We’ll be speaking today at UNC’s Arts & Business Seminar with Michelle Bordner, Artistic Coordinator for Carolina Performing Arts, Chris Wimberley of Nightsound Studios, Alexis MastroMichalis of Nightlight and Jim Dennis of Music Loft on the subject of “So Your Want To Open A Studio?” (Local professionals with backgrounds in Music, Studio Art, Design, and Dance come together to share and compare their experiences managing a small business and pursuing their artistic careers.) Our plan is to be open, honest and careful not to sugar coat the gory details of entrepreneurship. These are the questions they’ve asked us to prepare for…

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Post by laura in Around Town • Business • News • (0) Comments •

As an artist I can only speak from experience, getting noticed and recognized is quite the daunting task. Taking on the life of an artist or freelancer is never easy and here are a few tips on how to get noticed.

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Artists are too often lacking their creative muse, their inspiration, ideas that pay the bills. Art is reactionary work, not very often do you wake up ready to create something great and original. Creating something from nothing is harder work than say, your average day at the auditing house or security detail. There are no guarantees that what you put down, put out will be well received - unless what you’re putting out is your body.

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Jeff and Katie Downie of Downie Photography were so excited about what we came up with for their brother Steve, that they commissioned us to make promotional graphic tees.

The idea was to start with an editorial photograph taken by Jeff and convert it to an illustration that would not only reproduce well, but also make a statement about the type of people they are: young, hip, and forward thinkers. This first design was the initial direction we took, placing the name “Downie” in the foremost part of the vector design.

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photo kidnapped from the Scrap Exchange

We are currently in the process of collecting names & contact info for super cool, but underground, artists, musicians and business owners for the new and improved Artery Magazine. We’ve been working slowly on it for months thinking no one’s paid attention - but they have, and we’ve been getting emails, phone calls and other odd requests. Guys and gals in Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Raleigh and yes, even Durham. With the immediate reaction we’ve had from Durham residents I can’t understand why everyone is so down on the Bull City.

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We’ve acquired a new Scott Bye painting! The conversation went like this:
Scott: “Do you really want it?”
Me: “Absolutely.”
Scott: “You are the only person on the face of the planet who loves this painting. It’s all yours.”
Me: Score

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photo: Epistemic Miscreant of Brooklyn Soul Productions

With a large move, like the one we made from Buffalo to Chapel HIll, comes Western NY cultural withdrawal. We’ve craved kaiser rolls and Frank’s hot sauce, searched for hockey fans and had the urge to pretend an island was a round about, but just now, as we are in Buffalo for the Holidays, do we feel the need to be heavily dosed with techno and DnB. 

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Project: Invitations and Auction Item Tickets
Client: The ArtsCenter
Usage: We held Benefit Party for the ArtsCenter to celebrate the future construction of their new building / expansion. Theater performances, arts classes and concerts would be auctioned off.

My limited technical knowledge of print design stems from the first few semesters of my college experience so this project I had to depend solely on my design aesthetic. But alas - I’m no longer trapped in the realm of web-friendly fonts!

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Post by laura in Around Town • Artwork • (0) Comments •

I was going to give away my secret recipe for Honey Cajun Turkey Rub, but due to the inexplicably cold weather here in the South, I was inspired to make mittens instead. 

Tools and Materials:

Paper
Marker
Scissors
Old Wool Sweater (support your local PTA or Salvo!)
Pins
Sewing machine
Thread (neon is easy to see)

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Make from scratch, start with your own ideas, see them through, for better or worse.

On a tip from the employees at Fitch Lumber & Hardware, I took an afternoon drive to Storybrook Farms to visit the metal-smith Artisans who live, work, and breathe wrought iron. The farm is virtually unscathed by the current state of economy; mammoth sheets of metal lean against houses, tractors and farm equipment gleam in the dun and the men cheerfully greet me before I shut my car door. One of the men warns me, “if it lands in the scrap bin, it must truly be scrap for us not to use it.” I am allowed to help myself to their discards, all for free!  I dive in and recover treasures: a decaying, peeling sconce, a silver owl hood ornament, nails and screws, and a sort of wiry wheel.

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Post by laura in Around Town • Handmade • (1) Comments •