Gallery takes my glass pictures

Submitted some glass to Glass! in Dartmouth and I am very excited about possibly selling and getting some feedback from my glass product.  I have looked in the gallery and my work is very different to the rest of the stock.  Whether this is good different or bad different I will have to wait and find out.

Website!

I have finally a basic web page which I can work from. Thanks to my brother I have something to work from. I need to learn more about HTML and web page construction to finish it yet. I also need to load up pictures of all the glass I want to show. My brother has linked a facebook page as this makes good business sense but Im not sure about using this yet as Im not a big fan of facebook. Im also undecided about how to sell the glass I make. I am very happy to have a web page now cause I can now give out my business cards as the website is being used.

Business Cards

The business cards have come in the post! They are ok but not having cards before I cant really compare them. They were a 250 for £3.00 offer which with all the hidden costs ended up being £10.00 which was annoying but never mind.

My brother advised me to choose a website name before I ordered them so that all the info is on the card. That was a little dissapointing as all the domain names I wanted were taken. I didnt realise that companies buy up loads of names and dont use them and then try to sell them to you for hundreds of pounds! what a joke! I eventually went for the name Kiln Crafts as I was thinking about the market fairs and not wanting to be pushed out of selling the odd ceramic piece just because my company name was glass related. Im happy with it - its not what I wanted but as a starting place its okay. Bro promised to help me make a website and thats not happened but for now I have cards! And they say Im an artist!

Contact with Max Jaquard!

Believe it or not he wrote back to me! his emails are in my folder but overall I was talking about life style of working in glass and ended up asking him some process questions to which he has sold me a special type of glass he says works well to fix my prob. Blimey! I hope he meant it! I cant wait!

reflection after watching business news article on GeraldOnline

great interview but im at a loss as to how anyone can distinguish the value of jewellery from an online store. I had a look at GerardOnline after watching the video and like every other jewellery website I've seen, the rings and stuff all look plastic or cheap. I need to hold and experience a bit of jewellery before I can decide if its beautiful or worth buying. I am pleased that he has made a comeback because as a person I feel he deserves it but I'm bemused at his success selling jewellery online. All in all it was a very interesting conversation - taking up bike riding is his answer to dealing with depression.

Summation of pimp my powerpoint

most important info should be at the top of the slide, dont put words on their unless necessary - its a visual medium for pictures and diagrams. Try not to spend too long on each slide, if summarising - dont write 'to summarise' or 'Summary'. This is because apparently everyone will leave early. Look at Apple - their presentations are legendary for clean, clear and consise information delivery. Dont make the images too complicated.

health and safety quiz

just done the quiz and Im SUCH a plonker! I got 2 wrong on the first go and then when I ran through it I marker one of the questions wrong! doh! Just for posterity its all recorded too!

J D Geffory's presentation skills

So in summation - gestures are important and the types of gestures you make, no hands in pockets, no hiding behind the lecturn, try not to go on about yourself/ your product as others may not find it that interesting, eye contact is important to make yourself seem honest and trustworthy and make the people listening comfortable - do they need the loo? Is the light to bright, too dark?

CV's

Just made two new art CV's not sure if Im on the right track but the exercise helped me get my paints out again which is great! However, I am now painting like a five year old so I need alot more practice - but Ive found a place to start!

Assertiveness

Just reading through some of the links to assertiveness websites and although I have looked at assertiveness before, art college definitely addresses new areas of my life in regard to assertiveness. I like the whole concept of fogging which sounds weird but in practice is supposed to reduce the sensitivity of the person being commented upon. Relating this to art and the showing/ discussion of my own work this would be really helpful because I cant think of anything worse than having to talk about my own work or having to defend it from a critical audience.

session 3 - self promotion and making contact

Describing who I am is dependant on how I feel today. I am reading the compassionate mind which promotes compassion for self as well as for others. I have no problem feeling compassion for others as well as sorrow for all the painful actions in the world but I have a hard time feeling I deserve compassion. So I would find this exercise easier some days and not so much on others. However, as an exercise I think practice will hopefully help something pop into my mind if I'm put on the spot. I tend to think of this kind of stuff under the heading bull shit though.

what makes me unique as a person, past experiences, what inspires me?

