Showing. Selling. Shipping. Oh my.

 

It’s been a busy few weeks. Since I love to be busy, I’m happy. There’s a lot to do, as an artist, to get ready to show and sell my work. If you’re an artist, you know what it’s like. If you’re not, let me give you a little peek behind the curtain. 

Before I started showing my work over 20 years ago, I had no idea who, what, where and how to get my work out there. I just knew I had to make things. I painted, sculpted, carved and pounded. I went to galleries to see what ‘real’ artists did and what a gallery show looked like.

But it didn’t show me everything. 

Showing. 

My first gallery shows involved sending out packets to galleries around town. The mailed packet included: a letter of interest, a resume and slides of my work. Things have changed a lot since then, obviously. 

Social media and websites now provide all of the above and include a way for anyone to fill their cart with your art. I’m continually learning how to use these tools better to show and sell my art. 

But the one type of art sales I’ve never done is an outdoor art fair. Why? I admit, it’s intimidating.  Like Oz behind the curtain, galleries and online give me a way to be there without always being there. But outdoor art fairs put me and my work front and center, while people stroll by. Some just keep walking. And, luckily, some stop and talk and buy. 

Selling.

Putting together my work for my first outdoor fair was overwhelming. I needed a table, chairs, display cloth, shelves and a sign. I had to figure out how to display my work, inventory it, pack it up, unpack it at the show. Then, I had to sit behind the table and hope people would show up and hopefully, buy my work. 

Luckily, it all worked out great. My table didn’t fall over. My work looked nice. People did stop and look and buy. I got comfortable explaining how each piece was made. 

Shipping. 

Another unknown for me was how to wrap, box, label and ship my work that sold online. It made me very nervous. What if it broke? What if it went to the wrong place? What if I screwed up the address?

Really, the biggest shipping issue is the price. Especially now, with inflation and rising gas prices, shipping costs have skyrocketed. Even if the online store I use calculates shipping for me, I’ve lost money. Which is why I don’t do free shipping. Ceramics are heavy, require a lot of protective packaging which takes time and costs money. 

I love the work I do. 

I love it when other people love it too. 

I give thanks I get to do it everyday. 

Spring Hope

 

I always look forward to Easter time. To me, it’s the ultimate celebration of spring. 

The colored eggs.  And bright tulips flowering. 

And, of course, the chocolate bunnies. 

Hoping for home. 

This year, I don’t get to celebrate in my own home. Because of the water damage from a failed water valve, it’s still in the process of reconstruction. I’ve had weeks of progress with new cabinets and painting. 

But this week, the progress slowed. The only thing done was the template for the countertops. While I’m excited to see them installed, I will have to wait. And hope it will be soon. 

Creating anyway. 

While I wait, I’ve been working on a new website. I’ve designed and re-designed my Wordpress website several times. And while I like the look of the platform, I want a website that is faster, easier and more customer friendly. I want a combination of the ease of Etsy with the design features of a website. 

I tried Wix. But it just didn’t work even with my new IPad Pro. Many other ceramic artists use Squarespace, so I’m giving it a try. So far, it’s touch and go. What I’m finding out is that no matter what web platform you use, there’s a learning curve. Add to that being in a situation with slow Wi-Fi, it’s an even steeper climb uphill.

So just like walking uphill, the only thing I can do is take it one step at a time. One page of my website designed. One product uploaded. One section of my house reconstructed. 

And that’s all I can do right now. 

And I feel hope spring forward with every small step. 

And thanks to my daughter, I still got to dye colored eggs!

Virtual Shows: The New Normal

It’s the COVID Anniversary. Cue the single finger salute, please. Right? Let’s all take a blissful step back in time to pre-COVID. Remember that time?

A year ago, I went out to lunch with a friend at an indoor restaurant. Shopped for a new pair of slippers(who knew they would become my primary footwear for the next year). Went to a large group meeting where I talked, smiled, laughed, hugged friends and got information about the upcoming big group show. 

Ghosts of the past?

Will big group shows and open studio tours and gallery art walks ever come back? There is an energy in being part of a large group of people with a creative focus. Setting up the show’s group booth and gallery was such a satisfying task. 

