2012, January Notes

2012 has had its moments so far, like the mouse in the house weekend, and this month has brought about change to our lives. There is a link is to Buddy's chattings on the coolest new web site, Pet Chatty- it helps pets chat and link and share with other pets where the pets have a voice. Seriously way cool.

Also found another one, Ravelry.com, for knitters and crocheters. A fun journal into serious creativity.

Then try www.LVCAA.com, this is a personal favorite as I am doing the PR, logo design and Denise and her family are friends who just started their first business.

Best news I am working nearby designing a new brand look for a common product line, pest control. The package is very kick ass in it's branding.

So that's what's happening while tying up the end of the first month of year Armageddon. We are holding the world together in my home, how you doing?

A Tenth Anniversary Is All About The Memories

(An Essay Competition: On the 10th Anniversary of 9/11): My Essay: (That's me - the photo on the right - getting my first bike 1959)

I have been thinking about this date as I remember where I was, “Who doesn’t,” the voice in my head always comments when I think this.

The strongest memory is being in the room of our last home together as a family. I was married then and deciding the fate of my life, my children’s lives and my husband’s future as well as planning my own. I have friends who still live there; they lived this horrible moment when life forced the kindness in their hearts to be hero’s to strangers, and I was in touch with them so spiritually that day, they are who my family is still today.

I remember being made aware I live in a place of the world where advantage is a commonplace item and privilege is often forgotten during the most normal day-to-day experiences we all have. Life for some of us is less of a struggle than other places. However the event, which occurred on 9-11-01, brought to mind all of these things, these words, and these changes in the course of my day to day as I stood there in our bedroom, watched over and over the replay and realized if I get one chance at this living and this breathing experience, I needed to make a change and change I did.

Ten years later I still remain the person I was, a not looking back person with regrets, I am still a forward believer in change will bring better to all; however change does bring fallout and my heart still swells under the realization of how small our loss was compared to the one faced by other parts of the world. This event remains big to the children and families who have a one on one path with this event. I send my love and prayers of healing to them, their families and to all effected directly and indirectly, it was a great loss and still a healing wound.

My children are now young adults, they are being readied to do what I did so many years ago when I was their ages, and so, I do find myself reflecting in this way, compare and contrast of then and now. I imagine the families who are bound together by this event and then I remember visiting the World Trade Center when I lived there (1977-88); the memory of the view, not once but twice, is breathtaking among other memories I have of living in NYC when I did. I also remember visiting the World Trade Center in 2007 when I went there with my daughter for a musical contest she won in NJ, our weekend visit with a long-term gal pal, her family and these more present day memories. The time between my visits from LA to NY had been long, much had happened since I had left (1987-88) and this weekend, when my daughter and I were there we walked from 72nd and Broadway to Greenwich Village and taxied or subwayed back, trivial details are escaping me now. But my daughter and I visited the World Trade Center and said our prayers to those buried here. It is now a somber place, a place of prayer and a place of honor. You can feel the bravery; it gave me chills just to think about all of this when we were there. To all and everyone, thank you for the memories, while some are now lost and all I have are memories of their lives, you are still in my heart and your bravery in living this lifetime, sharing some of it with me, I return to you the same with love.

Art for the sake of Self Promotion

So be it, to make every attempt to promote my own work and that of other Artists, I have added a link to my blog on the hopes they will add me to theirs!

Artists need each other. I need them. We need each other. Click the link in the title to see their web site - I haven't figured out how to make it part of the page yet, but I will, I am tenacious you know, like a dog sitting by your feet just waiting to be petted.

Self Promotion of the Art Species...a vulnerable part of the human race, where rejection and deception seem to undermine the ways of creation. Some where else in this post is another link to my online portfolio...ah-h-h-h gaining knowledge one keystroke at a time

The Value of your Work in Today's Marketplace

To answer the question when asked in a professional way, "What are your salary expectations?” I find it is best to dodge this question because to you price your "value" too high they will not consider you and to price your value about yourself too low, well, their impression is you don't think much of your work. Kind of like the metaphor of hitting it out of the ball park or never getting out of the car in the parking lot to see the game. Most people under value their worth. Read the book "The Instant Millionaire", it addresses this right off the top at the beginning of the book. It is a short read, written as a parable and well worth the time to understand how to see your own value as you present it to the world.

