Kansas City, Here We Come

Earlier this month, we drove a trailer-full of prints to Kansas City for two Pele Prints shows: Structure, Story & Flow in the Opie Gallery at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center and Botanical Explorations at Beco Flowers/Gallery. The groundwork for both of these exhibits was laid by Laura Berman, one of our favorite Pele artists, and Courtney Wasson, gallerist extraordinaire. Many thanks to both of these talented ladies, as well as Heather Lustfeldt, the curator for both shows.

If you have a chance to check out the shows in person, they will be up through November 1, 2014...enjoy!

Safe and Sound

The thought of shipping any art is just scary. Once it's out of our studio and out of our hands, who knows what will happen on the journey to gallery, fair, framer, consultant, or collector. My husband (who worked for a large shipping company that shall not be named) had these wise words about any package you are going to send: "If you can't throw it across the room and stand on it, don't ship it." After seeing the shipping hub for myself and what a package must endure, I can say this is absolutely true!

So what's an artist to do about shipping? First and foremost, get insurance if you can afford it. Not all carriers will insure or even ship artwork. That means an outside insurance policy for sending art, like an inland marine policy. If insurance is out of the question financially, you will have to make the call yourself on how comfortable you are with the risk of shipping. The worst case scenario is that the piece is completely destroyed. Quick side note: we literally had a piece destroyed by a chain saw once...no joke. The next question is what shipper to use. Most of us also cannot afford to use fine art shippers or have the work hand-carried to its destination. As of writing this post, I find that USPS and FedEx Express are currently our best options. Another option is to look into driving the work yourself.

Now on to the packing. Since Pele's focus is prints, these packing tips are for works on paper. Paintings, sculptures, framed work, or other types of art require a different approach. There are two ways to ship unframed prints: flat or rolled.

Flat Pack

• This is your best option for smaller prints, extra heavy papers, collage pieces, and works that have a delicate surface or ink that may crack if rolled.
• Protect prints with glassine and wrap in plastic. You want to have moisture barrier. Prints that are different sizes should be wrapped separately.
• Cut packing material at least 5" larger than the dimensions of the largest print in each direction. The corners are vulnerable to crushing in a flat pack, so it's important that the prints are not close to the edges.
• Packing material should include a minimum of four pieces of cardboard and a piece of sturdy board (thin plywood, Masonite, etc.). The board protects the entire package from bending in shipping. The larger the prints, the more vulnerable they are to bending. Use more packing materials for larger flat packs.
• Create a sandwich with the prints in the middle. The prints should be secured to a piece of cardboard using painters tape or taped sturdy corners (folded pieces of card stock much like photo corners, allowing you to keep tape off of the art). Secured each wrapped print(s) separately.
• Fully tape around the outer edges of the sandwich using strapping and/or packing tape.

Tube in a Tube

• This is your best option for large prints.
• You will pack a tube within a tube. The inner tube should not be smaller than 4" in diameter and 4" longer than the shortest dimension of the print to be shipped. Add another 2"-3" to the length and diameter of the outer tube.
• Wrap the inner tube with glassine, and roll the print(s) face out around the outside of this tube. Make sure the edges of the prints are even and the prints are centered on the roll. Roll another sheet of glassine (6" longer than the tube in width) around the prints. Secure the ends by tucking the glassine into the ends of the tube.
• Wrap a piece of painters tape tightly and completely around each end of the tube to keep the print(s) from sliding up and down on the tube. The tape should not be on top of print or on the edge of the print, but a 1/2" out from the edge of the print.
• Wrap the entire inner tube in plastic or bubble wrap to protect from moisture.
• Using bubble wrap, create sleeves or cushion the sides of the inside tube so it doesn't rattle around or hit the inside of the outer tube. Make sure you have a small amount of bubble wrap at the ends as well for cushioning.
• Securely tape caps on the ends of the outer tube using strapping and/or packing tape.

How We're Wired

Last week we saw the movie Lucy. Without any spoilers, the story looks at the ability of humans to use their brains to the fullest capacity and what that would be like. Even though the movie has received mixed reviews, I'm pretty easily entertained. Not to mention it was nice to see something that wasn't a remake or sequel. If nothing else, Lucy does give some food for thought about the way our brains work.

All of this made me think back to an article I saw in April from Artnet News (New Study Suggests Artists' Brains Are More Fully Developed). This stemmed from a report from the BBC. In a nutshell it seems that visual artists have a more developed section of their brain, making them wired for fine motor skill and visual acuity. The increased grey and white matter present suggests that "these individuals have enhanced processing" in certain areas. The question of whether they were pre-wired for these skills or developed these areas of the brain through training and practice remains to be answered. Most likely, it's a combination of the two. Also interesting is that the increase in brain development was not just found on right side of the brain, but the left as well. This challenges the idea that artists are strictly right-brained.

We are just scratching the surface in terms of understanding how the brain works...I can't wait to see where the research takes us in the future.

Hard Work

"Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them." 
– Ann Landers

It's not a fun concept...hard work. But I was raised not to shy away from it. My parents are both hard workers, and they have definitely passed that on to me. As a little girl, I worked hard at school; today, I work hard at the studio.

As an artist, I've always been somewhat surprised and slightly offended that many people think my job is easy. I first noticed this in high school, where weighted GPAs placed more value on AP math and science classes than on AP art classes. This continued into college. I would hear non-art school folks comment on how easy art school must be...how nice it would be not to have to work or study so hard. Meanwhile, I was spending three times the hours in my classes as they spent in theirs and doing just as much (if not more) "homework".

The idea of magically becoming a success overnight or simply having rewards fall into your lap is foreign to me. The journey, the hard work, is what prepares us for success and builds a foundation of appreciation. I value hard work. Despite my failures and times where it has not panned out, I fundamentally do believe that hard work pays off. Although, perhaps not always the way we think it will. I will continue to work hard at Pele Prints.

News from Pele Prints Artists

Pele wouldn't be the same without our great group of artists. I'm lucky to collaborate with such a diverse and successful bunch. In addition to creating prints with us, they all have active studio practices of their own for their primary work. A few of our artists have recently been busy outside of Pele, and we wanted to share what they've been up to...congratulations and keep it up, folks!


Carmon Colangelo
Storms
Solo show at Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO
4/4/14 – 5/3/14

Laura Berman
Pulsar
Solo show at Haw Contemporary, Kansas City, MO
4/11/14 – 5/24/14

Brandon Anschultz
2014 Great Rivers Biennial 
Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO
5/9/14 – 8/10/14

Lora Fosberg
The Steamroller Printmaking Project
Community event, Michigan City, IN
8/23/14

Balance

Finding a balance in my life has been an ongoing lesson for me for some time now. In fact, I'm pretty sure this will be a life-long journey. As a natural "workaholic," I have to remind myself to slow down and take time for me on a regular basis. Work/life balance.

All of this said, I'm always looking for tips and ideas to help me along. Grace Bonney runs Design*Sponge (a great design blog) and hosts After the Jump (a super informative podcast for makers). In one of her recent episodes, she breaks down ten tips for being a more happy and productive business owner and person. Most of these we already know, but the reminder is crucial. So, here they are...wise words to live by:

1 - Collaborate
2 - Build a support system
3 - Time off is not a luxury, it's a necessity
4 - Stay inspired...go back to the well
5 - Trust your gut and feelings
6 - Be inspired by your competition
7 - Always be learning
8 - Ask for and accept help
9 - SLEEP
10 - Do a brain dump at the end of every day

Check out the full episode for all the details.