Why join an art organization?

It happens over and over again.  When times get hard and purse-strings get tight, it’s the arts that seem to be cut first.  It’s times like this when artists are hit hard, loosing a good portion of our income to the economy.  Even when times are looking a little better, we artists seem to be the last to feel the up-swing.

Art organizations usually meet once a month or so and offer critiques, demonstrations, workshops and friendly gatherings.  They usually ask a yearly fee to cover the costs of advertising, mailing meeting reminders and cover art show costs.  There are three such organizations in my area but each town is probably different.  Check with your local Arts Council to find what organizations exist in your area.  So why should we pay $45 or more per year to belong to an art organization?  I can name a number of reasons.

11.  We, of all people, need to continue to support the arts.

22.  This type of organization encourages friendly competition through shows and therefore helps us get our work shown.

  3.  This friendly competition also encourages us to do our best and strive to get better at our craft.

  4.  Most art shows are juried and offer cash prizes, which are very nice for the struggling artist.

  5.  The meeting of like-minded artists all facing similar economic and art-related issues is healthy.

  6.   We help each other out through networking and bouncing ideas off each other.

  7.  Sometimes it helps to just get out and be with other artists.

  8.  Most organizations offer demonstrations of techniques that encourage artistic experimentation.

  9.  We learn from each other.

  10.Some organizations (not all) offer signature membership earned by being in a number of art shows and winning awards.  This coveted signature membership allows you to sign the society’s initials behind your name, showing that you have achieved a lofty stance in the art world.

I could probably think of more reasons but you get the point.  In my area, since there are three such organizations, I choose just one.  This organization is Society of Western Artists, San Joaquin Valley Chapter.  Like many art organizations, SWA is having its fair share of economic-membership woes.  The numbers have steadily dwindled since 2008 until this year we wonder if we can go on.  I believe we will, but it will be difficult without the membership to get things done and offer two shows per year.  I would encourage all artists to belong to some organization for their own artistic and creative health.  It is so worth it.

Motivation for a New Year

I always like to map out my lovely, pristine, new calendar each year so that stuff doesn’t happen my random luck but on purpose.  I usually take my new calendar in November or December and plot out what short-term goals I’d like to complete to push me toward my ultimate long-term goals.  But this year was different.  I was needed to help out with family and my goal plans took a back seat to more immediate concerns.  So here I am, knee-deep in January and no plans in my new 2015 calendar.  No problem, I can still salvage my goal making routine and decide what kind of year this will be.

Digital painting of Jonathan Gregory 

Because of my goals and mapping out short-term goals, I have completed and self-published 5 books, 3 of them last year; I have completed many personal paintings and projects, one of which got me the Portrait Award in the SWA Annual San Francisco show and one got Best of Show in the local chapter SWA Annual Fall show.  I managed to get 2 semesters and 4 classes closer to my Master’s Degree in Illustration from Academy of Art University online.  I have completed several children’s book illustrations and even some book covers.   I have also written and published 50 articles for HubPages and other online magazines.  These are the things that make me very happy and satisfied with myself.

 

Digital painting of Nataly Enero

As I look back over my year, sure there were times when I just wasted time watching TV or digital movies and accomplished very little besides relaxing.  But for the most part, I was productive and kept active, learned many things, created things, wrote and published things, and did my best to make the world a better place, one creation, one article at a time.  Isn’t that our ultimate goal in life?  To make the world a better place and not a worse place to live than we found it?  I know that will let me sleep soundly when I take that ultimate dirt nap.

Schedule Alone Time

Stress is a constant complaint of many overworked people.  I find the best method is to have time alone to gather your thoughts, process your emotions, and sort out daily drama.  I cherish my alone time.

I like to put classical music in my ears and go to place with no TV or other distractions.  Many times Starbucks will do.  Other times I just go to the park and feed the ducks.  Either way, it feels like the stresses of life and confusions that threaten my sanity just fall away. 

Sometimes I take my camera and take pictures of interesting things, lightings, trees or flowers, just for me, not for work or assignments.  Sometimes I will take my tablet and pens to just sketch whatever I see.  This is one of my favorite unwind methods.  Many people like to just doodle to clear there thoughts.  Why not?  Whatever works.

Alone time can look like any number of things:  Actual getting away to the beach or the mountains; an hour away from the family in a quiet room; bath time complete with candles and aroma therapy.  Whatever your method to de-stress, it needs to be scheduled like any other event in your week.  I find unless you carve out money for something it won’t be there.  Unless you carve out alone time, all your time will be spoken for with the minutia of life.

Going on and on with no unwind method in place can be unhealthy and can even cause or contribute to high blood pressure, or even stroke.  With the holidays upon us and the added drama and sometimes unpleasantness of families, not to mention the stress of financial burdens, carving out time to unwind is essential.  Do it for your health.

Pencil Extenders

I have found a great way to extend the life of drawing pencils and colored pencils without having to buy expensive extenders for each pencil you own.  You can buy pencil extenders for about $6.  That isn’t bad, but when you have dozens of pencils and you don’t want to share just one or two extenders… well, the cost adds up.

I found that old disposable pen bodies work very well for pencil extenders.  Some disposable pens are made with very thin bodies and they are inappropriate for extenders.  However many of the name brand disposables are large enough in diameter to be used for extender purposes.  Even so, some have to be warmed at the ends and stretched immediately by shoving a pencil into the hollow tube.  You won’t need to stretch all pen bodies but some need it.  Once the pen’s ink is dry you would have thrown it away anyway.  This way we are simply recycling part of the pen for other purposes.

You will need:

Old used cheap disposable pens of a certain diameter

Pliers to pull out the old disposable ink cartridge

Stove or heating element to warm the plastic for the smaller tubes

Short pencils to place in the extenders as soon as they are warmed

Step one:

Pull out the old ink cartridge and discard. 

Step two:

If the hollow tube left over is too narrow to fit a pencil comfortably, warm the end over a stove element or candle flame for just a few seconds.  Plastic is flammable and will catch fire quickly so don’t let the tube touch the heating element.  After a few seconds, quickly shove the pencil point side into the tube.  If it stretches enough to house the pencil down about ¼ inch, pull it back out and place it into the extender from the blunt end.  If it didn’t stretch sufficiently, reheat the tube rotating between your fingers so it heats evenly on all sides and shove the pencil in again.

Step three:

Enjoy your pencil till it is too short to sharpen.  I use these for my drawing pencils, charcoal pencils, pastel pencils, and colored pencils.  I must have dozens and save old used disposable pens to make more.

Occasionally the old pen tube will become brittle with age and crack.  That’s when it is time to finally toss it and replace with a new extender.

Enjoy.