December 2023 Creative Resources

Pencils

December 2023 Creative Resources to help you with the business of art. Restarting this series as we conclude 2023. A bit of a look forward to opportunities in 2024 and planning for the end of 2023. 

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Guide to the Best Artist Grants & Opportunities in 2024

Artwork Archive has their 2024 list of opportunities for artists. It is a fairly comprehensive list. It is searchable by region as well. Check it out and see if there is something which interests you. Continue reading “December 2023 Creative Resources”

August Creative Resources

Pencils

Creative resources for August 2021. This list includes a few free-to-watch classes on CreativeLive, a resource list from Artwork Archive, and an uplifting blog from Creative Mornings.

Below is our Roundup of August Creative Resources
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The Best Opportunities for Artists in August 2021

Artwork Archive has a great monthly roundup of opportunities for artists. This list includes grants, residencies, events, and much more. Bookmark their page to come back each month to find out new resources.

HEY CreativeMornings!: 39 Things We Wish We’d Realized Sooner

Need a little inspiration? This post is from the CreativeMornings website may encourage you to move forward with your art. What would you tell your younger self?  

Creative Mornings is an incredible organization just for us creatives. After you read the article, take some time looking through their website. They have an amazing creative community.

August 25

Blogging to Sell Your Products

Do you have a blog? Or maybe you use Instagram to help you draw awareness to your art. Either way, you are using photos, captions, and writing to sell. This CreativeLive course is taught by Megan Auman and will walk you through the best ways to write and sell. The class takes just over 3 hours and is free on this day and available for a fee after this day. 

August 29

Turn Your Etsy Shop into a Sales Machine

If you are new to Etsy or looking to revamp your Etsy store, this course will lead you through what you need to know to grow your sales. It is over an 11-hour class and gets into the details to optimize your store. The course is a few years old, and Etsy is updated its business model and what you need to do. However, this course will help you use Etsy as one tool to create a better business. This course is free on this date and available for a fee after this date.

Above is the list of the August creative resources. If you would like to be the first to see what we round up for September, feel free to follow the blog through WordPress Reader or subscribe to our newsletter.

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Maps of Social Displacement: Conversations on Venezuelan Identity

Tumbao Contemporary Design Studio based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is a local store that provides representation to Latinx emerging artists. We will be hosting an exhibition that will include the work of NYC-based Venezuelan artists including Cassandra Mayela. Her woven sculpture incorporates clothing and textiles owned by Venezuelans who migrated to Tri-state New York, mapping cherished memories and familiarity away from homeland. Cassandra will be sharing her progress “Live at the Studio,” cultivating a space of comfort and support for the shared experiences of Venezuelans as well as an overall welcoming environment to gain insight of Venezuelan displacement. The event will take place Friday July 23rd – Sunday July 25th at Tumbao Studio located on 108 N 7th St, New York, New York. On Friday from 12-6pm, there will be a soft opening followed by the official reception held Saturday night from 5-8pm with a dj set by JUNF. Donations will be collected for the Venezuelan and Immigrants Aid non-governmental organization that provides protection for forced migrant and asylum-seeking communities in New York City.

July Creative Resources

July

July creative resources to kickstart this month’s creativity. A few posts and classes I found across the internet to keep your creativity moving through the summer.

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The Best Opportunities for Artists in July 2021

Artwork Archive has a great monthly roundup of opportunities for artists. This list includes grants, residencies, events and much more. Bookmark their page to come back each month to find out what’s new.

Toolkit: How to Write Your About Page

This post is from Creative Mornings website. The about page on your website may be one of the most important pages. This post will guide you through creating one just for you, along with examples of pages they liked. Take a look and maybe spend a little time this month updating your about me page.

Creative Mornings is an incredible organization just for us creatives. After you read the article, spend some time looking through their website. They are an amazing creative community.

July 12

Start a Handmade Business

Kari Chapin gets into details on everything you need to know to start a handmade business. Even if you already have your business started, you will learn something new on this video series on CreativeLive. This course runs just under for 15.5 hours long and a half and is free on July 12 and is available for a fee after this date.  

 

July 20

Lightroom Classic: Essential Training

Mark Wallace teaches this class on CreativeLive. If you are interested in using this software, this is a great chance to learn about it for free on this date.

Here is the class description:

This class is a step-by-step walkthrough of Lightroom Classic, perfect for the beginner as well as those who have worked with Lightroom Classic previously. This class is everything you ever wanted to know about Lightroom Classic but were afraid to ask.

This class will give you an overview of Lightroom Classic and show you how to maximize its potential by creating a workflow for importing, keywording, adjusting, and exporting your images.

Want more creative resources, here is a look back to the last resource page and come back next month for the August resource page.

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Shelby Township Art Fair

Mark your calendar for August 14 & 15, 2021 to stop by the Shelby Township’s River bends Park for the 38th Annual Shelby Township Art Fair. In addition to seeing some fabulous art from national, regional and local artists and artisans, this event features a variety of crafts as well as products from Michigan based businesses and family-friendly entertainment.

Bring the family for a day filled with activities and entertainment, and bring home a special piece of art, a hand-made item, product, or a souvenir from your visit.

Entry is FREE and this new location has lots of free parking and a shuttle bus that travels between River Bends and Woodall Parks, so you won’t have a long walk back to your car with all of the treasures you found at the fair.

