My viral zebra video

People keep asking me "how did you get it to go viral?" "what did you do?" and my answer is, I have no real idea. I posted a 21 second video that's similar to dozens of other videos I posted, with the same hashtags I've used dozens of times before. Yet, this one video has almost a million views in a mere 48 hours. What did I do? That is the question. I framed it with my head off to the side of the frame, it's a time lapse, and it has dramatic change, and people know what they are looking at. That's it, folks. That's all I have.

I had one other video go viral, it was a playful one of me pretending to take off a piece of clothing with a surprise ending, I held up a sign that said "follow me". Obviously it was a fun video, people got a funny ending, they enjoyed it. What do the two have in common? me? It's all a mystery. I paint, it dries, people love watching. If anyone can figure it out, let me know so I can repeat it.

What's not happened yet is any art sales, which I'd love this very slow time of year. My bank account is nearly empty (been here, done this before), so some sales would be most welcome. I'll be ok, no worries, I have a modest paycheck headed my way from the carousel, and after that, a dozen pinstripe jobs waiting. It's a roller coaster ride, for sure! Stay safe out there, my lovlies. Hugs!

Another year at the carousel wrapped up!

This year's carousel touch ups have come to an end. I had the opportunity to add back some missing flourishes, as well as do more restoration work on the Armored Horse, and the Stork. 200,000 riders per year enjoy this carousel, and I love making it look new again for them! Restoring these treasured animals is something I look forward to every year in Greenfield Village's off season. If you're a fan of this carousel, please feel free to write the museum and let them know what you think of my work on it! I'm fairly anonymous otherwise. Knowing that so many people make lifelong memories is very special. I've posted several videos of the painting of the different animals on youtube, I'm easy to find there at juliekfournier. I hope you enjoy them! Make sure to like and follow me there and on facebook, it all helps me to continue to make art that makes people happy! You're special and deserve to be happy. I am honored to play my small part!

Let me know what you think of the Sea Monster in the comments below.

Sunday again already?

Sunday again, and I'm thinking about the carousel that I have been working on at The Henry Ford museum aka Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI.

People really love carousels, it brings so much joy! I'm very lucky that I was chosen over ten years ago to be the one to keep it looking "new". I've had the chance to restore many of the animals and repaint them so that they're closer to their original 1913 appearance.

I post to over a dozen social media sites, so as many people as possible can enjoy this carousel; there are very few wooden antique carousels left in the world now, most are fiberglass and mass produced. The one I work on is art. I'm looking forward to going in to work tomorrow and doing more paint repairs on these precious artworks carved over a century ago. Let me know which your favorite animal is!

I have to go finish posting videos of the painting process. See it all on youtube!

Ever get a rejection notice but not the reason WHY?

Yup, it's frustrating to get a notice saying your blog or page or whatever "violated" some policy, but then have NO IDEA what violates what. How hard would it be for say, google, to tell you what you did wrong that they find offensive and won't allow you to put ads in your blog.

That's my evening. I hope yours is relaxing, and without frustration. My favorite way to unwind is to play pool, or catch up on emails, there's nothing like cleaning something to give a nice sense of satisfaction! Take out the frustration on piles of papers, and feel good after. Am I venting right now? you betcha. That's another way I release pent up frustration. As an artist, I need to be relaxed to let inspiration and ideas flow, but just like you, life happens and I have to deal with it, too. Sometimes that involves a glass of wine, most of the time my go to is chocolate, oh my poor hips hah!

Have a great evening, and share your tips for relaxing in the comments!

Creating with low tech and what's on hand

I find myself making videos of paintings for the various social media sites using what I have on hand usually. Since I'm not a photographer, but I have to be one anyway to take good photos of my work to post, I've had to get very creative with how I create postable photos.

I love natural sunlight and cloudy days are especially good for providing nice even diffuse light on the subjects I photograph. I have used bedsheets in the past, but recently I did invest in a piece of 36 inch white paper from the art store to use as a backdrop. Backgrounds are just as important as foregrounds, since we want the focus of our images to be on the image, and not whatever is distracting in the background.

I set up the backdrop in a way so I am not blocking my natural light source when I stand behind the camera (usually my iphone). If it's a still shot, or a timelapse, I'll use my tripod. If it's a video, I steady myself by leaning on whatever is near, usually a chair. Then I pan slowly, zoom slowly, and do a voice over since so many sites take down videos that use music they provide! Better to do your own original sound when possible.

I can edit the video into shorter clips if I want, right on my iphone, then upload them as "multiples" in a combined video on whatever site I upload them to. It's time consuming and pretty tedious for a painter to become a cinematographer and video editor and.. and... and... but that's the modern age, n'est pas?

