I was shattered. The editor had sliced and diced my copy into something unrecognizable. The article was to be an important piece for me. Of course, I know editors have a job to do, but the heartbreak came because I had not been consulted nor was the copy returned to me for correction prior to my seeing it in its published form. The real horror was that the editor had carved out chunks of text so that even the quotes from my interviewees were incomplete and connections between sentences were oddly missing. There were entire paragraphs that didn’t make sense. Yet, there it was in all its misery, published, engraved in stone . . . with my name attached to it.

I receive many notices from art organizations and galleries which masquerade as press releases. Today I received a press release from an fairly well established gallery. The email was without a subject line. There was no content in the body of the email, it wasn’t addressed Dear Lisa or Dear Press Editor, and there was simply an attachment without explanation. This happens a lot. I hit delete.

Sometimes I get two, three or even four emails from the same organization in the course of a week . . . sometimes even within 24 hours. I generally stop reading at this point because they are approaching spam. One of the first things I learned in PR was . . . Don’t piss off the press!  No one benefits from this. As such, I thought it might be time to take a look at the proper way to write and distribute a press release.

I recently rediscovered my local library. I can’t imagine why it escaped me the last 5 years, but it’s a wonderful environment in which to work.  My library was recently remodeled and now comes equip with sloping ceilings, exposed beams and floor to ceiling windows.  I have a favorite spot.  It’s tucked in back with a comfortable chair next to a window that receives sunshine all afternoon. It’s quiet, of course.  While working at the library, I find I can complete entire thoughts, work through solutions, plan, organize and get work done in a peaceful setting.  I’m incredibly productive there and I come home feeling happy and refreshed.  The library makes me feel like I’m hiding out.

AIGA Connecticut is doing it again and is presenting what promises to be another extraordinary workshop.  On March 10, 2010, award winning photographer and writer, Sean Kernan, will talk about real creativity.  This is not the creativity we learned in school or at work, but the stuff we knew from the start. The workshop will explore how our basic creative impulses affect our lives and our work and how new thinking can open our eyes to the wonderment of what might be an enhanced creative lifestyle.

According to AIGA CT, this workshop will not help you get work, fall in love or make you healthy, but it might just get you back in touch with those creative ideas that you perhaps might have had as a free thinking child.

Sean Kernan

Sean Kernan  lives and works on the Connecticut coast. His photographs have been shown in museums around the world, including the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Museum of Photography in Greece, and the Whitney Museum in the United States.  Mr. Kernan has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Communication Arts, Graphis, and the Atlantic Monthly. He is the author of Among Trees (Published by Artisan Books, May 2003) and The Secret Books, with Jorge Luis Borges.

This event is $40 for AIGA members and $50 for non-members. If you sign up to become an AIGA member at this event, the event is FREE!
To purchase tickets, visit AIGA CT Online

And writers, photographers, musicians, designers and you, too.  Maybe I’m preaching to the choir here, but this morning I attended a social media and power networking breakfast and was surprised at the number of people who weren’t taking advantage of social media to promote their businesses.  Social media (blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) is one of the greatest tools available today in which to market your work and your talent. Hell, it’s a great tool just to meet some excellent people.  Never before have we been able to promote our work to people around the corner, the nation and around the world with the click of a mouse.  Social media makes it possible. Millions of people have a Facebook page and/or a Twitter account… There’s a lot of networking you could be doing right now.

You are not just an artist.  You are an entrepreneur and you’re in the business of selling and promoting your work. The world is changing.  Business models are changing.  Social media is a tool for positive change.  It’s important, now more then ever, to reach out to like-minded people and be a part of the change. I know you are probably thinking, “Holy cow, I don’t have time for that nonsense. And who cares what I had for breakfast?”  Using social media is not about what you had for breakfast.  I guarantee you that marketing using these online avenues only takes about 10 minutes a day and it will make a huge difference in your business plan.  Simply log on and tell your fans, in 140 characters, daily news from your studio or gallery.  Talk about your process or your challenges.  Create a page or group just for your business.  You can create lists to organize your followers according to your interests.  To save you time, there are applications such as Tweetdeck which will allow you to type one entry and display it over several social media networks automatically.  Update Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin all at once.  You’re done.

I’m a believer in social media.  In just the last year, social media has revolutionized my social life and my business life in the most remarkable ways.  I’m now attending art events that I wouldn’t have even know about in 2008.  I’ve met artists, photographers, gallerists, and world class journalists.  I was invited to sit on the board of AIGA CT because of my connections on Facebook.  I’ve gotten writing assignments, retained clients and even went camping because of social media.  I’ve learned a lot.  All these connections created new connections and best of all…new opportunities.

