EASY WAYS TO GIVE!

So today, we all sit at home or our desks, reflecting on the Christmas holiday. Some of us give to charity, some of us donate gifts to boys and girls from angel trees across malls in America but did you ever know that there were ways to give without leaving your home, desk, without costing you a dime???
We now live in a global world where the Internet brings the world into our homes. There are websites that allow you to give without getting up! I have listed 3 of my top favorite sites so that you can become regular fans as well.

1. http://www.live.com/ This site is known to focus on a more affluent crowd, maybe because of the education level involved, but EVERYONE needs to switch to this site to search instead of using google, yahoo, or your current preferred search engine. Every time you search on live.com, you earn a point, after 10 searches, Microsoft gives 1 penny to your charity of choice. You can choose your local elementary school, humane society, or a larger charity. The possibilities are endless. Start searching NOW!

2. http://www.freerice.com/ Do you have an extra 1 min. a day? Go to this site and test out your vocabulary skills. For every correct answer, you get 10 grains of rice that will be donated to a person in a third world country. Does this cost you anything? Nada. It helps you sharpen your vocabulary skills=makes you smarter=better at your job=keeps you from being unemployed=finding yourself homeless=needing rice.... Get the point?!?

3. http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/ Do you know someone affected with breast cancer? Most of us do. Link onto this site daily and at the click of a button (clicking on the pink box in the middle of the screen), you are allowing 1 woman in America to receive a free mammogram. Simple huh?

With these 3 sites you should be on your way to living a better life. Karma is a great thing. The more you give, the more you get. So lets all start off the new year by giving more.

SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE!~

We need to clear out the old so we can ring in with the new. A lot of great new things coming and we need the space. So help us out and take advantage of some awesome deals.

The following items are 30% off:

All silver & gemstone jewelry by Mystical Madness, Acleoni, Natasha Wozniak and more. Gemstone earrings in gold by Kostbar. Elegant men rings in silver and 18k by Placer Gold. All Jane Hill ceramics and clay sculptures by Justine Ferreri

The following items are 20% off:

All glass art except Stan Harmon and Sarah James.

Come in today before it is all gone!

Creating an Artist Press Kit for Gallery Submission

I have had many people in the past few months ask about how they should approach a gallery for submission of their works of art. It really depends on each gallery and I would recommend contacting them to she how they accept submissions. More and more galleries are willing to look at your work via an online portfolio, but just like snail mail is more personable compared to email, so is a hard copy of your press kit vs. an electronic one. So after speaking to gallery owners in Chelsea, learning in classes taught from curators at the Met, MoMA, Whitney, MassMOCA, and other major museums, and now working in a gallery where everyday we are inundated with at least 5-10 calls or email inquiries on how to get their artwork represented in our gallery, I have compiled the best resource I can find...my experience on getting past the general mailbox person at the gallery.

So this is my gift to the art world, and if your art warrants submission and you follow these directions, then submit to the right galleries, understanding that they might have space for you, then you just might have a chance of getting your work on their walls. Good luck!

1. Use a pocket and clips folder, black or red cost, called 2 pocket folder with fasteners at Staples(see picture above)

2. Use clear pocket sleeves for ALL papers put in the middle of the folder in the clips section

3. The front page in the clips section should be just like a title page on a report: Your name, address, contact number, and a photo image of your best work or photograph of yourself

4. The following pages 5-8 should include 6-8 images of your work. Make sure the images are professional quality and not taken with a digital camera by your friend after a few drinks. Professional photographs will cost money, but will get your work in a gallery if it is at all possible. Each image should be labeled with the Title in italics, then material, then cost. Example:

Starry Night

Oil on Canvas

$35,000,000

Only 1-2 images per page should be displayed.

