEO and that will give you a complete listing of what is available. Or to find out a little more about the artists involved in this and other information, please visit http://www.art-cards.org - you will be amazed at some of the wonderful artwork available!
Carol
Friday, February 11, 2005
February 2005
My goodness time sure flys by! Every since December it seems like I've been going nonstop... I missed several early dealines for show due to just not being organised enough. I'm going to work on that though - I have to. Can't afford to miss good shows just because I forgot to get my stuff together.
In other news - I finally finished my taxes and sent them off to my accountant... I'm hoping she will have good news for me. Since it was my first year dealing with business taxes it was a bit of a mess... but I just have to live and learn...
I also have finally finished the combined website for me and Alexah - it is at www.thewaxladies.com and is completely done in flash. It has been years since I made a flash website. I remembered most things but other I might have to go back through the tutorials to figure out again.
I'm considering getting an older cargo van to use for shows. My truck just isn't working out very well since I don't have 4 doors anymore and I put a hard truck lid on it. They tell you that you can easily take off your hard lid - they lie. There is nothing easy about it. In fact mine was put on with the cotter pins facing in such a way that it was impossible to take off. I pulled the pin out as far as it would go and it ran into the truck wall - and it wasn't even halfway out yet.
Besides all of that, carrying wax paintings in the bed of a pickup in the summer isn't the best situation. It didn't seem to hurt them but why take chances? It would be better to use a van and have climate control through the whole interior. Then I don't have to worry. So I'm going to be very picky with this cargo van - it has to run and the A/C must work and work well.
Now I'm just hoping that I'll get enough of a tax check to cover a cheap van and some booth fees.
Alexah and I are going to sit down this weekend and try and pull together a list of shows we want to be in this year. If you have any suggestions - let us know.
Have a great weekend!
PS spring training is just around the corner - Go Cardinals!
In other news - I finally finished my taxes and sent them off to my accountant... I'm hoping she will have good news for me. Since it was my first year dealing with business taxes it was a bit of a mess... but I just have to live and learn...
I also have finally finished the combined website for me and Alexah - it is at www.thewaxladies.com and is completely done in flash. It has been years since I made a flash website. I remembered most things but other I might have to go back through the tutorials to figure out again.
I'm considering getting an older cargo van to use for shows. My truck just isn't working out very well since I don't have 4 doors anymore and I put a hard truck lid on it. They tell you that you can easily take off your hard lid - they lie. There is nothing easy about it. In fact mine was put on with the cotter pins facing in such a way that it was impossible to take off. I pulled the pin out as far as it would go and it ran into the truck wall - and it wasn't even halfway out yet.
Besides all of that, carrying wax paintings in the bed of a pickup in the summer isn't the best situation. It didn't seem to hurt them but why take chances? It would be better to use a van and have climate control through the whole interior. Then I don't have to worry. So I'm going to be very picky with this cargo van - it has to run and the A/C must work and work well.
Now I'm just hoping that I'll get enough of a tax check to cover a cheap van and some booth fees.
Alexah and I are going to sit down this weekend and try and pull together a list of shows we want to be in this year. If you have any suggestions - let us know.
Have a great weekend!
PS spring training is just around the corner - Go Cardinals!
Friday, January 07, 2005
A new year begins
With the rush of the holidays over things are calming down a little. No shows now until probably March so I am using this time to unwind a little bit and take care of some stuff that I had really let go - like cleaning my room!
I am still selling paintings on ebay and that has been going pretty good. I was hoping to knock down my inventory a little bit so I wouldn't have to count it but it didn't really work that way.
One of the things I am trying to do now is decide which shows to try and get into this year. Any suggestions? Email me at sales@zzboom.com with any thoughts on that. I'm probably not going to do much out of the St louis area - by the time I pay for gas, hotel and show cost - it really puts a lot of pressure on me to do a lot of sales. I might schedule one or two out of town but that is about it. Sales just isn't my strong point - I like talking to people and have no trouble in that area - I just can't "ask for the sale" or pressure people into buying. I figure I buy what I want - other people will too.
