How was Art Walk?

This weekend, I participated in the May Art Walk at Essex Studios. It was definitely an experience. I shared a space with another DAAP student that I am good friends with. Our space was near the main entrance, although not very on-the-way to the rest of the displays.

We did not get much business, but I did sell a piece! It was the following image, one of my prints from my intro to intaglio studio. It was the last one I had done in this color ink; the rest are black ink. I also passed out a few of my preliminary business cards.

Near the end of the evening on Saturday, I went exploring. There were many talented artists showing there. The building is older and is pretty cool. Like my past visit to the Pendleton studios, it got my yearning to rent a studio space of my own. Most of the studios I saw at Essex were fairly large, too. Perhaps one could be shared between two artists comfortably.

Experiment: Photography (Part II)

One of the studios I am currently taking is Intro to Film Photography. I was lucky enough to take a basic film photography back in high school, and it was a great experience, overall. I enjoyed it very much. However, I realize just how lucky I got in that class. While the art department's budget was tight and we had few supplies (and therefore students could not experiment), nearly everything was given to us: paper, chemicals, darkroom, film development canisters, etc. We only had to provide the camera (which everyone seemed to already own) and film (and we only shot about four rolls all quarter).

In college... let's just say that film photography is expensive. But it is also very rewarding. I think that I will feel very good about myself at the end of the quarter once I have somewhat mastered things. For now, it's a mixed bag. Some days go smoothly while others are a struggle. Of course, that's typical of any studio class!

Here is a contact sheet of one of my rolls of film and a few test prints I have done, as well as an example of test strips I made to determine how long to expose my photo paper to make a print.

Funding the Experiments

I worry a lot about money. A lot. I currently live at home with my mom, so my biggest expenses are gas, art supplies, and food. But, since I go to school full time, I don't have a lot of time to spare to work at my part-time job, so what little money I do earn goes to those expenses. My undergraduate experience is beginning its wind-up, too; I'm almost done with my fourth year with only one more to go. Soon enough, I'm going to have to pay back loans, pay rent on an apartment, pay for insurance... so yeah, I worry about money a lot.

In my professional practices class (the initial reason for this blog), everyone has been posting on the class discussion board about various topics we might be interested in, such as internships, networking info, and non-profit organizations. In the section called "Finding Money: Scholarships, Grants, etc", I found this link posted.

http://www.foxtaxservice.com/taxinfo.html

Tax info for artists? I don't think I need it now, but guaranteed, I will need it all too soon. I have only been filing my own taxes for a few years (several of which a family member took care of them), so I know nothing about taxes. This link taught me some useful things.

1. As a small-business artist, I can deduct losses from my taxes as long as I can prove I am, or am attempting to be, a for-profit business. To prove this, being organized is essential.
2. I will need to choose a business entity type. Is my business a Sole Proprietorship? A Partnership? A Corporation? The type I choose will affect how my taxes are filed.
3. I might as well think about retirement now. Here's an interesting blurb: "If you are 25 years old and put away just $10 per week till retirement, earning an average 7% return on your investment, you will have $132,663.36 by age 67. If you start five years earlier, you would have $191,187.39. The extra $2600 saved turns into $58,524." Can I afford to wait to think about retirement??