You Don't Remember Me Do You?

As artists and crafters we are always looking for those DIY ways to reach out to our potential buyers in inventive and hopefully inexpensive ways. As you know I specialise in Arts Marketing and I've recently been lecturing Visual Arts and Ceramic students in ways they can utilise Public Relations and Marketing to cut through the clutter and get their produce noticed in these economically difficult times.

How are you breaking through the noise and making an impression on your potential clients with your message? Is your customer understanding your advertising and answering your call to take action like; visit your website, make an order, sign up for your newsletter etc.

I'll be talking a lot more about reaching your target market in the articles to come over the next week or so.

In the mean time enjoy this fabulous clip from 1982.

Look at Moi!

I feel I should own up to something my closest friends know about me and as you are my readers you ought to know as well. I am a self-confessed Kath and Kim junky. Yes, its true, though its now some time since my idols created new episodes, I’m making do with the oldies and watching repeats with glee.

You may (if you are very clever) capture an odd word here and there, a tiny splatter of the vernacular of these lovable morons from Fountain Lakes slip into my writings. Just yesterday I know I mentioned that I’d be ‘doubly pleased” if something happened, well that’s a Kathism if ever I’ve heard one.

My daughter and I converse non-stop in K & K lingo. Most people seem to be slowly forgetting the beloved tongue of these suburbanites, now that the hornbags are no longer on the set, but not us, no way! We are finding we get a few odd looks when we break into our ‘down to a tee’ take-offs of our favourite small screen stars. Does no one else remember every single line, is it just us? We suck up every morsel of the script like jackals at a scavenge. It must be all that performing arts background kicking in!

In real life, I like to think I’m somewhat refined but if you get Shaya and I going, we are the epitome of Kath and Kim and the best and worst of everything so uniquely and appealingly Australian.

You’ve gotta laugh, well we do, hysterically at ourselves and we have been ever since the series began and it doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon, well not until our DVD’s wear out that’s for sure.

We do go to trouble, it’s nice, it’s unusual.

Reusable Bags are Great but lets make our own!

I’m so pleased now that some of the big retailers have decided not to offer plastic bags anymore, but offering reusable bags for sale, could lead to an even bigger environmental disaster if people just keep buying them every time they leave their reusable bags at home. I have decided to make myself a bag and take it with me in my handbag all the time, to ensure I have at least one bag on me at-all-times.

Here are my tips on how to make one. I decided on a bag with a lining and an internal pocket, to cover all my shopping possibilities, but you don’t need to go to this much trouble - it’s up to you how fancy you want to get. I bought my piece of fabric at a garage sale, so I’m doubly pleased to be using something someone may have even thrown out!

• 1.5 mts of 115 cm wide cotton fabric

• cut 4 pieces 40 cm x 47 cm for body of the bag

• cut 2 pieces 65 cm x 6.5 cm for the straps

• cut 2 pieces 21 cm x 17 cm for the pocket

1. Place pocket pieces wrong sides together and sew along three sides, trim seams and turn inside out. Turn remaining hem, press and sew.
2. Sew the pocket to one of the 40 cm x 47 cm pieces about 12 cms from the top.
3. Place this 40 x 47 cm piece right side together with another piece and sew along three sides, this will make the lining of the bag.
4. You now need to make right angle corners by folding the seams of your bag together - stick a pin through your seam on one side to match the seam on the other, fold these together to make a right angle. Sew through. I hand tack the tip of the corners down.
5. Take your remaining 40 x 47 cm pieces place wrong sides together and sew along three sides, this will be the outside of the bag. Finish with angled corners the same as the inside of the bag.
6. Fold the upper edges of both the inside and outside of your bag to the wrong side, measure to make sure they are both the same. Turn the outside of the bag the right way out. Place the lining of the bag, inside of the outer bag and match up the top edges, pin together.
7. Sew a line of stitching right around the upper edge.
8. Prepare your handles by ironing in the raw edges 5 mm to the wrong side all the way around your 65 mm x 6.5 mm pieces. Now fold this piece in half and iron again. Sew along the three sides. Iron again.
9. Sew the handles to the bag 9 cms from the outside edge.
10. Your bag is now finished, give it a quick iron.
11. You could make a little zip up bag to keep your shopper bag handy and stow it away in your handbag, like I have pictured here, its just a simple rectangle with a 20 cm zipper. Overlock the raw edges.
12. You are now ready for some environmentally friendly shopping, well done.

Some Wishes Come True

Two of my long held wishes came true this week; my eldest son graduated from university with a Bachelor of Business and my only daughter completed her apprenticeship becoming a fully qualified hairdresser.

When I was a young mother I felt, at times, overwhelmed by the responsibility and the enormity of the job ahead, at other times I was delighted by the challenge of raising my children. Today I am mostly filled with pride in myself for being brave enough to tackle the hard stuff and showing enough love and commitment that my children survived education and came out the other side successful.

I am proud of the people they are and I’m grateful that they are strong, kind and generally happy. Congratulations Rhys and Shaya!

Invited as Guest Lecturer

I was delighted to be invited as guest lecturer for the Diploma of Visual Arts students at Noosa TAFE. I attended today to give a talk on the benefits of Public Relations for the Arts sector. I spoke of the changing landscape for promotions today with the juggernaut of Social Media rapidly changing the way we communicate and how we can harness this to promote ourselves, our artwork and our arts practices.

My audience were delightful and appeared to be very engaged in my discussions. Any extra education in Marketing and Communications can be extremely valuable for emerging artists and though some of them admitted, it was a lot to take in, I feel they have gained more general knowledge about networking and relationship building that they will be able to utilise as they build their own arts practices.

I will be returning to give another specific lecture on writing practice and some legal requirements of running a business in the weeks to come.

Their colleagues from the Ceramics course will be hearing the same lecture next week, so I do hope my friends from Visual Arts will give me a good wrap.

Here they are pictured following the lecture, testament to the fact that they survived very well indeed.

Thanks for having me Noosa TAFE and all the very best in preparation for your end of year exhibition.

"Our Janey"

I see part of my role these days, as a talent development officer and, wherever possible, I aim to assist and encourage young people with outstanding ability to access opportunity.

I spent this afternoon assisting a young singer from my local community to further develop her musical theatre item for the upcoming Vocal Eisteddfod. Jane Magao is an outstanding talent and a delightful and humble young lady, we spent about an hour working together on some movement to enhance her chosen song.

Wherever Jane sings she brings delight and sometimes surprise to her audience, most people are quite shocked to hear such a strong and developed voice coming from someone so young.

I know one day the Sunshine Coast will state a claim to ‘our Janey’, and I will be able to say, “I knew her before she was famous”, now there’s a prediction to put in your books!

Here's Jane pictured at the En Pointe studios in rehearsals with Miss Penny this afternoon.

Amazing Kaleidoscope of Tap Dancing by Emmy Award winner Jason Samuels S...

I'm having a field day on YouTube at the moment and I've found some sensational dancing. This clip actually reminds me of one of my former students, in the style of the dancer. Hey Aaron - I'm talking 'bout you Man!!!