Points of Connection

I participated in a teleseminar last week, conducted by Alyson B. Stanfield of Art Biz Coach.com with guest speaker Jennifer King. The subject was: How to Get Your Art Published in Magazines. This is one of the new directions I'm exploring as a result of this year's less than stellar retail shows. Speaking of which, Judy Dunn has a post about her disappointing retail experiences on her Artrepreneur blog--I guess it's nice to know it's not just me, but I do know that; the craft market is soft, and the forecast is not encouraging.

Jennifer, who was formerly editor of three art magazines, directs us to list all of the interesting things about ourselves and our artwork, which will connect with the readers of specific magazines. Her point is that every magazine has a defined constituency, with a common interest, and editors search for features and articles which align with that interest.

So, here's my Points of Connection list:

In my early 50's
Mother of 1 teenage son
Lived in New England, now in the South
Worked in textbook publishing
Changed careers in my 30's
Formerly designed jewelry
Teach art part time
Write blog on art
Create Afrocentric home furnishings
Polymer clay artist
Mixed media artist: acrylics, rubber stamping, handmade paper, beads, embossing
Create masks with African-inspired motifs and themes
Travel to art fairs and festivals, primarily in Southeast

How will items on my list connect to magazine readers? What magazines are out there for me to approach? This is what I'm working on now...details to come tomorrow.

Meanwhile, color and pattern inspiration from natural abalone shells.

Make interesting connections today.

Comments

Susan Turney said…
Hi Michelle,
First....fabulous beads or whatever that pic is!!! The colors are wonderful.

While reading your post I thought of Jana Roberts Benzon. There is an article about her in one of the bead magazines....I'm sorry I don't know which one but if you go over to Polymerclaycentral.com I think you can find it. It might answer some of your questions.
Susan