Festivity Mandala - (Winter Circle series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2007Yesterday I created this mandala just in time for the holidays. I know, it seems kind of funny to be thinking about that now, but I have been thinking about making a calendar (or 2) for the upcoming season.
Recently I began reading Christine Kane's blog. She is an indie musician and self-proclaimed sensitive person (aren't all of us creative types?), who writes about business, creativity and the Law of Attraction. She doesn't know it yet, but she is also one of my cyber mentors. I highly recommend any artist considering the business side of the equation to read her great post, Business Advice for Artists and Sensitive People. Neda Doany of Papiers Colles asked me to write about the emotional side of business, but I don't have any good advice or experience for that yet. This woman does.
So, back to the calendars. I had a fun first experience with calendar making last year; it was also my first experience working with a print on demand company. The calendars turned out well, they were well received, people were happy, my sensitive artist self felt like Sally Fields (oooh you really do like me after all). But there were problems. The biggest one was I didn't make any money... the print on demand company did. What's wrong with this picture, anyway? In order to make a profit, I would need to price this product way above normal retail price for similar items. Which gets me back to a bigger desire of finding a publisher. But more on that subject at a later time.
This mandala will also make a great greeting card, and the printing issues I've been having are close to being resolved. So all is not lost.
Oh. And yes. You can expect more Photoshop Tips each Sunday in your inbox or the RSS feed reader of your choice!
5 comments:
Oh, this is so beautiful! You really are an inspiration, Sue. You are someone I will always try to emulate. I can't wait to go to Paint Shop and see if I can do something even half way this good. Nah, I'll never in a million years!
Well, Irene, I usually think to myself, maybe in a million years...
What a beautiful creation, Sue, it really jumps off the page. And it's definitely not too early to think about marketing for the holiday season.
I know your frustration with the cost of publishing/printing only too well. It's prohibitive when you're a small (read one person) operation. I've had to give up a number of projects precisely because this big hurdle.
There is some good news - it's becoming easier to find a printer (the machine, not the human) that will churn out pretty good copies at an acceptable cost/profit ratio. I've been looking into that recently and mulling over the possibilities. I'll definitely let you know if I come up with anything interesting.
Good for you for thinking ahead. Another beauty! These images will make wonderful cards and calendars. Have you checked out the Artist's and Graphic Designers Market (book)? There may some possible resources for publishers, card companies etc. to check out.
deb, thank you for reminding me about that book. i have a copy of it here somewhere (I think) if its the same one im thinking of. if not, i will be sure to check it out!
~sue
Thia is a very nice mandala ... and Sue I know it is hard with business and printing!!
I will check out those links.
Good thinking to be planning ahead.
~ Diane Clancy
www.dianeclancy.com/blog
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