Catherine the student

Catherine went from participating in our ART SLAM LIVE™ Ad Design Course (created by Greenville Technical University’s Ad Design staff)…

…To WINING the challenge and internship with Showcase Marketing…

…to LANDING a Full Time job as a Brand Developer with Showcase.

Below is how Chad McMillan, Vice President of the company announced  it:

“Our creative team has been in search of an incredible designer to add to the team and relieve workload in the back for some time now. We have interviewed and worked with COUNTLESS

Catherine the Brand Developer! (Click to Expand)

individuals, but no one really stood out and fit the profile of exactly what we needed…until Catherine came along. As you know, she won the ArtSlam competition hosted by Greenville Tech that was sponsored by Tony Snipes (ArtSlam Founder) and Showcase this past year. Her designs were by far the best of the competition. As a result, her classes were paid for by the school and she was awarded an apprenticeship position with us. She’s been here part time (8-10 hours a week) for the past 3 months and she has demonstrated that she DEFINITELY fits here both creatively AND culturally. We have been blessed to have her here at Showcase and couldn’t imagine a better fit with the team.

So, last week we extended an offer for her to come on full time with us after she graduates next month and I’m happy to let you all know that she has accepted and begins full-time employment Monday, June 4. So, please let her know how excited you are to have her here. Excited to see how this year is shaping up for all of us!

Catherine's winning design.

Congratulations Catherine! Welcome aboard.”

Great job, Catherine! We are both proud of you and excited with you concerning the new opportunity!

Special thanks goes to the following for making the program a success:

Shane Howell, Dept. Head- Visual and Performing Arts, Greenville Technical College
Bob Lanning, Adjunct Instructor – Graphic Design, Greenville Technical College
Chad McMillan, VP of Showcase Marketing
Devin Smith, Interactive Designer/Developer at Jackson Marketing Group

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The trend from your feedback was that you have no shortage on creative ideas, but the discipline and follow through needed to complete those ideas were always missing.

I’m a recovering procrastinator, and I needed to practice hard hitting, practical steps to finish my creative endeavors.

So here are 7 “In Your Face” tips I recommend:

1. Shut Up (yeah, I said it.): Stop talking about “I’m planning to…” or ” Here’s my vision…” or ” I’m thinking about launching…”. Don’t start talking until you can tell someone  how cool the last project you just wrapped up is.

2. Start Small: Don’t try to launch the book or graphic novel until you launch the short story. God teaches us that when we are faithful over the seemingly small things, He’ll set us over more. (Matthew 25:21)

3. Quit Being a Perfectionist: Launch now with what you have. Just like Hollywood, you can get better during the sequel…get the first movie going NOW!

4. Write It Down and Date It: This allows you to see what you’ve written once you get down the road and to see if you completed it. The date emphasizes if you’re wasting your time away, or better yet, if you are progressively accomplishing goals.

5. Know When You’re Most Productive…and when you’re not: If you know there’s a time when you’ll get most distracted and interrupted, find a better time.

6. Stop Working Alone: Accountability:Once you start involving others such as fellow artists, sponsors, clients, etc, it becomes bigger than you. You have others that are counting on your follow through.

7. Acknowledge Your Age: Once I began to realize that God placed me on assignment, I also realized that I had a finite amount of time to complete the mission. I’m getting too old to always be in the same place I was 6 months or a year ago with no growth to show for the time.

TAKE THE ORIGINAL POLL:

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Speaking engagements are a great way to raise awareness about you as an artist, writer, speaker or just an expert in your field. Whether you are the guest speaker or the host, a speaking event can be fun while also serving as a revenue resource.

HERE’S THE PROBLEM:

There are many colleges, churches, businesses or other organizations that are used to bringing in guest speakers and paying them a speaker’s fee or honorarium. In today’s economy, those same organizations have severely limited budgets and most can not pay for you to come speak, teach, paint, etc. They would love to have you, but it’s just not in the budget.

HERE IS AN IDEA THAT CAN HELP:

Joint Ventures: Position yourself as a source of revenue rather than a revenue expense.

Instead of asking a host organization to pay a speaking fee or honorarium, why not be willing to do a “revenue share” instead?

This is where instead of charging the host organization a fee, you and the host agree that you get paid from sharing part of the money that the event brings in; giving them an opportunity to provide make money rather than pay money only…the cool thing is that you get paid as well.