Find me on you tube, instagram, facebook, or whatever your favorite site is at juliekfournier. Like and share and follow and that all supports me so I can keep on making cool art for you! Until next time, stay safe out there!

Finding space where there is none

Do you often wonder where you can store something, look around and throw your arms up exasperated? Look UP. Most everything is on the floor, bookshelves, dressers, etc. Try putting shelving near the ceiling, above your head. Over doorways are a great spot to put a shelf, too. Now you have more space to put books, or knick-knacks!

Leave comments below for any questions on how to organize, or find room for your home! I'll help you.

#howto

How to Get the most out of Small Spaces!

We all struggle with finding places to store and display our belongings. Do you ever get the feeling you own 12 things and have only ten spots? I go through this daily!

As an artist working from home, I have had to come up with some very creative ways to maximize my small space. I have a 742 square foot home, and I work from that space and store all my art stuff which adds up in a hurrry! I found ways to keep my space clutter free, well organized, and aesthetically pleasing, and I want to share these tips and tricks with you. I'll write specific blogs that focus on one area at a time, and I hope you find them as useful as I did! The concepts can be applied to any size living area from a van, to a larger home. Take what you can, and you can leave the rest! I look forward to helping you find new and better ways to make your home your own in cost effective and satisfying ways! If you have any requests on what areas you'd like to see me focus on, leave them in a comment below! I'm always happy to help out and answer all questions! Remember, we don't have to throw out lots of stuff to make our homes organized and beloved, so if you're not a stage five hoarder, this is for you!

Here's a picture of what might be one of the smallest vanity's ever, yet I have a lot of stuff in that small space, all organized, and accessible. I'll talk about that in my next blog!

Sunday Musings

Sundays are quiet, since I try not to schedule jobs on my "day of rest". I wind up working anyway, of course; today it was reworking my art fair booth layout for a four day show in July, the Wyandotte Art Fair. I'm hiding a cheap excercise bike inside my 10' square tent so I can "move" around. I usally stand for about 20 hours a day for the event, which my ankles are not fond of, ha! Moving really is great for blood flow.

I've actually been working on the display and layout for a few weeks now, but I think I finally have a working design I feel great about! It's open and inviting, and my work is displayed as well as I can in that 10 foot square space without it looking cluttered.

I've tripled my jewelry display area, I've curated how the paintings will hang, and I'm adding ornaments for this show this year. It took some work to arrange it all so it doesn't look crowded or cluttered, but I finally did it, whew! I can focus now on all the sewing of walls and rain sides, etc. that I have to do to make it all weatherproof and aesthetically pleasing. I'd like to get that all done before spring while it's comfortable to do it. I'm confident I will.

It's dinner time, time for me to go now.

Artists suffer?

Generally, yes, but how? It's variable. In my case I had abusive parents (a product of a Victorian mindset plus trauma of WWII) that set me up to not see red flags in relationships until it was way too late. I could give a TED talk on the easily missed signs early on in domestic violence relationships.

How does this relate to producing art? Good question, if you know the answer to why emotionally tormented people make great art, tell me.

I have a point here, though, I promise. As an artist, my income is "challenged". Which has trapped me in more than one awful relationship. You, dear reader, can easily do something that does NOT involve me asking you for money. Nope. I am going to ask you to give a thumbs up, a like, a follow. A mouse click. That's it! a mouse click. See, the algorithms love popularity, and they'll show my work to more viewers (and they'll give me money for my work and THEN I can support myself and get out of another abusive relationship once and for all). Because being abused sucks. I was lied to, I didn't sign up for it, and I want out. So help me get out by clicking the mouse and getting the internet algorithms working for me. It's a HUGE thing you can do, help me get more eyes on my art. That puts money in my pocket, and I get to keep on making everyone happy with my work. We all need art, and I make art. I don't want to give up, and you don't want me to give up. I can't do it alone in a vacuum, I need the support (mouseclicks) of friends, fans, and supporters. Let's do this!

Thanks in advance! I gotta run and go post videos to about 13 different social media sites now. Promotion never ends!

6th Annual Art Fair (dFAF)

I'm spending a lot of time leading up to the 6th Annual dFAF making sure everything is going smoothly for the Saturday, August 6, 2017 event featuring work by 50 artists and eight bands! Everything you need to know is on the website, detroitfaf.com
Finding artists is fun, I love looking at new artwork and meeting new people!
I'm still painting; I've been doing lots of pinstriping lately, see my new work on my website, juliefournier.com

Networking and Promoting

Networking, as we all know, is pretty important these days. I was happy to be able to meet with the organizers of several events that happen locally, Earth Day and Pagan Pride being two of them. They gave me some fantastic ideas on how to promote the Hazel Park Art Fair that I organize and produce, and a few new ways to get the word out about it. We met at a local coffee shop and discussed how we could help eachother have our events grow and support our community. I feel pretty good right now!

