Preseason Training
As I watch the end to another NFL season with this years version Super Bowl Forty-Six, I am suddenly reminded that "my season" is quickly upon me (By the way... Congratulations N.Y. Giants on tonight's 21-17 victory). The season to which I refer is the 2012 art show & festival season.
Although it is only early February, I know unless I get extremely focused and productive, it is going to be "game on" before I realize it. Winter should be a time for relaxing & renewal from the rigors of a spring and fall show season, however, winter is more like preseason training. Yes, you must find time for renewal, but you better be preparing for what the new year will bring. Reassessing 2011, making new contacts, exploring new ideas, practicing new techniques, planning & applying to shows, and making new art begin the list of tasks that must become part of your daily "workouts".
2012 has the potential to be an exciting year for me and my art. I am transitioning toward the type of show that will more frequently put my folk art audience in front of me. I have spent many hours networking with fellow artists, researching the Internet for shows that primarily feature folk artists, and have tried to expand my work in new mediums that may help me appeal to a broader customer base. Atlanta, Ga., Northport, Al., Morehead, Ky., Louisville, Ky., and Ashville, N.C. are but a few of the destinations to which I hope to travel as I "take my game on the road". I am both hopeful and yet anxious as the reality of how fast this season is about to unfold.
Another busy week has come to a close. I must now get my rest ( after all, I am in training). Tomorrow, I continue my regimen;making ready for when I have the chance to put all this hard work & preparation from my preseason training into action as I take the field in a "big show" near you!
Really... have I been able to use enough sports cliches' to suit you???
About Me
- Robbie Mueller
- I am a retired Kentucky teacher turned self-taught artist. Originally, I built and sold primitive farmhouse furniture like shelves, tables and plate racks. Soon I found myself creating accent pieces like chickens, crows, and weathervanes. My love of making functional furnishings had evolved into a passion for making “art.” While I had no formal training in art, friends insisted I was not just making stuff with junk, I was creating mixed media sculpture. I consider myself a contemporary folk artist. Carved wood, corrugated metal and coated electrical wire become a raven landing on a fence post—Raven’s Roost. Discarded metal roofing, a rusted steel rod, and hand carved cow (including udders) turned into Elsie’s Udder Side a whimsical weather vane. Night Bandit is a raccoon carved from pine with a refrigerator coil brush for a tail. Finishing my pieces with a “time worn” painting technique is a unifying characteristic of all of my work. Coming up with a catchy name for each piece is always a fun way to finish.
Showing posts with label folk artist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label folk artist. Show all posts
Monday, February 6, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Lessons Learned
One of the lessons I am learning as I try to better my craft as a contemporary folk artist, is that there is a never ending need to continue being educated. Not the type of "schoolin'" that puts you back into a formal classroom, but the type that comes from a run-in with "the-school-of-hard-knocks". No matter if you are the graduate of a noted fine arts college, or the self-taught artist who learned from watching grandpaw, it is always necessary to be on a never ending quest for new knowledge.
I have been astounded (and at times overwhelmed) by the amount of time and effort that must be invested into making art. There are many hats that must be worn. Each requiring skills that can only be learned by experiencing them; researcher, secretary, custodian, buyer, marketing director, advertising executive, salesman, writer, photographer, packer, unpacker, and merchandiser... just to name a few.
The only life experience I can compare the whirlwind I have encountered in the past 48 months, was when I stepped into my first classroom as a middle school teacher. All of the coursework that 4 + years of college taught me, in no way prepared me for what I would experience in that first year of teaching. I had no idea the many roles I would be expected to fill. Each day was different, bringing with it, it's own new challenges. Eventually, as I became more comfortable with all the hats I was being asked to wear, I grew as a teacher.
This same passion that I had as a young emerging teacher is the same passion that I must now rely on as an emerging folk artist. I must take the challenges that each day presents, and learn from them. In other words, I have to be willing to "take the next step".
Lesson learned: Nothing of value comes without a price.
One of the lessons I am learning as I try to better my craft as a contemporary folk artist, is that there is a never ending need to continue being educated. Not the type of "schoolin'" that puts you back into a formal classroom, but the type that comes from a run-in with "the-school-of-hard-knocks". No matter if you are the graduate of a noted fine arts college, or the self-taught artist who learned from watching grandpaw, it is always necessary to be on a never ending quest for new knowledge.
I have been astounded (and at times overwhelmed) by the amount of time and effort that must be invested into making art. There are many hats that must be worn. Each requiring skills that can only be learned by experiencing them; researcher, secretary, custodian, buyer, marketing director, advertising executive, salesman, writer, photographer, packer, unpacker, and merchandiser... just to name a few.
The only life experience I can compare the whirlwind I have encountered in the past 48 months, was when I stepped into my first classroom as a middle school teacher. All of the coursework that 4 + years of college taught me, in no way prepared me for what I would experience in that first year of teaching. I had no idea the many roles I would be expected to fill. Each day was different, bringing with it, it's own new challenges. Eventually, as I became more comfortable with all the hats I was being asked to wear, I grew as a teacher.
This same passion that I had as a young emerging teacher is the same passion that I must now rely on as an emerging folk artist. I must take the challenges that each day presents, and learn from them. In other words, I have to be willing to "take the next step".
Lesson learned: Nothing of value comes without a price.
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