You can both share revenue from some or even all of these resources per event:

• Participant admissions (if they charge).
• Event sponsorships (especially if they don’t charge participant admission)
• Vendor participation (especially if they don’t charge participant admission)
• …even Merchandising.

This allows many organizations that never would have been able to even consider inviting you to speak (due to budget cuts).

This also drives the organization to promote the event; which typically can gain more response for your event rather than what you could have ever done alone.

EXAMPLE:
I will be conducting a workshop later this fall for an Arts organization in North Carolina. The organization is doing a HUGE promotional push to gain registrants. The organization gets a dollar amount for each person that attends. I get a share of that amount also for each person that attends.

It’s a true “WIN-WIN”!

This eliminates the upfront cost to the host, making them more able to book you in the first place. And with more bookings comes more opportunities to get…even MORE bookings!

COULD THIS WORK FOR YOU?

WHY OR WHY NOT?

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It’s unfortunate that it’s such a well known concept.

Matt Tommey, author of “Unlocking the Heart of the Artist” says that it’s a curse we Creatives have experienced dating back to Cain and his descendants.

Don’t believe it? Ever experience any of the following in your creative pursuits:

Restlessness?

Wandering? Knowing your gift has a place, but not able to find it?

Unproductive? Trying to put your talent to work, but never earning enough.

Take a look at this brief video to see how the attributes of Cain’s life mirror the lives of many artists and creative people:

Dig Deeper:

See Inside

I highly recommend that you get Matt’s book, “Unlocking the Heart of the Artist” , where he goes into great detail on this and guides you toward the Biblical solution.

Artist, author, musician, Matt Tommey

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Gabby Dearman with her new Business License

1. First tell us a little about Gabby and about Bright View Studio.

“I consider myself to be a mixed media artist, because I do work in various mediums. I work mostly with acrylic paints, watercolors, Sharpie markers, digital photography, and some collage.

One of the unique ways I express my creativity is through painting during worship times at church and conferences. Just as a person might worship the Lord through song or dance or playing a guitar, I worship with my paints and brushes! Through the Lord’s leading, I share pictures that encourage, inspire, bring revelation, and help connect people with Jesus. There’s nothing better than that!

Bright View Studio was birthed in the fall of 2010 right after I attended the Gathering of Artisans conference in Black Mountain, North Carolina that was hosted by Matt Tommey of The Worship Studio. That conference gave me the confidence and eagerness to refine my vision for my own creativity. Within a couple of weeks, I had created a Face book page for Bright View Studio, and ordered business cards. It felt right, I knew it was the right time to give a name to my work. I chose Bright View studio as the name, because that’s what I want people to feel when they encounter my art. A bright view of life… colorful, positive, joyful.”

[View as slideshow]

2. What made you decide to become “official”? Couldn’t you continue to do what you do without that status?

“You can’t fly without a license. Do you know what I mean? I think there comes a time when we have to get mature enough to accept full responsibility of our skills and talents. If I’m going to be serious about refining my craft and getting my creativity out there for people to purchase, then it’s my responsibility to take ownership of my vision and honorably align myself with my city’s regulations for conducting business.”

3. What were the challenges in taking this step and how did you overcome them.

“Being a right-brained person, things like paperwork and numbers overwhelm me. I had to work through some fears and apprehensions about starting a business. You know, the “what-ifs” that tend to haunt the mind prior to making a big decision. Recently, I’ve seen more interest in my artwork, and a few people have bought paintings and photographs that I have done, so I think that helped me overcome my fears and decide it was worth the risk to make things official. Also, I have several amazing people that have been supporting me and encouraging me in this part of my creative journey.”

4. So where does Bright View Studio go from here?

“In addition to continuing to create artwork, I am getting things organized to begin offering creative coaching and instruction in my community for all ages. I want to help people find the joy and confidence in creating, and to have a healthy creative outlet. Eventually, the goal is to rent a studio space where I can create, sell, and offer classes, so I am working up to that. I also plan on writing and illustrating children’s books in the near future.”

5. What advice can you share with others?

A. “Don’t get overwhelmed by your dreams. Just start where you are and take little steps in the right direction.”

B. “Surround yourself with people who encourage you and allow you to be who the Lord created you to be.”

C. “It really is okay to be nervous or scared, just don’t let that stop you from going forward.”

D. “Learn God’s voice by being in His Presence, and follow where He leads you.”

You can find Gabby online at BrightViewStudio.com as well as on Face book.

Tell us what you think:

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