art biz
I'm managing to post a finished painting (Red Plane, 30"x30", oil and wax on panel) but the past few weeks have involved more computer time than studio time (and of course, there have been the usual distractions of the season, though our own celebration this year is low key.) I've been working on setting up my teaching schedule for 2011, and this has led to taking on a chore I've put off for too long--updating and organizing my mailing list. To facilitate that chore, I signed on with Constant Contact, and so far I've been very pleased with the service. makes it easy to organize multiple mailing lists, and to put together and send out attractive emails and newsletters to large groups of people--eliminating the annoying chore of sending out information in small batches from regular email to avoid spam issues. As I enter all the data from my email mailing list into Constant Contact, I have been trying to make notes and nail down details about the people on it (over 500)--using the search function on my Yahoo account to remind myself of how we came to be in touch.

Of course, many on my list are well-known or at least familiar to me--friends, relatives, collectors, art reps, former students. But there have always been some contacts whose origins were lost in time. Solving the mystery of the who, when and where has been kind of fun--and it relieves some of the tedium of this whole chore. In a few cases, when I look back over old correspondence, I've been reminded of some unfinished business, or the need to get back to someone about an upcoming class, which lends a bit more satisfaction to this whole project. It seems like a fitting one for wrapping up 2010.

Another art biz project is also demanding my attention. With the new year, I will be preparing to launch two new versions of my website. One, my main site, will be a focused portfolio site, highlighting my paintings and professional accomplishments. The second will be devoted to my workshop information, various writings, links, and other info for artists. Years ago, when I set up my original site my web designer commented on the amount of information that I wanted to share, and she built that into the site. Now seems the right time to give this information its own focus and room to grow. I'll be traveling to Ithaca, NY in early January to spend a few days hammering out the details of these two sites with her.

By the way, if anyone reading this would like to be added to my new, updated and wonderfully organized (!!) mailing list, please email me and let me know if your interest lies in workshops, general info (upcoming exhibits, studio news) or both. If you'd like to add a little about yourself to the email, that would be great. My mailing list feels a lot more friendly when I have more than just a name...thank you. I am grateful to all of you who show their interest in my work and classes.

OK--I'm done for a few days with art biz! Heading out now for Christmas Eve dinner at my mother's house. Happy Holidays to all who are celebrating the season!  ¶ 1:48 PM