Tuesday - October 28 - 3 pm ET
Nawal Motawi joins us to talk about her journey from art school graduate to founder of an award-winning Ann Arbor-based nationally known art studio, Motawi Tileworks, that creates unique handmade tile reflecting the classic styles and craftsmanship of 20th Century American design.
Nawal Motawi founded Motawi Tileworks more than 20 years ago. A University of Michigan art school graduate with a restless spirit and an interest in applied arts, she moved to Detroit to learn tilemaking at Detroit’s storied Pewabic Pottery. She returned to Ann Arbor after a few years and began making her own tiles in a garage studio and selling them from a stand she rented at the local farmers’ market.
Today, Nawal is still designing and making tiles in Ann Arbor. Her companies, Motawi Tileworks and Rovin Ceramics, employ more than 30 people. The tiles are sold in over 350 shops, galleries and showrooms across the country.
The Motawi business philosophy:
We make distinctive ceramics in a healthy way. We share our story. And we have fun.
Why?
We believe that we can make the world a better place by making beautiful things for everyday places and modeling healthy company practices.
How do we do this?
We make things that are valued for their design and quality.
We cultivate an intentional workplace culture that fosters constant improvement, positivity and consistently high performance.
Listen to learn how Nawal made the move from her first art class to becoming a successful business owner, plus her best tips for building a sustainable career in the arts.
the other half is marketing your art? Here is a new list from the Huffington Post. Although it is more slanted to artists who are working toward the gallery scene, it has many good points for us in the art fair business. In that spirit, here is what you should know:
1. Every artist has a day job.
Most artists cannot live off their art--even relatively successful artists in New York or L.A. So don't feel like you're doing something wrong if you can't make ends meet without a day job. The key is to define yourself as an artist. What you do for rent is just that. It's not who you are.
2. Residencies are good for your health.
Applying to residencies is a critical component to a career as a visual artist. Some are hands-on, with career mentoring or technical instruction; some are totally independent without much in the way of communal activities or guidance. The application process itself is worthwhile. It forces you to think deeply about your work and goals.
A few places to start your search:
artistcommunities.org, resartis.org, transartists.org, nyfa.org
3. NO BLIND SUBMISSIONS!
Every Saturday you can go to Chelsea and see people hauling around their portfolios, cold-calling on galleries. This is a terrible idea. It tells the gallerist that you don't respect his or her time and that you don't seem to care where you show.
4. Write stuff down.
Paperwork sucks. But staying on top of it will make your life easier and save you time in the long run, which means more time to make art.
5. The Internet is all the rage.
You need a website. (Or a blog, or some sort of online space.) Everyone expects you to have one: gallerists, curators, critics, art bloggers, other artists. It doesn't need to be fancy or expensive, but it should have images of your work, a copy of your cv and your contact information. Ideally, the design of the site should reflect the kind of art you make or the kind of artist you are.
6. Rejection: It's not you, it's them.
The odds of landing a residency, getting a grant or finding gallery representation are daunting. Popular programs may accept as little as 1.5% of their applicants each year. And even before the economic crisis, commercial galleries couldn't possibly absorb all the artists who came out of school.
7. There's more to life than commercial galleries.
Commercial galleries are a prominent part of the art world, but there are many other ways to show your work: non-profits, collaboratives, artist-run spaces, online galleries, artist-run fairs, cafes, restaurants, retail spaces, etc.
This is the tip of the article. Read it all here: 