I think that’s a question we don’t really consider often enough as we’re assembling our marketing plans.  As a creator, I’m a proponent of momentum…if I’m going to the trouble of building up a hubub about my current project, it seems foolish not to try and stay connected to my audience after they leave the theatre and parlay the buzz and their obvious initiative to buy tickets into my next show.  But how do you do that?  Is that a social networking thing, is it building an e-mail list, is it block booking shows?  Honestly, it could be any number of things depending on your project, and we’re going to be asking all those questions and more in the workshop.

The other thing I’ve noticed a lot in the Chicago independent theatre community is a certain expectation that you don’t need to find an audience because they’ll find you.  If anything, we have an even more uphill battle in this community because of the glut of comedy and small theatrical productions all vying for a few regular theatre-going audience members.  In this workshop, we’re going to look into targeting your show to a particular audience…maybe one that doesn’t even know they WANT to go out and see theatre.  Performing for your friends and family is great, but the real satisfaction of creating is in sharing your brilliance with people who don’t already know you’re brilliant.  I’m assuming everyone reading this is brilliant.  That’s correct, isn’t it?

We’re going to have a packed 3 hours on August 7th, and I hope to see many of you there.  Because of our relationship with the Gorilla Tango Theatre and their amazing relationship with independent producers in the community, the workshop is free for select Gorilla Tango producers who are currently working on shows or have shows coming up.  If you are a producer putting on a show at the theatre, inquire with Gorilla Tango if you’re eligible to come to this workshop for free.  General registration is $50 and you can enroll online at produceyourself.eventbrite.com or by calling the IAE at 773-756-2163.

If you have any questions about the workshop or aren’t sure if it’s right for you, feel free to e-mail me directly at Shawn@TheIAE.com and we can chat.  Asking questions is a good thing!

On the third Thursday of every month, the IAE hosts our own networking night specifically for artists and entrepreneurs called Create.Innovate.Repeat. The event takes place from 7-9 pm at the ING DIRECT Cafe Chicago and features guest presenters from both art and business backgrounds talking about current projects, organizations and ideas that you can get involved with right now.

Last month’s event was BUZZING with conversation. There was so much energy in the room there was plenty left to take home!  So come pick up some inspiration and connections.

You can snag a free RSVP to the event by checking out our Create. Innovate. Repeat page. This is a private event so you need to reserve a ticket to get in the door!

ING DIRECT Chicago: 21 E. Chestnut Street View a map.
Telephone: 312-981-1236

My guess is that the title of this blog caught your attention, because it seems so incredibly unlikely. The world of business and the world of music appear to have very little in common. What on earth could playing a Mozart symphony have to do with leading a budget proposal meeting? Most of us would say, “absolutely nothing at all.”

At one point in my life I would have agreed, but from where I sit now, as a conservatory trained trombonist, the current dean of a major conservatory of music, and a former senior manager at Microsoft with 16 years of experience in the business world, I see the connections between conservatory training and core business skills from a unique vantage point. Over the years, as I analyzed the reasons for my successes as a business manager, it always came back to the skills I had learned as a musician and had honed at my conservatory of music. Now that I am back in the world of the conservatory, many worried parents of prospective students ask me what good conservatory training will do if their child doesn’t happen to become a professional musician. So I thought it might be helpful to devote this blog to the subject.

When hiring employees, Microsoft and every other successful company looks for an underlying set of skills that will bring the most benefit to the business. These skills are easy to list, but very hard to find in a single individual. For this discussion I will focus on five of these traits. The perfect employee should be:

1. Focused
2. Self-motivated
3. Collaborative
4. Communicative
5. Creative

So let’s start by putting aside all of our own preconceptions about music being concerned only with the expression of emotion and beauty. Instead, we will now take a cold hard look at what goes into creating a successful musician.

Focus & Self-Motivation

In most conservatory settings, a student has one hour of intense one-on-one instruction during their weekly lesson. For the rest of the week, they spend 3 to 6 hours a day, all alone in a small practice room steadily working towards that week’s goals. That averages out to about thirty hours of practice for every one hour of instruction. This is not an easy task, either physically or mentally. The student has to develop her own strategies to maintain focus, overcome obstacles and achieve her goals. Focus and self-motivation are vital to success. The goal of any successful conservatory is to help students develop the skills of self-criticism, self-motivation, and self-focus to the point where, upon graduation, they can become their own best teacher. For a business manager, having an employee who can work for days at a time with minimal instruction, solving their own problems and working steadily toward their goal isn’t just nice, it is a dream come true!

Collaboration

In the world of music, learning to work well with other musicians is key. In a quartet, for instance, the four musicians discuss how they want to approach the work before even picking up their instruments. Opinions may differ and there could be disagreements, but the process of collaborating as a team to reach mutually agreeable solutions is key to a successful performance. As you can imagine, this type of collaboration occurs every day in the world of business. But you may be surprised to discover that most employees have nowhere near the depth of experience with the process as musicians!

But for musicians, this is just the beginning of their collaboration skills. Once the discussions stop and the music starts, teamwork moves to a whole new level of refinement. Each musician must be acutely aware of everyone else’s input while still being completely focused on her own individual contribution to the whole. The ability to really hear all facets of the group’s performance while making instant micro-adjustments to create the best performance possible is an amazing skill to master.

You probably agree with that statement, but aren’t quite sure how that particular skill translates to the world of business. After all, meetings where everyone is talking at once should be the exception rather than the rule. This is quite true, so luckily these skills have little to do with handling meetings that have spun out of control! Instead, this highly refined listening ability has everything to do with success at the extreme ends of collaboration, negotiation, and communication. When negotiations or collaborations become difficult and delicate, being able to pick up on the slightest cues and then react instantly and appropriately can mean the difference between success and failure. That minute waiver in a voice could indicate a tentativeness that will give you the chance to step in and lead the conversation; or that hint of aggression, may cause you to step back and calm the waters.

The skill also lends itself to one of the core functions of management–understanding people. As a manager at Microsoft, I spent a great deal of my time listening to people. Often times the real crux of the matter at hand isn’t contained in the spoken words. Someone may be talking to you about diminishing workloads, but their real worry is job security. The key here isn’t the act of listening, it’s the art of hearing. It’s what musicians do every day, and it can help make the difference between a good manager and a great manager. The business world would be better off if every manager spent a few years playing in a quintet!

Communication

Communicating your ideas and thoughts to groups of people is also a critical part of business success. The presentation may be to a meeting room of five co-workers or an auditorium full of conference-goers. In either case it is vital to communicate your point clearly and convincingly. Whether your proposal or idea is adopted can hinge entirely on the effectiveness of the presentation. I have seen many good ideas fall by the wayside because of bad presentations.

As musicians we have a natural advantage. For us, these aren’t presentations, they are performances, and all the same rules should apply. The performance should be engaging, captivating, interesting, and clearly communicate the core ideas. The conservatory provides the perfect training for this important business skill. You would be amazed at how many people in the business world are terrified of standing up in front of an audience to speak. How lucky a conservatory student is to get all of that great performance experience under her belt! When a critical presentation is coming up, who would you rather have delivering the message: a professionally trained performer or an accountant?

Creativity

Finally, let’s consider creativity. A new study by IBM just identified creativity as the most highly valued leadership quality for success in business!  Creativity! Isn’t that both wonderful and amazing? Now I know that studying in a conservatory does not guarantee that you will emerge a creative person, but it certainly is an environment that provides ample opportunities for creative exploration and development.  From composition to improvisation to the interpretation of musical masterpieces, creativity is at the core of what we do.  This topic is so rich it definitely deserves its own blog, but for now, I’m sure you get the point: creativity at the conservatory can translate into creativity in the board room.