Here's the link to the events that are going to help me with mine, they're worth checking out, since they support our First Amendment rights~

Flint Water Run

The tragedy unfolding in Flint, MI is man made. Babies, children, and adults have been poisoned with lead in their drinking water. 100,000 residents of Flint do not have a water source. The President called in the National Guard, but with only 30 guardsmen delivering to only 500 homes per day, it would take 200 days to reach every person. That's unacceptable.

So, I did what I could do: I posted on Facebook asking for help. Three people responded, very generously, with donations of water and money. One of the donors was the Congregation of Every 1 with 14 cases of water plus 14 two gallon jugs of water. I took the donated cash and bought enough water to donate a total of almost 200 gallons of water today. A good friend, B.p. LeGault, and I drove their donations to Flint today. Here are the pictures of that trip to the North End Soup Kitchen, a water distribution center for Flint residents to come and take bottled water however they can. Some walk, some ride the bus, some get rides, and the fortunate ones with cars drive.

I hope I can make another water run very soon, they will need more than they have now, it's an ongoing need and the government is failing them. It's up to us to help now.

Lead and other toxic hazards

With the water crisis in Flint, MI, unfolding due to the lead contamination, I find myself hoping that the residents of that city are as aware of the dangers of getting lead on their skin from contact with their contaminated water as I am being a full time professional artist; I come into contact with a lot of potentially dangerous chemicals, like lead, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds, or poisonous fumes in the air) when I work, so I know how much of a health risk having lead on our skin is.

Since I use some very toxic chemicals for my everyday work, I have to constantly remind myself how important it is for me to practice good safety measures, like keeping paint off my skin, especially when it contains lead. I know many of you are thinking, "but they took lead out of paint years ago!". Yes, and no. Lead was removed from latex paint sold for residential applications, like painting your living room walls, but it can still be found in a lot of art supplies, like ceramic glazes, and even some types of artist's paints. I have been gifted old cans of paint with lead in them still, which I love using on murals since the paint is so incredibly wonderful in the way it goes on with a lot less work, and I purchased a tube of Lead White oil paint not that long ago for it's opaque (can't see through it) qualities. Even when there is no lead in paints, like titanium white, there are still a lot of other chemicals in those paints that are poisonous if ingested, and we do absorb things through our skin, which is the largest organ "on" our body. Many pigments, like cadmium, are poisonous, just like lead is poisonous.

Then there are the "liquid" carriers of the solid pigments (pigments are what give paint its color), so the paint flows. In most tubes of oil paint the carrier is linseed oil, which isn't toxic, unlike oil paint's well known companion, turpentine. While I tend to shy away from using turpentine as a thinner or cleaner, I still find it essential when I want to make a glaze for my oil paintings (so I get that wonderful depth of color that only oil paint can give). The lettering enamel many pinstripers (myself included) prefer to use is thinned with some pretty toxic chemicals like benzene and xylene, well known dangers to our health! Painting indoors isn't a great way to have adequate ventilation for those smelly thinners that are poisonous when inhaled, so I have to make sure to put a fan in the window, or open the door even in winter to get fresh air to avoid nerve damage from the thinners like turpentine, or the ones I use when I pinstripe. I've even been known to wear a certified respirator (as dust masks don't filter out the thinners with their tiny molecules that are VOC's, dust masks only filter out the big pieces of dust, the VOCs still get through and cause serious long term damage, which is why a lot of older painters shake, or die from lung cancer).

Again, it's important to keep it out of my lungs off my hands, because our skin readily absorbs these things. If I know clean up is going to be messy (and a lot of times it is), I wear special gloves as a barrier between the poison and my skin.

Remember, safety precautions are pretty easy to implement, and they really pay off in the long run! Our health is priceless, make sure you take care of yours.

Be warm and well.

Happy New Year!