Here is a bit of a fun update - Christmas week I spent in Galveston Texas - I have a timeshare down there. If you have never been to Galveston you really should go. I love being there Christmas week - it isn't very crowded so I can see and do everything I want to. This was my second year going and once again there were several just fabulous days to enjoy. It got up to 73 one day and I actually made my first attempt at bodyboarding. Okay it was a rather lame attempt but it was still fun. The water was ridiculously cold - I wore a shortie wetsuit and that really did the trick. Of course my shortie wetsuit didn't cover my knees and I didn't have any idea how numb they had gotten until I saw how black and blue they turned over the next couple days. See, the water were I was, is very shallow and being the only human in the water for miles around, I didn't want to go out very far. ( I've never been deeper than hip deep in the ocean or the gulf) So I waded out about 75 yards from shore and still wasn't even chest deep (I'm short - only about 5' 2"). I would then attempt to ride the waves in - I'd miss the first one and get slapped around by the second one. Then I would just hang out and get pushed again by the next one. So I would end up trying to get off the board in all of about 7 inches of water. So I would just put my knees down and get up. The water was so cold I had no idea how badly I beat up my knees until much later. Oh well, it was a whole lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again next year. do you think there is anywhere I can learn body boarding in St Louis? Guess not.
Oh and if you are in Galveston and want some Mexican food (my favorite food type) I highly recommend Gorditas Mexico which is on Seawall Blvd on the east end of the island. The address is 712 Seawall Blvd. I ate there nearly every day it was so good and the prices are extremely reasonable too!
Well, I need to get back to work and get some stuff done so I'm going to sign off for now.
Keep warm!
Carol
I am still selling paintings on ebay and that has been going pretty good. I was hoping to knock down my inventory a little bit so I wouldn't have to count it but it didn't really work that way.
One of the things I am trying to do now is decide which shows to try and get into this year. Any suggestions? Email me at sales@zzboom.com with any thoughts on that. I'm probably not going to do much out of the St louis area - by the time I pay for gas, hotel and show cost - it really puts a lot of pressure on me to do a lot of sales. I might schedule one or two out of town but that is about it. Sales just isn't my strong point - I like talking to people and have no trouble in that area - I just can't "ask for the sale" or pressure people into buying. I figure I buy what I want - other people will too.
Here is a bit of a fun update - Christmas week I spent in Galveston Texas - I have a timeshare down there. If you have never been to Galveston you really should go. I love being there Christmas week - it isn't very crowded so I can see and do everything I want to. This was my second year going and once again there were several just fabulous days to enjoy. It got up to 73 one day and I actually made my first attempt at bodyboarding. Okay it was a rather lame attempt but it was still fun. The water was ridiculously cold - I wore a shortie wetsuit and that really did the trick. Of course my shortie wetsuit didn't cover my knees and I didn't have any idea how numb they had gotten until I saw how black and blue they turned over the next couple days. See, the water were I was, is very shallow and being the only human in the water for miles around, I didn't want to go out very far. ( I've never been deeper than hip deep in the ocean or the gulf) So I waded out about 75 yards from shore and still wasn't even chest deep (I'm short - only about 5' 2"). I would then attempt to ride the waves in - I'd miss the first one and get slapped around by the second one. Then I would just hang out and get pushed again by the next one. So I would end up trying to get off the board in all of about 7 inches of water. So I would just put my knees down and get up. The water was so cold I had no idea how badly I beat up my knees until much later. Oh well, it was a whole lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again next year. do you think there is anywhere I can learn body boarding in St Louis? Guess not.
Oh and if you are in Galveston and want some Mexican food (my favorite food type) I highly recommend Gorditas Mexico which is on Seawall Blvd on the east end of the island. The address is 712 Seawall Blvd. I ate there nearly every day it was so good and the prices are extremely reasonable too!
Well, I need to get back to work and get some stuff done so I'm going to sign off for now.
Keep warm!
Carol
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
such a busy time of year!
Wow! It has been way too long since my last update...
I think I figured out that my last actual day off was Oct 24th and my two days off together was in September. Needless to say I'm getting a little tired at this point. But there is no slowing down just yet. This weekend we don't have a show but we do have to go out of town - so I'll leave work tomorrow and drive about 11 hours and then do it in reverse on Sunday. Then the first weekend of December we have the show at Oakville High School. We will be in the Cafeteria so come on by and say "Hi"!
