When you’re about to take a reluctant summer sabbatical, you want to step out on a high note. You want to leave wise words for anyone who happens by while you’re away, something a little more pithy than “Back soon, thanks for dropping by.”
This will be my last post until September. It’s a few days late (and for those of you who were wondering, yes, there are still issues with the feed).
As I sat working on a number of uninspiring first drafts, this little gem drifted by on my Twitter stream, from @Marelisa:
“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
And within minutes, from @escapeintolife:
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this.”
— Henry David Thoreau
Puts a few things into perspective, doesn’t it.
If only it were as easy as tacking a couple of inspirational quotes on your bulletin board.
Many creatives I know are also involved in arts organizations. Some serve on the board of directors, some on committees, and others volunteer or donate to special events. Today’s post is written by Maureen Carruthers, who works in the nonprofit sector. When I met Maureen, I was immediately impressed by her thoughtful commitment to her work and her dedication to her community. She has some words of wisdom for both artists and arts organizations to help keep up your mental momentum.
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If you spend any amount of time on the internet, you know there is no shortage of advice on how to make your life, business, and art better.
Most of that advice is about all the new things you need to do to keep up. Blog more often, take more classes, create more genuine relationships—more, more, more.
It’s a lot of pressure. So much that it’s easy to believe you will never be good enough, never know enough, never make enough impact. From that place, one starts to wonder if it’s worth trying to move forward at all. All the well meant advice about how to get better, actually stops us in our tracks.
The same thing happens to organizations.
I’m supposed to be officially on hiatus for the summer, but I had a half-finished post in the works, which fits nicely between two guest posts, so here I am, breaking curfew.
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I spent the afternoon with a painter friend recently. We talked about her work, about our time in art school (same university, different years), about teaching and drawing, and what it means to be an artist.
We even talked a little about business. But not much.
Not much business talk was necessary. She does great work, and she knows what she needs to do to build her career. How, when, and if she does it is up to her.
You have those same choices.
All that freedom can hang you up sometimes.
I studied what was supposed to be graphic design in community college. It was a lame course with an unqualified teacher, which is partly why I didn’t become a graphic designer. Most of what I know now is self-taught. I wish I’d met today’s guest post author, Pamela Wilson, a lot sooner. Pamela is one of those people who has a knack for explaining complicated concepts in plain English. She makes graphic design principles seem downright sensible. So if you don’t yet have the cash to hire a designer for your marketing materials and need to do it yourself, listen up. Pamela has some good advice for you.
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You may not know it now, but by the end of this post I aim to convince you that you already have the tools you need to create marketing materials that present your work in its best light.
The Studio Source is devoted to helping you implement marketing efforts that will make your business stand out from the rest. If you absorb what Stacey shares here, you’ll know how to position your business to be memorable for the long term.
My blog, the Big Brand System, is devoted to sharing information that helps small businesses make the marketing materials they’ll use to promote themselves. I’m a graphic designer, and some people have said that the Big Brand System is going to put my design studio out of business.
That’s ridiculous, and here’s why:
There are times when you find yourself reflecting on the choices you make. Like when you’re laying in the middle of your driveway, reflecting on the laws of physics and the frailty of the human body.
Allow me to elaborate.
