It’s a short intimate video intended to give you a sense of Michael Wright the person as he shares personal stories  about his life and his evolution as an artist, surviving  the Korean War and what we would label “PTSD” in today’s war veteran terms; his love for New York City’s jazz music culture of the 50’s; and the honor of working with the great artist Wilhem deKooning as his assistant.

Over the past several months I’ve studied Maria Andros’ Video Conversion Formula ( VCF ), and Ruth Sherman’s Video Charisma video programs.  It wasn’t until I purchased my MacBookPro that I felt comfortable tackling my first video using iMovie and  putting the immense amount of material they both provide to use bit by bit.  If you’re interested in video for business or personal use, I highly recommend both of these amazing women to you:

Maria Andros: Video Conversion Formula

www.videoconversionformula.com

Ruth Sherman: Video Charisma

www.videocharisma.com

The artists were interviewed and taped  using a FLIP HD camera or a Kodak Zi8 camera.  Your comments and suggestions on how to improve on future videos are greatly welcomed.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been studying with MaryEllen Tribby and Ryan Deiss’  “Inbox Empire” program to produce an inbox magazine I’ve titled iArtGraze. It’s offered as a free subscription to ArtGraze Members and those who join our mailing list this year.  I’m currently forming my panel of experts who will contribute valuable information to the magazine.  Topics will include art law, studio safety, social media for interior design professionals, etc.  Subscribers will see iArtGraze every Wednesday in their inboxes.

We promise that it will be a quick read and worthy of being saved to a folder.

I heard about a woman living in my town, Shreveport,  who wrote ” The Dallas Doctor’s Diet”. She held small group meetings in her home and I was ready to take action.  I joined her group and lost the 25 lbs that seemed to resist other efforts. What I loved, yes LOVED  was that Sandra Breithup would serve SNICKERS during the break !

Sandra taught us how we could continue to eat the things we enjoyed without guilt.  The catch…we could each have only one small bite that we held in our mouths for a minute or longer while closing our eyes and fully focusing on the textures, flavors and pleasure we received from our favorite treat.  What amazed me was that we experienced more satisfaction from that one tiny bite than we would have from eating a whole KING SIZED bar.

Another thing I love is art.  But like SNICKERS, loaded with rich ingredients, I find that a small “bite sized” painting can be just as rewarding to my senses as one that is giant in scale and costs far less in budgeted dollars ( guilt free ) , just as a bite of Snickers costs less in my daily allowance of calories.

When I fully focus on the colors, textures, line, composition, and most importantly, the physical/intellectual/emotional/spiritual content of even the smallest painting in my collection, it gives me great joy and will continue to bring joy to others.

TIP #1:   Leverage small objects such as colorful stones, eggs, flowers, feathers, etc  gathered from nature;  and small paintings as an easy way to decide on paint colors, fabrics, furniture finishes and surfaces for your home.

TIP #2:   Collect small works of art and arrange them so that they can grow  into a larger piece over time.  In that sense,”gaining weight” is a good thing. Each addition has its own story that’s a part of your evolving story.

TIP #3:   Select artwork in the early stages of the project rather than at the end.

TIP #4:   Eat your Snickers !

It’s the day before Christmas. I’m frantically trying to straighten the house before family and friends arrive. The dining room table is still covered with business papers, gifts, and gift wrapping supplies. Among the papers  I found this email sent in 2007 by my dear friend, Robert S. Case, whom I met while working at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Florida in the mid-70’s.

Bob must have been one of the first to catch on to the internet and sent many emails to his friends that were filled with wisdom and humor. This is one of his best. I don’t know if he was the  author, but regardless, it’s part of his legacy now. I’m passing it on as my Christmas gift to you.

EVERYBODY KNOWS,
You can’t be all things to all people.
You can’t do all things at once.
You can’t do all things equally well.
You can’t do all things better than everyone else.
Your humanity is showing just like everyone else’s

So,
You have to find out who you are, and be that.
You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths and use them.
You have to learn to not compete with others, because no one
else is in the contest of “being you”.

Then,
You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due.
And you’ll be a most vital mortal.

Believe,
That you are a wonderful, unique person.
That you are a once-in-all-history event.
That it’s more than a right, it’s your duty, to be who you are.
That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.
And you’ll be able to stay one up on what used to get you down.

I was fortunate to have been raised  in an American Sicilian Italian family on my mother’s side where the fragrance of freshly made bread wafted from my aunt (  “Mamma Mary” ) ’s well used oven.  I’ve heard that the immediate sense of sound and the memory of olfactory events are the last to leave the dying. Whether that’s true or not, I’m certain that Mamma Mary’s bread will be one of my final experiences on this earth.

So, again, what’s the tie-in to art?  Art is all about experiencing life, just as bread is metaphorically and physically connected to life.  Today, reward yourself with a big slice of all three - art, bread, and LIFE !

A common reference to  artists  represented by a gallery is that they are part of the gallery’s “stable of artists”. Many artists find this phrase disrespectful of their dignity as creative human beings.  After seeing  any one of the great  races  I think the term is one of honor.

A lifetime of preparation goes into races that last only minutes.  Sound familiar? Artists study, practice and prepare to create a work of art that may not take long in “real time” to execute, but manifest experiences that are timeless.

Who are you “out of “? Who are your influences as an artist…the masters and teachers along the way?  How do you take from them and “run with it” to discover your own rhythm, pace and mastery even if you “stumble at the start” ? Are you racing against others to bring notice to yourself or are you just out there giving it your best effort because that’s what you do ?

But age is not a factor when it comes to making a commitment to months of gestation, sacrifice and pain to bring an idea, dream, “spark” and passion to life.

