The Vallejo Together Mosaic Project
The Vallejo Together Mosaic Project is a fundraiser to help support Unity Day on September 18, 2011. The concept of the mosaic project has been utilized by many organizations throughout the country and is one of the most powerful tools to bring people together and create art awareness. Children, teens, adults, seniors and renowned artists will be donating Art on wood panels to the Vallejo Together Mosaic Project. The goal of this project is to bring artists of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels together to create art and to ask artists and art enthusiasts to donate toward the Unity Day Diversity Celebration. Read more here…
Is art in the community important?
Throughout history, civilizations bred creative thinkers to pursue and educate established cultures in various forms or art, music and literature. Creativity was much more than an elective, it was how many cultures solved problems, generated new ideas and ushered in new eras.
It was not until recent history that we began to slowly eliminate such a vital part of a holistic education from our schools, homes and communities and began to think of creative programs as a secondary vocation and not as important to personal or community development.
Today we are faced with challenges concerning the arts which bares roots in the political arena disguised as financial necessity to the public to sustain the community at large.
With few exceptions, it can be stated that public art programs have all but disappeared with no sign of recovery.
How arts programs or lack thereof, affects you and I
Living in Vallejo CA is not without its challenges. Not a day goes by that we are not faced with an published article covering the most recent criminal activity in our city. Yet, living here for the past 5 years, I have had the privilege of meeting some very generous people who have not given up hope and are taking action to better our city.
I have spent the better part of the last 12 months reaching out to our community of artists, local politicians and private citizens to better understand our current position with the goal of ‘digging in’ and helping out – no complaints here, just solutions.
As campaigns for the Mayor’s race have begun and seats on the city council are up for grabs, this November could be a significant turning point for our city. We will have the opportunity to elect city leaders with a comprehensive vision and the endurance to make that vision a reality.
What does a decline in arts programs mean to a community?
With the help from such organizations as Americans for the Arts, ArtsBlog and members of the Solano County Arts Council, I have compiled a detailed list and articles of how the arts can not only enrich an entire community but have also been a major contributor to economic growth and sustainability in other cities around the country.
Between now and November, when our city will elect new leadership, I will attempt to outline solutions that address many misconceptions about community supported art programs as well as how support for the private and non-profit sectors benefits an entire community with economic growth and personal well-being.
Please visit the corresponding links on this blog (Education, Culture, Industry, etc) for articles that will address each component individually and offer solutions for our city leaders. Also, “comments” are open and you are encouraged to voice your ideas. Additionally if you feel so inclined, subscribe to this blog using the “Email Subscription” link to the right.
I can promise you two things:
1. I will never give or sell your email address to spammers
2. I will do my best to bring you up-to-date information on how the arts plays a major role in economic recovery, educational development and community well-being.
A concerned resident, tax-payer, father and husband
Jesse A.
Lagging on the updates…I know
So I am waaay behind on my blogging as of late. So much going on in the real world that I have been neglecting my virtual peeps.
I promise to get back into the mix here on BlArt this coming weekend with part 2 of the logo design. I have been doing many sketches and leave you with the following images…all done in InkPad.
Enjoy!
-Jesse
Click for larger images
love the wings & star - unfinished
Would make a neat-o sticker and t-shirt design
one of my favorites
*All images in this post copyright Jesse Alvarez 2011. Cannot be used without permission.
InkPad: The evolution of a once endangered species (Logo design: Part 1)
*This is multipart series on how I am developing the store logo for Bison Art Supply using the InkPad app on the Ipad 2.
Greeting fair readers of the virtual word!
This is part 1 of a multipart series I am doing to document the design process of our store logo.
I know what some of you may be thinking: “Dude, you haven’t even sold your first paint brush let alone have an actual store.” (Details, details!)
Don’t worry. I am working hard at getting wheels on the store and I’m on target for our December opening. But that’s not important right now. 
What is important is that this cool little app has brought some of the fun and flexibility of a full featured graphic design application. And at a fraction of the price!
InkPad
This little app is a class act.
From their purchase page on the app store:
“Inkpad is a professional vector illustration app designed from scratch for the iPad. It supports paths, compound paths, text, images, groups, masks, gradient fills, and an unlimited number of layers.
Inkpad was designed with performance in mind – it can easily handle drawings with hundreds to thousands of shapes without bogging down. Export your finished illustrations directly to your Dropbox as SVG or PDF.”