As an artist working alone in my own studio, I love my quiet creative space. But throughout the year, I looked forward to working alongside other artists, setting up displays, helping with stocking, working the cash register and wrapping. Did I get tired and overwhelmed at times? Sure. Did I want to do the event again? You bet. But COVID stopped it all. 

Virtual art sales.  

I’ve always had an online presence with a professional website and I’ve been using social media for years. But COVID has changed and intensified the whole online landscape.

While I used to spend time pricing and packing my work for a gallery or show, now I upload my work for my Etsy shop or an upcoming Virtual Show. It might seem the same, but it’s not. Yes, I built my own website on WordPress and updated it from time to time. I’ve got an Etsy shop. While online marketing used to be in addition to shows, it’s now THE show. 

This week, a large part of my studio time was spent shopping the best online options for my work: domain, web hosting and template costs. Should I give up Etsy and go to Big Cartel? Should I stay with Go Daddy and WordPress or go to Squarespace? Can I get the changes made in time for the Virtual Show?

Whew. One step at a time. I took new photos for the Virtual Show.  I found a new website platform. But best of all, I found time to get my hands dirty doing my most favorite thing pre and post COVID: throw and build some clay cups, bowls and little plates. 

Let me add hope. That the new normal can mix with the old normal. That virtual can mix and mingle and thrive with the actual.  

Confessions of a Technophobe.

I admit: I'm technophobic. When it comes time to push that post, upload, or share button, I cringe and expect it to all crash. I know it sounds crazy because I've had a blog, Facebook page, Instagram and website for almost a decade but I still fear the worst. 

I'm terrified of websites. In my nightmare, I push the button and KABLAM, my site turns black and my computer blows up into bits all around the room. I lose everything, my blog, my passwords, my photos, all of my writing. Everything.  

Time to jump off the website building.

I've had a website, thanks to my talented son, for over 10 years. He's had computer graphic design classes and knows how to use Adobe like a pro. My websites have always looked amazing and I'm very grateful. But now he's busy with work, his daughter and studying for his MBA. 

So it's time for me to figure this out and I'm terrified and it's not the first time. I bought a website builder 3 years ago that was advertised as easy, quick and simple with drag and drop templates. If I could design my blog on blogspot with easy templates, surely I could do this website builder, right? Wrong.  It was awful. Nothing worked as advertised and the money back guarantee only meant a guarantee I'd never get my money back. 

My son, once again, came to my rescue. But, this time, I am on my own. 

I searched the web for easy website builders that would allow me to use my own domain name that I've had for 10 years. Just in case you are as in the dark as I was about all those 'free' website builders out there, let me shine some light for you here. They are NOT FREE. 

They do offer free template designs. But you have to pay them for a domain name and hosting and also in some cases, carry pop up ads on your site. I also found out that you don't own your own content, so if they decide to close down, you lose everything you put into and on your site. 

How to conquer computer terror? Sneak up on it.

I froze for quite a few weeks but in the end, I had to have a new website. Period. I was tired of spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. I wanted to feel in control of my online content, it was time to learn to control my technophobia. 

After much surfing, which is code for procrastination, I chose Wordpress. I read through the start guide, which promised a website in an hour. Ha. Maybe for non-technophobes. The only way I could approach this project was to go very slowly like a teenager learning to drive. 

Go. Stop. Go. Stop. Go.

First, I got out my trusty pen and notebook and outlined all the elements I wanted on my site. I outlined the pages I wanted. Created an album of photos I'd use. Wrote my copy. That's my comfort zone - writing on paper. I had my notebook beside me as my security blanket when I finally opened up my Wordpress page and every time I worked on the site.

While my husband watched golf, which I find relaxing, I sat down and worked on it online for maybe 2 hours. Then I took 2 days or more off. I'd do another page or two. Take more days off. Carefully very carefully, I'd click on create a menu. Take 2 weeks off. Edit a page or two. Take more days off. In between, I'd visit it just to make sure it hadn't blown up, crashed or disappeared. It didn't.

Today, my website: susangt.com is UP!

Yes, it took me 30 days to get my website designed, uploaded and running. I had to push that UPLOAD button many, many times and each time, it got a little easier. The panic slowly subsided and morphed into accomplishment. But not confidence, not yet. 

Hello, my name is Susan and I'm a technophobe. 

Because I'm still holding my breath and wondering if I can wrap it in bubble wrap. Just in case.