It’s changed. Yet again.
Folks don’t have time to dwell.
Attention spans are infinitesimal.
There’s way too much input to digest it all.
There’s no good conduit for effective output.
Solutions?
Yes.
Category: art, artist
Life Update
Life is a bit of a mess, but I’m managing…almost. Worked on someone’s bookcover which I’ll post over on my art blog zentao.com later today or tomorrow when I get two breaths to “make it so,” doing a bid for a CD package, working on a leafy tee, practicing to play Zappa with Forrest in a guitar/flute duo, taking care of the home front, Mom, the animals, the plants, and trying to get up the gumption to finish a manuscript, something that’s been on hold since before Christmas. Oh, and I have to prepare invoicing. In a word, I’m scramblingly busy.
A Lesson on Doers
Recently, an online group decided that they would like to try their hand at commercial work. We’re talking a mix of professional people and skilled amateurs who are pretty dedicated to their avocation. All members are very talented people.
Of the pros, most are actively working, but, with the economy the way it is, it never hurts to have something cooking on the back burner. Among the skilled amateurs are some people who are looking for work along with those who have jobs or who are retired.
So what happens? When it comes to a test “job” with a generous deadline, what we get are the professionals hopping right in and doing right away while the amateurs most in need of work wind up no-shows or making excuses.
Needless to say, the project is already failed before it’s even started. Odd thing is that, from the onset, a couple of us knew it was going to wind up just the way it did. It showed in the manner in which work was done in the group all along–a couple of initiators, the rest kinda sorta going along when it suited their tastes and their private schedules.
The lesson? There are doers, and then there’s everybody else.
The group? It’s still a functioning group, and I’m sure it will remain so, but it certainly demonstrated quite realistically and inarguably that, when it comes to succeeding in a commercial project, everybody has to hold a professional discipline or it just will never get off the ground.
Slow Down? HAH!
I said I was going to slow down. Am I? No. Just about the time I think I’ve cleaned my plate, somebody comes along who impresses me enough that, when I listen to their aspirations, their needs, hearing a keen integrity and honorable purpose, I’ll say “yes” to. Then there’s the client who, despite the fact that their business is on the ropes because of the economy, I’ll keep working with. Sigh.
Totally Disheartening
One of the best printing, matting, framing, and drop shippers of art on the Internet, a start-up called ImageKind is leading its artists down the merry road by the nose. They keep promising fixes, and the fixes aren’t happening…not even six months after they are promised. I’m so tired of the “we’re working on it,” and other empty air. It’s totally disillusioning. I’ve typed my last over on their forum. They get it fixed, or I’ll pulll all my ads in their favor.