Category: Thoughts

Things I’m learning in Artworld.

Sometimes I am a Non-Profit Company

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Some days it is a real struggle to find time to paint because of all the non-art-making tasks associated with being a professional artist, a one-woman show, a solo act, a Jana of all trades, and small potatoes.

This is what filled my day a few weeks ago, most work related, and none of it actually for profit.

Someone sent me an email wondering if an artist’s proof from a reproduction run of Farewell Gap prints was worth anything. Yeppers, it is worth whatever anyone is willing to pay for it. This required a bit of rooting around to see how many prints I made, some guesswork about when I did it, and a lot of thought in a couple of emails. (And I had to blog about it, because it was both mildly interesting and informative.)
I got a handwritten letter in the real mail about a place called the Green Hotel in a small town in Kern County. This is because neither my email nor my phone would give me my messages from the correspondent. The letter turned into a series of phone calls and emails, with me instructing the folks what would be necessary to reproduce notecards when the original has vanished. (This might warrant its own blog post.)
The gallery/museum where I teach drawing lessons (CACHE) has applied for a grant. Because it will be a possible source of money for murals inside the museum, and because I am a Typo Psycho, I helped with editing and proofreading. Our highly esteemed president of CACHE put zillions of hours into this, with an understanding of how to write appealing content for grants, and I concluded that if CACHE doesn’t receive the grant, the judges are stupid, biased, or there is just a great deal of tomfoolery involved. (What, me biased??)
My colored pencil artist friend Carrie Lewis puts out a weekly newsletter, a free publication with helpful information for colored pencil artists. Because no one can proof her own writing and because she is overloaded with many other tasks, I proofread this weekly for her.
The upcoming big murals at the largest Catholic church in North America have been on hold. Finally, the project manager said I might be able to begin soon. This meant rewriting the contract, checking prices that have risen since we began the process in October, updating terms based on new information.
Finally, on a day that much of this was happening, we had an electrical problem. When the electricity went out, I had to go to the neighbor’s house to wait for the electrician to call me on the cell phone. We don’t have cell service at home; use of the cell requires using wifi, which requires electricity. So, with all this work to do, I took my knitting over to my friend’s house and sat in the sunshine.That was a busy day, lots of work, all of it not-for-profit. But sometimes an artist has got to do what she’s got to do.

art business

Following up on Earlier Subjects

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Does “following up” mean finishing? Concluding? Completing? Then why don’t we say that instead?

Sorry. Sometimes I get caught up in words.

Remember in the Learned in March post that I showed you chocolate navels? This is how they look on the inside.
Remember seeing this table in progress?This is how it turned out.
Did I mention anything about going around the neighborhood with clippers and buckets to pick wildflowers? This is how they were used.
Still nothing to report on the two murals in the courtyards at St. Charles, the largest Catholic church in North America, in Visalia, where I was asked to paint some murals back in October. I redid the contract to reflect the increase in mural paint prices and the customer’s request that I train someone to paint a third mural, someone who doesn’t speak English or have experience. The saga continues. . .

Fifteen Years of Blah-blah-blah Blogging

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Today is not about art.

Tomorrow marks FIFTEEN YEARS of blogging, five days a week. Day after day, blah blah blah, this is what I do, what I did, what I’m planning to do, yadda yadda yadda, I went here, saw this, and did that, want to buy some art/a book/some cards? I learned something, I have questions, I have thoughts.

“Blog”. Weird word. This is an online journal, a log on the web, a web log, web-log, weblog, blog.

And I can’t seem to stop.

Today is not about art. It is just showing you some photos from my life, which seems normal to me, but is probably peculiar to you.

I took my car, Fernando, for an oil change. While Mark from Foreign Auto (559-734-8285, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, and Acura only) was taking care of Fernando, I walked to downtown Visalia. Mill Creek is flowing. This is what keeps those valley oaks alive. Quercus lobata is the name of these oaks, the largest in the country. (There is a black and white cat in the first picture.)

The next day, Trail Guy and I climbed up on the bank behind the house to cut a dead live oak. Doesn’t that sound weird? “Dead live oak”.

It felt wrong to smash the wildflowers.

My job was to help get the wood down to the neighbor’s driveway so we could load it into the back of the pick’em-up truck. Mostly I dragged, endoed, or rolled the heavy limbs so Trail Guy could use his superior strength to pitch them off the hill.

And then my work was done, so I went ogling things in bloom in the yard. Some years I miss this calla lily, but everything is slower this year so I caught this guy in its prime. It is called Dragon Arum. Finally learned, using a plant identification app called PictureThis. It is free but tries to trick you into subscribing by hiding the word “Cancel” in the upper righthand corner, almost invisible.

And that’s all I have for today, another glorious cool green flowery spring day in Three Rivers when I am supposed to be working but keep finding interesting things to do instead.

Thank you for listening, reading, looking, hanging around, commenting, caring, being there all these years!

P.S. Happy Birthday, Hiking Buddy! I mailed you a card yesterday, but it might have to go to Santa Clarita first. Could have walked it to you faster, but you know about my feet these days. . . May you be warmed and filled today.