My genetics make me unique but my experiences of life have made me value;

friendship - a good belly laugh, hugs, silliness, quiet times together, exploring old villages, driving with music loud, fast food, alcohol, sleeping in hedges, confidence they will always be there.

nature - trees, hedges, cold winter mornings, walking the dog, rivers, streams, puddles, ice, fog, windy days, frozen mud.

Water sports - waves, salty eyes, runny nose, freezing pink skin, sand, goosebumps, exertion, pain, awesome bruises, amazing light on water, reflecting sun, rain on the sea, wrinkly skin, wetsuit love, windchill, floating with eyes closed, going really fast on trapeze, tide line, sewage, space.

I used to write poetry and I used to paint. These are two parts of me that are reluctant to surface even though I want to do them. Its very frustrating. CBT tells me to just bloody paint. Compassionate mind says I should just bloody paint but say it in a nice way. Maybe painting will come if I'm open to it?

Anyway back to the point -

I am an artist inspired by the colour and light in nature, the interrelationships between people. With a background working close to the sea I also see my work affected by this medium.

This is really hard! I am feeling that I need to make something up as I really don't have a clue how my art will be affected by my experience. So far I have made many things to understand the processes and how glass responds to different temperatures and different kiln settings.

Reflection Task 1

From all the jobs Ive done i have the following transferable skills;

Thoroughness - being thorough when cleaning, doing a 'good' job, doing what it says on the tin.

Acting in the moment - my first jobs all came from inspiration and walking in and asking for work.

Pig headedness - thats me, have to prove things to myself, cant be told. This makes for slow progress!

Experience! - working with wood, wax and stanley knives early on to clean up antiques and then wax furniture later gave me an appreciation of wood as a material and also hands on feeling for when something is right and something is wrong (about to break!).

I also have skills that I feel are negative but are also transferable;

Loyalty - I have stayed overlong in too many jobs and have made myself miserable doing this. I believe this is connected to wanting to please an authority figure. I know this is impossible and connected to a past need of wanting to please my father but it jepodises my working life now. This is partly why I am reluctant to get work again.

Insecurity - I wonder how it is that some people bullshit their way into jobs and are valued for this characteristic. I feel constrained by my need to be honest. My morals do not favour a wage increase (using working in statuatory sector for my experience in this). Is it different in the art world?

Job roles in working with glass

So far I have found a few glass kiln artists but the work seems to be either;

hot glass or kiln glass.

A Job description for a Glass blower/designer seems to cover kiln glass working which is a bit worrying since Ive no interest in glass blowing and I have no glass blowing skill for that matter!

Salaries are £10,000 - £25,000 per annum. I imagine kiln glass is not that wide spread since you would need your own kiln or shared kiln as part of a community of artists. I cant attach the JD from Prospects so please see folder.

Starting in the middle - Task 1

Strengths - Communication, Organisation, Enthusiasm for new info

Weaknesses - Confidence, Motivation, Direction (what the F*** am I doing for example?)

Opportunities - Submitting work to galleries, making links through markets, talking to staff in shops that sell stuff similar to what I do (networking), research (LRC, internet, Magazines).

Threats - competition, confidence (what is my stuff worth?), occupational health (health and safety in the workplace), ideas going walkabout and someone else getting there first.

All jobs Ive done so far:

peeling spuds,

waxing and restoring antiques,

burger bar,

waxing new furniture,

burgerking,

cleaning student houses,

barmaid,

office administrator,

shop stock worker,

Marina office worker,

front of house,

outdoor education assistant,

volunteer worker in youth work,

youth worker,

Jobs I would like to do;

Part time artist

group co-ordinator/ therapist in art/ play/ creative healing

beach bum,

explorer and travel writer

working in a marina in a warm country

crewing a yacht

Brief summary Im not sure what I want to do next as my youth work job made me a jack of all trades but a master of none. Ive just started getting replies from job applications Ive submitted but whatever I get needs to fit around college so there are some limitations in what I can apply for as a result of this.

The above lists show what Ive done is quite close to the life Ive imagined for myself. Not the burger king work or any of the other cleaning jobs but Ive generally stuck close to work in the maritime trades and when I moved into working with young people I got a job doing that. So now to find a job that is similar to what I believe a beach bum is!!

Assertiveness Test

21.5! Ambivilent about some of the questions but Im definately assertive in some situations but definately not assertive or reluctant to get involved in others!