Well, it certainly has been a little while, hasn't it? That's been great news, though, as I've been so very busy working I haven't had time to write about it! It's been a wonderful run for me, and I finally have a break to take time to blog a bit. I'm so thrilled to have had job after job for over a year without interruption. Right now, I"m enjoying some rest! The Henry Ford museum had me work on every single carousel animal last year, and I'm going back this year in their off season to do more touch up work on them. I also did a Brewster horse drawn carriage for the museum, as well as pinstriping on some carriage wheels, and I did a LOT of lettering on a diorama on the wall in the Roundhouse there! Whew! I pinstriped plenty of cars and motorcycles over the summer, did a couple neon signs, and generally enjoyed myself immensely! In the middle of all that, I planned the 4th Annual Hazel Park Art Fair, which was a big success. I'm so proud of that event and all the people who participated in it and made it happen. We were able to donate another $1,000 to a college tuition fund for local graduates, as well as $800 to our Parks & Recreation department to help upkeep our neighborhood parks! It was an amazing year. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one is going. It's starting off with me working on an original oil painting for this year's Dirty Show. I haven't painted yet today, but I"m sure I will before it's over! Remember, you can check my website for updates on where I'll be next! Be warm and well, see you soon!

Avoiding Pitfalls

We've all done it: made a mistake and learned from it. Some mistakes are more costly than others. I've made my fair share of mistakes in my business dealings, and I'm here to share what I've learned with you. Maybe it'll save you the embarrassment or heartaches that I've been through. Please feel free to add any suggestions in the comments section below.

Number one point I can't stress enough is ALWAYS have a contract signed!

In your contract you should specify EXACTLY what the job entails in as much detail as possible. I can't tell you how many times I've said "Mural job" "$price" only to have my client misunderstand and assume the singular "job" includes another. Bad, bad, bad. So, my lesson learned is this: Be exact with details! I wrote that twice, for emphasis.

Agree on price up front. Make certain that your client knows exactly how much they will be paying you, and a deadline for when you will get paid. I highly recommend getting a 50% deposit before you even start to think about the details of any job. Ever. It weeds out no shows and other non serious types.

Set a time frame that is reasonable for YOU. Use your calendars, people. Be professional. Show up when you say you will. If they're not there, you can charge them for your time (yes, put that in your contract, too.) If the client causes you to run over the time you allot to any given project, or to cost more than you quoted, charge them, and make sure to stipulate that in your contract! (I have my contract online if anyone wants to copy it for their own use, it's free, go ahead. Use it. Spare yourself a lot of misery! You read my contract (and copy it to use for yourself if you like) below.

My contract has been tweaked over the years as I've lived and learned the hard way. I'm hoping that this blog (and shared contract) can be used by newbies so they don't have to learn the hard way like I did. Good luck and happy hunting. :)

*********************************************************************************************

Design Product Agreement

What is your budget? ________________________________________________

What type of project is this?

What is the objective/criteria for your project?



CLIENT

Date ______________________________________________________________ Commissioned by ___________________________________________________ Purchase Order Number ______________________________________________ Job Number________________________________________________________

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT:



Use:



DESCRIPTION OF MATERIALS TO BE SUPPLIED BY CLIENT:

(Final Date Due is predicated on receipt of all materials to be supplied by Client)

Materials Supplied by: (date)_____

Initial Version work starts after all materials are received. Due dates, milestone dates, and any early-completion reward dates mentioned shall be delayed by the number of days by which the Materials Supplied by the Client are late.



RIGHTS TRANSFERRED:

The material transferred can be used only for the purposes stated below. All other use(s) and modification(s) is (are) prohibited. All rights not transferred remain the property of (Insert your business name here, henceforth referred to as STUDIO). Usage beyond that granted to the Client herein shall require payment of a mutually agreed upon additional "Reuse Fee" subject to all terms.

All materials, including the intermediate milestone deliverables, may not be copied without the permission of (Your Studio).

Any transfer of rights is conditional on receipt of full payment.



PRODUCTION SCHEDULE (INCLUDING MILESTONES, DATES DUE, AND FEES DUE)

Milestone Date Due Payment Due

Contract Signing (50% deposit required)____US$_____________ Delivery of (service or product provided) ______ US$_____________ Total US$ ____________

Client agrees to pay STUDIO a bonus of US$___0___per day in the event an acceptable Final Version of the site is delivered to the Client prior to____0_____ (date).

ESTIMATED DATE DUE: ___________________________

ESTIMATED EXPENSES: _____________________________

The Client shall reimburse STUDIO for all expenses. Expense amounts (in US$) are estimates only.

Illustration __________ Printing (If brokered by STUDIO)_______ Photography __________ Client's Alterations _________ Communication _________ Materials & Supplies__________ Transportation & Travel _________ Type __________ Messengers _________ Stats, Proofing & Copies_______ Shipping & Insurance _________ Mechanicals ___________ Other Expenses _________

Subtotal : ____________

Supervisory and Handling fee: ___0____

Sales Tax (on applicable items): ______

TOTAL : ______________



TERMS:

1. Time for Payment Payment is due at each milestone due date as noted in the Production Schedule. All invoices for Billable Expenses are payable within thirty (30) days of receipt. A 1.5% monthly service charge is payable on all overdue balances of milestone payments and Billable Expenses. STUDIO retains all rights to all intermediate deliverables submitted at each milestone. The grant of any license or right of copyright to the Client is conditioned on receipt of full payment by the Client of the Total amount and all Billable Expenses.