Conclusion

The bottom line is not to sell conservatory training short when it comes to developing skills that extend well beyond the realm of music. Whether in the concert hall or the board room, conservatory graduates can give truly great performances! Our challenge as musicians is to successfully convey this message both to disbelieving conservatory students, and to disbelieving HR departments of leading businesses. If we are success in our efforts, we can help change the world!

—

Brian Pertl has led the life of a savvy musician. He lives by the motto: “be prepared for anything and anything just might happen!” He received his BM in trombone performance and a BA in English from Lawrence University. Then the fun really began!  As a Watson Fellow, he studied didjeridu in Australia and Tibetan sacred music in Tibet, Nepal, and India. While pursuing higher degrees in ethnomusicology, he lectured on world music themes and performed widely on didjeridu, trombone, shell trumpets, as as a harmonic singer.

When Microsoft called in the early 90s to get a 30 second didj sample, he managed to turn that opportunity into a full time job as an ethnomusicologist at Microsoft!  After 16 years at Microsoft, first selecting music for the Encarta Encyclopedia, then as a high-level manager, he was asked to return to Lawrence University to give a recital.  This visit back to his alma mater got the Lawrence faculty and administration talking about a crazy idea: what if Brian left Microsoft and returned to Lawrence to become the Dean of the Conservatory of Music? And this is exactly what happened!  He is now the Dean, and he is thrilled having the chance to help the current class of students “get savvy!”

In honor of achieving independence as artists, I began a string of short creative stories about life in The Blue Bike Shop during the Fourth of July holiday back in 2007.

I was writing my book at the time, Build A Blue Bike, and thought building your own  blue bike would be a lot easier to learn how to do if I shared stories about The Blue Bike shop and Miya LeBleu; the bike shop owner.

This story was also the inspiration for the ETA logo.

Do Not Enter

“Do Not Enter,” cautions the sign on the red door. John stood there looking at it, wondering what to do. The guy at the bike bar told him that the first red door was the fastest way out of The Blue Bike Shop, but surely he must have been mistaken. As John looked down the hall, there were nothing BUT red doors, with the same white sign, with the same “Do Not Enter” boldly lettered red on each.

“What a strange place,” thought John. ” Nothin’ but blue bikes and red doors…”

The Blue Bike Shop was a brand new shop in downtown Nowhere. It was filled with blue bikes in every configuration imaginable: trikes, unicycles, bicycles built-for-two, mountain bikes, racing bikes and blue peddlers for the leisurely traveler.

The Blue Bike Shop had quickly become a hot spot in Nowhere. After all, The Blue Bike Shop served lunch and drinks at the Bike Bar. It was a great excuse for John to check out all the blue bikes, and dream.

John had grown up in Nowhere and had never been outside its city limits. John lived down Rural Route 7, a long dirt road, which eventually, if you stayed on it long enough, would take you out of town.

Today was the day John was going to begin that ride. Impulsively, after lunch at the Bike Bar, John decided that he was ready. With every dollar he had saved in his pocket, from his job at Solo Staffing Services, he was going to buy that blue Schwinn he had his eye on.

When he handed the money over, the cash in his hand quickly became the bike in his dream. As a celebratory gesture, the clerk who sold him the blue bike stepped behind the bar and handed him a shot of Don Julio. With John’s throat on fire and his heart pounding with excitement, he asked his server, “Tell me, what’s the fastest way out of town.”

The clerk smiled and said, “Go down the hall, and take the first red door you see. It’s the fastest way.”

Several minutes had passed as John stood in front of the red door with his new shiny blue Schwinn, reflecting on the clerks last words.

“Why in the world, would this guy have told me to go through this red door if it was not the right door?” John thought.

John had never walked through a door that said “Do Not Enter” in his life. He also had never spent his entire life’s savings on a blue bike. John looked down the hall at the other red doors and again the “Do Not Enter” signs, and then he reached for the knob to his own.

“What the hell. All my life, people have been telling me ‘Do Not Enter’ this, or do that, or try this, because it is too hard, too risky, too much work or too… something. It’s time I try to go somewhere.”

When John opened the door, this is what he saw.

DISCOVER HOW TO OPEN YOUR OWN RED DO NOT ENTER DOOR TO YOUR INDEPENDENCE: WRITE DOWN THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS.

What red door with Do Not Enter written on it is stopping you from continuing to develop your artistic vision? What road blocks do you need to tear down in your mind? What about yourself do you need to accept, learn about or change to deepen your creative work?

What investment do you need to make to create a sustainable independent creative life? Write down everything you need to do in no particular order.

Who do you need to stop listening to and how will you do it? Write down every person who’s words and actions stand in your way of making true artistic, emotional and financial progress.

Where will you put your trust and who will help you in earnest to move your creative life emotionally and financially forward? True independence cannot be reached alone. It takes a village of support to make really impact FILLED life changes. Write down your plan to help you accomplish this for a minimum of 2 years. Write from your stream of conscious and don’t stop until you can’t think of anything more to write.

1. Headspace: Artists, and creative people of all kinds, need intellectual room to breath. Headspace requires time, and – depending on one’s personal preferences – a certain amount of solitude and quiet. When interacting with others, creative headspace needs constructive feedback (both positive and not) and an emotionally supportive atmosphere. Too many conservatory environments, to provide one counter-example, include teacher-centered classes in which the master teacher expounds on his or her own work, negating the validity of the budding student artist. This teaching method does not promote the kind of headspace needed for students to be innovative and creative. Headspace is akin to the image I included last week as well as this: a wide open expanse filled with possibilities – ideas don’t happen inside closed minds!
2. Physical incubator space: Artists need physical space in which to develop work. Artists need physical space in the same way scientists need laboratories – a place to experiment and evolve ideas long before they are ready for exhibition to or performance with the public. Many of my region’s emerging visual, media, and performing artists were bred at the university at which I work, but once graduated, they lose access to the physical space in which to create the new work they were taught to value and create. Without physical space in which to develop work, the fertile headspace will lead only to frustration.
3. Networking space: Artists benefit tremendously from interaction with one another. The coffee shop next door (or inside) of the incubator space can serve this purpose physically, and the web provides those networking opportunities virtually. My colleague Jake Pinholster is developing a networking web-based space for metro-Phoenix artists called AMOK: Arts-Materials-Organization-Knowledge that, once it goes live, will create a networking space not only to facilitate the exchange of ideas, but the exchange of materials as well. How cool would it be if artists could use a site like this to create a local barter economy in art-making materials (and I don’t just mean visual arts, but performing arts as well)? There are some models for this nationally (the Ohio Theatre Alliance comes to mind for materials and Springboard for the Arts (Minneapolis) for knowledge sharing and other important infrastructure support – like healthcare) so we need not re-invent the wheel, at least not from scratch, to create such space.

My own headspace is opening up significantly as I begin a much needed sabbatical. No doubt my imprecise ideas on this subject will continue to evolve over the next several months.

Since I touched on the subjects of networking and virtual spaces, I’ll let you know that the p.a.v.e. symposium website has just gone live. It contains a mere tickler of information at the moment, but as the schedule develops, we’ll be posting updates. Registration for this free event will open in October. See http://theatrefilm.asu.edu/initiatives/pave-symposium.php

This joy-filled art gallery was BRIMMING FULL with little spinning rudders and all aglow with life and vibrant creativity. My mother would have been proud.

Their little cafe, Cafe Ono, served scrumptiously HEALTHY fare.  Chuck and I ate lunch there. Their food was amazingly hip in its clean organic healthy simplicity.

