ArtSites Updates

The labyrinth of alley-ways in downtown Kingston are like little adventures we can explore everyday full of surprises, intrigue and history. A turn here, a stone wall there, secret little balconies with a view of a court yard or a sculpture quietly, humbly hanging above your head, these are all gems that are unique to Kingston!

Well, that alley-way adventure literally, just got a lot more intriguing, and colourful! :-)

Here's your introduction to "Martello Alley"!

When you venture down Martello Alley at 203 B Wellington Street, prepare to have a smile that only great art and creativity can create!

Reminiscent of, and inspired by La Rue du Trésor in Québec, this is an adventure with an wonderfully artistic ending!

The alley is brain child of an artist collective offering eclectic works that are sure to brighten any day. Selling original art work as well as prints, this is a space designed for any budget and any style/size of space.

These works will adorn the walls of the alley tempting you further in to stroll the court yard; a work in progress that promises to be beautifully rich with local history and seasonal landscape design. Then wind up at the atelier where you will find a gallery and artists with their works in progress to welcome you at the end.

Drop by and see what's new, meet an artist and have a cup of coffee. They would love to meet you! Visit the collective on Facebook to read up about the artists and what's happening at Martello Alley!

If you're in the area, do stop by and support these talented Kingston artists! :-)

And, here are a few more photos of this "Artistic Adventureland"! :-)

Have you seen any other interesting "exhibition areas"?!

Here's a great article entitled, What Art Customers Want, by Chris Tyrell.

In the article, Chris explains that Art buyers want “to connect” with artists either through direct contact or via the information provided.

They don’t just want basic art information; they want a “connection” that is an emotional one!

I couldn't agree more! :-)

What's wonderful is that the web and social media are making it easier and easier to share YOUR story with the world!

So, we encourage you to build emotional "connections" and I'm sure you will see increased awareness of your art!

Once again, here's the article, What Art Customers Want! Enjoy! :-)

Over the past month, we've had a few artists whose websites have gone offline - Yikes!

Naturally, we got a panicked email and quickly realized that the issue was actually related to their domain name, which in these recent cases were being managed directly by the artist.

Here are a few tips to make sure that this doesn't happen to you:
(and if we're managing your domain name, no worry, this is what we do for you! ;-)

• Update or confirm your contact information when you receive an email from your registrar!
  If you don't, some registrars will suspend your domain name and your website will go offline :-(
• Make sure your contact information is current!
  Most registrars will communicate with you via email for renewals, etc. If they can't reach you, you may miss an important notice and your domain name may be turned off or suspended.
• Make sure you renew your domain name on time!
  If you miss your renewal date, it is possible that someone else may pick it up and then it can be pricey or impossible to get it back.
• Check your "Spam Folder" periodically!
  Sometimes, emails and notices from registrars end up in "Spam or Junk Mail" folders. Since they do contain important information, do check these periodically to make sure you're on top of the latest requests, requirements, and notices.

Generally, it's not too complicated to maintain your domain name, but the above tips will ensure that your domain name remains current and that people can find your website online! :-)

Since we manage over 700 domain names, we do know a little bit about this! ;-)

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about art copyright "infringer", WallPart.com.

Well, I've done some more investigating and here's a quick update as to what they are "actually" doing ...

In essence, they are doing an image search, similar to a Google Image search, and simply providing a list of image results - albeit making it look like the images live on their website.

However, they are NOT storing your images ... they are simply presenting them to the "searcher".

When the "searcher" decides on an image to print, WallPart.com merely uses the selected image and prints the poster, etc.

So, in reality, the copyright "infringer" is the "searcher" who has selected a copyrighted image.

It's as if the "searcher" downloaded the image to their computer and then uploaded it again to the WallPart.com service.

So, in essence, WallPart.com is not "technically" the copyright "infringer" - GRRRR!

Now, I still don't like this practice, but I did want to clarify why many of you found your images on their website.

In essence, they are indexing online images, just like Google, and making the results available to anyone who comes to their website for printing purposes!

This is definitely a "grey" business practice, and I really wanted to explain how they operate and why your images may be "on their website".

That said, I still encourage you to sign the petition to shut them down! ;-)

This week, I received an email from Eszter Burghardt informing me that WallPart.com was selling her images without her permission!

Naturally, I did some online searching to see what information I could find ...

Well, unfortunately, no one seems to be able to contact them or figure out who is behind this website.

So, it's probably a waste of time to try to contact them or ask them to remove your artwork - GRRR! :-(

However, I did find the following articles:

• Creepy Website is Stealing Photos and Artwork, Selling Them As Posters
• A Petition to ShutDown Wallpart.Com

So, I wanted to ask you a favour ...

In support of your fellow artists, please do consider signing this petition!

Let's show "companies" like this that ALL artists matter and their works should be protected! :-)

Thanks for your support of all artists and their works! :-)

Once again, here's an interesting article about how some artists are managing to become successful "artrepreneurs"! :-)

Here's a great quote from the article:

"According to a number of business authorities, morphing your personal talent and passionate interest into a full-time business is a terrible plan. But a growing number of artists and creative entrepreneurs disagree."

Enjoy the article and perhaps you'll get a few ideas and inspiration, as well! :-)

Here's to all our ArtSites' artrepreneurs! :-)

Here's a great article that looks at how artists may subconsciously sabotage their own value!

I strongly recommend that you read the article to see if any of the author's thoughts mirror some of your own.

That said, I thought this quote was a great one to summarize the message:

"Valuing yourself and your talent and your work, truly valuing your best qualities does not bring trouble, criticism and rejection; quite the opposite!"

Now, please go out there and value yourself FULLY! :-)

Enjoy the article! :-)

Bosa Development Corporation and the District of North Vancouver are seeking an artist team to create artwork associated with the Lynn Valley Town Centre Redevelopment located in the District of North Vancouver. The intention of the overall project is to develop an easily accessed artwork experience that will become a visible landmark for the residents of Lynn Valley.

The entire site is envisioned to be an artwork “palette” of integrated art, standalone iconic pieces and signature artwork. Three elements - history, geology, and water combine to form themes that will be expressed in the paving, feature plazas, site furnishings, and will provide a unifying, engaging and interactive language and narrative for the site.

Due June 19th, here's more information about the Expression of Interest!

Recently, I was asked by one of our artists for best practices and tips dealing with the public at an artist talk or reception.

She was both excited and anxious about the event!

A few of the questions she asked were:

• How do you make small-talk without being ostentatious and still remain approachable and true to your work and personality?
• How do you "extract" yourself from a conversation?
• What are some "safe" topics to talk about?
• What if you don't have an answer for a question asked?

I'm sure many of you have been in similar circumstances! ;-)

So, before writing up my article, I wanted to simply ask you what tips / suggestions do you have?

I'll summarize and maybe even quote a few goods one ;-)

So, please send me your tips and suggestions on dealing with the public about your artwork!

Thanks in advance for your "nuggets of wisdom"! :-)

And, here's to smooth future networking and chatting! :-D

Many of you have added social networking sharing buttons to your website.

While these do provide an easy way for people to "share" your website with others, a recent study states that less than 1% of people click on these buttons.

I'm not really surprised because if I think about my own "sharing behaviour", I rarely click on these buttons. How about you?!

Now, I'm not saying you need to remove these; I simply wanted to let you know that a VERY small percentage of your visitors will likely click on them.

(And, on mobile devices the percentage is even lower - less than 0.4%!)

This is just something to keep in mind if you're hoping these social sharing buttons will increase your traffic significantly! ;-)

Enjoy the study! :-)