More raving about Artful Blogging (Autumn 2008) (Volume 2)
: After reading Emma's enthusiastic blog about Artful Blogging I started looking through my copy of this journal again. (Yes, I read her blog about my blog...) Then I stopped at the tagline: "Visually Inspiring Online Journals."Visually Inspiring is the essence of what I want to achieve on this blog.
On to dissecting more reasons I choose printed magazines:
Regional or Local Flair: The majority of my marketing comes from in person contact. I find understanding my chosen home is essential to appealing to my audience. People usually want something that evokes a sense of where they are living or where they are visiting. For example, turquoise and silver are a staple of southwestern jewelry. I think in terms of Southwest-y-ness in colors I pick for my glass beads and also in terms of using turquoise stones in the jewelry. In magazines like Su Casa, SantaFean, Cowboys & Indians, and Texas Highways, I am able to gain additional insight into the textures, shapes, patterns, and colors of the locale. My home will so
on be Hong Kong, so you might see a different flair. It might have a splash of the southwest ('cuz I really like the Southwest) along with an Asian twist. Hmm...that is really quite a combo - Texan and Asian. I am interested to see what my brain does with that...How this can help me: appeal to the local audience.The story: My favorite art pieces in my home come with a story...how it was created, who is the artist, what the artist was thinking when they created it. I have picked up an occasional magazine highlighting artists in different media such as sculpture, painting, and photography. Since art is a highly personal and individual subject, the story is a way to create a connection between the minds. How does this help me: create a compelling story with my art pieces.
Learning Something New: I have been eyeing up the many craft and jewelry magazines out there. I can’t wait to get my hands on them. But…I’m trying to divest myself of the stuffage so I don’t have to lug it across the globe. I’m very into digital media these days. I look forward to when the Kindle: Amazon's Wireless Reading Device
will be in color. How this can help me: provide useful information to my blog readers.Small business gumption: (Gumption = I think I've been living in Texas too long.) I like to ruminate on the stories of small businesses run by creative individuals. How this can help me: Creativity and the business of selling beautiful things provide a catalyst to help me figure out how and where I can grow or not grow my business.
Inspire. Entertain. Inform.
Which magazines do you pick up? Why?
And a final note: Whew! That was a bit of pressure to finish a real article for this week. We’ll see if I can maintain this pace. I have a bunch o’ ideas for later, but need some courage (and time) to execute.
Credits:
First Photo: Su Casa, Spring 2005. Photograph by Jack Parsons. Inspired the use of wooden beads in the jewelry.
Second Photo: Pottery Barn, May 2008 Catalog, Page 57. Inspired the use of Dark Turquoise, Nile Green, and Pale Sky Blue in the jewelry. (This is a Version 2.0 of the necklace from last week's post.)
Third Photo: Pottery Barn, May 2008 Catalog, Page 37
Fourth Photo: Victoria
, May/June 2008, Page 7, Laura Ashley advertisement. Inspired the hot pink and light pink dyed cultured pearls color combination.Resources:
Artful Blogging (Summer 2008)
Artful Blogging (Winter 2008) Single Issue (Vol. 2)
Artful Blogging Subscription
Loving this post, and still cant wait to get my copy! Its connected people already though! What a great thing :) x
ReplyDeleteThank you, Emma! This journal is only quarterly...I'm all ready for the next installment!
ReplyDeleteHow fascinating, I must pick up a copy when I'm in the States next (Florida for Christmas). For me, you raise an interesting point. I blog for a living (in my 'proper' job), in fact, I run courses and classes on blogging. THe emphasis there is on reflection and thought pocesses, though, not necessarily on using the blog as an art form. Many blogs created in 'my' world (academia) remain private, simply to chart a journey. I'll have to ruminate on that one a bit more - thank you!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! I started this blog as a reflection and thought process between me and another friend. Then I realized blogging was a useful marketing tool for selling your work as an artist. But, I still didn't feel like I had hit the mark with my blog. I'm still trying to find my voice. With the "Followers" feature, I can see who really is following my blog - other lampworkers and jewelry artists. I find it very helpful to know who my audience is. So, I'm trying to adapt to that new knowledge to make this blog actually useful to other people. We'll see. I don't mind flailing a bit until I find something that works.
ReplyDelete