The grounds dripped with GREEN vibrancy and the awesomeness of it all couldn’t help but pull on your heart strings; especially when  you heard  their mascot, Earnest the goat,  “baah!” He was a heart felt touch.

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I found these pictures this past weekend as we sat around with a house full of  lit candles to honor my mom and her joy and life filled moments. That’s what we hope for most while we are here on earth, isn’t it? Happiness and Joy and TRULY MAGICAL MOMENTS?

Are you doing all you can to protect and develop your creative vision to ensure yours will come, or never go away?

When we come to find both peace AND prosperity with WHY we really are here on this earth and WHO we really are meant to serve  through our music, our paintings, our films, our writing, our creativity– our salvation and freedom to FULLY BE ALIVE and HAPPY is secured.

My mom never found hers. She fought tooth and nail through her life with herself and everyone around her instead because she never could. What a sad way to live with her powerful creative force that was once as vibrant and green and pure and rudder-filled as Volcano Garden Arts.

Our creativity and its highest purpose and best use needs to be discovered. We owe it to ourselves to know WHY we do what we do- what truly is driving us- and WHO we are suppose to deliver our magic and hope filled journey to…

Mom's mass was held at this beautiful church.

Since her passing I have been gifted with a string of  JOY-FILLED miracles. There is no other explanation for WHY my life has ALL OF A SUDDEN lite up like a giant birthday cake with stunning sparklers and firecrackers going off. Maybe mom’s birthday card after all has arrived and her soul has been saved.  Let me explain.

For starters a university who I will not for awhile be able to name,  has stepped forward and is ready to explore how they can become The IAE’s  academic accreditation partner. Breathtaking all by itself and THE VERY NEXT THING we MOST need right now.

A general manager from a mid level theater but 7 blocks down the street from where the IAE will open, emailed me the other day and offered to donate rehearsal space to the school.  While  Flourish Studio’s is an IDEAL classroom setting, it is NOT an artistic noise producing one. We have been pondering how we would solve this problem close to our location and then this magically appears.

Next came a wonderful opportunity for me personally to present a workshop at the 2nd annual P.A.V.E. conference at ASU. I have always wanted to meet Ben Cameron from the Doris Duke foundation and now I will finally be able to! I am so honored to participate.

Last Thursday I had lunch with the chief editor of an established AND up-and-coming Chicago based magazine. She asked if she could help me edit my revised book proposal to repackage the book I wrote 3 years ago that did not sell; Build a Blue Bike. She wants to help because she believes my book needs to be published by a big publisher and wants to do what she can to help me finally get it sold.

Incredibly, as we were returning to her parking lot, and I was about to pull into the first open parking stall to drop her off, there was a Blue SCHWINN Bike chained to the fence.   I have a 1960′s Blue SCHWINN Bike I bought for my book still in boxes in my garage, and a whole presentation I created around the material in the book that involves taking it apart and putting it back together. There is also a blue bike that roles in on my flash intro to LisaCanning.com. It too is a Blue SCHWINN. I intentionally wanted a Schwinn because the bike I rode as a child was a blue Schwinn. I even had an exchange with the marketing people at Schwinn to gain access to their image files so that I could use their brand of bike to promote my book, when it was published.

According to my new publisher friend, there has never been a bike before chained to the fence in the lot; nor have they EVER seen this bike before. ( For those of you who don’t know-Build a Blue Bike was picked up almost three years ago by NY literary agent Susan Schulman and never sold; Susan has represented Richard Florida and Julia Cameron.)

In hind site I now realize what Build a Blue Bike was missing- a hook. And dear reader, my mother, through her death, has given me the hook my book NEEDS –the stories I am now FREE to share about our dirty little family secrets.  My mothers creativity in life and through her death is simply otherworldly; breathtaking. As spectacular as all my mom could be.

This week has TRULY offered me DEEP and PROFOUND blessings. The passing of my mother, and my tormented relationship with her clearly, finally, undeniably has ended through her physical death. I TRULY feel a profound peace and gratitude for this to have happened to me. I feel 20 pounds lighter and free. I can FINALLY TELL MY STORIES ABOUT HER TO HELP TRANSFORM so many artists creativity into something valu-ABLE; NOT rudderless!

And yes, while it made me sad that so few people loved my mother enough to say their goodbyes at her funeral other than my husband, my ex-husband, my brother, the mother of my best friend when I was 10, four of my friends and two of my mothers;  I have to tell you that all of this last week has offered me NOTHING short of divinely sent miracles.

You see, when you PLAN to clear your life of the debris that is IN YOUR WAY to lead the LIFE YOU WERE MEANT  to live– it’s not total destruction and annihilation you find at YOUR ground zero- but instead the source of true miracles that will define you for the rest of time. And trust me you will know when you have arrived at your Ground Zero and when your transformation has begun.

Although I do have to tell you that I felt as though the heavens above were playing a little joke with me on Thursday afternoon when I went to pick up my mothers remains at the funeral directors office.

When I arrived at the building, I walked down the hall the wrong way.  Quickly I realized that not only was the building being dug up all around it- just like ground zero- but that indeed the funeral directors office was inside DePaul University’s Rosemont Campus and was next to be torn down. I successfully helped build a program at DePaul but it was never the arts entrepreneurship program I had hoped it would be.  Symbolically, the school I had taught at for 10 years was being dug up and replaced by a casino.  My school FOR NEW LEARNING IN THE ARTS will NEVER BE REPLACED BY A CASINO! 

So here I am picking up my mothers remains at my true ground zero. All that preceded this moment was meant to help me grow but not meant to be permanent. All that is unfolding before me NOW IS my true and undeniable destiny. THIS IS one of the hardest lessons to learn, really; how to truly change our destiny through the choices we make and the emotional shifts we must learn.

Are you ready to learn?  Are you ready to find your rudder? Won’t you please apply to the IAE, or help us promote the IAE to others you know, or add our button badge link to your website?

Isn’t it time for ALL ARTISTS to learn how to make THEIR VERY OWN MIRACLES happen at a SPECTACULAR ground zero of their  VERY OWN?

It’s design was brilliant simple because my mom NEVER called me. She never wanted to chat or find out what was up with me. There were no lunches, no get your hair done together days. A shopping experience perhaps here and there to dress me up pretty and for her to find another $500.00+ purse or four new pairs of sparkling high heels. I remember my mom trying on a pant suit once that was $2500.00 and she asked me if I thought she would wear it.  No the hope of A REAL relationship with my mother, had long ago gone.

Even when I was little I knew something was wrong..

It’s all been sorted, sifted, cried over, and ladled with a heavy cream sauce of guilt LONG before now. No, indeed it was finally over.  Finally, I managed to button it down four years ago almost to the day– nice and tight for a LONG winters sleep, my relationship with my mom.

And this week I  finally I get to bury her. What remains of her is now figuratively and literally dust.   This week feels like an all time record life high actually.  It feels like the EXTREME opposite of loss,  which for me is foreign and in itself quite shocking. So shocking all I can seem to do is sit “shiva” and realize the destruction phase is over and the transformation phase has launched.

How could I not feel this way if you think about it? The ONLY WAY my my highest purpose and best use could ever be present during my time on this earth was to find a way to remain sane and hopeful of what the possibilities in life WERE for me.

I had strategically come to know that  if I really wanted my creativity to grow to the point that I was TRULY ABLE to MAKE the difference I believe I was put on his earth to make, I had to orchestrate a strategic plan to out root and destroy all toxicity in my life once and for all. And that certainly had to begin with my mother.

Frankly, I am really proud of how well and carefully I did it and how masterfully I have come through it. I have learned so much from  life with mom and used it so wisely to rise well above it. And yet, the harshest part of it all for me is that my mom hated me THAT MUCH more for finding ways to replace her and HEAL the pain she caused. The better I got at doing it the more creative and clever her infliction of pain became.

