Alyson Stanfield Book Party

Alyson Stanfield and I are posing in front of
fiber work by Gabrielle Duggan at VAE

Last weekend, I finally got to meet Alyson Stanfield, the Art Biz coach, author and all-around inspiring woman.  The occasion was the Carolina Mixed Media Guild's (CMMAG) book party to celebrate the release of the newly updated version of her book, "I'd Rather Be in the Studio, The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion". 

If you're an Artventuring reader from way back, you know that I led an Art Marketing Salon group in 2007, based upon Alyson's model.  It was a transformative experience; it was the reason I began blogging, gained the confidence to apply to juried shows, and developed better, more effective promotional materials.  Since then, I've subscribed to Alyson's newsletter, was a guest blogger on her Artbiz blog, and had my "Land and Sea" wall hanging  featured on the blog last year.



CMMAG President
Penny Arrowood with Alyson

When I learned Alyson would be coming to Durham to do her "Shameless Self-Promotion" art marketing workshop, I contacted her to ask if she'd also come to Raleigh.  Her visit coincided with the release of the newly updated edition of her book, so we decided a book party would be a fun event.  Our CMMAG members agreed.  As a member of the Visual Art Exchange (VAE), I was able to rent the gallery, which provided a lovely backdrop for us to meet Alyson, hear her speak, ask questions, and mingle with fellow artists.  Alyson was ending her 9-day swing through North and South Carolina, and though she'd been alternately speaking and driving for all that time, she was gracious, knowledgeable and extremely generous with her time.  I think everyone enjoyed the event, and came away with new ideas about promoting their work.   Thanks so much, Alyson--we all really enjoyed meeting and spending time with you!