2. Default in Payment The Client shall assume responsibility for all collection of legal fees necessitated by default in payment.

3. Estimates If this form is used for an estimate or assignment proposal, the fees and Billable Expenses shown are minimum expenses only. Final fees and Billable Expenses shall be shown when invoice is rendered. The Client's approval shall be obtained for any increases in fees or expenses that exceed the original estimate by twenty percent (20%) or more.

4. Billable Expenses The Client shall reimburse STUDIO for all direct and indirect billable expenses arising from this assignment, regardless of whether the assignment is Cancelled or Terminated. Billable Expenses include but are not limited to costs of commissioning images or subcontracting talent, software or run-time license costs, the payment of any sales tax due on this assignment, any travel, research, postage and delivery, photocopying, and storage media expenses. The markup charged by STUDIO for supervisory and handling time on all Billable expenses shall be_____percent of the Billable Expenses incurred. The Client shall advance US$_____to STUDIO upon the acceptance of the Design Product for payment of said Billable Expenses.

5. Client's Alterations There shall be no charges to the Client for revisions or corrections or additions made necessary by errors on the part of SES. Any other changes requested by the Client shall be considered Client's Alterations if they are requested after the acceptance of the Design Product. Any changes and additions not due to the fault of SES and requested by the Client before the approval of one of the Site Designs are not considered Client's Alterations. The Client shall be responsible for making additional payments at the rate noted herein for any Client's Alterations and any other changes in original assignment requested by the Client. However, no additional payment shall be made for changes required to conform to the original assignment description. The Client shall offer SES the first opportunity to make any changes.

6. Acceptance Procedures Unless otherwise noted in Acceptance milestone dates of the Production Schedule, during the Review Period within_____calendar days of a Delivery, the Client shall either accept the deliverable and make the milestone payment set forth in the Production Schedule, or provide SES with written notice of any corrections to be made and a suggested date for completion of the corrections which should be mutually acceptable to both STUDIO and the Client, or provide a written notice of assignment Termination if the work is found not to be reasonably satisfactory. The Client can Terminate the assignment only during this Review Period following the Delivery of a milestone deliverable. Any other Termination of the Assignment shall be considered a Cancellation subject to the stipulations of Item 7. SES shall designate _________________________________and the Client shall designate ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________as the only designated persons who will send and accept all deliverables and receive and make all communications between SES and the Client. Neither party shall have any obligation to consider for approval or respond to materials submitted other than through the designated persons listed above. Each party has the right to change its designated person upon ______calendar day(s) notice to the other.

7. Cancellation The Client may declare the Cancellation of the assignment for reasons not related to assignment Termination defined in Item 6. In the event of Cancellation of this assignment by the Client, any milestone payments made prior to cancellation shall be retained by SES. In addition, if cancellation is prior to the delivery of the Design Comps, a cancellation fee of fifteen percent (15%) of the balance of the Total payments shall be paid by the Client. If the cancellation is later but prior to the acceptance of a Design Comp, a fee of thirty percent (30%) of the balance of the Total payments shall be paid by the Client. If the cancellation is later but prior to the delivery of the Initial Version, the cancellation fee shall be fifty percent (50%) of the balance of Total payments. If the cancellation is after the delivery of the Initial Version, the cancellation fee shall be one hundred percent (100%) of the balance of all remaining dues. Regardless of when the project is cancelled, all billable expenses already incurred by STUDIO, or STUDIO is liable to pay for, shall be paid by the Client in full. In the event of cancellation, STUDIO retains ownership of all copyrights and any original artwork.

8. Assignment Termination In the event that work in process is found by the client not to be reasonably satisfactory in accordance with the Acceptance Procedures in Item 6, the client may pay a termination fee to Terminate the assignment. Any milestone payments made prior to Termination shall be retained by STUDIO. If assignment Termination occurs prior to the acceptance of a Design Comp, the client shall pay a rejection fee of ten percent (10%) of the balance of Total payments. If Termination occurs after the delivery of the Initial Version, the Termination fee shall be twenty percent (20%) of the balance of Total payments. If Termination occurs after the acceptance of the Initial Version, the Termination fee shall be one hundred percent (100%) of the balance of Total payments. Regardless of when the assignment is Terminated, all billable expenses already incurred by STUDIO, or STUDIO is liable to pay for, shall be paid by the Client in full. In the event of Termination, STUDIO retains ownership of all copyrights and any original artwork created by STUDIO. However, the Client retains all rights already purchased by STUDIO on behalf of the Client from third parties.

