Promotion is Beautiful

I've decided to start a new guild on artfire.  In order to be approved it needs at least 5 members.  I've invited a few people, but it hasn't happened yet.  Let me know if you'd like to join.  At the moment I have to invite you.  This guild is: Promote the art you love, and don't feel bad about not promoting what you don't.  Art is subjective.  Be as involved as you want to be.  Forums should help you out, not stress you out.  Here are the pieces:  Banner:

  Description:Any kind of support within the handmade community is valuable. Promotion of handmade shops not only drives traffic our way, it also provides support for a fellow artisan. One of the most rewarding things about having another artisan promote your shop, is the knowledge that a peer supports and values your work. This guild is about supporting the art that you love and believe in. It is about being honest and subjective in promoting, and letting artists know that you love their work.  Mission: To support the artisans and the handmade community by giving honest feedback, and promoting art we believe in.  It's all about love and beauty! 

photography all her own

Going Down

Lesleypayne is the next featured artisan awaiting sales at artfire.  Lesley is a photographer with the kind of style you could recognize out of a crowd.  I love her black and white images that focus on texture with the absence of color.  The stark contrasts of the black and white allow subtle textures to blast through!  Lesley's photography also focuses on shadows, making an object seem soft or hard through use of light.  Lesley's black and white images have a sort of creepy vibe to them that is quite excellent! 

The other one of Lesley's photographs that I especially love is The Sailor and His Sweetie.  The photograph is reminiscent of the classic WWII photo V-J Day in Times Square.  That photo is an epic depiction of an epic time.  I like Lesley's photo especially in contrast to that classic photo.  Instead of an epic representation of American life, Lesley's photo captures daily romance, a touchingly private moment shared between two people.

Lesley's work is pretty obviously unique.  One of the things that makes her stand out is her choice of materials and equipment

I stand out in handmade websites because I still use film.  Digital photography is less costly, but I will always love the process of developing and printing my own film.  Developing every roll is like opening a present!

A lot of the objects I choose to photograph because of texture.  For my series of abstract images the form and non-reflective surfaces are important.  My goal is to make timeless images weather it's digital or film medium.  

With so many choices of online marketplaces, I am interested in why people choose to sell on artfire.

I was drawn to artfire because people can purchase items without having to go through the process of creating a user name.  The creators seem genuinely interested in helping sellers are developing new features all the time.

I agree that artfire seems very much to be seller focused.  The administrators are active in the forums and quick to address any issues that sellers have with the site.

Stay tuned to Lesley's shop for more developments

In late may I will start offering silver prints and fine art images as postcards.  Images of London and Paris are coming soon.

Where to find lesleypayne

I have a store at Etsy  http://lesleypayne.etsy.com/

Facebook  http://facebook.com/lesleypaynephotography

Blog  http://lesleysphotography.blogspot.com/

Twitter  http://twitter.com/lesleysphotos

Flickr  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lesleypayne/

I am participating in Market Day Iowa Aug-Nov. www.marketdayiowa.com (series of Satuday art markets)

Everyday is one day closer to not having to sit a cubicle.

I think we all hear you on that front, Lesley.  Lots of luck to Lesley, and remember to go check out her shop.

What's in a name?

An interesting topic on the artfire forums about where your username came from.  I thought I'd share my story, and I'd love to know about yours too!

There are so many interesting screen names online, and I wanted to create my own. This was before I started my etsy, so basically I wanted something clever for my various online presences.  I ensued the help of my boyfriend, his was TheRiskyShift, which I thought was pretty cool.  We had a brainstorming session, and I finally came up with ajoeynamedroo.  It seemed to pop into my head out of nowhere (say divine intervention?)

I think that my name fits me and my creations well.
1. The kangaroo is my favorite animal because I love that it's so hoppy and energetic.
2. My sister and I watched Winnie the Pooh as children, and I really like the artwork of old pooh.
3. Finally, the a boy named Sue reference, was simply me trying to be clever!

All together, I hope that my name reflects my artwork; energetic, classic, whimsical, and clever!

Where did your name come from?

a focus on distractedbyshiny

In perusing the artfire forums I found a great post where users could post their shop if they had zero sales.  I posted my shop, encouraged by the fact that I am not the only one!

Some of these sellers have some really great items, that are definitely just waiting to be discovered.  I looked through the list and picked out a few of my favorites to feature on the blog.

First up is distractedbyshiny

I was attracted to this shop first by the name and then of course by all the shiny!  One thing I love about this shop is the variety of shapes and styles of her fused glass jewelry.  When selling one type of craft it's easy to get stuck in a rut, but distractedbyshiny obviously tries something new with each piece.

KC told me a little about how she got started with fusing glass and her shop distractedbyshiny.  I love her story, it has a great do it yourself feel, and I can totally identify with her difficulty throwing anything away!

I am a collector - not of fine art or antiques - a collector of STUFF.....stuff that I can't throw away because I know that "Someday I'll find a use for that" or stuff that I can't part with because "I can make something out of that".  I come from a very artsy crafty family - and a family of "collectors".  

When we cleaned out my mother's house, I came across a box of dichroic glass pieces.  I had never worked with glass and had no idea what I would do with this stuff, but it was WAY too cool to throw out and I knew someday I could make something out of it!!  So, after reading about fusing on the internet, I decided to put some pieces together and throw them in my kiln.  I was instantly HOOKED! 