I can vouch for the performance: I have used this extensively through the logo design and have yet to run into any performance issues or crashes.
Some notable features with my comments in-line:
• Very high performance. Select, scale and rotate hundreds of objects with zero lag. (This claim is true)
• Create compound paths, masks and groups. (I have yet to master the masks but groups is working very well)
• Create text objects. (Text is limited in that you cannot form test to shapes other than horizontal and vertical patterns. At least I have figured out how.)
• Place photos from your albums. (Yup – seamless execution)
• Powerful scale and rotate tools. (Scaling has saved me hours of work so far.)
• Gradient fills with interactive editing on canvas. (Gradients are nice but execution is a bit limited. But again, this is not a ‘full featured’ application)
• Unlimited layers per drawing. (I have only used about 7 layers in a drawing so far, but they work well.)
• Rename, rearrange, delete, hide and lock layers. (hiding layers is handy when isolating parts of your drawing)
…and many other features that I won’t get into here.
So why did I choose this app?
Well, I am not a professional designer and was not about to spend a lot of money on a full featured application that I was not going to use full-time. The last time I touched a graphics program was the student edition of Photoshop back in the late ’90′s. So I really just wanted something which I could ‘sketch’ ideas out and forward those ideas to a professional for final rendering.
Instead I found this app easy to use and robust to the point I decided to complete the logo design myself. So for a whopping $4.99 I think I am coming out way ahead.
Also, while reviewing the app, I was impressed by some of the promotional work being done with it…
Check it: Promo art #1
And this: Promo art #2
Neat-o! No?
So what about my design you say?
That’s coming. Soon as I get the pieces together I will be using for this series.
So until next week, here is one of the quick line sketches I did in my study of the mighty Bison. Enjoy!
-Jesse
Caught the flu on my trip.
Totally bummed. I lost a full day and a half nursing a terrible flu. Of which I am still battling.
Of all the silly things that went awry getting out to the convention (missed my outbound flight for example), I go an get sick. And this was not your average sniffle…this was an all out war waged on my body. I was shivering like a wet dog all night. Couldn’t sleep. Wife suggests that maybe it (not able to sleep) was do to being on the 19th floor. Could be some truth to it I suppose.
Later I will blog about some of the new and not so new ideas I have for the company.
Without further ado.
ReadyToDecorate Bangles.
These were really cool in a classic craft/hobby sort of way. I have no plans on bringing in craft supplies but a little here and there might night hurt. However, I am thinking about the best way to integrate hobby supplies.
These looked like a lot of fun. Some of the hand painted pieces on display were pretty amazing. They are basically raw milk-wood bangles that require some creativity and patience. I see these as an added value to our customers whom would prefer to wear their art. I inquired about them being sold at Michael’s and apparently they are not. I can also imagine a “girls night out” where a group of women have the store to themselves for a few hours. They can bring their own wine, pick out items and create stuff and do what women do. I can envision these items being a good seller. But if I bring these in, where does it stop? (the craft supplies) decisions, decisions.
Next up was Montana Colors (MTN). We were treated to a piece done by a graf artists using MTN colors. Just let me tell you what I think of these colors: awesome much!? I mean I don’t think I have ever seen such vibrant colors come from a spray can. Nor have I seen such skill in the likes of some of these graf artists. Would like to see what they do to a canvas with an airbrush.
And what would these colors be without lil siblings along for the ride? Well, Krink has your back with a fine assortment of pens and ink squeezes:
On the topic of color, it was hard to find any one brand I liked most. They were all so cool. Holbein however took the show with their vibrant colors not available in other brands. To see their paint lines in person is to love these colors.
Working toward the future with tools of the past.
I had thought Airbrush to be all but dead. Turns out I was way wrong. Iwata has just released a new line of brushes and compressors. They also have a pretty nice package offering for beginners that, 20 years ago when I was still using an airbrush, could have been considered high-end. At an MSRP of about $350, looks hard to beat. And oh yeah, the compressor is nearly quiet…from what I hear. HA! Get it…er, nevermind. Woohoo!
Starter Set:
Airbrush and compressor components included in the starter set:
Naturally, Iwata has a selection of higher-end brushes and compressors. But covering just the intro set should give you a pretty good idea of the quality Iwata has produced over the past 50 years and how they will continue into the next 50 years.
