Artist Success Academy: Recent Comments

Comment on Importance of Community

Kay Tuttle — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:55:31 GMT

Hi Greg,
Thanks for mentioning me in your blog! That was really nice of you. As the MC pointed you out in the introductions that night I thought it was the perfect time to introduce myself since I only know you through your blog and not in person. Funny that we were sitting right next to each other!
I have a show opening at Ironton July 18th-it would be great if you could come. I'm also having a closing party on the Sat August 16th I really want people to come to that as we will be drawing Exquisite Corpses (the surrealist drawing game) I love to do those (and I collect them to make into books) just for fun, especially with people in the arts community. As they are collaborative I find they are a great way to build community. Thanks again, Kay

Comment on Color, Color and More Color

Kelly Kehs — Sat, 24 May 2008 21:57:36 GMT

First, I really enjoy reading your thoughts. I love the way you describle the artwork you are talking about. I like what you said about the "cookie cutter" art. I find as an artist it's important to evolve and grow, creating a cohesive body of work, but that each piece has it's own idenity.

Comment on Too Much...Too Much

Kay — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:54:41 GMT

I completely agree. I am a firm believer in an artist editing their work. And too much work crammed in at once always smacks of desperation.

Comment on Would You Be Ready for Reality TV?

catherine — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 18:00:50 GMT

Hi Greg,
Yes yes yes. We should send Bravo the idea. As a life long artist-want-to-be that is finally breaking out of my shell, I would love to see a show on self-taught vs. trained artists. I tried art training a few times and until I became aware of my own desires and natural eye, it wasn't for me. Now I have my coaching career and feel free to experiment with art. I love to research trained vs. untrained artists and view the work. Thanks for getting me thinking.
Catherine

Comment on Fringe Benefits

kay Tuttle — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:36:40 GMT

Hi Greg,

Thank you so much for your nice comments about networking, and sending out my web page address. I greatly appreciate it. I am actually very shy, and networking, with a capital N, is intimidating to me. I would much rather be in my studio painting. But, when I think, well these people are interesting, and have different insights, and I would like to talk with them and hear what they have to say, it becomes something enjoyable. Really an opportunity to meet insightful and engaged people.
Thank you again, and I hope one day to meet in person.
Kay

Comment on Fringe Benefits

Chris Bolmeier — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:39:44 GMT

Living consciously seems to really be catching on these days since popularity of "The Secret Movie". The metaphysical laws that have existed since the beginning of time with a different spin. It's all good because we can never be reminded too much that we attract what we put out. And, more awareness creates more consciousness, which in turn could be another book.... "How to Paint Like Yourself". Of course this is an impossible task unless you know who you "is". I'm happy to see Mary Tuttle's web site. I can look at her work and see it is conceived of love and noncontrivation.(I know this word isn't in the dictionary, but it should be:) Be Well, Chris Bolmeier

Comment on How Regular Are You?

Greg Katz — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:23:07 GMT

Before I begin first I want to congratulate you and your wife on the new family addition. You'll have lots of new inspiration for your art work with this new life force whirling around your home.

My hope is not for you to take the posting personally, but to awaken us as artists to the impact we have on our collectors, and the sustainability of our own businesses. Being a psychotherapist by training I've taken more developmental psychology courses than I'd like to admit, but Jean Piaget teaches us that as young children we develop "object constancy", the knowing that something exists even if we don't see it, if we've already seen it or experienced it. I wonder how we lose that ability as adults because when we are receiving over 7000 marketing messages a day the tendency is to store away in a big storage locker the things that don't continually catch our attention. The idea is to move from emerging to arrived to sustainable.

The listserv, mailing list issue is near and dear to my heart. Seth Godin wrote a book called "permission marketing". Basically the premise is you shouldn't be marketing to people who haven't consciously given you their permission. It's why on my opt-in I put that I never sell, share or rent my list to anyone...it's between me and the subscriber.

If you at any time offer your list to someone like a yoga instructor, and they e-mail me that is spam and spam is against the law, just ask the guy who was recently arrested. If you send out an e-mail to your list about the services of another that is not directly related to your business then you run a high risk of people asking to be removed from your list...don't dilute the power of your list.

If you co-host an event with someone please send out information to your lists independently. When I arrive at the event if I choose to subscribe to the other person's list I will, but give me that power. I hope you will treat your list like gold because it can be the source of all future success.

I was thinking about the issue of the time between communication and what came to the foreground was something the brain does called "confabulation". This is when the brain has a gap in information and to make things whole it fills in the gaps with whatever story it wants to create. Gaps in communication can be everything from a new baby, to living in your studio creating the next great masterpiece, to taking a trip to sit on a mountain top in Nepal. My hope is that my brain doesn't have to fill in the story...let us in. Can you think of anything greater than your subscriber base sharing in the birth of your first child? (not to mention the potential gifts)

I've studied human nature for over twenty years and have studied internet marketing for the past four with some of the premier internet marketers in the country. I know it sounds like I'm standing on a soap box, but I have gotten a lot of this information I'm sharing from some of the country's top gurus who help make the internet a powerful tool for building our business.

Good luck with all your endeavors, I'm one of your fans!

Comment on How Regular Are You?

Kyle Goodrich — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 08:23:27 GMT

Perhaps I am taking this entry too personally as I recently wrote my listserver for the first time since March, but I found your comments a little harsh.

I personally do not write my group of people with the thoughts of “what can I sell” and I certainly do not expect that of people on my list. I value their support regardless if they have bought a painting. I appreciate my group of people who follow my art. They are the reason I spend First Fridays in my basement studio rather than walking around the strip.

I think this brings up a larger topic: use and misuse of listservers. I am on many people’s lists some of which I don’t remember signing up for but somehow I am receiving emails. I often feel bombarded by emails that do not pertain to the artist’s art. It seems many people see their list as a means of promoting other events or their friend’s events. For instance, if I sign up for to receive emails from an artist, I do not want to hear about a new hair salon their friend opened or a yoga retreat. I do not give my email address away expecting the artist to use it as advertising for their friends.

I have some friends that often ask to trade mass emailings. If I send my list information about her yoga business, design work, etc, they will send an email promoting my art. While some may see this as collaboration, I see it as exploiting the email of those who are on my list. I always refuse this offer. I do not feel comfortable emailing my list about yoga. The people on my list did not give me their email to hear about yoga, they want to hear about my artwork.

I, for one, do not know what is acceptable to send my list. For instance, the reason I have been out of the loop with my list for a few months is that my wife and I celebrated the birth of our first child and I have been busy for months in preparation for the event. Should I have emailed my list saying: “I am MIA for a while, I’m a father”? I didn’t because I thought it was personal information that doesn’t fit the purpose of my listserver.

I am curious to hear other people’s policy on this. Is there an unwritten set of guidelines I do not know about? What is proper listserver etiquette?

Comment on Women of Steel

Catherine — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 19:34:46 GMT

Wow,
Thank you for that link. I am in awe of those works- makes me want to run to home depot and get torching! I appreciate your links to artists and your willingness to open me up to works I may not have seen!
Catherine

Comment on The Laws of Physics...They are Really True!

Catherine — Thu, 03 May 2007 21:07:44 GMT

Thanks for the link! :)
I love being directed to visual links where the words can meet the vision.