Post show: Index: Hiatus: Love

This will be a mixed bag post as I have a lot of ground to cover.

First of all thanks again to everyone in Little Rock, Arkansas who came out last Friday night to view my exhibition Fire and Noise. I really enjoyed speaking with everyone there and I was extremely honored by my friends who drove several hours to attend the opening. Fire and Noise will be up until March 7th so please, if you are in Little Rock, Arkansas or are planning to visit, stop by the River Market ArtSpace and check out the show. Gallery hours are Tuesday- Saturday 10am-5pm. Visit www.rivermarketartspace.com for more information. Here is a slide show of the exhibition along with photographs of the opening itself. Enjoy.

For all you locals out there (Northwest Arkansas). I am happy to announce I will be having a solo exhibition at the DDP gallery in March! I will be showing 15 pieces never seen before in the region, including two large diptychs. The exhibition is entitled Selective Evidence and the opening reception will be held Thursday March 5th from 5-8pm and the show will run for 3 weeks. My birthday is the day after the reception- so come on out, view my work and celebrate with me. To preview Selective Evidence visit my website and click on the work tab and then the DDP Gallery. It has been a while since I have shown any work in town so I am very excited to share these works with you and especially in the lovely DDP gallery.

The next topic I want to discuss is this blog. When I started this weekly studio blog April 20, 2007 (I can't believe I have maintained this for that long!!). I wanted to share a little about me but mostly how to promote, market and get your art seen in the world. I was encouraged to start this blog as way of organizing my thoughts on what had worked for me and what I knew would work for others. I remember feeling fearful of putting myself out there as any type of expert or mentor. I also remember receiving very few comments and having few regular readers when I first started. Back then, I was mostly writing it for myself with the idea that I would then condense some of this material into future lectures or workshops for other artists. That hasn't happened yet but I am hopeful it will at some point. Then the blog took on other roles as well; it became a promotion tool for my own work as well as other artists I knew and admired. Once readers found my blog and I started cross promoting it on other networking sites it really came alive (those paper painting give-aways didn't hurt either!) This studio blog has changed my life in many ways, taught me a lot about myself and improved my writing skills. Just the act of having this weekly post gives me a sense of stability and responsibility to you the reader. It also connected me to a wonderful community of artists and art lovers all over the world. For this I am extremely grateful. At the same time, I see my readership dwindling, as are comments so I wonder if this blog has served it's purpose? I don't know what more to tell you in order to help, guide, or inspire you. I feel like I have covered the basics of "how to be an artist 101." I added my own personal feelings and struggles throughout, my personal inspirations, hopes and fears, and lots of paintings. Perhaps, the blog just needs another brief hiatus. Or perhaps you have questions that have not been answered, or suggestions for a new direction the studio blog could take. Feel free to email me or leave me a comment below regarding this. I am honored for all the feedback and positive energy you have given me over the years.

Today I also thought it might useful to index some of the most helpful blog posts from my archives for those just starting out or continuing on this path of being an artist. Here are 16 helpful posts- think of it as the super condensed version of the studio blog. You can bookmark this post for easy access to my most practical advice. I wish you all nothing but success and perseverance with your art.

I called myself an artist
Free Publicity and the Press Release
Oh No! It's the post show blues
Hello: My Name is...( how to act at your art show)
Creating Inventory 101
15 minutes(motivation)
Creating a free web presence
Beware the Vanity Gallery
Bravery and the Art of being an artist
Rejection: Surrender into this ocean
Flow along with the tide ( our works origins and how it changes) My favorite blog post ever.
Nuts and Bolts: How to get your work in a gallery ( if you only read one post- this is the one)
Trusting Yourself Enough To Buy Art
Nuts and Bolts: Let's get you an exhibition ( a little different than gallery representation)
Do you still want this job? (the pros and cons of the profession)
Tortured Artist Myth or Reality

In other news, I know I have been neglecting my Etsy shop while working on Fire and Noise and I look forward to taking some time to create new small works on paper and filling the shop with these pieces. I love being able to create affordable, original art for all, as well as pay some of my bills. Please keep checking back at artmaven.