5. The front left pocket when you open the folder should contain a resume or list of your education, works purchased (include year and cost sold, and which collection it belongs to. Example: Starry Night, SOLD 1995-The Private Collection of Dr. John & Rosemary Stevens, Cleveland, Ohio or The Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC, $10,000. If you have formal training in art (a college degree) you should list it at the top of your resume. Then comes your awards, works published in print/media, then list of most recent shows (one man first, then group shows listed), then most recent works sold. Unless you hold a PhD, M.D. or have actually published written works, under NO circumstances should your resume be longer than 1 page. Some artists who have been exhibiting for over 20 years at :Art Institute, Guggenheim, MoMA, etc etc can have 1-2 page resume, but unless your work is already at the MoMA and you are still living, don't push your luck. Unless your name is Kiki Smith, Elizabeth Murray, or any other famous living artist, you don't need a 2-pager and if you are, you are famous enough in the art arena to not need a press kit. O.K. onto the next item...

6. The back pocket should hold Xerox copies of any work from newspapers, trade reference magazines, publications, etc. If you have digital images of your work or other info offered on a cd, put it in a sleeve and stick in the back pocket. Make sure to label the cd with a title such as, "N.Wilkinson Expression Gallery Show Dec. 2007". A clear title will indicate your info in case it gets lost from the folder.

7. After its done, flip through it, impressive huh? This is what you have accomplished as an artist. Great job. If it doesn't look that great to you, you better get cracking! After all of this, write a great cover letter about how you are looking for gallery representation in ...... New York, Charlotte, Athens, Wherever, and that you feel your work would be a great fit with their current collection. Always start the letter with the gallery's address and info in the top left corner, address it as Dear Gallery Manager, and sign it Respectfully Yours, Best Regards, or some other form of endearment. Don't forget to put your contact info again on the bottom of the cover letter under your name/signature.

8. Put it in a manila envelope, write down the name of the gallery you are sending it to onto a sheet to keep track of where you are sending your info and in 4-5 days, call the gallery to see if they received the package. Following up is impressive and gives you a second chance to make contact.

If you decide to do this kit via email submission, write the cover letter in the text/body section of the email and attach your resume, articles of publications in magazines, newspapers, etc, and images of your work, or a link to an online slide show where your works can be seen such as a Myspace page or Picassa sideshow page(Picassa slide show preferably than Myspace page).

I hope this helps you on your journey! Good Luck!

~Nicole

"Push Presents" for New Mothers

This month, the Wilmington Star News published an article about mothers receiving gifts after giving birth to their newborns. Many received gifts, while others wanted them. “Women can and do expect a thoughtful token of appreciation,” said Sandra Miller of Arlington, Mass. “It’s a way to honor a mother giving her emotions, body and hormones over to a baby for nine months, culminating in an experience which, when done naturally, redefines the meaning of pain. And when not done naturally, it’s still an act of sacrifice.”
Push presents seem to have taken off within the last decade, particularly in the last couple of years. In 2005 the Southeast-based jewelry chain Mayors marketed diamond earrings with the tag line, “She delivered your first born; now give her twins.” Fortunoff, the jewelry and gift chain with a Fifth Avenue flagship, established a push present registry six months ago. Jewelry seemed to be the most popular gift.
MICHELLE ALLEN of Los Angeles originally heard about push presents from a friend who had received one. When she became pregnant, she began dropping hints. “I knew what I wanted, which is very awful,” she admitted. “But my husband is a very romantic guy.” True to his romantic nature, Eric Allen obliged his wife with a gemstone-studded ring for each of their two children — Lara, born in July 2004, and Dashiell, in October 2006. “I wear those rings every day,” Ms. Allen said. “They symbolize my kids. There’s something about them that’s even more weighty than my wedding band.”
Most women like jewelry. To mark such a special event with a custom made piece of work designed by the husband and a jeweler is very intimate and personal. With a master goldsmith on staff, we offer custom jewelry designs at Spectrum. Feel free to stop in to meet with Michael Chapman, our new resident master goldsmith to design a piece of jewelry marking the significant event.

