Andrew Wyeth Quote

“I dream a lot. I do more painting when I’m not painting. It’s in the subconscious.” Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth has always been a favorite. Love his quote, it's so true. I am lying on the couch Googling and sketching. I can feel some different artwork trying to find its way out.

My Sister's a Natural

Last week was wonderful. My sister Virginia came to visit and she'd kindly sit with me in my studio each morning and we'd sip coffee and talk. I asked her if she'd like to play with clay, and people can I tell you... she's a natural. She made three bowls and a bird. I even had the poor girl glazing (did you know I HATE glazing?) Yes... I do. So roped her into it.

UPS Gone Wrong

I shipped a piece last week for a customer in South Carolina. She told me that UPS sent her a message saying "they discarded the parcel" It seems there was an accident and the UPS truck caught on fire. She the images I found online because somewhere in that mess is my parcel. Sadness.

Opening of Beasties at Pence Gallery, Davis, CA

If you're near Davis, CA please go by the Pence Gallery and visit my kids.  The show runs from December 5 - 29, 2013. If you happen to go please send a photo or two since I couldn't make it to the opening.

I will be presenting a lecture titled Memories in Hand Built Clay at the ART, WOMEN, AND CULTURE SALON at the ARMORY ART CENTER. All about my art and influences, lots of pictures of art from back in the day up to now. If you're in South Florida please come by
1700 Parker Avenue, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17TH, 2013
6:30 - 8:30 PM - $10. Can't make it? They'll be recording it and the video will be available online. Watch for details.

Christmas Commerce

My latest guest blog is up at CreateMixedMedia.com. Are you an artist who wants to boost online sales? Follow my 5 tips to increase traffic on your Etsy shop. Even if you don't have a lot of inventory you can still make sales. If they can be any use please use the images accompanying this blog entry on your Etsy shop. Merry Christmas and good luck!

Holiday Ornaments

While cleaning up my studio I thought why leave these ornaments on my table? Go put them on my tree. So I did. They look quite happy on the tree during the holidays and they should not be packed away with Christmas decor once the holidays end. Nope, put a nail in the wall so they can hang around all year long.

December Calendar Page

Can you believe it's December? (me neither) Well it's December 1st and that means I had to post my calendar page. Feel free to download  for personal use. I hope you enjoy the image, my sculptures look lost in the woods. God, I love Photoshop.

Online Museum Visit

A former student sent me this article found at The Slate.
It seems while Cooper -Hewitt the Smithsonian's Design museum based in NYC is closed they've moved their collection online, definitely worth a visit. The fun part, you can browse their art collection by color. Check it out.

Sale on my Etsy Shop

I finally got off my lazy butt and listed a few new/old pieces and marked down the prices by A LOT. Yes, in case you didn't know I paint too. I should put some of my horse paintings up there. What can I say I just need to make some space.

Latest Create Mixed Media Entry: Being Thankful

Check out my latest blog entry over at Create Mixed Media.com. It's all about being thankful and let me say that I am so very grateful to those of you who like my art. Please feel free to print the thank you tags accompanying this blog and gift them to somebody you want to thank.

Welcome November!

For the past couple of weeks I've really been having fun Photoshopping my sculptures into lots of different vacation photos.  Feel free to download this image and use it as your desktop calendar for the month of November. I am going to challenge myself to make a new one for each month. I hope you enjoy it and if you do come on back in December for the next calendar.

To download a nice high res version click here.

Halloween Treats

I sculpted earlier and have two pieces approximately 30 inches tall and then Jody and I sat on the front porch drinking martinis. Life is good.

Happy Halloween

Trick or Treat and Happy Halloween.

Holiday Ornaments

It's beginning to look a lot like a zoo in my studio. Okay, the studio usually  resembles a barn but today there is a menagerie in there. Sorry the images are so bad, but these little babies are only about 4 - 5 inches tall and they're going to be ornaments. Or something sort of resembling ornaments. They'll hang from hooks or ribbons from their little muddy heads. You know I will be posting images once they're glazed and out of the kiln.

New Ouija Pieces

If you know me you'll also know I LOVE when October rolls around. Why you might ask? All the spooky movies on television, the change in the weather, and clear blue skies. I've had a few people ask for more Ouija board figures and here are 3.

Arts to Market Article: Discover the World of Doll Art

Thought I'd share an article Discover the World of Doll Art found at Arts to Market's website. Yours truly gets a mention. And thank you to Barbara Campbell for a lovely article.