The last three weekends have been fun - we were at Fox high school in Arnold the first weekend of Nov. It was a blast - I graduated from Fox in 1985 so I got to see some old friends that weekend. We had a great space and a lot of fun - oh boy has it changed since I went to school there! The new addition with the gym and commons area is just wonderful. My picture ended up being in the Arnold Leader - I didn't know that was the paper there - used to be the Arnold Rocket - or maybe this is a new local paper - I don't know. Anyhow, my Dad was very excited and happy to see my picture in the paper.
The second weekend of November was the Afton high school show and it was a blast as usual. The folks that put together this show are just a whole lot of fun. We always have a good time at afton and so far it has been our best high school craft show for sales - both spring and fall. They told us that they are worried we will get too famous and not want to come back to their show. I don't see that happening anytime soon - besides, we have fun there and that is important.
Last weekend we were at Parkway South and my goodness we were in for a shock. We knew this would be a big show with a lot of vendors so we decided to set up Friday night - they actually had Friday night set up hours that were possible for people that work day jobs as well! The Friday night setup was from 7pm - 10pm. So we got there about 8pm and they people out directing traffic. They had us pull up to the door and there had to be more than 20 students and parents grabbing our stuff and putting it on these big carts. They then took the carts to our booth location and offloaded it all while we moved the cars. Needless to say - set up and tear down were faster and easier than ever. They even had a hospitality suite with coffee and lemonade open all weekend for the vendors. It was definately run more like an art show than a carft show. I heard from other vendors that the other parkway shows are run about the same way.
As far as the show itself - there was a pretty fair amount of traffic - we did okay but not near like at Afton. But it was our first time being there so that usually means less sales. It was such a huge show that I think a lot of people didn't go through the whole thing. Still, all things considered, it was a good show and we will plan to do it again. The students and parents really made this show a joy to do.
So that is my update for now - I think your pretty well caught up on what we have been up to. Oakville will be our last public show of the year - at least so far. We have a few hour show at Baxter Crossings, which is a huge apartment complex, on December 11th and we might consider trying to find a small craft show on December 12th that is close to home - preferable in Ferguson or Florrissant. Anyone that knows of any such show - let me know at sales@zzboom.com.
Have a great Thanksgiving and be safe!
Carol
I think I figured out that my last actual day off was Oct 24th and my two days off together was in September. Needless to say I'm getting a little tired at this point. But there is no slowing down just yet. This weekend we don't have a show but we do have to go out of town - so I'll leave work tomorrow and drive about 11 hours and then do it in reverse on Sunday. Then the first weekend of December we have the show at Oakville High School. We will be in the Cafeteria so come on by and say "Hi"!
The last three weekends have been fun - we were at Fox high school in Arnold the first weekend of Nov. It was a blast - I graduated from Fox in 1985 so I got to see some old friends that weekend. We had a great space and a lot of fun - oh boy has it changed since I went to school there! The new addition with the gym and commons area is just wonderful. My picture ended up being in the Arnold Leader - I didn't know that was the paper there - used to be the Arnold Rocket - or maybe this is a new local paper - I don't know. Anyhow, my Dad was very excited and happy to see my picture in the paper.
The second weekend of November was the Afton high school show and it was a blast as usual. The folks that put together this show are just a whole lot of fun. We always have a good time at afton and so far it has been our best high school craft show for sales - both spring and fall. They told us that they are worried we will get too famous and not want to come back to their show. I don't see that happening anytime soon - besides, we have fun there and that is important.
Last weekend we were at Parkway South and my goodness we were in for a shock. We knew this would be a big show with a lot of vendors so we decided to set up Friday night - they actually had Friday night set up hours that were possible for people that work day jobs as well! The Friday night setup was from 7pm - 10pm. So we got there about 8pm and they people out directing traffic. They had us pull up to the door and there had to be more than 20 students and parents grabbing our stuff and putting it on these big carts. They then took the carts to our booth location and offloaded it all while we moved the cars. Needless to say - set up and tear down were faster and easier than ever. They even had a hospitality suite with coffee and lemonade open all weekend for the vendors. It was definately run more like an art show than a carft show. I heard from other vendors that the other parkway shows are run about the same way.
