Salon de Maria Blog

We all have our own opinions of what is and isn’t art.  What is good art and what is bad art?  I believe that art is beauty and you know the old saying about beauty...it’s in the eyes of the beholder! 

I once took a painting class at the local community college.  It was just for fun, plus I wanted to learn different techniques and meet other artists in San Diego.  I loved the class, but the only thing I didn’t like was when it was time to critique other student’s pieces.  Not that I can’t handle constructive criticism, but at times I had a vision for a piece that didn’t follow the status quo.  After all, art is a subjective subject.  Who are you to judge what another person may think is beautiful or just right? 

Melissa Mannon of Garden Portraits also shares her thoughts on subjectivity in art...Yes, the positives always outweigh the negative - in art and in life ;)

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Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so I'm working on uploading all of the handcrafted greeting cards I've made to my greeting card website.  I was at Target the other day and bought a bunch of stickers and papers to make more.  The creative juices are flowing again and I'm excited about getting back into my art. 

If you're interested in ordering cards in bulk, I do offer wholesale prices on my greeting cards.  These are all one-of-a-kind handcrafted cards.  I also take special requests!  Leave a comment or contact me at maria [at] salondemaria.info

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Just had to share this picture of my best friend’s dog, Milo, who I have grown very fond of ;)  It’s an adorable picture and I caught it right when the tip of his tongue had hit his nose!  Funny ;)  Now, if I can get him some dog training so he can do some other funny poses for me...

I’ve been playing around with the black and white photography and actually love it more than color photography.  The other picture here are some roses that I bought for the kitchen table.  Sure, colorful roses are fine, but it’s just something about black and white.  I just like the contrast, perhaps.

For another great resource for photography visit Darren Rowse’s digital Photography School blog...

 

**Sponsored post

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Lately I've been brainstorming all the ways that artists could make money.  The opportunities are endless!  I met somebody recently, Lyte of A.B.A. Designs, who teaches art to kids and does fundraisers at schools for them.  Talking to him roused my creative energy and all kinds of ideas started coming to me ;)

One idea that came to me tonight was to approach schools before prom and ask if I could do paintings or drawings of couples during prom night.  I know many girls would like to have renderings or illustration of their 2007 prom dresses framed ;)   

Another idea that came to me was to see if the cheerleading squads at the high schools in my area would like to do a fundraiser.  They could sell beaded name bracelets that I would make.  I would donate a portion of the sales to the cheerleading squad. 

Have any money-making ideas to share? 

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I was reading the Art News Blog tonight and found out about the Post Secret blog.  An interesting concept, to say the least.  If you have a secret you’re dying to just release, why not make it into a piece of postcard art and post it at this blog?  From the website:

You are invited to anonymously contribute your secrets to PostSecret. Each secret can be a regret, hope, funny experience, unseen kindness, fantasy, belief, fear, betrayal, erotic desire, feeling, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything - as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.

I can understand how this website can become addicting.  There’s some juicy stuff there.  I’ll keep my secrets to myself, thank you! 

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For those of you artists who need an idea on how to get more exposure for your art...

One of the things I’ve wanted to do this year is to team up with beauty salons to either hang my art or sell my jewelry in their salons.  Last week I went to check out a hair salon in Pacific Beach for a three-month contract.  Hillcrest salons are also on the list to check out. 

Other places you may check out to have your art exhibited are your local coffee shops.  Most shops let you show for free, however, they may collect a commission.  I’ve also had my art displayed in coffee shops around San Diego. 

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I bought a new canvas and paintbrushes last month but I haven’t been inspired to do any painting lately.  Perhaps a visit to a museum or gallery will give me back my mojo! 

Speaking of painting, I have a work in progress - this painting pictured here that I’ve been working on for, oh, over two years?!?  I guess it could be finished, but it still calls me to do something else with it.  This isn’t exactly the best picture of it and you can’t tell that the purple tulips have purple beads sewn onto the canvas. 

This is one of those pieces that is a manifestation of things that just come to mind - a very mindless abstract is what I like to call it.  I just get lost in thought and paint away - no plan for what the end result is going to look like.  

Update:  After posting this I realized that I had already talked about this painting before!  Guess I really need to just work on it!

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A couple weeks ago I went to the San Diego Auto Show to check out my dream car, the Audi A8.  With digital camera in tote, I was ready to get as many shots as I could of the car....Check out the photos of the Audi A8.