In the beginning I was using my old ceramic kiln.  I would load up the kiln every night and in the morning I couldn't wait to open the lid to see how everything had come out.  It was like Christmas morning...every morning!  I've moved to a glass kiln that fires quicker so I don't have to wait as long to see my results, but it is always a big surprise to open the lid and see what's inside.  I am constantly experimenting with different technique - some work well...others...well.....But the experiments keep things fresh and keep my work evolving.  

 It's great work, and I'm looking forward to her new evolutions in the future!  Be sure to check out distractedbyshiny's shop to see what other lovely fused glass jewelry she has in stock.

Hoarding

There's a new show on TLC about people who hoard.  Their houses are wall to wall covered with stuff.  My friend Elizabeth was talking about how she saw an episode where the husband was saying that he simply couldn't understand his wife's behavior.

Elizabeth and I were talking about how we really could identify.  Not that either one of us are real hoarders, but I can certainly start to understand these people.  I am awful about collecting things for craft projects that I never get around to.  Often I don't even have something specific in mind, I just feel that some day it could be useful.

The later is the case with can tabs.  I've been collecting them for too too long.  But I have finally found an excellent use for them!

click to check them out

Now I just need to use the various interesting paper, cardboard, and plastic bags that I have collected.  I simply love the idea of making something pretty out of what could be trash!  Too bad it means that I have junk all over the place.

Interview with myself

Artfire Featured Artisan!

On artfire you can send in some interview questions to hopefully be featured on the front page one of these days.  My day has come, so you can see my interview on artfire any time, but I'm leaving it up here as well.

 Answer 5 to 10 of the following in as much detail as you can.
1. Please start by telling us a little about yourself and your studio.
My name is Sarah McClure, and my sister Rachel and I run ajoeynamedroo creations.  I am a Senior at UNC at Chapel Hill this year, and my future plans are up in the air!  I've always been interested in creating things, and over the years dove into as many crafts as I could get my hands on.  Right now my focus is on knitting, and polymer clay jewelry.  I also help Rachel with bath and body products.


2. If there’s one thing that defines you, what is it?
One of the things that has driven my creative endeavors is my want to figure things out.  I see interesting things around me all of the time, and I love to figure out how I can use my crafting skills to create something similar and make it my own.  In that way, the world of craft is like one big challenge.


3. What role does your family play in your art?
My mom always encouraged art in our house, which I think is one reason that Rachel and I both enjoy it as a hobby now.  My mom so wanted to encourage our creativity that she never bought us coloring books.  She didn't want us to be restricted by the lines!  Of course that made me want them even more, and I loved to color in my friend's coloring books.  My grandma also planted an inventive spirit in me.  I stayed with her a lot as a child, and she was always willing to try my ideas.  She also taught me to crochet.  It was a skill that I abandoned for a while, but I owe my interest in it to her early teaching.


4. Where do you live and what is it like?
I split my time between Chapel Hill and Asheville, NC where I grew up  Asheville is an amazing place because you are constantly surrounded by art, in the beautiful art nouveau buildings, the street musicians, and the local art displayed in restaurants and galleries.  Both Asheville and Chapel Hill have an great independent spirit, where difference and creativity are appreciated.

5. Where did you learn your medium?
It's funny, but I learned most of my craft skills from Klutz books as a kid.  I had the polymer clay one and absolutely loved it.  I remember spending literally all of my birthday/holiday money on these books, and always being so excited when a new one came out.  I continued to use books to learn as I got older, and honed my skills using internet tutorials for new techniques.


6. What are your goals with your ArtFire studio?
Having an online shop inspires me to continually create.  Although it's something I always love, selling online has given me a greater drive.  I don't know if this is a commonality among other crafters, but I don't really like keeping my own work.  I mostly like the process of creating and I'm less interested in the final product.  So selling online gives me a great outlet for my creations

Dipping my toes in the Artfire Pond

 ajoeynamedroo

I've had an artfire account for a while, but had never listed anything.  I was a little fearful of overextending myself.  With all the craziness at etsy, the sort of elitism there, and the hugeness of it, I thought maybe I should feel out the artfire waters.

From an aesthetic standpoint I would say there's no competition.  Etsy has their look down, and artfire is floundering a little.  A lot of their banners are pretty cheesy, but in a way I kind of like this.  I feel like it makes them more approachable.  Where etsy has recently come to seem to be all about the bottom line, artfire is trying to be about people.  I know it's a business strategy and a way to make money, but I think I like it better than etsy's approach.

Artfire also has free listings, although you have to pay a monthly fee to get all the available privileges.  The free listings is why I finally decided, WHY NOT?

I'm still getting used to the site, but I'm having trouble finding anything.  I keep trying to get back to pages, and not being able to find them again.  I'm thinking that this may only be a problem for sellers though.  Buying seems to be a little simpler.  I do really like the listings though.  Since it's all on one page it's way faster than waiting for etsy's servers to catch up each time you go to the next section.. 

I'm not ready to endorse artfire yet.  I'm not even ready to pay for the pro-version, but I'm thinking that I might be soon.


No pressure, but if you're thinking about joining artfire anyway, here's my referral link
Register on ArtFire.com
No point not putting it out there, right?