Sunny Day, Stormy Day

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Sunny Day

Monday was a sunny day, with bright colors, and warm temperatures.

We went to church to deal with a flooded office, broken gutter, and misbehaving water flows.

Then we headed down to Kaweah Lake to see how high (and muddy and full of debris) it looked.

Looking west toward the dam, which is now too far away to see, around a corner.

Looking east at Blossom Peak (hill with 3 points)

Looking northeast toward Moro Rock and Alta Peak, which isn’t visible under the clouds.

The parking lot at Slick Rock is blocked.

Later I went walking with a neighbor. So very very green, blue, and white!

Bush lupine with poppies.

Two more kinds of lupine with popcorn flowers. We just hung out, soaking sunshine and bright colors for awhile. (It was steep, so maybe we needed to catch our breath a little too.)

Rainy Day

Tuesday was so different from Monday that it was hard to believe the two days were in the same month, much less the same week. This is how Kaweah Lake looked when I pulled over at the normal view point on my way down the hill to teach drawing lessons.

A few roads were narrowed, a main road was closed.

It rained all the way back home.

This is the Yokohl curve, where the normally dry Yokohl Creek occasionally flows. Nope, I didn’t pull over in the rain to photograph the water. I focused on my driving, while holding up the camera and hoping to capture something without looking at it. (You’re welcome).

I pulled over next to this grove of pistachios, put down the passenger window exposing the leather seat to rain, and took a few pictures. When it was planted about 7 years ago, I asked the farmer if he had a plan for planting in what is historically a pond during wet years. He thought the pump could handle it. Apparently he overestimated the pump’s capacity.

Excuse the blurriness. I just wanted you to see how tall the trees are so you can estimate how deep the pond is.

So far we have gotten about 9″ of rain at our house since this series of storms began last Thursday. It ain’t over yet, folks. . . keep your LLBean boots handy!

Maybe we can talk about making art tomorrow.

P.S. Nothing new to report about the Mineral King Road or other road closures or flooding in Three Rivers. Your photojournalist only reports on what she sees with her own eyes.

Fearsome, Ferocious, Frenetic Water Report

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Thursday night brought 4-1/2″ of rain.

My neighbor asked if I wanted to go looky-looing on Friday morning. Her car is higher than mine, and I immediately replied YES.

She manages a vacation rental on the North Fork. This is the view from the backyard at the normally mild fork that often dries up in the summer.

This is the North Fork flowing over the top of the Airport Bridge (there used to be an airport nearby). The whitewater is where the water hits the railing that the county used to remove when floods were predicted. Now they prefer to leave the railings up, which causes the water to flow around and wash out the approaches. This happened in January. Here we go again.

This is by my studio and workshop.

Later in the afternoon I went walking with another neighbor to survey the ongoing excitement and damages. This usually dry drainage was roaring over the road by her house, so we went another direction.

Same drainage, farther down, closer to the river.

Looking upstream from the Dinely Bridge.

Looking downstream on the Dinely Bridge.

No, really, LOOK AT THIS!!

Pretty little drainage coming off Edison Road.

In a friend’s yard, where the water is usually a bit of a distance away. Not so today.

This is a spot where lots of people trespass at the river on this little beach. We could hear boulders banging around beneath the current.

Another little drainage along Kaweah River Drive. This is where overflow from the flume occasionally flows.

A yard where the flume flows is very exciting right now.

Well, oops. This is where we turned around. There was a roaring stream across the road. I tested it with a stick, and it was about a foot and a half deep.

Looking upstream at this drainage, wondering where it came from. A man who lived above was out walking and explained that someone built a pond incorrectly, the dam on it broke, and the result is that many people are trapped on the other side.

Walking back, you can see that the water is very close to the road. In the early 2000s, I saw it closer. I was scared then, and I shouted at my neighbor who was driving, “GO FORWARD, GO BACK, OR LET ME OUT, BUT DON’T JUST STOP HERE!”

What’s this??

Mandatory evacuations.

This is the view upcanyon from the Remorial Building. I said “Remorial” because another neighbor thought that was the correct pronunciation when she was a child. She is getting married in 21 days, but we still pronounce it that way.

A sheriff was going through the neighborhood around 7 p.m. last night to tell us about evacuation orders. But Trail Guy met him at the bottom of the driveway and said no, we aren’t going anywhere. The sheriff gathered our name, phone numbers, address, and went on his way. Our house was built before the ’55 flood, so we feel fine.

Three Rivers

Ten Things Learned in February

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February is my favorite month, especially when it has rained and snowed around here. Orchards begin blooming, yard flowers and wildflowers are out (I saw some poppies across Lake Kaweah on February 21), the air is clean, and the weather is exciting. So few days, so much to learn.

