Patron

the blog

Renegade Craft Fair

chicago003-721

Oh, man, I can hardly contain myself. In just 8 hours I am leaving Indianapolis for Chicago to enjoy the spectacle and wonderment that is the Renegade Craft Fair. This will be my fourth year attending (I even went last year when it poured down rain). I usually spend most of my time wandering from one amazingly unique booth to another, buying Christmas presents for all my loved ones (yes my husband really did need a magenta t-shirt with a dinosaur saying “make me a sandwich” on it) and trying desperately to buy a few things for myself from the vast quantity of items that I want.

I love this event because it reminds me that there is so much creativity out there. It also gives artists and craftspeople an opportunity to sell their wares in an environment where people are receptive and excited about what they do. It is so inspiring to me to see artists making a living doing what they love and seeing more and more people understanding how special buying handmade is.

I hope that if you are in the Chicago area you will check it out. You can get more information right here. If you are unable to go click here to see all the artists that will be there and visit their online shops. You will be happy you did I promise.

Selling Your Art Online

I just wanted to share a terrific article recently posted on design*sponge about ways of selling your artwork online. It was written by Nikko Moy of Ashes & Milk, a beautiful online gallery and blog. You can read the article right here.

requests for proposals for art

chicago-bean-6927-a

I am so sorry that I have not updated this blog in awhile. Patron has been very busy preparing an RFP or request for proposal to re-do the website of a local non-profit organization. As I was working on our proposal it got me thinking that some artists may not be aware of what exactly an rfp is or how they can use them to their advantage.

Often times artists are used to making a living by selling their pieces to the general public via art fairs, gallery exhibits, web sales and referral. Searching out rfps is another great source of income that could lead to both paying jobs, large-scale projects and public recognition. Each year there are opportunities for artists to provide concepts for installation art at area universities, corporations and government facilities (just to name a few) as well as, public sculptures, murals, poster designs, and so many more.

One of the best places to begin your search for artist request for proposals is your local arts council. In Indianapolis, where Patron is located, the arts council is www.artscouncilofindianapolis.org. These sites are a great resource for grant opportunities, request for proposals, exhibiting in public areas, upcoming events, contact information for people that can assist you, and artists databases where you can create a profile.

We understand that it can be hard to make a living as an artists which is why we want to help you find any avenue available to create and display your work.

INDIEana Summer Handicraft Exchange 2009

Clay and I were lucky enough to sponsor a contest for the vendors at the INDIEana Summer Handicraft Exchange. All the visitors to the event got to vote on their favorite vendor, and, as I posted yesterday, Allison Ford from studio AMF won a free custom Patron website! While I am very impressed with Allison’s work, I was also excited by the range of items for sale at the fair. I wanted to do a quick post of some of the other vendors participating in the contest. Click here to view the gallery with vendor names and links.

I am so happy that events like this are taking place in Indianapolis. Thank you to Amanda Mauer Taflinger and her team for putting together such a well organized and unique event!

And the winner is…

amf_zodiac

amf_ring

Allison Ford of studio AMF!!! Allison was the winner of a custom Patron website and one year of hosting by being the crowd favorite at the 2009 INDIEana Summer Handicraft Exchange. She is a very talented jewelry designer with a focus on beautiful wood jewelry some with special messages stamped in silver. I was fortunate enough to pick up one of her zodiac pendants.

We are very excited to have the opportunity to build a custom website for an artist like Allison, but if you cannot wait until then to view her work you can check out her Etsy site right here. Stay tuned for more from studio AMF in the near future.

amf2

Artist :: Dolan Geiman

main

Clay and I went to the Broad Ripple Art Fair on Saturday and had the pleasure of meeting and talking with many talented artists and craftspeople there. One artist I was particularly impressed by was Dolan Geiman. Geiman is a mixed media artist who creates stunning works using eco-friendly found oblects. He produces “contemporary art with a southern accent.” In additon to scoring an original panel painting, I was also able to talk to Geiman’s partner and business manager, Ali Walsh. She was very kind in offering helpful tips about maketing Patron to our core audience. Click here to visit Geiman’s well-designed site (by Ali!) and click here to pick up a piece for yourself. I highly recommend it!

main-2main-1

Graphic Design Poster

wordsartbluecleancompositioncool-5fdf808313870f313c39c97cfc875442_h

I am not sure where I came across this awesome poster with a quote from Frank Chimero, but I knew I had to share it. I think art and design is all about being proud of what we do and being able to laugh at the stereotypes others place on us and we place on one another. Enjoy!

New Math for Artists

new-math-400x274

This great piece is from New Math by Craig Damrauer via Design for Mankind. I think it simply and clearly sums up what a lot of artists feel in the face of criticism. Post it as your computer wallpaper to remind yourself that what you do is important.