Claudine Intner | Business of Art

Give Me a Sticker!

December 31, 2010

Sketchbook Page : 2010 Art Accomplishments by Claudine Intner. Markers and pen on paper. 2010.

Have you reflected on what you have done this year? Have you patted yourself on the back or given yourself a sticker for everything you did? I spent some time this week making a list of my accomplishments this year. It is nice to realize how much I did. Here are my biggest art accomplishments:

My Art Studio

1.Every artist needs a dedicated art making space, and this year I finally got a studio! Previously I had a portion of our den which wasn’t ideal. Now I have a dedicated space in our basement.

It has been a while since I have shown you the space so I thought I would show how it looks today. I have a laundry list of improvements to make to the space. In the meantime, I am really enjoying the fact that I have a studio! It is mine! ALL mine!

My Art Studio

I have moved the art supply storage shelves into a little nook which has opened up the space. Yesterday I decided to add a third table to the studio. I slid the white sewing table to the side and added an old dining room table. Now I have a dedicated wet area, a dry area for ironing and cutting, and a sewing area.

My Art Studio

Since my last update, I have also obtained an air purifier. If you are an artist, you really should have one!

My Art Studio

I hope to further improve upon the lighting in the studio as well as find a way to hang things on the concrete walls. And the red carpet has got to go! It is annoying me! One of these days, I hope the studio will be pretty enough to be in Cloth Paper Scissors Studios!

P.O. Box 758

2. I became official! While I have considered myself an artist for years, this year I took a number of steps to make the business side of my art official. I now have a sales tax permit, a PO Box, business cards, a Facebook fan page, a mailing list and more!

3. I learned a lot this year! I was able to venture to Art and Soul in Hampton, Virginia and take a number of classes which really expanded my collection of techniques. I really appreciate the time I spent with all of the instructors and fellow artists!

I also took Alyson Stanfield’s online classes which really helped me with my art business goals this year. I began with Blog Triage which allowed me to recommit to blogging and improve my design and content. Get Organized was a big help when I set out to establish my studio and better organize my office space. Blast Off was great for establishing my goals, and Cultivating Collectors was filled with lots of ideas that I will be using as I expand my art business. I met a lot of fabulous artists in the classes, too. And yes, I do recommend all of these classes!

4. Regular art time! Since my youngest headed off to kindergarten in the Fall, I have been able to have semi-regular art time. This is a very big deal to me, and I am really looking forward to more time in the new year!

My Etsy Shop

5. I finally opened my Etsy shop. This was a really big deal for me. I see it as a stepping stone to other things on my list. It allows me to sell some work directly to buyers as I build up a collection to sell in other venues. I am looking forward to adding more things to the shop in the new year!

Whew! What a year! I hope your year has been creative and productive and filled with love! If you haven’t already, give yourself a sticker (or maybe a glass of champagne) to celebrate everything you did this year!

Have a fabulous last day of 2010!

Filed Under: Blogging, Business of Art Tagged With: Alyson Stanfield, Art and Soul, etsy, studio

The New Place

September 15, 2010

P.O. Box

The most exciting news! I have a new place. It is a spacious 5 x 5 x 12 inches. I have rented a P.O. Box! I wish they would let me decorate it. This is pretty exciting to me because it means I can finally get business cards and take care of some other items that required a business address. So if you would like to send me something, try me at…

Claudine Intner
P.O. Box 758
Arnold, Maryland 21012

Filed Under: Business of Art, Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Studio Update

August 20, 2010

I am taking a mini-break from Follow Friday this week so that I can share some of my progress on my studio and office. As I have mentioned in other recent posts, I have been taking Alyson Stanfield’s Get Organized class. It has been wonderful! I have made a lot of progress and plan to keep going!

If you don’t recall what things looked like before, take a second and view the before post. My studio and office space were both in our den. After a lot of work, I have moved the studio to the basement.