NY Times’ Chief Art Critic and bestselling author, Michael Kimmelman, wrote that art provides us with clues on how to live our own lives more fully.

We hope you link with us as ArtGraze, LIVE online since February 13,2010,  grows into an international alliance of artists, galleries, architects and designers instrumental in bringing original art into homes, work places and public spaces here in the United States and throughout the world.

Visit  www.artgraze.com to see a sampling of work by our starting line-up of artists and share with us  ways in which art has influenced your life.

Pervasive among the majority of Santa Feans is a love of art. Where else can you find a well known celebrity taking an art class standing at his easle alongside a retired CEO of a large corporation who is standing next to a homeless man from a local shelter?  This is just one reason why I love every minute that I’m fortunate to live here.

I attended the Design Santa Fe Dialog and Luncheon for the first time in its six year history at the same time regretting that I missed all the others. The speakers included  Susan Szenasy, author of several books on design and a former teacher of design history and ethics at Parsons School of Design in NY.  She is the chief editor of Metropolis, the New York City based magazine of architecture, culture, and design. How fortunate her former students were to have a teacher who sparkles with such intelligence and passion. Susan’s questions to the panel were often focused on what they were doing to bring jobs back to America.

The second speaker and panelist was Rania Alomar, AIA, a young, beautiful,  brilliant , award winning architect ( and new mom ) who founded her own full service design and architecture practice, RA-DA.  Her approach to design gives full reign to creative solutions while respectful of her clients’ budgets.  Her  presentation exemplified fresh, artistic translations of fabric into architecture.

The third speaker, Mary Murphy, director of  Maharam Design Studio’s textile collection brings exciting new fabrics to market.  Maharam is employing US mills to produce their rich fabrics at prices ranging from $20 per yard to $200 per yard.

The fourth and final speaker was Michael McCoy. Michael designed the “Bulldog” chair for Knoll which has sold in the millions. He recently designed the amazing new ” Horizon LED Light” for Humanscale which will reach the market through Design Within Reach this December.

Needless to say, all the speakers were informative, inspiring and delightful. The week long event ended with a Gala Closing Party hosted by Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, one of our ArtGraze alliance galleries.   Among the attendees was Michael McCoy who came with his daughter and son-in-law, Jeff.   I introduced myself and my husband, John. When Jeff saw my husband, he said, “Butler, what are you doing here ?”  It turned out that Jeff and John have worked together briefly in Los Alamos. So, as the Disney song goes, “It’s a Small World After All” !

Ironically, it takes time to learn how to NOT spend too much time on it. I’m still in that learning curve. My goal is to devote only two hours a day on SMM, bring in an ArtGraze intern,  and get back into my studio to paint.  Soon I’ll be incorporating short videos into my blogposts after I participate in a two part webinar on Video Charisma  September 30th and October 5th taught by Ruth Sherman ( www.videocharisma.com ). Check out her website www.ruthsherman.com  to learn more about Ruth. There may be a few seats left in this rare opportunity to be coached by one of Hollywood’s best.

My most admired teacher and mentor thinks that no true artist spends time doing such foolish things as blogging, tweeting, and writing on Facebook and LinkedIn.  He is among the elite in the world of fine art. His work is represented by one of the finest galleries in the US and he paints many hours a day with a passion and purpose that is nearly superhuman.

For those of us mere mortals who are among the majority of artists today, I feel that getting savvy on social media is important. I stand firm on my position that we have to actively partner with  galleries, agents and reps to keep our work, faces and names in the front of peoples’ minds by our presence on the internet.

Whether you agree or disagree with my opinion, I  invite you to subscribe to this blog and I sincerely welcome your feedback.

To be honest with you, I was prepared to be bored. I made certain that I had my bottle of  doTERRA CPTG Peppermint Essential Oils with me. One drop of pure peppermint oil under the tongue can wake you up very quickly under any circumstance.

It’s been a number of years since I actively practiced design . My first thoughts when getting the  email announcement from the New Mexico Chapter of ASID were that it was an expense I didn’t need, especially now as I’m developing a start up business that is focused on serving designers.  Eight hours of CEU’s were being offered but I chose to take only the last two sessions of the three.   The two topics covered were “Survival Techniques for the Small Design Firm” and ” Ethics-the Right, the Wrong + The Difference”.  Both were relative to any business and besides,  I wanted to catch up on the main concerns for the design business in today’s economy since architects and designers are key members in the ArtGraze Alliance.

Michael’s presentation was a perfect example of the use of Power Point. Not too much text, just a few lines in large bold font with creative Flash components timed randomly to insure that the audience stay awake even after the New Mexican Fiesta Reception with Wine Bar; and a relaxed, authentic sharing of personal experience by a skillful public speaker.  Michael gave us 10 Survival Tips:

#1:  Optimize The Downturn While You Still Have A Chance

#2: Accept That Change Is The Only Constant

#3: Take Advantage Of Emerging Design Trends

#4: Focus On Your Cash Flow Before Your Profits

#5: Design A Brand New Position In A “BRAND” New Market

#6: Connect With Current + Previous Clients RIGHT NOW !

#7: Cast A Wider Net So You Can Catch More Fish

#8: Improve Effeciency- Get Better At What You Do A Lot

#9: Economic Changes Present New Business Dynamics

#10: Accept 100% Responsibility For Your Survival

This is only an outline of his talk. If you’d like see the rest of my notes, simply join the ArtGraze mailing list to receive our next newsletter. If you are a member of the design profession and have an opportunity to hear him speak in person, I highly recommend that you attend. It is no wonder that Michael has been elected as ASID’s national leader to carry the organization and industry through this recession and into the next upturn.

If you’re on Linkedin, please join our open Linkedin group: ArtGraze and participate in or create a new discussion.