Ang Art Update

(Pictured: Cityscape II, india ink on paper, by Angela Ranzoni)

Hi faithful blog readers! Here's some recent Ang art news:

Etsy update: In the shadow of economic woes, many Etsy artisans are facing low or no sales. We continue to help promote each other’s work, and buy handmade whenever we can. I have completed a few custom jobs and trades recently, which have been very rewarding.

Thanks to Jillian Spencer at Eternal Images for calling out my Green Elephant Buddy mini-sculpture on her blog recently. Jillian has made some art objects that really capture my fancy as well… these green worm earrings call to my love of bright and creamy looking colors as well of my love of squirmy creatures and jewelry with eyes.

OK, now for local news! The Arts League is hippin’ and hoppin’. As you probably can imagine, the economy is making it even harder for non-profits like this to do their thing. So we volunteers keep plugging away. I continue to help with Exhibitions primarily. I have made it a goal to enter at least one piece in every show we hang. This is a challenge, as most of our shows are themed. However, I entered two pieces in the December/January Black and White show, one of which sold! Also, due to the encouragement of friends, I entered one photo in February’s Annual Photo Show. It’s a framed 8”x10” featuring the tall ship Kalmar Nickel and Ol’ Glory. I’m working on publicity for the March show “About Face” (Faces, masks, etc.) and hoping to get a piece ready in time for the deadline next week.

Most amazing about the League are the friends I have made, and following their work over the past few years. I have been meaning to do blog write-ups on a few of them. For now, to wet your whistle… be sure to check out Lois Kuck and Emily Kalwaitis and I’ll say more about them when I get a chance!

Last year, making small jewelry and sculpture and setting up an etsy shop was fun and a great learning process. I will continue to keep small affordable art items and jewelry in my shop on etsy. I recently put note cards in the gallery for sale. I hope to soon make the cards and other items available over the internet via zazzle.com. (think t-shirts!) However, this year, my main focus where my art is concerned is this….I would like to paint and draw and focus on getting work into galleries.

Howdy

Here is a pic of a part of the lovely treasury I am featured in. Click here to view the whole treasury. This collection was curated by thepairabirds. Please click on as many items as you wish and leave a comment. (The clicks and comments help us sellers.)

In other art news, I currently have 2 black and white works in an exhibit at the Chestertown Arts League through the end of January. I have also brought 4 original small matted mixed media pieces for the art bin sale area. I am working on getting some greeting and note cards together for them as well. A new locking jewelry cabinet was donated, and I am asked to bring some of my jewelry items too. Now if we could just get some more traffic to the gallery!

I am working on a custom illustration and new years greeting post card. It has been a huge struggle to face and do the work on this job. Mostly because it involves drawing archetectual elements with lots of straight lines and correct angles. That's something I have been avoiding like the plague since my wrist pain and other pain problems started 8 years ago. But a few weeks ago my neighbor caught me in one of those 'say yes to every opportunity' moods. So now I am faced with the challenge.

My biggest obstacle right now is just diving into the project. I can see so many possibilities on approaching the piece that it is overwhelming. I just have to try a few of them and see what gels.

So far I am playing with scissors and paper and a ruler.

The holiday is fast approaching. As usual, I have mixed feelings about this season. Mostly I am counting the days until I can walk into a public place without hearing bad Christmas music blaring at me so loud I can't think. Perhaps later I'll write a blog entry about me and the holidays, but mostly I think if I just let it go and move on it will be fine! The good news is that on Christmas day I'll get to hang out with some of my favorite people, Will's family. His sister and bro-in law are making the trip from Pittsburgh and I really look forward to seeing them.

Finally, I'm tossing around a 'blog giveaway' in the new year. However, I don't know if I have enough people reading my blog yet to get a fair amount of entries. So if you are reading, and would be interested in participating in a blog giveaway contest, please just say 'I' or whatnot. Also if you want to, let me know what you'd like me to give away: A painting, piece of jewelry, small polymer clay figure, or something else entirely.

Peace to you and your families, hope you have great times relaxing and enjoying each others company, which is of course what it's all about. I'll miss those of you whom we've spent many holidays with in the past: Gin, Evan, Uncle Dan, Uncle Jim, Ian, Jo, Forest, Brian, and Tomji. I am filling imaginary stockings for you. LOTS of chocolate!

Ang

Tips for Photographing Small Art and Craft Items

From an amateur to other amateurs, with etsy.com in mind

A friend who makes small polymer clay figures mentioned that she was having trouble photographing her work. She would like to start posting her work for sale on etsy.com.

She said:
“ I have one of those Kodak One-shot digital camera's...they're great...but not top of the line by any means.... my shots are always either blurry, too dark or don't show detail... argh....”