The Studio

One of the best things about this area is that it is away from the rest of the house! No need to worry about little fingers getting into my supplies or unexpected guests seeing the art chaos in the den. And I love that I now have two work tables! Would you believe I already have plans for a third?

The Wall of Organization

I certainly should have bought stock in Sterilite before taking on this project. I have bought lots of different plastic bins and drawers for the studio. I sorted like crazy and organized the containers on rolling metal shelving units. I couldn’t believe all of the wonderful supplies I found that I had forgotten about. To keep the kids happy, I set up their easel so they can create while I work, too.

Close Up of Fabric Shelves

Here is a close up of the fabric shelving unit. Notice my lovely lime green phone on the upper left?

Paper Drawers

While I am not a scrapbooker, I really appreciate the wide selection of storage now available because of the scrapbook craze. I now have my small sheets of paper sorted into these wonderful drawers. My large sheets are stored in a flat file.

Card Catalog

This old library card catalog is another great organization tool. I painted it gray many years ago, and I am thinking I might paint it something brighter now.

The Sewing Area

The Collage and Mixed Media Zone

Studio Mascots

And here are my studio mascots, the Wicked Witch of the West and Frida Kahlo!

I hope you enjoyed checking out my new space. I still have some work to do and will share some more pictures as things changed. I am trying to come up with some ideas on how to “warm up” the space so it doesn’t look so cave like. I am on the hunt for some sort of area rug or floor mat that can handle being in the basement. Upstairs the office still has some floorganization going on, but I hope to share some pics of that room later.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Filed Under: Business of Art

Looking Around

August 2, 2010

We had lots of fun over the weekend visiting family, but now it is Monday and time to get back to reality! I am taking Alyson Stanfield’s Get Organized class. It just started last week so I have a long month of organizing ahead of me. I have been desperate to figure out a better way to work so my fingers are crossed that I make a break through this month.

So now it is time to be brave and air my dirty laundry… Alyson asked us to take before photos of our offices/studios. Currently my office and studio occupy our den. This is the room you see from our foyer when you come in the house. Most of the time there are papers and art stuff all over. It is not pretty. So I definitely need to make some changes.

Studio

So here goes… Meet my den/studio/office. I love my red couch. Above it is a sailboat piece I have almost finished. In the corner is the office space. The biggest issue there is papers. It is hard to keep up with them especially during the school year.

Studio

Here is a little closer view of my desk. It is a busy place where bills are paid, blog posts are written, homework is done, and more!

Studio

Alyson asked what is one thing you can change now about your office. Number one is the drum set! We gave our 9 year old a drum set for his birthday a month ago. He loves it! But boy is that loud! It makes it hard to concentrate. The plan is for it to move to the basement but that hasn’t happened yet. I really need to make that happen this week or I might go insane.

Studio

Next up… my studio area. Did I mention there is a lot going on in this room? In the past few months, I have realized this is not working anymore. Since I work in mixed media with both collage and fiber, I need multiple tables. I need a dedicated space for the sewing machine as well as a space that is okay to get wet. I also need to be able to work and not worry about kids getting into it.

Studio

To the side of the art table is the closet and bookshelf. Sometime ago I decided to take over the coat closet and make it for art supplies. It was a great idea but I really have outgrown it!

So what is the plan?

How am I going to fix this?

How do I prevent myself from being on Hoarders?

I have decided to move the art studio to the basement.

Studio

Anyone know the feng shui color for stairs? Our basement is unfinished. We would love to finish it, but it will be a while before that can happen. In the meantime, I am going to paint the stairs down to the basement so it is more inviting.

Studio

To the left of the stairs is the future art studio. This is a 10 foot x 10 foot space with additional space available on the other side of the basement if I need it. We had a large train table set up in this area… you can see the wood is still there. I am hoping to create a warmer environment by painting the cement walls and then begin the mammoth process of moving and setting up the new art studio.

So this is the before! Stay tuned for updates on my progress!

And if you are an artist working in your basement, do you have any tips?

Filed Under: Business of Art Tagged With: office, organizing, studio