This week I had the opportunity to interview one of our jewelry artists, Linda Whitney, of Whitney Designs. Linda and her husband, John, have been creating jewelry since 1970. After years of traveling the craft circuit while toting along their daughter, they became members of the Southern Highlands Craft Guild and eventually started to branch out and sell to stores. For a few years, they produced sterling silver flatware and gold and silver jewelry. After experimenting in brass and nickel to make larger sculptural forms, they developed the jewelry lines they currently produce today.

Linda says that, "Living in Arizona, New Mexico, and now Vermont has allowed them to take inspiration from the towns and put it into their work". As an artist, its is the culmination of one's life that is put into a work of art. After experimenting with polymer clay, they were then working with such unique materials that they just had to combine them. With pasta rollers, Cuisinart machines and toasters filling the studio, it has made creating art very interesting.

John's grandfather was a rock hand, so early in life John was able to learn to cut and polish stones. Using all of the techniques learned over the past 30 years, Whitney Designs now has over 300 different designs. According to Linda, this is their favorite time of year. They are able to start working on new designs for the spring and take time off to reflect on the past year's work to see what designs they will continue and which they will retire.

I wondered what it would be like growing up in a family with both parents as artists. Linda says her daughter is very creative, but has not taken it on as a vocation. She plans on being an elementary school teacher. On the other hand, they have just acquired a new puppy for the family and have high hopes of teaching her to make jewelry, but as of now, chewing the rawhide mallet is as far as she is willing to go.

For more information on Whitney Designs, visit our website at:

http://www.spectrumartandjewelry.com/Whitney_Designs.html

Holiday Open House and Wine Tasting

This Friday, December 14th, from 6-8 pm at Spectrum Art and Jewelry, we will be holding our Holiday Open House & Wine Tasting. Please come by and see new works of art that have been brought into the gallery and enjoy wine provided by Wine Styles.

Our neighbors at THE FORUM: NoFo, La Bella Forma Lingerie, Ikabana Florist, and A Personal Touch will also be participating in this month's Open House. You will be able to hop from store to store and finish your Holiday shopping!

Top 10 Reasons to Shop at Spectrum for the Holidays:

1. You don't have to fight over a parking space.
2. Our gifts are all handmade.
3. You don't have to deal with the traffic on Oleander or College Rd.
4. We have gifts to fit all budgets.
5. If you can't find the piece of jewelry you are looking for, we can make it!
6. We gift wrap for free!
7. Our gifts are one-of-a-kind.
8. All of our art and jewelry was made in the U.S.A.
9. We have gifts for all ages.
10. You can't find our gifts anywhere else in town!

Spend the holiday season with Spectrum Art & Jewelry.

Grand Re-Opening, Ribbon Cutting, & Wine Tasting

We are getting ready for a day full of events! Tomorrow, Friday, October 12th from 4-6pm, we will have our Grand Re-Opening and Ribbon Cutting with the Chamber of Commerce. Immediately following, 6-8pm, we will have our monthly wine tasting from Wine Styles and open house. Music provided by Paco Strickland and Gaelan. This is an event you will NOT want to miss! Come and bring a friend!!!

Spectrum Art & Jewelry
The Forum
1125-H Military Cutoff Rd
Wilmington, NC 28405
(910)256-2323
http://www.spectrumartgallery.com/

Welcome to our Blog!

We have been making some changes here at the Spectrum Gallery. We have hired new team members, moved locations, and are ready to serve our customers! We moved next to NoFo Cafe at The Forum. We were 1 building down, but needed more space for our ever expanding art collection. Spectrum carries paintings, art glass, jewelry, and fine craft. We have prices to fit EVERY budget.

Each week we will be featuring at least 1 article to add to the blog with an array of information from artist interviews to tips on art buying! You dont want to miss out on this information. Make sure you sign up for our newsletter on our website and from there you will be able to read our weekly blog.

We are proud to be Wilmington, NC's Art & Jewelry Experts!