And I decided long ago to use her pain and dysfunction to free me. I learned how to be down right creative, entrepreneurial, artistic and PEACE FILLED ( eventually) in how I learned  to respond to her actions, no matter how horrible, or low the blow.  I am so proud of who I am, REALLY, and how strong I am and how well I see INTO MYSELF and others. My mother- she TRULY has blessed me. But trust me, NOT in the ways I ever thought or imagined a mother could or should.

Yes my mom is dead. The mass and funeral are on Friday. 10 am at John Continious Catholic Church 825 N Carpenter, Chicago and 1pm graveside at Evergreen Cemetery, 3401 W. 87th Street, Evergreen Park, IL 60805. phone: 708-422-9051. Section: Fairmont / Lot 46 / Part 6 / Grave 26. My mother will be buried next to my father and I pray she is NOW FINALLY overcome with joy and peace.

For most of us the grieving process starts at death. But not for me.  It started in earnest when I was 13.

My parents threw a Christmas Party every year at our house for family and friends.  Like so many times before, my mother had knocked herself out. Her buffet table was tantalizing, the flower arrangements so fragrant and full they competed for attention from room to room. And then there was my mother dressed to the 9’s embarrassing the hell out of me in front of my Uncle Marvin. “Lisa Alexandra Argiris are you even HERE and FULLY PRESENT and LISTENING? You just live in a world ALL your own, don’t you now?”

My mother was, as usual, making an ass out of herself. Dressed in Chanel, dripping in diamonds and slurring her barb wired bitter words at me was a routine occurrence. And yet, she was right. It was hard for me to want to listen to her anymore because of the way she treated me.

But for some reason before I could lower my self-esteem a little more and utter some form of cordial attempt at a reply, I heard a voice. A clear and convincing voice that said to me.” Lisa, your mother is crazy. She will never be able to be your mother. Run, Lisa from her. Run!”

I had never heard a voice like this before. After all, who does at 13?   Time stopped.

It was the heat of the blood flowing into my cheeks and the sensation of them turning bright red that snapped me back into place. But this time, the embarrassment rising inside of me was NOT to utter some cordial attempt at a reply, but to simply let my mothers words hang lifeless like a dead man swinging from a rope. It was right then the first part of my mother died to me as my self-esteem rose.

Indeed it took me over 28 years, 6.5 months and a few days,  to FINALLY TRULY accept my mother’s figurative death to me. It happened almost four years ago and almost to the day of my birthday, BY CHOICE. This day WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT FIRST of a number of significant emotional shifts I would make for MY CREATIVE LIFE to FINALLY evolve and FLOW.

Like I said there was no drama. I did stop calling and I sent this letter:

“Dear Mom,

I love you with all my heart and soul. And yet, you are at war with the world and with anyone who loves you, especially with me. If you ever are willing to take even the smallest part of responsibility for your actions, and ever want to try and really be my mom, I will come back to your side in the flash of a moment. But short of that– PLEASE know I LOVE YOU and will be THERE FOR YOU IN YOUR GREATEST TIME OF NEED, but until that time, our relationship is over..”

And that is how I began my strategic creative-for-life sustainability plan.  I rooted out ALL the dysfunction out of my life. EVERY SINGLE DROP. Just the same way eating egg whites and oatmeal, chicken and salad is CLEAN eating, I out rooted  the dysfunction in my life that was depriving me of having life’s special sauce.   And it was the damndest thing- about 6 months after I really let all of the dysfunction freely flow away from me,  my thoughts began to change. My energy began to flow.  And the real creative person I  always WANTED to BECOME  FINALLY SHOWED HER FACE and has begun to rock and roll.

Through my music and writing and artistry I am creating a  new recipe, a new kind of  artistic  hope and value filled stew of possibilities.

Dear creative friends, our time to shine in life is here. It’s ARRIVED. It’s RIGHT NOW. Our broken world is literally and figuratively gushing from the bottom of the ocean and needs our creative gifts TRULY LIKE NEVER BEFORE.   Our glory days helping to SAVE THE WORLD ARE  RIGHT in front of us.

BUT NOT until we learn how to become the wonderful human beings we have mostly fooled ourselves into believing we are. We need to be WONDERFUL so we can work together, play together and CREATE VALUE together. We deserve to shine! Our gifts are great!

Please won’t you spread our good news and help me to open my school. This is what God put me on this earth to do. It has never been so clear or real. God bless you Lea. I would not know how to do this work if you had NOT been my mother….

“Ms. Canning?  This is Chris, manager of Malibu East, where your mother lives. Someone is concerned they have not heard from her in several days. Do we have your permission to enter her apartment and do a wellness check?”

December 26, 2005. A picture of me, my brother, mom and Scooby. This was the last time I saw my mom...

As the words “yes, but of course” blurted out of me, I knew immediately what had happened. My mom was dead.  My mother and I had a horrible relationship. It had been 4 years, almost to the day, since we have spoken.  But I knew something seriously had to be wrong when the birthday card- her only form of communication with me- did not arrive on my birthday- June 11th. As exasperating as it was to deal with my mom, she made this one and only communication clear, as the cards were never late. But this year no card arrived.

You may think me cruel or heartless or it unimaginable that a mother daughter relationship could implode. Trust me I did. But it was not for a lack of trying on my part.

And yet, my mother’s idea of a relationship was filled with dysfunction, threats, self-sabotage, hostility, addictions and pain filled memories and embarrassment. There was little that was consistent or positive about our relationship. And yet I learned so much about my own creativity through my mom.

My mother was an amazing cook.  She LOVED to cook and the fancier and more complicated the recipe the better.  She loved a challenge and as a Polish woman who grew up eating animal innards from the south side of Chicago, who married a well to do Greek man, she quickly learned how to embed high style Mediterranean cooking into our family nightly meals. She learned how to make mousaka, tiropita, spanakopita and every other amazing Greek dish from scratch and her presentation was breathtaking.  My mother also made the best beef wellington, stuffed Cornish game hens and a killer scalloped potatoes dish I wish I had the recipe for.  And on my birthday, for years, my mom made me a home made banana cream pie- my favorite. I have NEVER had one since that was anywhere close to as good as the one my mom use to make for me. Indeed,  the whole back wall of our kitchen was full of recipe books that my mom studied for hours while I devoured Baermann scale books. Her cookbooks were literally falling apart, stained, ladled with butter and sauce drippings and full of her love of the art. So really, it’s no wonder I struggle with my weight. My mother taught me all the joys of eating deliciously prepared food.

But this wasn’t my mother’s only creative gift. She also had a green hand- she was blessed with more than a green thumb. My mom could revive, nurture and grow any kind of plant. She had an assortment of orchids that bloomed so vibrantly they did not even look real.  I, to this day, have killed every one I have ever had. She was also a masterful artistic flower arranger. She made fresh cut flowers look like art in a vase. My mother could take any bunch of flowers and entirely change how they looked simply through her choice of vase and how she positioned and grouped them together. It was amazing to watch her fluidly and effortlessly assemble a stunning arrangement every time as if anyone could do it. I wish I could.

My mother was an amazing seamstress. She made all my clothes when I was little and I remember every one ‘oohing and ‘ahing over how cute I always looked. She also fashioned herself a furrier. While it might not be fashionable now, I grew up with the smell of garbage cans of mink pelts and a rack in the basement of home made designer quality fur coats my mother made for herself.

