25/06/2014
Sr 2, Blog entry 2:
During the summer break, I have been working on preparing myself for working as a freelance artist after university. For years of my study, I have relied on working in the university building in my own studio space, which drew into question what I would do when I left university, where would I work? I made the decision to spend a large portion of my summer converting a spare room in my house (known beforehand as the residential crap room) into a purpose built studio.
The studio:
My studio now consists of: storage areas for all materials and tools which may be needed; a clean area with printers/ scanners designed for laptop, sewing and printing; a painting/ messy area and a number of could out tables for extra room.
To be able to have a studio to call my own and work within in a way which best suits my need is highly rewarding, and I feel that I have released my need for the university building, making my transition from student to graduate much easier psychologically.
Building my website:
Although, I have this blog and my Facebook page, advertising and aiding my work, my online prescience is not particularly high and I have for a number of years felt that I need a website; however my need to have said website directly meet my needs is a difficult feat, as I am unable to build my own, due to my love hate relationship with technology.
I have entrusted the building of my website to a close family friend, who has agreed to work to my specific designs. I designed the website by looking at many others and drawing together aspects I felt would suit my purpose. I also took the time to create my own font, which is intended to be used for title pages and headings.
My website is designed to also include a shop, much like Lyndon Hayes' website (listed below), which will allow me to sell a range of items as well as showcasing my work.
Lyndon Hayes' website:
http://www.lyndonhayes.co.uk
(Hayes, 2014)
As I intend to create a range of work such as murals, editorial illustration, clothing and fine art pieces, I have designed certain items to be sold in my online shop; however some of these aspects cannot be physically sold in this way, so I have designed an information page which outlines how to contact me for commission based projects such as murals or book illustration. I feel by allocating these areas, I have ensured that my work can be sold in a way that it suitable.
Over this semester, I intend to keep this blog up to date on outside influences, such as the building of my website, as I feel it is important to be aware of how aspects of my business affect my university work.
Heavy duty Illustration Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/HeavyDutyIllustration
Getting noticed:
During the summer, I have also strived to find ways of getting noticed online for my work, and managed to be featured in an online magazine, Design Juices:
http://www.designjuices.co.uk/2014/08/fine-art-illustrator-helen-marie-kelly-aka-heavy-duty-illustration/
(Thompson, 2014)
I found that opportunities such as this allow me to build a larger audience and create interest, I fully intend to enter more competitions and contact more areas which may feature my work.
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