Glossophobia, fear of speaking, ranks higher than fear of death for most people, so I am feeling most fortunate that I got through my Artist’s Talk/Demo at my ceramic alma mater, Cabrillo College, without leaving my body in either physical or mental form.
I did address being an Introvert, as my Myers-Briggs Inventory results are always INTJ and rank me anywhere from 87-100% introverted. While that means I am not necessarily shy, I absolutely need to recharge alone, licking my over-thinking inventory-taking, performance and goal-oriented rawness.
Folks, it took me a full 48 hours!
For one thing, I had been giving this three hour talk in my head for the month prior, and it reached psycho-active pitch as I gathered my props and finalized the outline for it in the week before. I woke up each day with wonderful phrases and crucial talking points brimming in my mind – only sometimes actually being able to write them into the plan, but glad I was not overwhelmed by my Inner Critic.
Then the day came and went. It went stupendously well!!! I enjoyed seeing so many people from my personal tribe – and could thank them in my talk about things I had learned from them – some from over a decade ago.
I mostly covered the territory I had mapped out – this is, after all, my life’s passion – but found when I tired in the last hour that there were some points I forgot to mention. Spaced it, even. It was still fine – no one else knew my uber-ambitious plans.
Whatever was Not Said, I get to say here in the Omissions Addendum.
The Oh What I Meant to Say Section
For all of Us Who HATE the Idea of Selling, Here is Another Way to Think About It:
1. Marketing is SHARING: Be willing to share yourself, your process, your juiciness over and over. Stay in the sandbox, even if you are 100% Introverted.
2.Promotion is OUTREACH: How can the folks who want what you have find you if you do not help them connect? Venues, Exhibits, Social Media, Word of Mouth? What works? Find out!
3.Selling is EXCHANGING: No mystery here! People WANT to give you something for your art. Let them. Research and experiment with pricing, but it WILL come clear.
And, if you’re interested, you can find the book Brag! Tooting Your Horn Without Blowing It. by Peggy Klaus and similar tomes which help to scale that fearsome cliff.
Who Wants What You Have?
I have heard them called your “Perfect People,” even your “Dearest.” (Thank you Bernadette Jiwa and Cigdem Kobu!)
Who are they? Work on defining that, very specifically. For example, my PP are desiring to discover something unique, unexpected and amusing. What are yours looking for? What problem are you solving for them?
Where do they hang out? This translates into what kind of galleries and venues, art festivals and exhibits or ??? (restaurants, unexpected events) will you find them and they find you?
While I did remember to mention keeping an accurate studio log of the making and the decorating, I am pretty sure I forgot to mention the magnificent Artwork Archive for creating a comprehensive inventory of your body of work and where it is currently located, where it sold, what you want to share online even without a website (they offer a Public Page.) Please check them out…it will save you some embarassment and heartache!
There were other points I skipped, but these are the ones that I regret missing. They kept bouncing around my head in the following hours and days, but I have released them with this post!
–Liz Crain, believes in imperfection in all things, and certainly gets it. And she has still has not mentioned the helpfulness of Leo Babauta and Seth Godin. And thank you to whoever took the photo at the top – passing a camera during a talk is a wonderful idea.