But my mother, unfortunately, for all her innate creative talents, was an insecure person. Despite a number of years as (almost) a professional model, she had NOTHING to BE  insecure about- at least not from her looks.  But my moms creativity was never validated in a way that empowered her life forward.  Like so many artists, her creativity as fulfilling as it was, was rudderless. As a result, slowly, her self-esteem plummeted and the “isms” crept into her life.   Of course, this further stifled her creativity and drew her deeper into the dark side of life instead of into her highest purpose and best self.

My mother became an alcoholic. She used to mix her liquor of choice with Diet Dr Pepper and hide it in the turn style in the kitchen next to the nutmeg. She would sip it as she cooked until she was so drunk so would collapse at the dinner table as my father, brother and I enjoyed her scrumptious meal. The contrast between the food we were eating and my mothers appearance were shocking. It was so sad to see her this way.

And yet how many creative types who have lost their self esteem do you know like my mother? It manifests itself in different ways but I bet a lot.

All the stories of betrayal I hear from other creative individuals who work on projects that arrive DOA. What about all of the prima donna’s-  the”high priestess’s” in our field?  The temper tantrums on stage in rehearsal from conductors, actors, soloists.  The knowledge of who’s sleeping with whom and the question we ask ourselves” is that how they got this gig”?  The low self esteem, the anger that ensues, the addictions, the sadness, and often the sense of entrapment that comes when we hear the voice in our head that says, ” my art is the only thing I want to do and that I am good at. Yet I can’t make the difference (or a living) I seek doing this.”  And then, the ensuing self- sabotage that follows. All this is enough to be a worthy comparison to life with my mother.

Yes, indeed, dysfunction and “isms” are our dirty little “family secret” as artists that we try and hide from our audience, our supporters and even sometimes, ourselves. Not everyone in “our family” is like this, but it seems the arts as a whole are vulnerable in this regard. Isn’t it time we truly rallied together and finally ONCE AND FOR ALL decided to BE the DIFFERENCE we seek? Isn’t it time to fight the good fight in EARNEST and learn the skills we need to do so?   If my mother had, I am sure she would have lead a totally different life. Our beauty and our glory as artists will come from being ABLE to make a difference in life. Not by burning bridges and blowing up our own lives simply because we don’t know how to BE the DIFFERENCE we seek.

It was because of my mothers creativity, and how it became stifled and then became dramatic and outrageous behavior, that I truly came to believe that creativity can take us anywhere in life we want to go, as long as you have a CREATIVE-FOR-LIFE sustainability plan. I saw how alive and vibrant my mother once was with it, and how she became without it.  And I have noticed throughout my life as a result of this experience how easy it is for our creativity, just like my mothers, to die too without the support and rudder it needs; do you REALLY WANT to starve your soul from your creativity PRODUCTIVELY flowing while you are alive?

And yesterday, as I set the phone down and realized my mother was truly gone from this planet we call earth, I realized how much she had taught me about the value of my creativity and what to do and what not to do with it. I realized that as much as I had discredited her as the parent that taught me everything to not do in life, it was because of her that I was opening a school.

My idealistic values about art would protect me, and do to this day, because through my mother I learned that living a creative life can be our freedom and our salvation if we build it the rudder it needs- a creative-for-life sustainability plan- to take us ANYWHERE in life we want to go.

In honor of my mother, and in honor of your highest purpose and best creative self, I am asking you to join me.

Apply NOW to the IAE .  If you believe in you and want to make a positive difference on this earth through the arts and are not sure how to, our two year program will help you bring to life your own creative-life-sustaining plan.

Attend Boost Camp. If your not sure your rudder is still attached or you have an idea how to build one, please enroll. Scholarships are available.

Support Our Work. I am asking you to support our cause by buying a button or tee shirt and spreading our mission of hope and change for artists to come.

Spread Our Word. I am asking you to believe that life CAN be DIFFERENT and that your circumstances are changeable no matter how hard and challenging they are. Spread our good news and believe we can create a life we love and that empowers us and those around us in positive and life sustaining ways.

We are looking for strong individuals with good character and clear determination to overcome their fear and life obstacles. Please, won’t you join us. No More Starving Artists. No More Dirty Little Family Secrets. Let us BECOME the DIFFERENCE we seek to be ABLE to MAKE the DIFFERENCE we WERE put on this earth to make.

While the artists featured in the 2010 Old Town Art Fair are chosen by an independent jury of professional artists, gallery owners and museum curators, who looks at their professionalism and how they interact with the public?  I think the answer is no one because it’s art right? It should sell itself, right?  I can also tell you there were far too many booths that offered no artist statement, or ONLY offered a hand written statement on a scrap of paper that was pinned to their booth… I kid you not.  Even worse many had no story about them or their artwork woven into their display. There was no “Why” to latch on to… And the really sick part was that the majority of the art at the fair was indeed pretty good. But yet, no one was inside these faceless art filled booths could tell their potential customers a compelling story about why they do what they do. NO wonder everyone walked right by them and instead mobbed those that could.

Out of the roughly 20 artists Chuck and I were seriously interest in, less than 1/2 of them had functioning websites. The common excuse was it was being updated or had only been down for a short period of time for some reason or another. In fact, one artist proudly told me she had been featured in “the” ceramic magazine and had 6 galleries representing her and did not need a website because all anyone ever did was go and look at “the pretty pictures”. This particular artist even won a prize at this years fair which was juried for the first time.  Her work indeed was good but clearly she does not care to be connected to her audience or know who they really are- I found this, and her attitude, totally scary. I know another visual artists just like her who has had a great deal of success selling the same way- until the bottom fell out on the economy and now she has no idea who her clients are because she directly sells to so few of them…And what about trusting your brand to a gallery? While they may represent your work do you really want to leave your image and “brand” up to them? Yikes.  How do you build Why? with no direct connection to your tribe?  No wonder there are SO MANY STARVING ARTISTS!!

But what is THE MOST troubling about this experience today is this is a well established, higher end fair. Most of the art is at least a couple of hundred dollars and a significant portion of it falls in the $2000 to $8000 range.  It costs $500 to $575 for a 10X12 and is considered 37th out of 200 best art fairs around the country.

Our newest addition: JOY

But, my husband and I went to enjoy our day and indeed we did. My 46th birthday was yesterday and in celebration we bought “Joy” from clay sculpture artist Steven Olszewski from Pinckney, MI. (734.878.6439  clayart@cac.net)  When I entered Steve’s booth his sculptures really spoke to me through their serenity. Steve was, coincidentally, indeed, one of the two artists who also was quick to speak to me and also quick to tell me he needed to sell some of his work and if I liked it he would make me a deal. He was sincere and not pushy in the least. Of course I took him up on his offer for a discount, but truthfully if he had not offered first, I would have paid full price.

Steve’s booth did not tell me Why? at all. His sculptures did with their serenity, peace and joy written all over their faces and poses, but there was no story in his booth had I needed more encouragement to connect to his work. Steve does not have a website and also readily admitted he needed help with his marketing and connectivity to his market. He even said he wanted to come to Boost Camp, which of course made me feel a little more Joy.

This peace filled man is another one of Steve's sculptures. Chuck and I really liked him but he, and a slightly smaller one like him, were both out of our price range. I did however help Steve sell the smaller one to another couple while I was in Steve's booth.

Ironically, when I first saw Joy I said to him, ” Her name must be Joy because she looks full of it..”  and ironically and magically it turns out indeed it is her name.

THE WINNER

The designer who submitted the winning entry, and OUR NEW LOGO, said this about their submission: ” Your website presents the picture of a dynamic, community-oriented organization and I’ve tried to express those attributes in the logo I’ve designed for your institute.”

We could not agree more! We felt, like so many of you, that this particular entry stood out because it was unique, very clever and creative, reflected a diverse collaborative community and most importantly embodied an entrepreneurial spirit!

