Showing posts with label Michael McGraw. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael McGraw. Show all posts

Friday, May 15, 2015

Jamie Winter Dawson - Drawing - Installation


Untitled 2014
Jamie Winter Dawson

 Name: Jamie Winter Dawson 
City/State: Minneapolis, MN
Email: jamiewinterdawson at gmail.com 
Website: jamiewinterdawson.com

Bio
Jamie Winter Dawson’s current work draws upon contending definitions of conservation, myths and stories from archetypal life/death/life cycles, theories on biophilia, and the dystopian narratives of classic and contemporary science fiction writers.The work invites reflections on ownership, notions of power and responsibility, and the mechanisms with which humans perceive their relationship to the natural world. Jamie Winter Dawson studied biology, genetics, and fine art at the University of Minnesota. She has received various residencies, awards, and visiting artist invitations and has shown in a network of art spaces including the Soap Factory, Science Museum of Minnesota, Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Prøve Gallery, Paul Whitney Larson Gallery and Soo Visual Arts Center.




Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
I am currently working on some new drawings and site specific installations for the Tuck Under Gallery in south Minneapolis. The show differs from past projects in that I’ve been spending a lot more time sitting with my conceptual research and winnowing down what I want to say in the work to the strongest and most succinct pieces.




How did you decide to become an artist?
I think art decided on me. I began to get the hint as kid, preferring drawing to most other activities. I began to take the hint as a biology and genetics undergrad - I was failing biochem because I kept painting in my basement instead of studying!




What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
Never answer the question, “How long did that take you to make?”
It’s often irrelevant and the public rarely understands the answer, whatever the response.


Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art. How do you sell your work? How do you market yourself?
Selling isn’t a goal that’s frequently on my radar. In my practice I am aiming to show the work to create connections, facilitate relationship, and generate dialogue. If people want to purchase the work, that’s great, but it’s important to my creative process to depend on consistent funding streams elsewhere. In addition to loving it, that’s why I teach.




Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy? 
Harriet Bart http://www.harrietbart.com
Caroline Kent http://carolinekent.com/carolinekent.com 
Bridget Riversmith http://riversmithart.com
Kristina Estell http://www.kristinaestell.com 
Nate Young http://nateyoungart.com 
Gregory Euclid http://gregoryeuclide.com 
Steve Accola 
Julia Buffalohead http://www.bockleygallery.com/artist_buffalohead 
Mary Bergs http://marybergs.com
Mara Duva 

 If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
What a fabulous question - and a tricky one...
We’d take in a play at Penumbra Theatre http://www.penumbratheatre.org, also a performance at Interact Center for the Arts http://www.interactcenter.com. We’d definitely visit the Bindery Projects http://thebinderyprojects.com, Tuck Under Projects http://ww.tuckunder.org, and the new home of Soo Visual Arts http://www.soovac.org. 

 We’d visit Midway Contemporary Art https://www.midwayart.org and make sure to spend a few hours in their library, the Bell Museum  http://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/ForAdults/Exhibits/EyesontheUniverse, the Walker to see the Art at the Center exhibit http://www.walkerart.org, then off to visit some friend’s studios to see where the magic happens. I think we’d need the entire weekend!


In addition to www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com, where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?
Honestly, I’m usually asking others this question - I have no consistent way of doing it.




Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?

Yes, my work is in the new exhibition at Tuck Under Projects opening next week. Photographer Michael McGraw http://www.local-artist-interviews.com/2013/12/michael-mcgraw-photographer.html will be showing, too, and it should be a fabulous show! Check out the details at: http://www.tuckunder.org.

 Exhibitions open May 21, 2015, 6-9 pm Shows run May 21-June 21, 2015. Unstructured hours Wednesday-Sunday, and by Appointment.
5120 York Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55410 USA
Image List:
1. untitled, 2014
2. Dust to Dust, 2014
3. Collective Depletion, 2014 
4. Collective Depletion, detail 
5. Inception Retained I, 2014 
6. Inception Retained IV, 2014 
7. Image of artist 
TuckUnder Gallery Profile
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Saturday, September 6, 2014

Doug Johnson - Photographer

Doug Johnson

Doug Johnson
Minneapolis, MN
Twitter: none
Etsy page: none
Bio:
Born Green Bay, Wisconsin.  Moved to Minnesota at age 11. BA in Studio Art, Southwest Minnesota State University.  As a young man I was a painting student influenced and inspired by New York School painters such as Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Helen Frankenthaler.  Later I completed a second major in English lit. and creative writing, shifting my emphasis to poetry.  Have made my living in the commercial printing industry.  Spent 25 years publishing poems in little mags, chapbooks, etc.  At age 50 I turned back to visual art, first doing drawings and mixed media pieces on paper, then discovering the joys of digital photography.


Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
I think the best way to describe my work is to include here, in full, my 2014 Artist’s Statement:

BORDER INCIDENTS

I harbor a deep mistrust of Artist's Statements.  At best, they tend to prejudice or otherwise interfere with a viewer's response to the work.  At worst, they are misleading, exaggerated, pompous, confusing, etc.  The less dangerous among them take on the characteristics of a powerful sleeping pill.

That said, I believe such a statement can be of value if approached with caution by both writer and reader.  Ideally the art will be viewed first, the statement looked at later as supplementary.  An artist may wish to share, as simply and honestly as possible, something of his or her intent in creating the work, reveal sources of inspiration, or say something about process and technique.  Elaborate explanation or justification tends to go bad quickly, not unlike a banana in a paper sack.  "Art" which requires explanation or justification has no legs of its own, or if it is good work, the rhetoric only gets in the way.

I enjoy the active nature of photography, the pleasures of the hunt for the image.  For me the process involves becoming open and receptive to whatever presents itself; however, one discovers through experience that certain times of day (or night) and qualities of light may be preferable, and that certain motifs tend to insist on repeated looks.

Technically, my approach to the photographic image is to emphasize the moment of exposure rather than post-processing.  I like to keep editing to a minimum.  I am drawn to the comparative serenity of the still photograph as an antidote to the barrage of high-speed graphics pelting us out of screens everywhere.

I have little patience for overtly political or sociological concerns posing as art, which seem always to give off an odor of propaganda.  And there's the danger of compromising one's work to please a specific audience, especially in the pursuit of grants or fellowships.  Here I tend to side with the late critic Hilton Kramer who felt that art was being corrupted by various forms of political correctness, dumbed down by an obsession with gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.  He insisted that true art is manifested in the aesthetic sphere, as something which "engages the eye in a significant or pleasurable visual experience."  Art speaks to us directly in its language of lightness and darkness, color, texture, form, and suggestion of movement.  It is in no way dependent on the sanitized language of the universities or government entities.  At the core of all authentic art lies a mystery which cannot be satisfactorily dissected by academics, activists, or bureaucrats.

Recently my emphasis has been on cityscapes or street scenes in which I'm fascinated with the interplay of natural and artificial light, reflections, and an abundance of often chaotic activity.  The term "border incidents" refers to the process of playfully engaging along borders between, for instance, the abstract and representational, rational and chaotic, conscious and unconscious, or interior and exterior.  Rigid structure and flowing dream-material coexist.  My intent is to uncover beauty, which in lucky moments presents itself always with a healthy dose of ambiguity.  I'm tuning in to the slippery nature of "hard" reality, discovering porous and shifting qualities that question the clarity of objects or facts.

     

How did you decide to become an artist?
I feel this is more a question of necessity than a deliberate decision.  Perhaps it was influenced by my grandfather who was a hobby painter.  When very young I was fascinated by his process and the tools involved, loved the smell of the oil paints, etc., the texture of the canvas, the look of the preliminary charcoal sketches, the allure of the many pigments in their tubes.
What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
Here I would credit my painting instructor at SMSU, Edward Evans, who taught by example with his work ethic, spending long hours day and night in the studio.  The word “talent” was almost irrelevant, it was diligence and persistence that mattered.
I would also cite a passage from the Tao Te Ching, Stephen Mitchell translation:
A good traveler has no fixed plans
And is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
Lead him wherever it wants.


How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?
Thus far I have sold work only through word of mouth, my mn artists website and Facebook page, and a few opportunities to exhibit in local galleries.
Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
Duane Ditty http://duaneditty.com
Howard Christopherson http://www.iceboxminnesota.com
Robert Roscoe www.robertroscoe.com
And many others!

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
Rosalux Gallery http://rosaluxgallery.com/
Instinct Gallery http://www.instinctmpls.com/
And of course the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Walker Art Center.


In addition to www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com, where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise? 

Walker Art Center http://www.walkerart.org/
Minneapolis Institute of Arts http://new.artsmia.org/


Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?
Yes, I have a solo exhibit coming up at 2001 A Space, opening September 19.  Please see attached e-postcard with all the information on this show. www.2001aspace.com.