This event is presented by the Shelby Township Art Fair Committee, hosted by the Shelby Township Parks, Recreation and Maintenance Department and is supported by our generous sponsors.

Around the Grounds
• Over 100 exhibits from local, regional and national artists and crafters, plus a Michigan Made Market
• Live Music at the stage – Sponsored by Genisys Credit Union
• Monster Mural Interactive Art for All Ages – Sponsored by Christian Financial Credit Union
• Free Crafts at the Kid’s Craft & Activity Corner
• See Live Critters from the Burgess-Shadbush Nature Center
• Participation by the Shelby Township Police and Fire Departments
• Recycled Art Competition – Hosted by the Shelby Township Solid Waste & Recycling Committee

River Bends Park is located at 5700 22 Mile Road between Shelby and Ryan Roadsand the fair hours are Saturday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Get more information at www.shelbyartfair.org. You can also find the Shelby Township Art Fair on Facebook or call the Shelby Parks, Recreation and Maintenance Department weekdays at 586-731-0300.

Five December Resources for Your Creative Business

Online Creative Resources

Five December resources to give you a little help right before the holidays. A blog post with grants and show applications with December deadlines. Two video courses to help you with your online store. A blog post to get your Etsy shop up and running and a chance to sell online today with us. 

Here are your five December resources to help your creative business this week:

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December Monthly Art Opportunities 

Artwork Archive rounds up grants, competitions, and other art opportunities each month. The December listing is filled with opportunities for you to apply for. Take a look to see if there is one that will help you.

Quick Steps to Getting Started on Etsy Today

If you still don’t have an online store set up and don’t know where to start, this article will help you start today. Selling with Etsy is quick and relatively easy to get going. There will always be more to learn, but this will get your store setup today.

VIRTUAL MARKET:

The Art Fair Gallery started a virtual store, linking every product back to the artist’s website. We would love to have you join the market. It runs through December 15th and should take very little of your time to set up your products for sale. Email us to participate at catherine@theartfairgallery.com

December 6

optimize your creative store

Creative Live is running a class on optimizing your creative store. This class goes through setting up your home page, about page, SEO information, and more. It is free on December 6 and then available to watch when you have time for a fee.

December 10

simple email marketing for makers

Megan Auman’s class on CreativeLive will get you ready to hit send on emails to your customers. This course walks through all the steps to create an email that will get opened and clicked on. This course is free to stream on December 10 and available to watch when you have time for a fee.

Which of these December creative resources were most useful to you?

Here is a link to last week’s resources, with inspiration to get you through the holidays.  

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Creative Holiday Resources

Holiday Shopping Bag

Holiday creative resources – a few quick resources to help you get ready for holiday sales. Since we are rolling into the holidays, with black Friday, small business Saturday and Cyber Monday right around the corner.  

With this in mind, our resources are quick hits of information so you can continue getting ready for the holidays. Two of these items are repeats from last week, simply because they are timely, and I wanted you to see the grant opportunities for the month one more time.

Below are the creative holiday resources for this week:  Continue reading “Creative Holiday Resources”

Five More Creative Resources

Orange Mug with colored pencils from above

We are back with five more creative resources for this week and beyond. A few of this week’s learning resources you can use at any time. Some are time-bound, meaning do it soon.

Below are five more creative resources for this week: 

Use Anytime

November Monthly Art Opportunities brought to you by Artwork Archive. Artwork Archive rounds up grants, competitions, and other art opportunities each month. The November listing is filled with opportunities for you to apply for. Some of these are location-specific, some are medium-specific. Take a look to see if something interests you this month.

PREPARING FOR BLACK FRIDAY CYBER MONDAY: 3 EXPERTS WEIGH IN

Shopify has a post with experts giving advice on things you should be doing now to get your business and website ready for holiday shopping. It’s a quick read and will provide you with something to think about as you prepare for increased sales on your website.

TO BECOME HAPPIER, ASK YOURSELF THESE TWO QUESTIONS EVERY NIGHT

This article by Alexander Combstrong on Medium is a quick read. The two questions you ask could be about your personal happiness, but it could also apply to your business. It is all about taking small steps towards creating a better life/business. 

WHICH OF THESE 6 TRAPS IS EATING ALL YOUR TIME

This article by Ashley Whillans discusses six things that are consuming our time, which we don’t really think about. As we roll into one of the busiest seasons for creative businesses, who couldn’t use a little bit more time. Take a look at her list of time traps and see if you can’t come up with a few things to give you an hour or more or real-time to create!

INSTAGRAM TIPS FOR CREATIVES: OPTIMIZING YOUR INSTAGRAM PORTFOLIO

This article by Elaine Rystead on Later gives a deep dive into your Instagram Portfolio. This small bit of space on your profile shows your customers a chance to get to know, trust, and like you. Read the article, look at her examples of profiles she believes work well, and then spend some time upgrading your own profile. Your profile doesn’t need to be perfect today but upgrade it today. And I will state this again, include a place for your customers to buy from you!

Which of these five more creative resources were most useful to you?

Would you like access to the weekly resource guide? Join us to get the newsletter? Last week’s resources were about creating jewelry. Would you like to review last week’s list of jewelry resources?

 

If you are an artist or maker who sells through in-person events, we would appreciate you taking a brief survey. We want to be responsive to your needs and are wondering how best to help you.