Well I am not familiar with the camera she mentioned, but figured I have learned so much by doing this that sharing my tips couldn’t hurt. My camera is a digital Olympus D-460Z that’s about eight years old. My hubbyboy picked it out and I really know very little about it. So I figured I’m qualified to offer some tips!

Here is how I do it. It is by no means HOW to do it! Take what works for you, ignore the rest!

Set up: Tripod – yes or no? I choose no. On such small items, taking multiple angles means constant adjustments of the tripod which can be frustrating and nigh impossible to set up. I found I had more freedom and got better shots by using my elbow or wrist to steady on a table, as the items are quite small. Hold your breath in when you push the shutter. Don’t forget to resume breathing.

Where to do it: Outdoors when sky is somewhat overcast so that few or ideally NO shadows are falling. The best times have been before 10 am and after 2:30 pm or so depending on how overcast it is. Of course on particularly overcast days, I have taken wonderful pictures in the middle of the day. Don’t even bother on a windy day.

If there is direct sun, it’s better to wait. Shadows like these can be too distracting. However, if you can’t wait, find the best angles with the least shadows… sometimes you can take advantage of some reflections as the sun hits the object.

Indoors: I have just recently discovered the ONLY place in my apartment that I can do this! It’s in the middle of my entryway, in the middle of a sunny day. Again the light should be somewhat diffused and not bright, direct sunlight.

Backdrops: sometimes white is NOT good, especially when the sun is bright. Oddly, it is also not good with darker items when it comes to getting the brightness and contrast right later. Try neutral or pastel backgrounds. Make sure your paper is large enough so you don’t have to crop out too much background ‘noise’. The paper doesn’t have to be fancy or special. Fabric works too… but avoid wrinkles, too distracting. Stretch it over a board or piece of cardboard.

I have gotten away with using some of my acrylic paintings on canvas for backdrops. I put one on the seat of a chair, and lean the other against the back of the chair.

Sometimes a patterned or painted background is good, but don’t let it overpower the item. One trick I’ve used is to lay a piece of tissue paper over a painted backdrop (often one of my paintings on canvas.) Some of the color will show through the tissue paper. Experiment with pastel color tissue paper as well.

More recently I painted a Halloween/autumn themed backdrop on a large piece of corrugated cardboard, scored it down the middle with a utility knife and folded it like a book. I find that sometimes flipping the backdrop different ways gives different effects.

I usually set the backdrop and item on a low table or chair seat on my deck, and then kneel on a cushion to get the right angles.

Actually taking the pictures:
Take lots of pictures, and experiment as you go.

Not all cameras have a ‘macro’ feature, but if yours does, you probably should be using it for your small items. On my camera, I push a button marked with a picture of a flower/tree. A flower appears on my monitor so I know it’s working. (See, uber low tech!)

Take pictures from lots of different angles - from above, multiple sides, back, bottom, etc. Take some with plenty of space around the object, some with less.

The best advice I had from another seller was ‘What is the picture of’? Don’t let your beautiful work get lost in background or props. It is the subject and center of attention at all times.

Some props are not that bad….
Sometimes I include leaves that fall into the shot while I’m working!

Ceramic pots aren't bad as long as they aren't the center of attention.

Uploading and Editing: When I am done photographing on the deck and upload my pictures, they often look like crap. (However, I am very proud to say that my last two sessions resulted in far less tweaking than usual!)

They are often too dark and grayish.

First off, just delete any that are completely out of focus as you come across them. Don’t get attached to any of those. In fact don’t get attached to anything you see.

I use Microsoft Office Picture Editor to edit the pictures. Under edit, I brighten and increase contrast slightly. This is something you will get better at seeing/ doing as you go. Don’t make it as bright as you want before increasing the contrast, only bring it up to a few notches below what your eye wants, then adjust contrast.

Cropping is a huge part of making the photo right, and resizing for etsy.com posting is another step to talk about. However, I think those will have to wait till the next installment!

I hope this helps some of you improve your photos…remember, unless you take a photography class, it’s about trial and error, and learning about it from others. You’ll find that as you play and experiment with how you photograph your work, your pictures will improve by leaps and bounds! I suspect that each camera has its pros and cons and little tricks, you’ll soon find your own bag of tricks. Just have confidence, and keep on doing it.

Also, if your goal is to sell on etsy.com, look at lots of shops and treasuries. Go window shopping and see what attracts you, and why. Some of the most gorgeous and affordable handmade jewelry is photographed so poorly, it can hardly sell. Sometimes just noticing the difference between the qualities of photos helps train your eye.

Angela