Thank YOU Ryan Swanson, instructor from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago,  for referring our winning entry to us!

And with out further ado….(drum roll please!) the winner is…

It’s easy to get sucked into the social vacuum of the Internet and be fooled into thinking you’re making actual connections.  I spend as much time on Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz and the blogosphere as anyone (let’s be honest, probably moreso…it’s an obsession), but the bulk of those connections aren’t technically real.  The thread connecting me to many of the people who I communicate with is an invisible, digital one…and at the end of the day, that can’t hold a candle to looking someone in the eye and shaking their hand.

That’s why we created Create.Innovate.Repeat. to begin with…to facilitate more of those handshakes.  This time, we’ve teamed up with the ING DIRECT Cafe Chicago in downtown Chicago to host a free night of networking and presenting designed to bolster your real world contacts and make connections that could prove invaluable as you continue building your business or brand.  We’ve been inspired by the PechaKucha networking nights (if you’re unfamiliar, look it up…they have a great following) to do our own form of show and tell for adults.  We have ten presenters lined up, representing an assortment of artists and entrepreneurs from all over Chicago, who each have 10 slides and 5 minutes to share the art or business concept that drives them.  From them, you might find inspiration…you might find a way to get involved with a new project…or you might find a partner that you never knew existed who could provide a mutually beneficial team-up opportunity.  Check out the list below to get a taste of who’s presenting…and we still have a slot or two open, so if you’re interested in being one of these folks, e-mail me at Shawn@TheIAE.com and I’ll get you set up.

Again, the event is totally free, but registration is recommended.  Go to createinnovaterepeat.eventbrite.com to RSVP for yourself and up to 3 friends…and pass the link along to anyone else you know who might be interested.  We’ll have free cafe drinks, courtesy of the ING DIRECT cafe, and snacks to make sure you’ve got energy for some intense networking.  The event takes place Thursday, June 10th from 7-9 pm.  The ING DIRECT Cafe Chicago is located at 21 East Chestnut Street.

We’ll have social networking stations onhand so you can connect with people online as you talk to them in person, but don’t forget to bring a few business cards just in case!  And come say hi to me, I’ll be the bald guy wearing lots of No More Starving Artist buttons…because we could all use a few more passionate entrepreneurial cohorts, right?

And be sure to keep an eye on www.TheIAE.com for the premiere of the winner on June 5th!

Now, without further ado…check these out:

SURTEX has really moved from its original purpose of selling designs for fabrics to showcasing artists and their agents for all types of product manufacturing. This year for the first time, SURTEX and the Stationery show were held not only at the same time, but on the same trade show floor, and it seemed to be really beneficial for all.

A Word About Stationery Licensing…

The stationery product category is a great category for starting your art and licensing business, for many reasons. Of course, providing your art fits the stationery product category.

• The stationery business follows many fashion trends and colors, so it’s always looking for styles and patterns, icons, graphics and designs that are fresh and new.  Since fashion changes quickly, the stationery business pushes to keep up. Styles may last one season, or a design doing well may last several (3-5) seasons, and that would be an extremely long and successful run at retail.

• The stationery business, which prints on paper—though not exclusively—can produce new product faster than many other categories, such as ceramics and home décor. The industry is, then capable of changing quicker than most, and utilizes this to its advantage.

• The nature of the stationery business also lends itself to diversity of product and small exclusive product runs for specialty stores and other upstairs retailers.

• The stationery business with its huge need for art and on-trend designs is used to working with artists and creators who are new to the industry, and in fact there are many manufacturers who really don’t care if you have other licensing deals.  They know if they like your art, and if you can agree on a deal, that’s enough for them.

All of this is great news for artists entering the business, since the stationery business requires volumes of art and designs to keep up with trends and to fulfill its various audience, lifestyle, holiday and social occasion needs.

Now a Word About Manufacturers…

As the retail marketplace is being challenged, so is that of the manufacturer. If you have talked to one lately, I’m sure they told you:

• Manufacturers are pressed to reduce their costs to the retailer, so the retailer can keep prices relatively low and still make a profit.

• Manufacturers are trying to keep costs down in several different ways, such as reducing inventory, keeping overhead costs down, managing with fewer employees, using lower cost or lower quality goods.  Each manufacturer must make these decisions for their brand and company.

• Many manufacturers have chosen to keep staffing lean and with that the design departments that are small to nonexistent.  And while licensing is an added expense, it is also one way to keep costs down, and pay you for each product sold, rather than keeping designers on staff.

Again, this has provided an opportunity for artists, as the manufacturers continue to look for new art and especially artists who are skilled in product design and production to help compensate for their shrinking art and production staffs.  Another benefit to the manufacturer is being able to tap into the huge pool of talented artists that bring a variety of different styles simultaneously to their product lines, thus attracting a wider audience.

A Story of Two Artists

Two women, both incredible artists with the burning desire to see their art on products and in the stores decided to take a big first step and market their artwork.

The first one decided to manufacture stationery and note cards. She bought a booth at the Stationery Show, which was quite an investment, in addition to producing all the product for sale and marketing materials. Response to her designs and product was wonderful and several independent retailers purchased product for their stores. The woman wished she could get a representative, or better yet a ‘rep group’ for her line—agents who would sell her product to all of the retailers. When she left the show she had more work to do that when she arrived. Whew, it’s a lot to take in, and she began to wonder if she’d be better off licensing her art to manufacturers directly.

The other woman decided to license her art directly to manufacturers for stationery and other products.  She bought a booth at SURTEX, which was quite an investment, in addition to producing her marketing materials and web site. Response to her designs was wonderful and several manufacturers showed interest in a licensing deal. The woman wished she could get an agent to license her collections to all of the manufacturers. When she left the show she had more work to do than when she arrived. Whew, it’s a lot to take in, and she began to wonder if she’d be better off manufacturing her art on products.

Moral of the story: No matter what you decide to do, it always looks like there is more work in your lane to get to the finish line, but it’s probably just the same amount on a different path.

An Important Business Model Decision

Licensing is really just one of many marketing decisions to be made, as you build a business based on your creative talents. If you have enjoyed your creative endeavors and see them reaching a broader audience and creating larger revenue streams, then you are probably considering manufacturing your own product or licensing your art to manufacturers. Both choices are viable and have pros and cons which are based on your specific needs and goals. No one can tell you which is right for you.

So why would you choose one type of business over the other, when wanting to create product and revenue with your art. The following chart shows some of the key benefits of both licensing and manufacturing. Of course, what is the benefit for one method is the opposite, or a negative, for the other and vice versa…it all depends on your perspective.

Two Different Business Models:

From a creative stand-point, there are reasons to choose manufacturing and reasons to go with licensing. I have known creative people who tried manufacturing and then chose licensing, and some who went the licensing route and switched gears to pursue manufacturing.  It really depends on your skill sets, drive and how you prefer to spend your time and energy.

Jeanette Smith has more than 25 years experience in the licensing industry, including building the Dilbert™ brand from its infancy to a global corporate icon. J’net created All Art Licensing to share her knowledge through coaching, consulting and licensing all types of creators — artists, photographers, painters, designers, authors, illustrators, non-profits and more —  to maximize the power of their talents worldwide, while saving time and money! All Art Licensing offers a comprehensive resource, including online ‘live’ classes, audio downloads, e-books, templates and workshops, as well as a free newsletter, monthly Q&A and blog. Explore your potential with the training, products and services available at www.allartlicenisng.com or contact J’net directly atjnet@allartlicensing.com

For creativity and innovation, the framework emphasizes Thinking Creatively (brainstorming techniques, creating new ideas, refining and evaluating ideas), Working Creatively with Others (communicating new ideas, being open to diverse perspectives, demonstrating orginality, viewing failure as part of the process) and Implementing Innovations (Acting on creative ideas and contributing to a field). These are terrific guideposts.

