The Balls You Cannot See Coming Bring Unintended Results Life throws all kinds of balls at you. (Didn’t I just say that in a recent post?) Soft balls, beach balls, bouncy balls, bowling balls… You haven’t heard from me much lately…like since at least February? Things have been full of surprises around here…not all of them fun. […]
Learn as Much as You Can About the Art Business It’s an Odd, often Opaque Business Did I catch your attention with the cute puppy? (Gracie asks,”Is that a treat in your hand?”) Are you confused about where you fit in the art world? So am I! (Gracie, the studio dog, is confused about everything! But she still has aspirations!) […]
Saying “Yes” When Opportunity Knocks I just sent out a New Year’s Newsletter from Susan Hensel Gallery + Projects. The responses are mostly “Out-of-office” replies that need to be looked at. But there are also sweet, nice emails from friends and clients. The “kudos” that we all enjoy when then arrive. The social network responses about how hard I work. I do work hard, I guess, between an appalling number of appointments and administration tasks. But I also work with great joy. I am always experimenting on multiple fronts at all times, assembling parts and ideas until, seemingly all at once, multiple pieces come together and are completed. So, while it looks like I suddenly made 3 new pieces, the reality is that they have been kicking around the studio, sometimes for months, before I have to put my foot down and “finish it up, dammit!” […]
New Work | New Shows | Slow Going New Work. Christmas is just a few frigid days from now. The whole country is struggling with the “Bomb Cyclone” winter weather! It is -11 F (almost -28 C!) and I am snuggled up in my wool socks, sweater and scarf listening to the machines stitch away. It is a comforting sound and the wind whistles through the 100 year old door jamb! I do NOT plan to go out today, not even for physical therapy! “Studio perceptions” are Odd things at any time of the year, but more so this year. Between wild weather, health, politics et al, it’s often hard to get a clear picture of what is happening! When it feels like NOTHING is happening, […]
WHAT’S YOUR STORY? Christie’s Marketing And why should you care? I just attended my second Christie’s Auction House education program. This one is on marketing. I have enjoyed the education I receive from Christie’s. It’s mighty spendy, but the courses have great depth. You get to listen to global experts and representatives from the business of art. The first session of Marketing, Communications and PR for the Art World was all about brand development. […]
Duluth Pack is a real thing….for carrying your things. For 140 years, the company has made canvas packs. In my case, the “Duluth Pack” is what I did this week for my traveling show Bending Toward Beauty. […]
Susan Hensel Textile Talks Susan Hensel Textile Talks. I started doing Textile Talks and more interviews with international pod casters last month, thanks to the hard work of my marketing team, Faceless Marketing. Each podcast seems to have a different flavor, a slightly different focus. It started with Stitchery Stories with Susan Weeks. See my blog post about it here. […]
STITCHERY STORIES A Conversation A few weeks ago I had the intense pleasure of speaking with Susan Weeks of the Stitchery Stories Podcast. Though parted by an ocean and a vast time difference. King with her in Great Britain was like talking to my favorite neighbor or long lost friend! […]
Finding your way takes persistence and maybe a few wayfinding devices. [su_custom_gallery source=”media: 11383,11382,11381″ limit=”7″ link=”lightbox” width=”310″ height=”310″ title=”never”] Finding your way takes persistence and maybe a few wayfinding devices. It is easy to get myopic in the studio. We artists tend to get caught up in the details: each blade of grass offers an opportunity to linger. And then…there are the droplets of dew!!! Oh My! It is all so beautiful! Awe inspiring! I could gaze at it forever! Such GREEN! Green is a hard color to work with…what am I gonna’ do? Is it going to be a painting? Where’s the canvas? Or shall I stitch it? Maybe beads? OOPS! I forgot what I was doing! […]
Collecting Art… on a Budget? And, why does art cost so much? I love art. I make art and I sometimes wonder, too. I make art that I cannot easily afford! Collecting Art on a budget. You and I see the news flashes about auction prices at 10’s of millions of dollars. You go to galleries and museums and see tiny, precious things, or huge piles of ordinary detritus and you wonder, ” What gives here?” I get asked questions from time to time. […]