Image List:
1-Sea Change, 2013.jpg
2-35W Bridge, 2012.jpg
3-Pre-dawn Mississippi River, 2011.jpg
4-IDS 4, 2013.jpg
5-Residual, 2014.jpg
6-Wells Fargo from 7th Street, 2012.jpg
7-Inner Space, 2014.jpg
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Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Kate Renee - Painter

Kate Renee


Kate Renee
Minneapolis, MN

 Email: katerenee@katerenee.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KateReneesArt
Twitter: @KateReneesArt
Etsy Page: www.etsy.com/shop/KateReneesArt

Bio~ 
My name is Kate Renee and I am a professional acrylic painter working out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. My work is brightly colored lowbrow character paintings on birch wood panels and covered in resin. I paint edgy works with a veneer of cute. They are most recognized by my googily eyes and satirical titles.  

I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Fine Arts, Art History, and a minor in Design. I have worked with various galleries in the Twin Cities including: Altered Esthetics, Larson Art Gallery, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The American Swedish Institute and the Katherine E. Nash Gallery. During 2013-2014, I am a protégé in the Women’s Art Resources of Minnesota (WARM) Mentor Program and mentored by Jill Waterhouse.



Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

In January 2013, I was awarded a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant and I recently completed my Beauties Behaving Badly Series. January and February 2014, I am exhibiting these 12 new works in a solo exhibition with an accompanying catalog at Gamut Gallery. The Beauties Behaving Badly series is a parody and commentary of classic fairytale and literature characters created in a graphic lowbrow style. These paintings challenge the typical role the female character played in their historical protagonist position by challenging society’s expectations. This series uses a visual media to speak about social issues including those found in children’s entertainment, public media, and the portrayal of traditional and non-traditional women’s roles.

What is different from these pieces and my past work is pretty vast. I am using a new substrate for my paintings and have been utilizing birch wood panels for the basis of my work. I still utilize acrylic but now cover the top of the painted surface in 2-4 layers of resin. The resin flattens the image completely and also soaks into the wood to enhance the grain. Because of this absorbent quality, I have been using the wood grain like a color. For example, all of the female figures’ skin tones are wood grain. These works have more developed figure shapes and backgrounds to the pieces than earlier works.



How did you decide to become an artist?

Art has always been a part of my life. I began as an artist at a young age; refusing to eat breakfast until I had finished coloring in my coloring books. I also began to paint at a young age on the tub walls with shaving cream dyed with food coloring. During my childhood, I continued to be creative with craft sales in my front yard (much like a lemonade stand but with art), coloring fuzzy posters and making Perler bead fridge magnets. I reconnected with my desire to be an artist during high school. Some of my high school photography traveled to an exhibition in Izumi, Japan and exhibited at the Minnesota State Capital. I made the decision to pursue a professional arts career in college. After my first semester of school, I transferred colleges and ended up at the University of Minnesota to study art, art history and design. 



What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 

I try to live my creative life by a quote by Anthony Bourdain. He said that if you wanted to get ahead you need to work like you are behind. I also parallel that with insights from my mentor who said to make sure you always take care of yourself and to enjoy the process. 

And another bit of advice that I have followed, is to get a lawyer. It’s impossible for artists to navigate the art world without knowing, learning or needing some sort of legal help along the way. There are numerous creative legal firms who can assist you. Lawyers are not as expensive as you think. Springboard for the Arts offers a Legal Clinic for about $20 a couple of times a year and has additional legal services and suggestions too. Most basic phone calls to a firm will be free if you have a few questions. I have even had a free consultation with a lawyer. Check out these firms below for legal help you may need:

Kunkle Law: http://kunklelaw.com/
Davis Law: http://davismeansbusiness.com/
Friedman Iverson Law: http://www.friedmaniverson.com/


Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?

I have learned very quickly to become a shameless promoter. I do a ton of marketing work and create a variety of promotional products to help get my name out there. I think the marketing is just as important as the art; both need to work in tandem. I am always trying new ways to get my name and my work out there. It’s crucial to make yourself as visible and accessible as possible. People do not want to search hard to try to find you or your work; make it easy for them. It’s okay to be out there, to express your individuality and to share what you do. That’s what is going to get people interested in the artwork and essentially make a sale. A little bit of repetition is okay too; just don’t overdo it. Sometimes people need to see things a few times before it catches their eye or before they remember a detail. And make sure that you can manage and update all of your marketing strategies…no use doing 20 different things if you can’t keep up!