9. Ownership and Return of Artwork The Client acknowledges and agrees that STUDIO retains ownership of all original artwork, in any media, including digital files, whether preliminary or final. The Client waives the right to challenge the validity of STUDIO's ownership of the art subject to this agreement because of any change or evolution of the laws. The Client shall return such artwork within thirty (30) days of use unless indicated otherwise below:

10. Copy Protection The Client must protect all final art which is the subject of this agreement against duplication and alteration.

11. Credit Lines STUDIO and any other creators shall receive a credit line with any editorial usage. If similar credit lines are to be given with other types of usage, it must be so indicated here:___________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. Releases The Client shall indemnify STUDIO against all claims and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, due to Client's uses for which no release was requested in writing from STUDIO or for Client's uses which exceed authority granted by a release by STUDIO.

13. Modifications of the Agreement Modifications of the Agreement must be written, except that the invoice may include, and the Client shall pay, fees or expenses that were orally authorized by the Client in order to progress promptly with the work.

14. Code of Fair Practice The Client and STUDIO agree to comply with the provisions of the Code of Fair Practice, a copy of which may be obtained from the Joint Ethics Committee, P.O. Box 179, Grand Central Station, New York, New York, 10017, USA, or is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.RoosterGraphics.com/ADMIN/commission.html.

15. Warranty of Originality STUDIO warrants and represents that, to the best of its knowledge, the work assigned hereunder is original and has not been previously published, or that consent to use has been obtained on an unlimited basis; that all work or portions thereof obtained through the undersigned from third parties is original or, if previously published, that consent to use has been obtained on an unlimited basis; that SES has full authority to make this agreement; and that the work prepared by SES does not contain any scandalous, libelous, or unlawful matter. This warranty does not extend to any uses that the Client or others may make of SES 's product which may infringe on the rights of others. CLIENT EXPRESSLY AGREES THAT IT WILL HOLD STUDIO HARMLESS FOR ALL LIABILITY CAUSED BY THE CLIENT's USE OF STUDIO's PRODUCT TO EXTENT SUCH USE INFRINGES ON THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS.

16. Limitation of Liability Client agrees that it shall not hold STUDIO or its agents or employees liable for any incidental or consequential damages which arise from STUDIO's failure to perform any aspect of the Project in a timely manner, regardless of whether such failure was caused by intentional or negligent acts or omissions of STUDIO or a third party. Furthermore, STUDIO disclaims all implied warranties, including the warranty of merchantability and fitness for a particular use.

17. Dispute Resolution Any disputes in excess of one thousand (1000) US dollars arising out of this Agreement shall be submitted to binding arbitration before the Joint Ethics Committee or a mutually agreed upon arbitrator pursuant to the rules of the American Arbitration Association. The Arbitrator's award shall be final, and judgment may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The Client shall pay all arbitration and court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and legal interest on any award of judgment in favor of STUDIO.

17. Acceptance of Terms The signature of both parties shall evidence acceptance of these terms.

Date STUDIO Authorized Signature________________________________ Client Authorized Signature_______________________________ Client's name and title____________________________________

Calligraphy

I'm taking a short break, to rest my hand, while I write this. I never seem to actually take breaks, though, what I do is switch activities, one motion for another. It seems to work. I can only write for about a half hour at a time now, before my arm and hand start to tell me I'd better take a break. So, in between work sessions I update my web page, do laundry or whatever else needs doing, then I go back to working on the project I took a "break" from. It's nice being my own boss and just being able to take frequent breaks, to take care of myself and not push too hard and get injured. I learned the hard way not to push myself too far (that Jeep job cost me use of my arm for over a year, ouch!).

The job I'm doing today is a basic one: address wedding invitation envelopes in black ink, with the Copperplate script I've been doing for 33 years. The paper isn't the smoothest, which makes me work a bit harder, it's more tiring on my shoulder since I have to go a LOT slower so as not to snag the nib on the paper's fibers and splatter ink all over and ruin the envelope. It's very tedious, but most envelopes are like that, I get lucky once in a while and someone will give me high quality paper that's a joy to write on, but it's rare. I'm going to try to add some guar gum to the ink to thin it out and see if that helps it flow better so I can use even less pressure - that will help me out quite a bit. You wouldn't think it, but I have to really grip the pen to make sure I'm just barely touching the surface, my muscles get fatigued after a while of that - it's your basic writer's cramp, plus some shoulder fatigue, all part of the job I guess. My set up isn't the most ergonomic, the table is higher than it should be, so my arm is up higher than is comfortable, but it works for the job well, so I just keep doing it. Once of these days I'll see about some other arrangement, but for now it's what I've got to work with. I make about $20 an hour doing calligraphy, not bad, but I do work for it! I almost wish I had more of it, but then I rememember how hard it is on my hand and shoulder, so it's good that I dont' get that much call for it, I'd probably get crippled if I did! I was sore all over yesterday, like I'd gone running, from holding my arm up, and from leaning over to put the finished placecards on the floor about a hundred and fifty times in a row (I spread them out to dry, the floor is nice and big, it holds a few hundred of whatever I'm working on while they dry, especially if the paper is coated and glossy, the ink can take a day to dry sometimes depending on humidity and temperature). It's like doing push ups almost, a great workout! I can really feel it today, and I dont' mind the "excercise", I can use it, it's good for me since I don't get much otherwise.