As far as the show itself - there was a pretty fair amount of traffic - we did okay but not near like at Afton. But it was our first time being there so that usually means less sales. It was such a huge show that I think a lot of people didn't go through the whole thing. Still, all things considered, it was a good show and we will plan to do it again. The students and parents really made this show a joy to do.
So that is my update for now - I think your pretty well caught up on what we have been up to. Oakville will be our last public show of the year - at least so far. We have a few hour show at Baxter Crossings, which is a huge apartment complex, on December 11th and we might consider trying to find a small craft show on December 12th that is close to home - preferable in Ferguson or Florrissant. Anyone that knows of any such show - let me know at sales@zzboom.com.
Have a great Thanksgiving and be safe!
Carol
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
another month nearly gone
Well here we are at the end of October... time flies when your too busy to take a deep breath.
This month featured lot's of trade show type venues for us and I decided I really don't care for them. They cost more money to do and we did drastically less sales - in fact each and every show lost money and not just a little bit either. OUCH! We had never had that happen before so that was a major shock.
But starting with this weekend we have a nice full month of arts and craft shows so I am really hoping things get back on track - and I think they will. We start this weekend with the apple butter festival in Kimmswick and next weekend the arts and crafts show at Fox High school - my alma mater.
This month featured lot's of trade show type venues for us and I decided I really don't care for them. They cost more money to do and we did drastically less sales - in fact each and every show lost money and not just a little bit either. OUCH! We had never had that happen before so that was a major shock.
But starting with this weekend we have a nice full month of arts and craft shows so I am really hoping things get back on track - and I think they will. We start this weekend with the apple butter festival in Kimmswick and next weekend the arts and crafts show at Fox High school - my alma mater.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Welcome to Carol Trammel's Blog!
I keep hearing about how cool blogs are - so now I have my own. I plan to use this to allow folks a glimpse into what kind of things go on with a new artist trying to get started.
There has been quite a learning curve trying to get going. My first show was a craft show at Oakville High School in St Louis County, Mo. That seems like a whole different lifetime ago but reality is that it was just 6 months ago.
For those of you who don't know me, I am a 37 year old Unix sys admin living in Ferguson, Mo with my 2 Chihuahua's, 2 cats, 2 roommates and their assorted animals. I do all my shows along with fellow encaustic wax artist Alexah Strongheart of Spanish Lake, Mo. We have two very different styles so we compliment each other a lot more than we compete with each other.
Our first show was major trial and error. We didn't have a very good setup at all. We made some changes, figured out a few things and our second show - one week later was much better.
We had almost a month off after our first two shows and used that time to really improve our display. With a professional grid system and an EZ-up tent from Sams Club we were ready to go.
Starting this September we have expanded our setup to use two spaces - we just have way too much stuff now to fit into just a single space. We are also getting very close to being booked through the end of the year. Keep an eye on our schedule page to see when we are going to be near you.
More updates soon!
There has been quite a learning curve trying to get going. My first show was a craft show at Oakville High School in St Louis County, Mo. That seems like a whole different lifetime ago but reality is that it was just 6 months ago.
For those of you who don't know me, I am a 37 year old Unix sys admin living in Ferguson, Mo with my 2 Chihuahua's, 2 cats, 2 roommates and their assorted animals. I do all my shows along with fellow encaustic wax artist Alexah Strongheart of Spanish Lake, Mo. We have two very different styles so we compliment each other a lot more than we compete with each other.
Our first show was major trial and error. We didn't have a very good setup at all. We made some changes, figured out a few things and our second show - one week later was much better.
We had almost a month off after our first two shows and used that time to really improve our display. With a professional grid system and an EZ-up tent from Sams Club we were ready to go.
Starting this September we have expanded our setup to use two spaces - we just have way too much stuff now to fit into just a single space. We are also getting very close to being booked through the end of the year. Keep an eye on our schedule page to see when we are going to be near you.
More updates soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
