Author: Janice Tanton

This author has written 261 articles

5 Good Reasons To Quit Your Day Job and Be A Full Time Artist

Solstice 2011 - HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME!! One year in the studio! One year ago, December 21st, 2010 marked the end of my work in an office and a return to the studio after a 10 year hiatus from full time studio work. (INSERT MANY LARGE CHEERS, SINCERE CONGRATULATIONS, CHAMPAGNE AND THE LIKE....HERE...and yes......you can send me gifts of money.) One year later, do I have any regrets? Hell no...except maybe for what's on my Hell List. Metaphorically, moving out of the dark and into the light with the change of seasons has made a huge difference to our family. There is a right time to make the move to studio work, and that time is always....NOW! Quit making excuses and BE an artist! Get out of that job, away from that oppressing boss of yours and get your fanny in gear.

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Grace QOTD: Who do the voodoo? We do the voodoo! Solstice time….

I've been fighting some debilitating pain in my neck, shoulder and painting arm for quite some time. Over the past year, physic, massage and finally surgery just a few weeks back seem to have all been the voodoo I needed to take a step in the right direction. I'll be honest. It's been really frustrating not to be able to paint my heart and soul out as quickly as I would like to, and it has been worrisome building up to the surgery. Ten years ago, I had a small cyst on the back of my neck removed. Wouldn't you know it - I'm in that rare 1-2% of "yep...it can grow back". Ten years later, this nasty thing decided to make a return appearance but in a larger form, and it has been causing a lot of health issues. We have all been a bit worried about how it would go...doing everything to make it as easy as possible and hope for the best after surgery. There's been a lot of men around this house pretending they are Arnold..."It's just a too-mah!"

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The “C” Word :: Artists and Resale Right Issues

...Did you hear the one about the artist that walked into Walmart at Christmas and found her images on a ladies sweatshirt...unlicensed? Yah, that was me. Not fun. Artists must educate themselves on copyright legislation and continue to advocate at local, provincial and federal levels for adequate measures of enforcement. Fair is fair, and it is so important that all artists be involved on a regular basis with the legislative issues that affect them and their families. Join CARFAC and the VAAA (for those in Alberta) and support the associations that act on your behalf and carry your voice to those legislative groups. Check out the links at the end of this post and join up. You can deduct those professional fees from your taxable income...if you have one.

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The Artist’s Kitchen : 5 Top Priorities for Life’s Studio

I try to make the kitchen a studio that acts as that same life catalyst forty years later for my family and my work. Not only do meals set the tone for the day, but they get all that "stuff" done and out of the way so that I can create, which literally feeds the cycle all over again. It's healthier. They usually involve the family helping out - choosing, making, prepping, etc. They carve out some time together not only in the making, but in the appreciation, the "sit down", the relationship building and the love that underpins it all. I have a few favourite recipes that are a hit, and I'd like to share them with you in hopes that your kitchen can become an artful extension of your Life Studio.

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Mixed Emotions/Mixed Media :: Dancing The Spirit To Life

This style of work marries the polar tangible and spiritual aspects I experience when participating in a pow wow circle. Every dancer is a prayer to me - real and spirit at the same time. Using two different techniques of visual imagery, I am attempting to communicate to you, the very real experience of dancing a prayer at the pow wow. As ever, I am so grateful to my Blackfoot relations and family for introducing me to this way of being and welcoming us so warmly into the family and community.

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9 Tips for Artists to Reduce the Time Spent On Social Media

If you're like most artists I know who have done well at engaging in social media, you're asking yourself the question, "How do I limit the time I spend there, and get back into the studio where I belong?" Here are 9 steps that I use to maximize my time at the easel and not on the computer.

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Lessons From The Farm – Part 1 of 4: “Know Your Shit”

There is only one thing you need to know to be an artist, and they all come from lessons my grandfather taught me from the farm. Know your shit. Bullshit, Horseshit, Cowshit, Chickenshit. In this no-shit article, Tanton comes out, all barrels blasting at inferior work and skills in artists masquerading behind quick-fix techniques, mediocrity and entitlement.

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