I know this isn't the most exciting blog, but some days are just kind of ho-hum, work-wise. Today is one of those days. Well, I guess it's back to work for me now!

Wyandotte Art Festival

It's the 50th anniversary of the Wyandotte Art Festival, and my second year in "Retro Row". I set up today, with only a few minor snags. I ran my battery down last night from loading the car - it took two hours to stuff it all in there like a sardine can, it's rather an impressive sight! I couldn't close the hatch all the way, leaving the dome light on, so I undid a battery cable, the cheap thin one I had replaced only a month ago. Bad move it turns out: I didn't know it at the time, but that new cable had so much corrosion in less than a month I couldn't get a good connection and my car wouldn't start this morning! I plugged in my battery charger and hooked it up, but even after an hour I still couldn't start the car, so I called a friend and he came over and we jumped it; it started right up. I was running late at this point, but it was all right, I really didn't have to rush, which was nice. While I was driving my car kept cutting out like it had done last month when the timing belt went, so I was nervous the entire drive to the set up. I figured the problem out (that it was probably a bad connection on the cable I had removed and reconnected) when I was half-way through my set up. Fortunately, I had some cheap nail files in the car, so I used them to sand the cable's connection and the battery's terminal, reconnected them and voila! Problem solved, my car ran fine the whole way home, no more radio cutting in and out, yay! I had some dinner, I was starving since I hadn't eaten anything other than a few lettuce leaves from my garden early this morning. It was delicious (pizza). Then I noticed that the art store was closing in half an hour, called and asked them to set aside some stretcher bars for a couple of prints I ordered last week (that I *still* don't have, I'll explain below), and dropped everything to run up to the art store. So, I hop in my mustang, and start for the store. I made it five blocks and hear a quiet "pop" and then some grinding noise like I just ran over a coat hanger and it got lodged in my wheel well. I immediately pulled over to check what the noise was, and to my surprise, I had blown my right front tire less than a block from the freeway entrance! I had been going 75 miles an hour on that tire only an hour before! Not the best feeling, a bit unnerving! So, I pop off my hubcap, get my lug nuts loose, call my friend, again, to bring me a floor jack since I can't jack my car in the front with the scissors jack (it's too rusted at the jack points, I have to use a floor jack). I wait, but not long, and while I do, I call the art store and tell them I can't make it, so they tell me they'll hold my stretcher bars. How I'm going to get them I have no idea since I'll be in Wyandotte the next four days from 9am - 10pm for the next four days. I get the flat-blown-tire off and put on my thin, but full size in diameter, spare. Now I have to drive to Wyandotte on a spare in the morning; I looked up seven tire stores near there to call in the morning to try and find my 15" uncommon tire- it's small by today's standards, and I want whitewalls, I'm a purist! I'd drive my VW (my winter car), but the painting I want to bring is too big to fit. I'm hesitant but tell myself it will be ok. hm.... Even though I was trying to get stretcher bars, I don't have the prints yet because the store that does my giclee prints ran out of ink and the delivery of new ink is two days late, but I am supposed to be able to pick them up tomorrow at 10, they're meeting me at the store to open it up just for me. Wow! I guess they like me. I sure do like them, they do great work. State of the Art in Ferndale, MI. I recommend them to everyone who needs framing or prints done.
Earlier today while I had my mustang parked so I could unload and set up, another artist's assistant without much experience set a grate-wall up and didn't fasten it, so when the wind blew it fell onto my mustang and chipped my paint in several spots badly. I just came in from touching it up. I have cans of paint for my car laying around, I usually paint the chips and such in the fall once a year. Maintenence, eh? I try to take care of it since I can't afford another, hah hah. It looks ok, and I don't mind tooooooo much, as it was a lousy paint job from way back when that someone else had done for me, big mistake. Still, damage is damage, but it's ok, I hope. My only concern is exposed metal likes to rust, and the guy that did it rubbed it with his fingers, and even licked them and then touched it again, ew, all salty from sweating - it was hot as heck today, we were all salty. I asked that no one touch it - trying to keep it dry and salt free, the very things that will lead it to rust, sigh. He probably just doesn't know, not everyone does body work I guess, or think about how the salt is a catalyst for oxidation. ah, well.
I've spent my evening trying to find ways to solve some fairly minor problems. My only real concern is getting my art fair stuff back home on Saturday, I need the mustang, it holds a LOT more than the VW, and I'll be tearing it down alone as usual, and at 10 PM at night. I don't want to make two trips, gah!
Also, since I ordered the prints to sell at the fair, I'd really like to have them to sell, as I have to pay for them.
Insignificant problems, really. Life is pretty good for me right now. :)