I’d love to share some tips and resources for social media here with you.  Are you using Facebook?  Twitter or Linkedin?  Or does the whole notion of social media just freak you out?

You can find me here:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lisa.mikulski or creativeartsguide
Twitter: @lisamikulski or @creativeartsg
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/lisamikulski

I spend a lot of my time driving around.  There are meetings with clients, exhibitions, art openings and now additional responsibilities as I assume the role of Public Relations Chair for AIGA CT.  It seems I’m always in my car.  Once I get home there are my kids, and their friends and their friend’s friends.  There are 3 cats and a variety of musical tunes coming from every room.  So when I get the chance, like tonight, to be at home alone… it is bliss.  I usually remain in total silence.  I have no music on, no TV. I’m happy to listen to the clock in the living room gently ticking.  The cracks and pops of house noises.  I light a lot of candles and I am able, finally, to breathe deeply.

It is this solitude that I need when writing.  It is this solitude that brings me peace and the writing which ensues allows me to express myself in words that issue from my soul.  Sometimes the words fit together so nicely, I can’t imagine who wrote them.  Sometimes the words come so dreadfully hard that I know who’s writing them.  As I reflect on the weeks events, on the art or design I’ve seen, I’m able to assimilate the colors, the patterns, brush stokes and typography and if given the opportunity… it is in these moments of quiet I am able to absorb what I’ve seen and let them become a part of me.  Writing allows me to again reflect upon and then express my thoughts. It helps me sort things out. Sometimes it seems that if I don’t write things down I haven’t actually experienced them.

The stereotypical writers life sounds so romantic.  A fire crackling in the fireplace of some cabin. The writer at her desk, with a bourbon or red wine at her hand.  Outside the rain drizzles against the windows… or perhaps instead it’s snow. Our hero, a solitary figure, toils away late at night pondering an angle or perhaps the newest character.  “It was a dark and stormy night…”

It’s still romantic to me. I love being a writer despite the fact that I fought against it for years.  And sometimes it is, in fact, the stereotypical things that I bring to my desk.  But beyond the blush, there is a bigger matter at stake.  Reality.  As a writer with deadlines and obligations I am not always able to find the solitude.  When writing for a publication, there have been many times when music is coming from every room (I wear earplugs), my cell rings or beeps relentlessly, or I am rushed because of an upcoming appointment.  There are more days than not when the words will not come.  There might be art that I do not like or issues to stand against no matter the controversy.  I must speak my mind. Writing is labor intensive and it is not for the faint of heart.  But the amazing thing is when a gallery whom I’ve reviewed calls me up, or sends me a handwritten personal letter, expressing thanks for a review I did.  “We had 60 people come into the gallery this weekend because of your article.”  Wow… The awesome power of words!  Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Bullshit they won’t.

Writing has the power to move the universe.  It can cause people to do things… or not.  It can bring you to tears of sorrow or make you laugh with unbridled joy.  The act of weaving words together in a most perfect way can be headier than drugs.  It is for all these reasons, the good and the bad, that I call myself, finally, a writer.

That is the question posited by artist and author, Ted Mikulski.  Yup he’s my cousin…but that’s beside the point.  When I first heard about Ted’s plan to publish an art book and learned it’s title, Art Is Dead, I thought “Ted, are you crazy? Of course art is not dead.”  But is it?

As a teacher of art appreciation at Tunxis Community College, Mikulski was surprised to learn that a shockingly low number of students could name their favorite contemporary artist.  When asked this question on the first day of class over the course of several semesters, Mikulski reports that only 2 or 3 of his students each semester could name their favorite LIVING artist.  Some students named their friends, some named Van Gogh.  Interestingly if asked the question”Who is your favorite band or musician?” the examples were plentiful.

The book is Mikulski’s response to “America’s lack of appreciation for art” and offers the opinions and thoughts of 16 contemporary artists, sculptors and photographers.  Accordingly to Mikulski, “I have found through my research that many artists are shocked that I could even consider art to be dead. The sad reality is that many artists are so steadfast in their own work and their own circle that it is difficult for them to see art on a macro scale. Sure artists will always be around, but are they revered? Are they appreciated? And more importantly, are they figureheads in society?”

ART & COPY, a new documentary film, has the advertising and design world abuzz!  The new film, directed by Doug Pray, is about the creativity and inspiration behind the work and vision of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time.  This is not a film about trashing the evil world of advertising.  It is instead a tribute to those relatively unknown few who actually helped shape our society and our culture with their work. These are the people who’ve created such slogans as “Just do it”, “Got Milk?”, and “Think Different.” They’ve created campaigns for the Energizer Bunny, Apple, MTV and so many other ads which became the signs of our times.  Despite advertising’s evil reputation, these brilliant campaigns and creative minds have helped us laugh, think, smile, and have moved us to act.