So the question is, how do we really teach creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration? These are right brain skills, those that are most difficult to teach in a codified, regimented way. With most school systems now fixated on measurable outcomes (usually test scores), how do we make these Four Cs a priority when they are so hard to measure? Illinois, for one, has charged “core content teams” with several tasks including to “ensure that the Illinois Learning Standards embody the fusion of the three Rs and the four Cs.” I’m looking forward to delving into this question and learning more about what states are really doing to embrace the framework. Let me hear from you if you know more about the progress being made.

In this Pearson Foundation video here, “Teaching Teachers to Teach 21st Century Learners,” we hear from various leaders from the worlds of business and education as they discuss the importance of 21st century learning and the need for change. Partnership for 21st Century Skills President Ken Kay begins to describe the skills needed with this distinctive pairing: “Non-routine thinking” and “complex communications.”

The education world has long been averse to change — in many ways we are still preparing students for a world that no longer exists. The fact that the Four Cs have been defined and already embraced by many leaders is a promising step. The conversation is happening. We’ll see if that can lead to real change and better learning for our kids in the near future.

More from Adam on his Innovation on my Mind blog

It’s almost summer- and you know what that means?  Summer art fair season is almost here!  I have spent the last few hours on this rainy Saturday morning wading through 8 pages of possible art festivals PR Chicago helped us identify as shows The IAE might consider attending. From high end to the smallest ones,  I am an active attendee of summer art festivals but work them? Now, that is a whole other matter. That is going to take another cup of coffee to decide how much of my summer fun will include working” the booth”. The joys of launching a business!

Anyway, as I flipped through yesterdays email I had yet to read, coincidentally I discovered an innovative twist to the summer festival waiting for me- SeaFair.  Seems like the universe is telling me this is the subject matter I am going to be forced to ponder today.

So what is SeaFair you ask?  It’s a specially built $30 million art exhibition- a floating “megayacht” art fair. Like the gambling boats in the river, SeaFair stays tied to the dock and serves food and drinks while patrons shop for art.  Each deck is loaded with art exhibition booths- but before you get too excited. Take a seat. SeaFair is probably not for the start up art business. $10K will just barely get you through the door with a 200 square foot booth.  Of course if you book it 180 days in advance you can get a 25% discount- which certainly helps.

SeaFair’s packaging is brilliant. It’s the paradigm shift here, really, that is sparkling bright in the water.  But don’t be too bedazzled by their $30 million “megayacht”.  Their business idea is transformed THROUGH the glitter of the word “megayacht”. Octopus, a megayacht owned by Paul Allen, the co-Founder of Microsoft, cost $200 million.  What $30 million for a yacht buys them is just enough of the glitter they need  to execute the idea. It always comes down to how to cost effectively execute the idea. Always.

Their idea hinges on the fact that if your wealthy (or wish you were) and want to spend a day going to an art fair, wouldn’t it be a better experience to be on a yacht?  And the art community, of course, wants to hang with the rich and famous too- or at least be in the same room with their credit cards. SeaFair offers artists a sophisticated atmosphere to meet potential clients. Although they claim that artists will meet “thousands of pre-qualified attendees and potential collectors each week” seems a bit of a stretch for a boat this size, for a few days of exhibition. Of course their docking locations are good to draw the audience they seek. SeaFair will dock in Newport RI from Sept 2-5 and then in Miami Beach from Dec 9-12.

SeaFair has been developed by well known art festival creators International Fine Art Expositions (IFAE).  In 2001 IFAE owners David and Lee Ann Lester sold IFAE for 18 million to dmg world media. dmg produces 260 public shows and trade exhibitions worldwide and a diverse mix of conferences, publications, and online services. dmg has shows and publications in North American, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East, operating out of 33 offices in nine different countries. A major newspaper publisher, dmg owns the Daily Mail, the Evening Standard, and numerous newspapers throughout the United Kingdom. Significant holdings in the art and antiques sector include Antique Trade Gazette (UK), Antique Week (US), the Original Miami Beach Antiques Show (US), and more than 100 regional art and antiques fairs and events in the United States, United Kingdom, and France.

Despite dmg’s mega star studded influence as stake holders, IFAE founders David and Lee Ann Lester continue to be the face of IFAE. Their charge is to help dmg begin to launch international exhibitions.   “It is an important step in our long-term strategy to add international events of such outstanding caliber to the growing dmg world media art and antiques portfolio,” said Mark Carr, executive vice president of the art and antiques division. “We are especially pleased that David and Lee Ann Lester have chosen us as their business partners and that they have agreed to head our new group specializing in prestigious international fairs in future years.”

“Clearly, there is an ongoing consolidation and realignment at every level within the international art and antiques markets,” said David Lester. He further noted, “It is increasingly difficult for smaller independent firms such as IFAE to have the necessary resources to make a significant impact in today’s increasingly competitive international markets. Through this partnership with dmg world media, our fairs will now have substantial new resources available to create even more global marketing power for our clients.”

“Our art and antiques sector will continue to aggressively seek new opportunities and venues throughout the world,” noted Mark Carr. “We believe the demand for first quality art and antiques fairs exist elsewhere, and we will encourage and enable this new group to launch new shows to serve international art and antiques dealers in the coming years.”

This, of course, makes the portability of SeaFair even that much more brilliant. Clearly the real hope behind SeaFair is to help reinvigorate a number of different markets and potentially art markets all around the world. SeaFair can serve as both a portable marketing and sales vehicle, attracting new artists who will pay for the boat through exhibition fees and large scale collectors around the planet with whom they can forge new relationships for international level exhibitions. Simply brilliant.

SeaFair and IFAE founders, David and Lee Ann Lester,  had this to say about their new floating project.  “The Show provides an interactive experience for artists and artisans with current and prospective clients,” said David Lester. “Collectors can directly view contemporary art, glass and jewelry in a luxurious shipboard environment. This innovative program offers artists and artisans an upscale platform and direct channel to sell their works and meet new collectors.”

Regional gallery owners are invited aboard to meet with participating artists and view their work, making possible future gallery representation. A series of onboard lectures and seminars are included in the SeaFair experience. They also boast a sophisticated marketing and promotional strategy that they will help coordinate with key local press, museums, collectors and designers to enhance sales for each participating artist. Advertising is conducted through local and regional publications and broadcast outlets, as well as direct mail to demographically pre-qualified attendees. Commercials will air on such outlets as CNN, CNBC and FOX Business News, and color advertising inserts would be placed in Manhattan and regional editions of the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

So, if your art career is in the perfect spot to leverage this opportunity and you can afford to, contact: Heidi Marie Grassley at hgrassley@ifae.com or call 239-949-5411 ext.103. You can also download the application here.

In the spirit of the flexibility that we encourage all of our students to have, we’ve added two additional sections of Bite-Size Arts Ensemble summer programming to meet different needs.  You can find out all about our full curriculum over on the Bite-Size page at theIAE.com, but I wanted to give you a little breakdown about the differences between these new programs.  Now, in addition to a 12 week program that meets once a week, we have a 6 week program that meets twice a week and a 1 week intensive that meets for five days in a row.

There are advantages to all of them, depending on how you learn.  Take a look:

If you’re ready to jump right in, learn the tools and get to creating your own business, we recommend the One Week Intensive.  You’ll spend a full week in all-day classes breaking down the tools and making rapidfire choices as you develop your full length show to premiere at the end of the course.  The speed of the course forces you to push past any hesitancy and dive head first into your ideas and is a great jumpstart to get ideas flowing for a new project or business concept in a short period of time.

