The Curious Creator Jane Monteith

Are you overwhelmed with thinking about all the things you need to get done or want to accomplish this year?

In today's episode I share how you can effectively plan and map out your goals for the next 12 months. I also share 4 planners that can help you break down your goals in to bite sized chunks, making your goals more attainable.

Get ready to take action and put your dreams in motion.

Planners mentioned in todays episode:
Full Focus Planner
Bonnie Christine
Year Compass
Erin Condren

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In today's episode we discuss online barriers for marketing ourselves on social media. A common misconception is that we need money in order to market effectively. This is not true. I still grow my business and generate sales organically. Certainly having a website is one expense you will have to consider as you grow but we dive into the basics on growing an audience and I share some new IG strategies I'm currently working on :) 
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NFT's may seem scary. Terminology like minting, smart contracts, Token ID's and blockchains can cause blank stares. Many artists shut down when they hear this topic because most don't understand NFT's and how they can be of benefit to us in more ways than one.

I chat with Ishita Banerjee of @SoulCurryArt, a traditional artist who has taken the NFT art world by storm and has made it her primary source of revenue. Ishita shares how she takes her traditional artworks and turns them into NFT gold!

Originally from India, Ishita has been an artist for over 30 years. She holds a Masters degree in Fine Art, is multi disciplined and has worked for some of the top broadcasting firms across the world. In the midst of lockdown she became intrigued by the NFT movement and began immersing herself in the community. @SoulCurryArt is also part of Meta's NFT Beta test group so she has an excellent understanding of how digital collectibles work on Instagram too.

Ishita breaks down the basics for us (lingo included) and 3 main reasons why she decided to start minting, listing and selling art on marketplaces like OpenSea. As well, the importance of art ownership and her frustrating experiences with online art theft and over 67 internet sites who have blatantly plagiarized and sold her work.

SHOW NOTES:

You can find Ishita on IG @soulcurryart and Twitter Main website: https://www.soulcurryart.com

Ishita's NFT's on OpenSea Marketplace


Episode Markers:

[00:05:00] I was doing it at a time where we didn't do anything on the computer.Typography was hand done, and we learned things the hard way. I learned screen printing, I learned lithography, I learned photography, and I went down that, that route of really learning the basics first and then evolving as technology came in, as computers came in, as software came in and understanding where the line between art and design kind of blend.

[00:09:00] it was something that I started understanding early in my journey and my finally master's dissertation was on the Cubist movement. And there is a lot of parallels between the cubist movement and what was happening in India in the early twenties. Right. Which was the Big World School of Movement. This is, I grew up in India, so I grew up with this kind of art all around me. So there were a lot of parallels in, contemporary Indian artists and cubist artists.

[00:12:00] they were being plagiarized, and I found them all over the internet one day. And that was a huge, huge moment for me because again, you know, as artists, we were never taught about intellectual property, how to protect yourself, right? I was not taught about copyright, I was not taught about any of these things as a student. And I literally had to learn how to protect myself. And, you know, first of all, this is huge mental, and, it takes a huge toll on your mentally as an artist.

[00:15:00]And I also wanted to learn something new. We were in lockdown, I was cravi
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In today's episode I chat with Art Expert and Author, Maria Brophy, about pricing and selling artwork. Maria shares real life stories over the last 20 years, from managing her artist husband, Drew Brophy - selling his work, licensing, as well as some examples for pricing your art. All of which can be found in her book, Art Money Success.

Even though Maria's full time job is running their gallery near Laguna Beach, California, she still finds time to help and coach other artists struggling to establish their niche, finding the right buyers and negotiating deals. 

Here's a snippet of what's in store:

[00:09:00] price murals, how to price commissions, everything that you want to know about pricing your art and selling it is what is really laid out in this book. So I know that artists right now would love to at least get a few examples of how to do that, because I don't know. I, I find. Every artist is obviously different. They have their own niche and that's something else that you discuss in the book is establishing your niche, which is so very important because that will then help you to determine where to find your buyers.
[00:12:00] really it's not going to be refined until you have a lot of time into it. That's just the reality of it. So you have to look at that and then you look at the materials that you use. Some materials like gold leaf is going to add more to the cost of artwork. You look at the materials, you look at the medium, you look at the market that you're selling to. Okay. Are you selling in a coffee shop or are you selling in a luxury market or somewhere in between?
[00:14:00] I want to see artists get momentum with their sales, get comfortable with their sales. If you set a price that deep down inside you don't feel in alignment with, you're never gonna sell it. Yeah. You have to feel good about the prices you're asking. So, where do you start, number wise?.All right. So I'm going throw out some examples.

