Did you ever look at a piece of art, or a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, and think, "Wow. How'd they do that?" Now you can find out. Several of the creative people in the Franklin County Arts Guild will be plying their trades at Arts & Ales on Saturday, March 9 from noon to 4:30 at Monterey Station in Cowan. You can watch them, and some may even let you try your hand!

​Acrylic pouring is very popular, and it's just one of the mediums that artist Denise Miller works in. It is a technique that produces spontaneous, flowy, soothing images. Said Denise, "I enjoy watching colors swirl around me, making patterns. I find it all intensely satisfying." Come watch create this fascinating art.

Since Arts & Ales is, after all, about craft brewing, the Backwoods Car Boys will be there again this year, demonstrating the art of home brewing. They will also have samples of their creations for tasting. These guys are have a wealth of information about making your own beer, and they have generously supported Arts & Ales for several years. Be sure to stop by to see how they do it.

Melanie Villegas painted and sold furniture in Winter Park, Fl. prior to moving to the Tennessee Plateau with her husband, Tom, in 2006. She will be giving a demonstration of “Charmed Horseshoes” decorative painting at Arts & Ales.

And, Frances Perea, Pat Bishop, and Margie Gallagher will be demonstrating how to create a whimsical fairyland, complete with fairies, fairy logs, and fairy houses. You will be charmed and amazed. Read more about that here.

There will be much more to enjoy at Arts & Ales 2019. There will be two bands, lots of art to shop from, dozens of local and craft beers to sample, Floyd's Farm food truck* and Sweet Ellie's ice cream* ... don't miss it! Your good time will support an arts scholarship and arts participation in and around Franklin County.

​One of the unique things about Arts & Ales is demonstrations by local artists. As you sample the dozens of craft beers, listen to the bands, and shop for original art, you can also watch as artists create their work; in some cases, you can even help. On March 9, at Monterey Station in Cowan, TN, you can meet the Fairies of Lullymore.

The Fairies of Lullymore are the creation of Winchester artist Frances Perea. Come meet these enchanting fairies from Lullymore, County Kildare, Ireland and find out how they came to live in America. They are currently are boarding at the Artisan Depot Gallery, 204 E. Cumberland Street, Cowan, TN, and are seeking forever homes.

​Frances will be offering Arts & Ales attendees an opportunity to make fairie artist trading cards as part of the "mob art" activity, with all materials provided. Also, Artisan Depot gallery member Margie Gallagher will be creating a blue tape "mob art" tree and participants who make the artist trading cards will have an opportunity to show them off by pinning them to the “tree.” Margie will also be demonstrating how to make fairy houses from natural materials and Pat Richards will demonstrate how she creates fairy logs.

This year's Arts & Ales is sure to be a magical event. Don't miss it. Reserve your tickets today. Your good time will make possible the scholarship program of the Franklin County Arts Guild, as well as other arts activities in and around the community.

Monterey Station is located at 104 Monterey Street in Cowan, TN, just off the main road (Cumberland Street/41A) that runs through Cowan. Click here for a map.

​Overcoming Objectives to Promoting Your Work
"Build it and they will come" sounds great, doesn't it? Put your artwork in a gallery and boom! Sold! It's a lovely fantasy. If only life were that easy.

It's pretty safe to make this generalization: artists hate to do marketing. Here's what we say:

"I'd rather be in the studio." Who wouldn't?
"I don't have time." Yes, you do.
"I am not technically inclined." Not necessary.
"Marketing is expensive." It can be, or it doesn't have to be.

Let's address each of these impediments to doing marketing.

"I'd rather be in the studio."
If you're an artist, you probably would rather be in the studio than pretty much anything else. But you have a life. In fact, you probably have another job, because you don't sell enough art to pay all the bills. If you sold more, you might be able to be a full-time artist and, sure enough, that is HARD. But even if you only make enough from your art to pay for a fancy trip every year, or a new car now and again, wouldn't that be great? Selling more art pays for your hobby/supplemental income/art job and, to sell more, you need some marketing. Stuff doesn't sell itself.

"I don't have time."
Can you carve out 10 minutes a day for marketing your art? 30 minutes? An hour once a week? Maybe the time you spend on Facebook, looking at funny cat videos (guilty here) or reading political rants could be redirected to promoting your art. How much time marketing takes depends on what types of marketing you choose to do, and how labor-intensive each marketing method is. 

"I'm not technically inclined."
Let's face it, much of life takes place in the digital world today, advertising most especially. You don't have to be Bill Gates to do online marketing (social media, a decent website, etc.) but you should have at least a comfortable acquaintance with your computer, tablet, and/or smart phone. With the ability to work a little bit with images (sizing, cropping and so on) and knowing how to upload those images to your website, Facebook, and Instagram, you're already pretty far down the pike (and farther than artists who don't promote themselves).

"Marketing is expensive."
First ask yourself, what is the cost of not marketing? Lost opportunities are incalculable, but it's a no-brainer that no investment in marketing means fewer sales. There are many ways of marketing that carry no out-of-pocket cost but do cost in terms of time. There are other ways of marketing that cost something; how much you can afford to spend depends on what you can expect to receive in return.

We will cover some of the more cost-efficient ways of marketing your artwork in the next installment of this blog. In the meantime, be thinking of how much you want to sell your artwork, and why.

Happy (and successful) creating!

Guild member Kim Phillips will be exhibiting her work from March 1 through April 14 at the Guild’s gallery in Cowan. The public is invited to the opening reception on Friday, March 1 at 5:00 pm; refreshments will be served.

The theme of the show, “Olio,” refers to the fact that the exhibit includes many objects that are unalike: paintings, graphite, clay, mosaic, pastels, and more. Said Ms. Phillips, “Most professional artists stick to one medium, and for over a dozen years I did only papercut art. But there are so many things that capture my attention and plenty of good teachers to inspire me.” Teachers are, in fact, given special mention in this art show.

​Ms. Phillips, a Nashville native, moved to the Cowan area about three years ago. "What was so surprising to me," she said, "is how many artists live and work in this area. While our arts guild may be small compared to some, it's mighty. We have shows for students, members and the community at large, we give a scholarship each year, we offer classes, and we get together to do art every Wednesday. We are all volunteers, and you won't find a more dedicated bunch of people." 

​The Artisan Depot is located at 204 Cumberland Street East in Cowan, Tennessee. More information is available at www.franklincoarts.org