That’s it for now. My fever is creeping back up and I can barely see what I’m typing. So I guess that means I need some sleep or something.
Hasta La Vista…and it’s good to be home.
-Jesse
NAMTA Convention, And why my head is spinning….
in a good way.
This experience in my development of the store has been informative and well worth the cost in travel and time away from my family. Well, maybe not the latter.
I have been the proud recipient of information gathered from the generosity of those in the business. I have made new connections and reconnected with an acquaintance from the days of yore…working in customer service for Palace Art and Office Supply in Santa Cruz.
Speaking with Ida and Keith of “The Art Store” and “The Frame and I” gallery and frame shop here in Arizona I learned the value of incorporating a custom frame shop with the art store. I was also provided with some sound advice about customer service, the future of the industry and how we as retailers will adjust. An exciting day no doubt.
During the day, I was taken around the exhibit floor by non other than Mark Wiener of The Art Colony fame whom also happens to be a former NAMTA board member. If the NAMTA culture existed in a village, he would be a village elder. He knows the business like no other I have spoken to. Through Mark, I was introduced Jason Moriera of Montana Colors. With their full line of spray colors and markers, these guys have their finger on the pulse of an emerging market. I am really excited to be working them in the future and even more excited to see how Graffiti art evolves in my little town. Also on our tour of the exhibit floor, I spoke with Tim Hopper of Holbein - these colors are AMAZING! Depending on cost, I really want to work their products into our regular in-store and online offering.
Observations:
- With the exception of a few entrepreneurs, there is a shortage of new folks coming into the business
- There is some disconnect between the business owners who have been in the business >20 years and how the industry is evolving: new methods of advertising/marketing for example are slow to be adopted if at all
- Noted some concern with how Amazon and other big name dealers are doing business: Amazon is apparently getting into the sale of high end art materials. I tried to assure them that they should be aware of the changes but not to spend too much time worrying about it: one of the good things about being an independent retailer is that you are nimble and can adjust faster than a company the size of Amazon
Take aways so far:
- Stay the course. Refine my focus on our service offering and develop the hell out of it.
- Allow my customers to influence on-hand stock
- Get involved: community involvement is key to building long term customers
- A number of independent art stores are still not selling online. Seems there may be some reluctance due to lack of resources, namely how to break into online sales without a significant upfront cost.
That’s it for now – I am wrapping up a >20 hour day and tomorrow is another great day.
-Jesse
This week: Arizona or bust
Hello everyone.
This week I will be blogging from the NAMTA (National Art Material Trade Association) convention in fabulous Phoenix AZ.
Raising a family, starting a business...what's the difference?!
This will be my formal introduction to the wonderful world of the art materials industry from a retailers perspective.
On deck for the visit are a few exciting seminars and some person-to-person meetings which I will be blogging.
Wednesday’s blogs will include:
- Create a Retail Website for Success.
Although I have some extensive experience in web design/support. it will be interesting to learn specifics around retail and especially art materials retail.
- The Benefits of Offering Custom Framing.
Micheal’s here in Vallejo offers custom framing and I believe there is an independent custom framer in town, I think it would be fascinating to learn how Bison can offer this service to our local artists and collectors.
Thursday:
- Understanding Fine Art Paper. There is more than meets the eye when it comes to fine art paper. I have always known this but never quite understood why it mattered. 
- The Clear Truth: Understanding Varnishes and Fixatives. This will be interesting for anyone in the art supplies business. The last thing we at Bison want to do is offer bad advice or bad products to the art community. I lay awake at night thinking about the things that can go wrong with a new business – bad advice to clients is should not be one of them.
Friday:
- Retailer Section Meeting. You know those times when you say to yourself: “oh, to be a fly on the wall”? Well, here is my chance to be the fly. This meeting is about art material retailers by art material retailers. The information harvested at this meeting should be exciting to say the least.
The hours of the days I am not in seminars/meetings will be spent in the exhibit hall meeting new folks and the business they represent in the industry. I am looking forward to meeting with Mark Wiener of the late, great Art Colony at the Blueprinter located in Coachella Valley California. His wealth of knowledge will be instrumental in the development of Bison Art Supply.
Until next week, stay frosty
-Jesse
Me, myself and I
And on Facebook