To answer the question, “How do I price my personal products I create for sale?” do research and use this as your guide, include Ebay, Amazon and personal websites in your research. Look at what others are using as a pricing tool on their web sites. I recently found myself out of work in April of this year. This is my biggest fear however because I am not daunted by my fears, I looked at this as an opportunity to re-invent myself yet once again. I began to use part of my time to build my Etsy on line store (www.etsy.com/shop/buddyschild) to bolster my lack of finances. I started selling some vintage costume jewelry and needed to gain insight on the value of these pieces. I went to stores and asked the owners of these shops to help me give a value when they did not express interest in purchasing them themselves. Then I needed to understand how billing and shipping costs impact my profits. It helps to do an Excel sheet with calculations built into the sheet so when you reach the last column you see what your profit really is. It is also important when selling your own stuff to make sure you add state sales tax because the states are cracking down on sellers who do not pay sales tax on private sales and there are penalties when caught. Lack of knowledge is not an excuse when States come to collect what they feel is their due.

I price my work on two issues and while the first is an intuitive feeling the other is how well known am I. Being better known in the art community allows you to ask for a higher price. Lesser known means charging a lesser price. Also keep in mind people today want to find bargains. Don’t lower your prices just to satisfy the need of knowing someone purchased your fine art. The artist has an artistic soul, which is generally the most vulnerable part of the human condition and the desire to feel validated by your art hits home on this feeling every time we sell or don’t sell something, at least it is for me. It can crush lesser artists and cause them to never reach their potential.

Research is every thing. Knowing what the market can bear is also important. When it comes to selling an artistic creation, you are no longer an artist you are a businessperson and art never enters the conversation. That’s why there are agents, galleries and representatives for artists, because honestly, it is easier to haggle with a business person than an emotional artist who feels one set of values and gets another in return for their efforts!

"How do you price your work?" Good question.

Being someone who is currently looking for work and re-inventing my life while job hunting, I am faced with this from two sides of the coin, what is my worth in the open job market and what are the pieces I am selling on my on-line store worth to others?

Buddyschild on Etsy

Hello friends,

Recently I have seen more and more people linking to the products on my Etsy store and I just wanted to take this moment to give a big hug of gratitude to everyone.

I have worked hard to create unique items, everyday and some not so everyday type of fun things for people and children alike to enjoy.

The most recent one is a new product I created with my very good friend Kandice; it is called "The Box" and comes with an Art Journal companion. This make-it-yourself kit is perfect for therapists to help their clients in crisis.

I have to run now, but I will come back later to talk more about it. It is my newest and most exciting project because it really can help those who are in crisis and can't talk about the traumatic event they have experienced in words, but can through pictures; it comes complete with instructions, crayons and a glue stick.

Book, "Clarence the Cloud that Cared" is accepted

I am very excited! My daughter told me about this site (Kickstarter.com) that aid people to find funding for their projects. Today I learned my book, which is being illustrated by my cousin, has been accepted by Kick Starter to publish our proposal to solicit funding to get it published. So come back real soon as I will be posting to Kick Starter the proposal to receive donations to help us self publish the book. BIG THANKS to the Kick Starter Team for accepting our initial proposal to post our hopes to see this published. YEAH!!!!

Remembering Mark Voland

My long term friend, lover and life partner died of a heart attack recently and my days are filled with our memories.

The steps I take in my day to day are now without him, something that was 41 years strong. We were able to spend the last eight years together, because even with our shift in our day to day, we were always closest to each other.

In the words of Bobby Darin:

Somewhere beyond the sea
somewhere waiting for me
my lover stands on golden sands
and watches the ships that go sailin'

Good-bye old friend, see you on the other side,

Jenny