Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Cut This, Glue That

© 2012 Cathy Savage, War of the Currents Puppet Theater,
laser engraved Baltic birch, 12 x 16"
I had some odds and ends to clear up today and it felt great to move stuff off of my workbench and onto a wall. I painted and glued this piece after cutting 1/4" rounds for a support frame, then adding oak trim as a finishing frame (see below).




The puppet theater is from a varied edition of 10 and it's pending approval from a collector that wanted one so it may be spoken for, but I have a few more in the queue should you want one. Etsy link here.









I had a studio visit yesterday and sold a grackle! I am loving this past week! If I can just sell one large piece at Hyde Park Bar & Grill where I have work up until mid-January, I just might make my 2012 financial goal. There is something to be said for setting goals. I chose an amount that was attainable providing stars were aligned, then forged ahead. I had a revenue setback (Haven Gallery relocated out of state) + the East Austin Studio Tour wasn't as profitable as I hoped, but there have been other streams: Etsy, Grackles sprinkled about in random shops, and studio visits that originated through nontraditional location exhibits (church gallery, library). I can't help but think that setting my goal at the top of the year helped me to keep reaching. 

2 comments:

dawn said...

It scares me to set a goal, but that might be just the thing. I'm thinking of putting just my birds, and maybe a few unframed prints, in galleries and shops next year. My husband calls this the "low hanging fruit". Then I can concentrate on new things for shows and go after more calls for artists. Dang, now you have me thinking...

Cathy Savage said...

I can't remember my exact logic when coming up with my 2012 figure. I think I was expecting more graphic design gigs, which I ended up never pursuing, so looking back my bottom line was high for art sales w/o that added graphic design income that never happened. (Next year I'll have my goal broken down into market segments: etsy, gift shops, galleries, graphic design, etc.) In the end my goal for 2012 was my 2011 sales + a little over 20%. It's amazing that I'm in striking distance, really.