Here’s just a quick snapshot of what I do for marketing. 

Multiple Facebook Pages:
https://www.facebook.com/KateReneesArt
https://www.facebook.com/TheSuctionCup
https://www.facebook.com/BeautiesBehavingBadly 
Twitter: @KateReneesArt
WordPress Blog: www.thesuctioncup.com
Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/katerenee
MNartists.org: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=185648
Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/KateReneesArt
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/108522227595832574442/posts
Newsletter Sign Up: http://katerenee.com/contact.html
Special Events: RAW shows 
Local Artist Interviews:  Writing artist development articles: 
LAI interviews: http://www.local-artist-interviews.com/2011/04/kate-johnson-painter.html
Personal mailings: Custom address labels with promo content on them, custom thank you cards, custom invitations, blind mailings to friend and family with free promo products
Licensing Art Work:  Checkbook covers and checks 
Custom made freebies: buttons, pens, stickers, Water bottles with custom Kate Renee labels, business cards, Favi cards
Variety of products: T-shirts, prints, paintings, catalog books, calendars
PR: Write my own press releases and mail them out



Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy? 
Kara Hendershot: http://karahendershot.com/
Amber White: https://www.facebook.com/TangledAntlers
Jill Waterhouse: http://www.jillwaterhouse.com/
DC Ice: http://dcice.com/
Michael McGraw:  Blog / Website 

I am also a part of an artist group called the Artaversaries. We exhibit a group show of work based off of the traditional themes of anniversaries. Our first show was artwork with a theme of paper. Our second show will be work related to cotton. It is comprised of: 
The Artaversaries: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Artaversaries/406438019463387
Mark Elton: http://markelton.tumblr.com/
Marnie Erpestad: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=262076
Julia Helen Rice: http://juliahelenrice.blogspot.com/
Kristy Childress : http://www.ravelry.com/designers/kristy-childress
Mary Foote: http://www.local-artist-interviews.com/2012/07/mary-foote-painter.html



If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
I am always taking Arts Management training classes at the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. http://mrac.org/ I have participated in 3 RAW: Natural Born Artists events this past year and will be in another in 2014. https://www.rawartists.org/ I also did my first art fair this past fall and will be partaking in some additional art fairs in the near future. 

I try to be at my studio daily and that is in Northeast Minneapolis in the Marshall Street River Lofts. You can always find me there and my studio is always open to visitors!

My exhibiting has been a bit quieter this past year due to the focus on completing a new series but I have exhibited plenty at Gamut Gallery during 2013 and 2014. http://www.gamutgallerympls.com/

I am also participating in the Women’s Art Resources of Minnesota (WARM) Mentor Intensive Program and I am at many of the WARM events in the community. My mentor is Jill Waterhouse and I have 4 lovely sister protégés: Barbara Bridges, Anne Kleinhenz and Jennifer Palmquist. www.thewarm.org

I also attend the monthly Artist Way Meet Up at the Northeast Library with Amy Egenberger and Heather Koshiol. http://www.meetup.com/Artists-Way-Meetup/  I would recommend any artist to attend the Meet Up!

You would also find me in book stores! I love reading self-help books and artist development books. Here’s my new favorite.

In addition to www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com, where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise? 

The typical sites: 

www.minnesotanonprofits.org
www.thewarm.org

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?
Beauties Behaving Badly 
A solo exhibition by Kate Renee at Gamut Gallery
January 18th – February 22ndOpening: January 18th from 7-11pm
Closing: February 22nd 7-10pm
Attendees will receive a free catalog of the exhibition
Gamut Gallery is located at: 1006 Marquette Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 701-8272 There is a public parking lot diagonal from the gallery or directly across the street below the Hilton Hotel. 
Kate Renee is a fiscal year 2013 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Kate Renee

Image List:
1. Alice In Wonderland: I’m Late Too, White Rabbit!
2. Little Bo Peep: I Thought I Lost My Sheep (I Lost My Virginity Instead)
3. The Princess And The Frog: The Princess And The Frogg
4. Tinkerbell: Supersized Thighs
5. Little Miss Muppet: Along Came A Spider
6. Little Red Riding Hood: Who’s Afraid of The Big Bad Wolf

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Sunday, December 15, 2013

Michael McGraw - Photographer


Name:  Michael McGraw
City/State: Mpls, MN
Email: mcgrawphoto at gmail.com

Bio~ 
I have been a photographer since the early nineties when I started out as a wedding photographer.  That worked out pretty well for me for about 12 years, but it was exhausting work and when wedding work no longer made me happy, I stopped completely and rented a studio in the Northrup King Building in the NE Mpls Arts District. I've been there since about 2005 and currently share a studio with painter Megan Bell Honigman.


Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

Right now I am working on something completely different from past years. Until recently, I had been working on abstract nature images --  close-cropped shots of tree branches or weeds, using a shallow focus to draw the viewer into the details of the subject so that the images become more about patterns and shapes than the source subject. Crabapple trees were my favorite subject.

Now, I am working on a project where the subjects are mannequins in storefront windows. Portraits, mainly headshots. Most of the mannequins in store windows do not have heads, or, if they do, they have heads that are head-shaped, but not meant to fool you into thinking that they are life-like. Mannequins with wigs and human-ish features are rare, at least in the twin cities.  There are about five or six places in the metro area that have the life-like mannequins I am looking for. Thank you Via's Vintage, Ragstock, and Lickity Split for putting some effort into your window displays!

I recently took a trip to London where they seriously put a lot of effort into lifelike mannequins and window displays. What was most interesting to me about the differences between London displays and Minneapolis displays was the difference in how hi-end the stores were.  Here, the stores that use lifelike mannequins are Ragstock and American Apparel, in London it was Chanel and Versace.

With my local subjects, since I go back to the same few places every week, weirdly, each mannequin becomes like a friend.  From how they are styled they seem to have unique personalities and I've come to imagine whole lives and back stories for them.  Sad stories. From their blank expressions, I imagine that they have "settled" for work in the window displays, that they have run out of other options. I imagine that since they never acknowledge me they are trying to keep their distance from everyone. So I try to respect that and always show them in the most flattering way possible. 


What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 

That's hard to say. I'm mainly self taught, so I haven't had a lot of those feedback opportunties I would have had in school, but if I was giving advice to someone else it would be to create work that resonates most truly with yourself, regardless of trends or what other people tell you. Now this might not translate into sales or exhibit opportunities, but at least your art will represent the real you. Then, I would recommend that you learn the business and marketing side of art.  This is something I haven't really figured out, but there are certainly a lot of people making a living making art so you might want to ask them. 



Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?

I sell my work mainly through my studio (Northrup King #274) where people can see framed work on the walls and meet with me and ask questions.  Most of my sales are commissions where people want a certain image but in custom size. Art-Attack and Art-a-Whirl and the Fall and Spring open audio events in NE Mpls where thousands of people come out to see and buy local art.

I use my website, Facebook (Me), and my blog to get my new work seen. You can email me for custom prints. 




Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy? 
I run the Local Artist Interviews website (yes, this website), which has been an amazing opportunity to connect with artists I love and artists I might never have known about. This is just a short list, but I really like the work of…




If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

SooVac Gallery, Walker Art Center and the MAEP Gallery at the MIA.  These are my usual first stops.  Having to answer this question reminds my that I need to get out more.  There are so many galleries in town.  Maybe today I'll get to Circa Gallery and Gallery 360. I haven't been to Instinct Gallery yet, so we'd go there, too.

In addition to www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com, where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise? 

I mainly follow links through Facebook and Tumblr


Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?

I am showing in January 2014 at Altered Esthetics in NE Mpls for "Remasterpiece". I have  photograph of the Mona Lisa that I found in the window of a Robbinsdale second hand shop. The window reflects car headlights which make a brand new set of nostrils for her.  I can't wait to see what else is going to be in this show.  The opening is Friday, 1/3 and the show runs through 1/30/14.

Mona Lisa of Robbinsdale


Altered Esthetics Gallery Profile
Website



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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Artists Should Be On Twitter



If you are an artist, you are probably not on Twitter.  I've been looking, daily seeking you out to follow you and learn about what you are doing.  You're not there.


Arts Organizations are on Twitter.  The Walker Art Center (@walkerartcenter) is on Twitter.  The Minneapolis Institute of Arts (@artsmia) is on Twitter.  Even the Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program (MAEP) within the MIA is on Twitter (@arts_maep).  All the community art centers like the Bloomington Theater and Art Center are on Twitter (@BloomingtonTAC), too.  But most artists are not.


Let me state as strongly as I can that if you are an artist, you need to be on Twitter.  And I'm (@localartistint) going to help you get started.