So, there you have it. Fire and Noise is on display, Selective Evidence will be up next month at the DDP, and I am leaving you with 16 key posts to hopefully motivate and inspire, and with more etsy paintings on the way. So, with that there is only one thing to do but say thank you for all your support, friendship, love, and comments and then end with a PAPER PAINTING GIVE AWAY. That's right!!! Leave me a comment between today and next Thursday at Midnight. I will randomly pick 5 lucky readers to each receive a small paper painting. I will post the winners names next week (even though there won't be a formal blog.) GOOD LUCK!

I love you all and thank you for the memories
(you know I will be back sooner or later- I always am...)

all content on my blog is copyright Megan Chapman 2007-2009 unless specified otherwise.

My heart is golden and so is yours.

If you are new to this blog please refer to my post, May our worlds collide for any background information you may need to make sense of the events that will be expressed in the following post.

I had a friend named Will Boyd, he was really sick, his heart was failing and he was in medical debt. In October I heard about all of this and I felt compelled to make a difference in a small way, just on my own. I decided I could help by donating 20% of the proceeds from my art sales through my Etsy shop to his health care fund. I wanted to give small amounts of $5.00 and $8.00 dollars over the course of the month; that was my simple plan.

I also happen to have an amazing group of friends. Friends in my local community and from MySpace and Facebook. Friends from around the country and around the globe.These friends were very moved by my blog post regarding Will. They were also moved by my Facebook and MySpace bulletins and memos asking for help on his behalf. They rose to the challenge and put skepticism and doubt aside and gladly offered their support and help. They donated column inches in their blogs to promote my Etsy shop and my donation goals for Will's cause.They donated their own paintings, giving either all or part of the proceeds to his health care fund. My friends told their friends, through additional blogs and bulletins. My friends also held Will in their thoughts and prayers with love and concern. These friends bought my works from my Etsy shop during the month of October in order to help Will. Just through this, I/we raised $245 in October which I then donated to help offset Will's medical debts.

I think we felt connected, helpful, and empowered. We were happy to be a part of a grass roots movement to take care of one of our own. We were working under the concepts of idealism, hope, and trust.

Well, last night I received an email that shook me to my core. An email that for a moment made me doubt my judgement and doubt my good nature. Unfortunately, my friend Will Boyd exaggerated his health issues. His heart was not about to fail. He now claims to have Bi-polar disorder and things just spiraled out of control. You can read his apology here at the website. http://loveisone.org/

So, our worlds collided and got bigger and bigger, and unfortunately our trust was broken and our hearts were abused and I am sorry I dragged you all into this mess. However, I did get a refund of the $245 dollars that I donated to Will's health care fund, as well as a personal apology email from Will. I am in the process of returning any money that was given to me from other artists from their sales to benefit Will's cause. The remaining money that I had donated as a result of my Etsy sales for the month of October will now be donated to the Humane Society of the United States. So that we can all still feel good about our actions in October. If you bought a painting from me through my Etsy shop in October I thank you sincerely, your heart is big and I appreciate your willingness to give to a stranger and I hope you are enjoying my art. Know that your 20% has now been given to the Humane Society "to stop animal cruelty and suffering wherever it occurs" and I hope you feel good about your donation.

We have big hearts, and I don't regret that. I hope you don't either.
I hope you know how proud I am to be a part of such a wonderful community of friends and artists. Your caring and generosity inspired me in October and continues to do so. I won't let anyone take that away from me. I hope you won't either.

Thank you for your understanding.
Love,
Megan
*****************************

For those who don't know, my Etsy store has been fully restocked with new small works just in time for the holidays and I am offering free shipping through the 7th of December. Please visit my shop, Art Maven. www.artmaven.etsy.com

pictured above : The Wheat Fields
6x9" Mixed media on paper $25.00
www.artmaven.etsy.com