Values.com, Pass It On

I know, this is not like me but I saw the most beautiful ad on the television. It was sponsored by Values.com.  The site is packed with lovely quotes and ideas. You can even make your own Billboard to promote Values. Pass it on.

New Ceramic Sculptures

Another day another opened kiln. Here are a few new babies fresh out of the kiln. These busts are comparable to jumbo salt and peppers that I make. They're about 15-20 inches high. Going to make more with more torso to them today.

Copyright Infringement

Please visit my latest article on the Create Mixed Media Web Site, or read it here.

Seriously, can we talk about jerks? And you know whom I am talking about; it’s those people who want to relieve you of your hard earned money and artwork. I recall 3 times in my life when professionally I have dealt with totally dishonest people. The first experience happened way back when I was 18 years old.

A person asked me to create illustrations for a motorcycle-coloring book. Long story short, after I completed a series of drawings for them they told me they weren’t going to use my artwork. A year later I found a coloring book with my illustrations. It was my word against theirs. The second time an art gallery I dealt with was notifying artists that their art had been broken at the gallery and we were out our money. It so happened this gallery pulled this stunt on a very prestigious glass artist. When the prestigious glass artist’s dealer asked for the broken shards it was revealed that the gallery owner was selling work, and pocketing the money all for herself. The third time was when a gallery found me online and asked if they could sell my work. I thought I did my homework, Googling the gallery, the proprietor, and artists who were represented by the gallery. I even went so far as to contact artists who showed at the gallery to inquire if they were happy with their experience. Long story short,

getting money out of this person was on par with getting a root canal. I got a lot of run around and when I requested that my unsold art be returned, all of the sudden the work had just sold and they would send a check. Months pass, no check, I complained sent an invoice and finally a check was sent, which bounced. Another invoice was sent and threats were made, I received a money order for the amount due including bank fees for the bad check. In the scope of life it’s not a huge disaster but still a learning opportunity.

How does an artist protect himself or herself from dishonest people? Those rip off merchants who would rather rob you of your intellectual property than use their own. Here are some pointers:


1. If you do send work to a person you do not know you must be prepared for the possibility of not seeing money and consider it a donation. Do your homework. Do not be afraid to contact other artists who show at that space and ask if they would recommend that gallery. You could agree to send a couple of pieces which you are paid wholesale pricing (50% of the msrp) in advance and then go from there. Be reasonable, if you are selling paintings for $20,000 you’re gallery director is most likely going to say no to half up front. They’re in business to make money too.

2. Get everything in writing. Create contracts and or invoices send them to your clients. I love email because it creates a paper trail where I can embed and attach invoices. Even if you forget the fine details of a conversation you can easily reread an old email to jostle your memory. Volunteer Lawyers for the arts

3. Sometimes you have to take the bad with the good. If you don’t put images on the internet how will anyone know who you are? On the other hand if you put crystal clear large-scale images on your blog, don’t be surprised if somebody uses them. If you don’t want to tempt thieves you might consider posting low-resolution images. Scale images down to approximately 800 pixels wide at 72 ppi (pixels per inch) and the fine detail will be lost. You should consider using a copyright symbol © on your website as a reminder that your artwork is protected. For more information on copyrighting artwork visit the U. S. Copyright website. US Copyright Office.

 4. You might consider joining a professional arts organization that offers assistance to artists who need legal help such as the Artists Rights Society or the Graphic Artists Guild or if you require legal advice check out the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and see if they can help. Artists Rights Society


5. And finally, your intellectual property is yours. Should you discover that a person has robbed your artwork send the offender an invoice for usage. Graphic Artist's Guild You might want to read the article Avoiding Copyright Infringement: When Has an Artist Infringed by Mark Monlux found at the Graphic Artists Guild’s website. Good and bad things happen to artists, sometimes we win best in show and then other times it may feel as if we’ve won the booby prize for bad decisions. Share your experiences on your blog, who knows your words may protect a fellow artist from going through the same hard lessons you’ve learned.

Helpful Links: Artists Rights Society: http://www.arsny.com/basics.html What is Intellectual Property: http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/index.html

Graphic Artists Guild: An article by Mark Monlux that explains what to do if you find someone has infringed your rights: https://www.graphicartistsguild.org/tools_resources/artwork-infringement

(Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts) has a hotline staffed by law students and lawyers who can answer your legal questions. http://www.vlany.org/legalservices/artlawline.php -

See more at: http://www.createmixedmedia.com/blogs/copyright-infringement-a-guest-post-by-victoria-rose-martin#sthash.FR2IPIMd.dpuf