First, you'll need to know some terminology:
  • Account name / Twitter Profile / Twitter Handle = The name you have chosen for your account and is shown like, "@accountname".
  • Tweet = The 140 character message you share on Twitter.
  • Follow = What you do so someone else's Tweets show up on your Twitter feed.
  • Mention = When you want a specific person to see your tweet, you include their account name in your tweet and it will show up in the "Mentions" section of their account.  It may look like, "The current @jehrapatrick show at @soovac is amazing."  Now Jehra Patrick, artist, and SooVac Gallery will see that you have mentioned them, and everyone who follows both of them will also see your tweet.
  • Lists = Categories that you create to organize the accounts that you follow into useful ways - Artists, Art Orgs, Comedians, Political, etc.
  • Twitpic = Images uploaded to your Twitter page.
  • Hashtags = "#"+whatever topic you want stay aware of.  It may look like "#SXSW" when you want to see only tweets about the South By Southwest music festival.
...that's a good start.


First, pick a Twitter Name.  It should be as short as possible.  I wish I chose a shorter one. Since you only have a 140 characters in a tweet, the shorter the better, when retweeting.  I recommend names that directly describe you instead of something cryptic.  If you are lucky enough to have @yourname available, take it!




Update your profile.  Describe yourself so others can know if they want to follow you.  ALWAYS INCLUDE YOUR WEBSITE. Even if it is just your Facebook page or your MN Artists profile, have some sort of website link in your profile to help people find you when they want to learn more about you.


Add a profile picture.  If you do not add a profile picture, you will have a generic image of an Egg as your identifier.  This is considered an amateur move and people will not "Follow" you.  Your profile pic has a brand-like effect.  People will begin to recognize you by your profile pic and pay attention.  I think the best example from the people I follow is @albertbrooks, the actor/comedian.  When I am scrolling through my Twitter Feed, I always stop when I see his orange profile pic with the sunglasses on them.  Use an image of your face, your art, your logo, but you need to have a picture.








Check out the other account settings.  Most importantly, choose when you want to be notified by email of various Twitter activity.  I used to have an email update every time someone mentioned me on Twitter. It clogged up my gmail inbox with information I could easily see whenever I logged on to Twitter.  To each his own, though.




Start Following People.  Start with me (@localartistint) Check the Follow box and then click on Following and Followers on the left side of the page.  Scroll through the lists and see if you want to follow any of the same people.  I've collected a bunch of artists and arts organizations to help me stay up on the arts in Minnesota.  Do this with other arts organizations, too.  Maybe SooVac Gallery (@soovac) in Minneapolis.  If you are an artist in Minnesota, you may be interested in following the people they follow.






Eventually you are going to be following too many people to keep track of.  in your Twitter feed you will see tweets from artists, organizations, products or stores you like, comedians, actors, politicians, family, and friends.  Pretty much everyone but your mom.  Your mom is not on Twitter.




To help you sort through this mess, you will need to create lists.  I suggest that before you start following people that you Create Lists for categories of people you plan to follow.  At the least, I recommend one for Family, Friends, Artists, and Misc.  When you Follow someone, click the little box that looks like a chess pawn which opens a drop-down box where you select "Add or remove from lists."  Your list categories pop up and you check the appropriate box.  So, when you just want to read your "Political" tweets, you can chose your "Political" list from your Twitter page and weed out all of the miscellaneous tweets that you wish to ignore.



Follow people back.  It is considered common courtesy to follow someone back when they follow you.  You don't need to read their tweets if you don't want to, but it is all part of the networking that takes place on Twitter.  The first person who followed me was Yoko Ono (@yokoono).  My guess is that it was not because she is interested in me, but because I followed her first.


Tweet something.  You can tweet anything.  Just like on Facebook, you will see tons of people tweeting about their meals or the weather.  You do not need to be one of those people.  Personally, I have 4 types of tweet that I like to make:


 Ex:


  • Promote things for Local Artist Interviews:  "Read a new interview with  Kate Johnson @katereneesart (link to interview)"
  • Share things that I have seen: "New @arts_maep show is fantastic (link to the exhibit page on their website)
  • Sharing articles and images: "Check out the article on the rise of street art in rural areas (link to article)
  • Retweet:  When you follow someone, they are going to tweet things you want other people to know about as well.  When you hover your cursor over a particular tweet, you will see the option to Retweet.  I love a good retweet.  They help me learn about new people and resources to follow.
Ex:

And there you go.  You will never wait in line the same way again!



















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