If you prefer to let your ideas simmer a little longer, we recommend the Six Week Experience.  With twice-a-week meetings, you’ll have more time to synthesize the concepts and revise your creative ideas as you go.  The extended time will also give you more access to our instructors and will put more emphasis on the development of the 45-minute solo workshop.

If you’re just stepping into the world of arts entrepreneurship but know that you want to develop a business idea, we recommend the Twelve Week Experience.  You’ll meet once a week for three hours, which is perfect for full-time employees or students looking to develop a new business on a more paced schedule.  The Twelve Week Experience will also culminate in two community performances of your final show and workshop.

So what kind of learner are you?  Are you ready to rumble and want to learn the tools so you can move into your business?  Or do you like to have a little time to let your ideas settle in as you conceptualize?  Sound off in the comments below!

And if you think you’re ready to join us for one of our summer sessions, you can apply for the Bite-Size Arts Ensemble right now by filling out our Online Application.  We’re even offering a 20% discount for readers of the blog.  Just use the discount code “icanflourish” and they’ll get you set up.

Trust me, it’s going to be fun.

Our fortune cookies and No More Starving Artist Button Board were a big hit at the Chicago Creative Expo.

On Saturday April 10th, at the 7th Chicago Creative Expo held at The Cultural Center in Chicago, The IAE was in full blooming form.

Our imagination training ensemble, The Bite-Size Arts Ensemble, performed What’s Your Imagination Worth? to a just about full house in the Claudia Cassidy theater.

During the day, Bite-Size Arts Ensemble members Shawn Bowers, Lance Hall, Dharmesh Bhagat and a helper from our PR firm, PR Chicago maned the IAE booth, fielded questions and  handed out applications for our workshops and 2 year program. We had so many different kinds of artists stop by, and every imaginable question asked about our workshops and programs, that not only were these guys talking all day but they gave almost ever brochure, button, and application we brought with us away!

Meanwhile, I spent the day in the Consult-A-Thon helping artists work through various issues with their existing business or start-up ideas.

Bite-Size Arts Ensemble member Dharmesh Bhagat signs up a potential student to our mailing list.

Shawn Bowers fields a question about The IAE curriculum

Bite-Size Director Lance Hall answers questions about our 12 week imagination training workshop that begins June 7th.

Here are some quotes from emails I received already today from some of the artists I met at the Consult-A-Thon!

“Thank you for giving me such a positive experience at the Consult-a-Thon.”

“You showed me so many different angles to look at things I would have never thought of (or it would take me a very long time).”
“I’m still decompressing from this weekend but will  regroup and take action!”

Is Your Imagination Worth Investing Into? The Bite-Size Arts Ensemble gave away over 300 fortune cookies with our special message inside.

“Just wanted to tell you thanks for the wonderful meeting on Saturday at the Expo. You may have changed my life!”

“You gave me so much to think about. I have been in a buzz with friends ever since.”

I have already signed up for the boost camp online..”

So what about you? While the Chicago Creative Expo 2010 may be officially over, the energy, enthusiasm and support for The IAE it created has just begun and we are calling YOU to action too!

Do you know what your imagination is worth? Is it worth investing into by becoming a Bite-Size Arts Ensemble member and creating your own show to build your communication skills and test your business ideas in our 12 week workshop beginning Monday June 7th?

Or what about shaping or re-shaping your business idea to create a better plan of action to move your career and ideas forward with our 2 week Boost Camp that starts Monday July 26th?

Or what about joining us and learning how to live life on your own terms  ONCE AND FOR ALL by attending The IAE’s 2 year weekend program that begins January 5th, 2011?

Early Bird registration discount of 20% for The Bite-Size Arts Ensemble Workshop or Boost Camp if you apply by May 15th. Discount code is: ICanFlourish

When we hibernate for the winter, it’s not uncommon for our creativity and willingness to pursue new projects goes dormant as well.  That just means that you have all the more reason to jumpstart your imagination and let your ideas out to get some much-needed sunshine.

At the ETA Blog, we’ve put together 4 simple steps to give your creativity a boost.  Try one, try them all, and let us know if they work for you!

This kitten loves spring. Why don't YOU?

1. Work Outside

I know, I telegraphed this one with all that talk of sunshine, but it’s true…working outside, surrounded by fresh air and natural light, can go a long way to letting your ideas flow more freely.  Take a notepad and a few hours and plant yourself on a bench in your favorite park.  Use your surroundings to help influence your brainstorm…the natural sounds that surround you are essentially just a better, less expensive version of one of those Sharper Image ambient noise machines. You’ll have all sorts of time to sit inside in front of your computer screen later as you’re doing the butt-in-seat work of executing whatever type of creative project you’re working on, but for now…disconnect.

2. Set Your New Season Resolutions

Remember New Years?  Remember when you said you were going to do all those marvelous things that you never really ended up doing?  New Years You was going to lose the weight and change the world, but most resolutions tend to mysteriously disappear within a month or so.

So what?  I’m a believer that the frozen wasteland of winter isn’t actually the most ideal time to create a new battleplan for changing your life.  Ignore tradition and use the coming of a New Season to set yourself some more attainable short=term goals.  Especially if you’re launching a new venture, this gives you a perfect opportunity to build some waypoints and break down your overarching endgame into more bite-sized pieces.  (In case you haven’t heard, bite-size is the way of the future)

3. Hit The Streets

One of the most charming things about Chicago is the sheer volume of people meandering down the sidewalk (when its nice enough to do so).  Many of them have no explicit reason for being out…they just like being out, looking in windows, sitting in outdoor cafes, people watching, whatever.  But those people, who have no particular reason for being out, represent hundreds of possible connections who might be interested in your or your work!

I’m not telling you to accost people.  I’m saying find a creative reason for being outside and a creative way to promote yourself or your product.  Even if its just handing out fliers with a friendly note and a link to your website, you’re drawing attention and shaking hands and actually TALKING to people, which will always be a thousand times more valuable than any retweeting or Facebook status update you might do.

When I moved to Chicago, one of the first people I talked to was someone who was participating in a Free Hugs Day event in Millennium Park.  All they were doing was standing with a sign that said free hugs and, you guessed it, hugging anybody who would take one.  And by doing so, they got people like me to stop, hug, and talk to them about anything and everything (including their group, Positive Focus, a name which has stuck with me all this time because of the simple, unique touchpoint they created).

What can you do to stand out on a busy street corner?  How do you draw attention to yourself in the real world in a way that makes people want to come talk to you?  Chances are, if you can answer that question on the streets, you can answer that question in your creative industry as well.  I’m just saying…

4. Take a Boost Camp!

Our compatriots at the Institute For Arts Entrepreneurship are offering the Creative Enterprise Boost Camp this summer, and the whole thing is designed to galvanize you into testing and structuring your idea so that it’s ready to become a real business plan.  I don’t think I’m the only one who tends to do my best work when I have a deadline looming, and this 2-week intensive can act as your personal deadline to finally take a leap and COMMIT yourself to that creative business idea you’ve had sitting in the back of your head for too long.  For more info on the Creative Enterprise Boost Camp, go here.  And for info on all the Summer Workshops and Intensives from the IAE, go here.

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So do any of these work for you?  Or do you have other Springtime rituals that you want to share?  Sound off in the comments below!

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Shawn Bowers is a writer, actor and producer in Chicago, IL.  He performs regularly around the city and encourages you to click over to his website at www.ShawnBowers.com to check out all sorts of stories, videos and a full performance calendar.  Internets are fun!