As my boyfriend and I were checking out the collector’s cars including a Bentley and some other fancy cars I can’t remember the names of, I noticed all these guys with their big cameras taking pictures of these cars.  I was enamoring their big, fancy cameras and wishing I could have a camera like that to take photos with.  No doubt that these guys were professionals who probably sell these photos online or to exotic car dealers. 

For those of you who like taking pictures of cars, I came across some resources and tips to help you out:

• Photographing Classic Cars
• How to Photograph Car Shows

Books available at Amazon.com:
How to Photograph Cars by James Mann
How to Photograph Cars: An Enthusiast's Guide to Equipment and Techniques by Tony Baker
 

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Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so I'm making sure that I'm ready for those of you who are looking for gifts and greeting cards to give to your loved ones ;)

So far I have only seven Valentine's Day greeting cards uploaded over at Greetings by Maria, but stay tuned because I'll be adding more soon!

I'm also working on adding more jewelry pieces to my Etsy jewelry shop... 

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A question that I get asked often is how I started my jewelry business, so today I’m going to share my story...

It all started during college about seven years ago when I was shopping in a little boutique in Chico, California.  I noticed a bead store next door to the boutique and thought I’d just look around.  I was immediately drawn to the assortment of colors and textures of all the different types of beads.  The shopkeeper in the bead store was sitting at a desk making a necklace.  I watched and listened closely as she showed me step-by-step how to make it.  I caught on very quick....

I first started out making stretch bracelets with elastic and glass beads bought from the bead store and the JoAnn Fabric store in Chico .  I didn’t have the budget yet to buy expensive semi-precious gemstones and all the components and tools to make necklaces and bracelets with clasps.  I would stay up at night and as I sat in front of the TV, I would work on jewelry.  I do have some of my early pieces around somewhere.  I’ll dig them up and post them soon. 

As the years progressed my jewelry making skills got better.  After college I moved to San Diego (where I live now) and found out where all the good bead stores are.  I would always browse through jewelry making magazines like Step by Step Beads to get ideas and learn new techniques.  I would make jewelry for myself and friends. 

One day my best friend asked if I would be interested in starting a jewelry business with her.  She was interested in learning how to make jewelry and I was certainly interested in making money doing something I love. 

We started off selling at school events and fundraisers.  Then we showed at ArtWalk two years ago.  After ArtWalk I decided to go off on my own because it seemed like my friend was losing interest in the business.  Her passion wasn’t as strong as mine. 

Fast forward to now and I’m selling my jewelry via my little shop at Etsy. I still do fundraising events and once in awhile head down to the local swap meet to sell.  I collect email addresses from my customers (with their permission, of course) and add them to my email list to keep them updated on my whereabouts and new products.

However, now I am focusing on adding all my jewelry to my Etsy shop and doing online marketing via Google Adwords to get customers to my website.  I’m also working on getting my jewelry in boutiques around San Diego by posting ads on Craigslist and word-of-mouth advertising.   Another thing I would like to do is jewelry parties where people can make their own jewelry or purchase jewelry - similar to Cookie Lee Jewelry or Avon parties.  So, if you’re in San Diego and would like to host a jewelry party, let me know!

I came across some resources that have start-up jewelry making kits available:

• 2beadornot2bead.com - beads and jewelry making supplies
• Alljeweledup.com - offers a “weekend designer” kit
• Home Jewelry Business Package at Wire-Sculpture - free tips and how-to articles
  

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Happy New Year to all you dear readers!  2007 has gotten off to a good start.  I’m already on my way to accomplishing one of my goals of learning Photoshop.  While everyone was partying on New Year’s Eve, I sat down with my laptop and surfed the web looking for tutorials and tips on Photoshop Elements (such the geek that I am!) 

Anyways, my first Photoshop creation is posted at one of my other blogs, The Good Life.  I then spent all New Year’s Day uploading many of the pictures I took in 2006 to my Flickr photo album. 

This whole digital art thing is pretty fun!  I like that I can literally create a “masterpiece” in a matter of fifteen minutes.  That’s one of my challenges with creating art - sometimes I’m not that patient.  When I paint I sometimes get anxious to have the piece done in one sitting and it just doesn’t happen that way most of the time.  Perhaps that’s why I love photography because it’s an instantaneous Masterpiece at the click of the button ;)

I was playing around with a new header for this blog... 

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From the mailbox...

In recognition of International Women's Day and Women's History Month, the 2nd City Council (2cc) Art Gallery + Performance Space is please to announce its call for female visual artists from California for its 6th annual Women's Music, Art, Dance and Word Festival.  The exhibition opens on March 3, 2007 - April 12, 2007 with the Festival being held on Saturday, March 10, 2007 from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

 

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