[00:20:00] That is a great course because I think not all artists when they're trying to sell, are necessarily wanting to go and sell with a gallery or have representation. You know, whatever that reason may be, they may decide that they want to try and do it on their own, with an online presence on social media or in person at fairs and things like that. And I know there's definitely an art to it.
[00:31:00] I think it's one that comes up quite a bit for pricing your art. If you're going to sell it online or within a gallery, obviously you're going to have to add to that because of the commission that's taken from the gallery themselves, but also speaking of commissions from an artist, creating and selling then for somebody else, how would you suggest setting up a commission structure as an artist? What would be your recommended process for an artist to take them through doing a commission? 
[00:43:00] It's so good to know that people or artists in particular have other streams of income that they can bring in other ways that they can generate revenue from their original art. And I think licensing, even though it's been around for years for a long time, I think over the last han
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I'm no stranger to video. I've used it many times to grow my Instagram quickly in the past. There's no doubt that video is here to stay and it can rapidly increase your social media account following. In today's episode I discuss  if it's really necessary in order to be successful. Certainly it's a great tool for reach and potential new followers but how you use video can impact your account both positively and negatively. 

Is it right for you? Here's the breakdown of today's episode:
[00:03:00] do we really need video in order for us to be successful on Instagram? And I want to use the word successful. In replace of rapid growth with video. Because that does not necessarily equate to success. I want you to keep that in mind because we tend to really get wrapped up in the numbers game, that follower count. And we assume when we see an account with a high following that they're automatically successful because they've used video to exponentially grow their account. But that's not always the case. So you really want to ensure that you're using video in the right way that aligns with your goals.[00:04:00] But I think it's cyclical. Just like anything. When the algorithm changes, everybody gets frustrated. Everybody feels as though their performance on the platform is tanking. And we feel as though it's just crickets. Like nothing is happening, no matter what we're doing, nothing seems to be working. [00:05:00] there are many artists that I know on Instagram who have a quarter of the following that I have and hardly post any type of video content. Sure they do a little bit, but most of their feed is photos and they are extremely successful. I also know the other extreme of artists who are doing very, very well, who create video nonstop. They have hundreds of thousands of followers and yes are successful in their own, right with what they're doing.[00:09:00] It's really easy to become overwhelmed in thinking that you've got to jump on the bandwagon with everyone else and do the same thing. But it just means you're going to become more frustrated with yourself when you take that direction instead of taking the one you initially intended. As well, it may not necessarily align with your values and who you are as an artist. [00:12:00] So again, you really need to think about who you are as an artist and your goals on the platform. Now, maybe you haven't, you had decided on direction. Maybe you don't know what you want to do or how to grow on social media. This then could be a viable option for you, especially if you love experimenting, you love lots of different mediums and you love to create It's an avenue you could pursue working with other brands and being paid to post art content. [00:17:00]  You don't need your video to go viral but it's still important to utilize video well and get it out there so you can gain some of that extra reach that you wouldn't normally get from photo. 
Thanks so much for joining me on today's episode. I hope you found value and don't be a stranger. Feel free to drop a comment on my latest Instagram post. I'd love to hear what you're up to and what you think about this podcast.

Find me
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I've dusted off my bookshelf and selected 5 top 'Must Have' reads/resources to help you with artist self confidence, creativity, self development and business growth. No matter where you are in your current journey there's at least one book here to spark interest and intrigue. Scroll to the bottom for the show links to all 12 books.

Episode Highlights:


[5:00] And it's again, one that you go back to over and over again, when you're sort of stuck with things, because there are so many tools, there's lots of things to do as far as practice, process and tasks within the book. So things that you actually work on. And an example of some basic tools within the book are 'morning pages'[7:15] And over time, this practice will teach you that your mood really doesn't matter. That some of your best creative work gets done on the days where you feel like everything is just going to be plain junk. Now the practice continues on from there. It helps with your ability to stop judging yourself and also to feed your inner artist, child. But this is just an example of one of many tools and practices that every artist should undergo.[8:50] Which means we shouldn't feel badly about embracing the influence of others. If we think we're creating something unique, we're not. The key however, is to remix those things that we admire in other artists work and re-imagine them in our own so that we can discover our own path. [9:05] I have a new course coming out in early 2023 called Fused Harmony. And within it, I'm going to be teaching multiple techniques and ways of incorporating resin, encaustic and metal altogether, all in one. Obviously those techniques on their own are nothing unique. Lots of artists create with resin. Lots of artists create within encaustic and many artists create with metal. But the way I'm going to be bringing in all of these techniques together are going to be completely different.[10:50] because any painting we see on a wall, in a gallery, there's always a reference of another artist within their work. The key is to  incorporate multiple ideas and multiple elements into the work and to add that little something extra that differentiates yourself from somebody else.[12:00] She really dives into vulnerability and that without it, you cannot create. And with vulnerability comes fear, self doubt, comparison, anxiety, and uncertainty. So if you're feeling any of those things that I've just mentioned, you really need to search for this talk. It is going to be one of the best things you've ever watched or listened too.
SHOW NOTES:

12 Book Resources >> Janes Reads List with Bonus Titles

Instagram Account >> @janelovesdesign

Main Website >> taelife.com

If you feel this list can help another fellow artist, please feel free to share this episode with others :)



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