The Dream is a podcast with a series about multi-level marketing companies, and another about the wellness industry. The main lessons are A. Multi-level marketing is a useless exercise in trying to earn a living; B. There are 13 vitamins—A, C, D, E, K, and 8 different B; C. Supplements are not vitamins and are not regulated by the FDA.
Remember when I told you what those scribbly squares are called? They are QR codes, and now I am participating in them. An upcoming show in Exeter’s Courthouse Gallery (now called CACHE) will have recordings with the art so that you can hear artists tell you about each piece if you scan the code with your smartphone (and I think you are supposed to bring ear dealies).
Ever heard of a “sweetheart table“? This is a fad with brides and grooms: they sit at their own table at the head of the wedding reception. You ask, “Who cares?” So glad you asked. Trail Guy and I care enough about a couple getting married in April to build their sweetheart table for them. This involves more learning than you care to read about today.
I learned what our average monthly propane use is. This is helpful information when one’s gauge doesn’t work, although I am pretty good at guessing by feeling the tank. (The delivery man pooh-poohed that method until he saw that I was right.)
We tried a new coffee supplier: Community Coffee Company. It was part of my feeble attempt to stop using the giant A, to buy American, and to stay stocked up. They didn’t have a lot of choices, which made things easy. (There are many American coffee supply companies; no need to use the big A or drive down the hill.)
A friend (Hi CK!) told me her favorite tea is Rooibus. Excuse me? It is pronounced “ROY-buss”, it is herbal (no caffeine), and it is hard for me to find any discernible flavor, so I like the version with vanilla from Celestial Seasonings, which is described here: Rooibus (they don’t offer it any more!)
I bought a huge pair of overalls (made in China, sigh) and converted them to a jumper! (Phooey, bought them from the big A).
Eggs are “only” $3/dozen (fall down laughing) at Costco. My neighbor has kindly brought some to me for that bargain price.
Gas was “only” $4.13/gallon at a Sinclair station in Tulare. I don’t make it a habit of driving 45 miles to save money on gas, but I certainly don’t pass up a good price when it appears.
Occasionally tightening the screws on a roof of heavy gauge metal is a good plan if you like to keep your roof intact and attached. Three of our neighbors plus our church lost pieces of roofing in February storms.

Pippin isn’t too interested in learning anything other than how to sneak into the house, shove me out of this chair, and spend as much time as possible near the woodstove.

Three Rivers Weather Report

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Several friends asked if we got snow last week. We hadn’t on Friday when I sent out a newsletter stating no snow.

Then, it snowed on Friday night and Saturday morning.

Not very much (we are at 1000′), but it stayed cold all day so the parts that weren’t dissolved by rain stayed around.

Pippin wasn’t interested in being an outdoor cat on Saturday.

On Sunday, snow was still visible on the foothills around our house.

Because it was a little bit sunny, we took a short walk. All the little drainages were flowing.

I was thinking about flowers and cold: flowers are kept in refrigerators at florist shops, so this can’t be too bad. These daffodils will probably bounce back.

The rosemary is certainly flourishing.

More snow and rain is coming.

Don’t you just love wet winters in California??

Three Rivers

Writing, Editing, Publishing, Chapter Four

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. . .Selling

Selling is the most difficult part of writing a book. There are entire blogs and websites devoted to this topic, and it is as individual as the stories and the authors. I have no answers, no tricks, no proven method. A friend told me (in reference to The Cabins of Wilsonia) “The worn spot in the sink was made drip by drip by drip”.

Here is a list of You Cans:

Ask some place to host a book signing, such as a local book shop or gift shop or museum or gallery.
Host your own book signing at your house or a friend’s house or your church or your service club.
Use the Book of Faces or other (anti)social media.
Send a press release to your local paper (if there is one).
Keep books with you at all times.
Write a newsletter about the book and send it to everyone you know.
Send emails to everyone you know.
Give a book every time someone asks for a donation to a fundraiser.
Look for local businesses to sell the book.
Pay your publisher to list the book on their site.
Pay the publisher to list the book on that big online store.
Start a blog and do all the publicity ideas above to get the word out.

There are many other ways to sell, but this is enough for now.

Indeed. I believe our Reading Rabbit has expired from exhaustion.

self-publishing

Writing, Editing, Publishing, Chapter Three

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As promised yesterday, today we continue The List of tasks in writing a book. (This ought to be numbers 15-29, but I can’t get the blog to obey me.)

Today’s list begins with finding someone to write the foreword. IT IS NOT A “FORWARD”. Got that? One of the quickest ways to tell if a book is self-published by someone without experience (or money to hire experience) is if their word at the front of the book (FOREWORD) is self-written and is titled “Forward”. This is what my old friend Jennifer referred to as “loving hands at home”, and it was not a compliment.

Shall we proceed?

Find someone to write the foreword (optional).
Write a conclusion or an afterword (optional).
Decide who to dedicate the book to (optional).
Decide what type of publisher you need: full service, printing only, or a choose-your-own combination of services.
Decide if you want hardcover, softcover, e-book, Print-On-Demand, or a combination.
Hire a formatter (or use the publisher’s formatter).
Proofread again.
Find an indexer (if your book would be enhanced by an index).
Proofread the index.
Send the index to the formatter to add to the book.
Get the cover designed.
Buy an ISBN and a bar code (unless you choose that service from the publishing company).
Decide how many books you want.
Keep writing lots of checks.
FINALLY, when you have the book in hand, start the hardest part which is. . .