Charity begins at home

I quit my part time art framing job of three weeks yesterday when the Carbon Monoxide levels indoors where I worked got to be too much for me - they did have a garage bay door open, but up against it was a diesel truck that had been running for quite a while, and they also had a propane hi-lo forklift running, too. No where was the CO monitored, and I began to feel a bit lightheaded, so I headed outside immediately and decided to quit my new part time, $8 an hour job. There were other problems there, too, like the potential of me crushing my hands if I became distracted just once while using the table saw - it had hydraulic presser feet to hold the wood in place, and these were mere inches from where my hands held the wood in place to cut it. I also found it unsatisfactory that there was no safety glasses provided for cutting the glass, or dust mask for the sawdust, or saftey on the staple gun, or...
You see why I quit.
Anyway, back to the title of this blog. Now that I am free to persue my full time art career again, I naturally woke up very early with excitement on this fine Saturday morning and a great idea has taken hold of me:
Donate 20% of all my sale profits to HAVEN, which is a shelter for victims of domestic abuse. They are a wonderful help for women, and an organization I myself have had contact with once upon a time.
I am going to spend the next hour or so working on my website to reflect this, and have decided to be transparent about it and post every donation amount, no names, just the figures, and keep a running total so everyone can share in the joy of this endeavor. I usually only earn around $500 a month, so with the love and support I'm already getting as an artist let's see how much I can give to HAVEN!

Dirty Show

Once a year (sometimes twice) the Dirty Show takes over Bert's Warehouse Theatre in Detroit with hundreds of erotic works of art, performers and denizens of Detroit. As usual, yours truly volunteers to help out with the show, and this year I was asked to do set design, which I jumped on with the speed of light! Jerry Vile, the show's organizer, Satori Circus (one of the performance artists) and I sat down and discussed the design inspired by Pagliacci's opera: I painted two 12 x 9 cloths to look like a circus tent in the spirit of the opera. I also painted two large walls to resemble the feeling of a well to do home, complete with crown moulding accented with nipples in pink, chair railing and some bold blue square accents framed in black mouldings. Carl Lundgren helped me paint because it was such a large project and we had such a tight deadline to meet.

My good friend, Adam Owen Layne, a talented artist who also shows at the Dirty, sent me a link today, you can see my painting in it. How cool is that? Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0fe6hU-5QY&feature=player_embedded

And, of course, I have a painting in the show, called "Tunnel of Love" It's four feet square and hung in the best spot in the show! Wooo! :) I hope to see everyone there!

Don't forget you can always check out my Events page on my website for all my upcoming shows!

My calligraphy secret magic tricks

I sometimes get paper that lets ink bleed badly when I try to write on it. I have several tricks I use to get the ink to lay nice and sharp on it, and I had to try almost all of them yesterday on some wedding placecards I just did. I start with a good quality ink, try it out on the paper and see if it bleeds, and if it does, the first thing I try is a little gum arabic. It's expensive, but a little goes a long way. That usually does the trick, although sometimes it makes the ink too thick to run properly off my mapping quill (it's my favorite nib for the classic Copperplate script I write in). If the ink is too thick after adding the gum arabic, I add a little bit of alcohol, which evaporates fast and helps stop bleeding. However, this didn't work on the placecards, either, so I went to the hard stuff: ammonia. Et voila! It was perfect. My last resort is spraying each piece of paper with spray fixative, the kind used to seal in pastels, charcoal or pencil so they don't smudge. I know that last trick from my experience drawing with different media, and I just use that knowledge in that other field and transfer it for use in this one, heh. Fortunately I didn't have to go that far, and I always would rather not as the offgassing from the spray fixative on the paper is unpleasant while I work. I avoided that this time, yay! The ink is nice and crispy sharp at the edges of the letters, and the placecards look good. I'm proud of my work. :)