By Tara Fly on Aug 02, 2015 02:41 am
Hagerstown Magazine Feature
Back in April, I was contacted by a writer for Hagerstown Magazine (a local zine spotlighting events and people of interest to our area), requesting to interview me for an article on Crowdfunding the Arts.
The magazine editor wanted to draw attention to local artists/writers who had used Kickstarter to successfully fund their creative projects.
Three people were featured in the article, which was published in the magazine’s May/June issue; besides myself, they also interviewed comic book writer and illustrator, Rafer Roberts, and a youth pastor, David Zyskowski, who co-wrote a series of children’s books with his wife, Christi.
I was excited to see Rafer’s project in the article, as he is one of the local artists whom I’ve met through Art For the Animals, the annual charity art auction to which we donate original artwork in support of Guiding Eyes For the Blind.
You can read the article online (here) via the magazine’s archives. I was also given a few complimentary copies for friends and family.
I had so much to say about my first crowdfunding experience, much of which didn’t make the final cut, so I am planning to do my own feature post about Kickstarter soon. My 2016 calendar project will be launched in September, so perhaps I’ll write a post comparing my first and second Kickstarter projects. ;)
Washington County Playhouse Exhibit
About a month ago, a theater director & friend of mine messaged me on Facebook, asking if I’d be willing to exhibit my artwork at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater on North Potomac St., which she and her husband had recently purchased.
Laura and I knew each other from the Apollo Civic Theater in Martinsburg, WV, where I performed in several shows, during the time she sat on the board as artistic director.
The previous owners of the dinner theater had showcased local artists in their lobby, and Laura wanted to continue with that tradition.
I was flattered to be approached with the opportunity, but it concerned me that I didn’t have many original paintings on-hand to display. She assured me that matted reproduction prints would be welcome, so I gathered together several of my most popular prints and hung them on Wednesday night.
Although Laura generously offered to let me keep 100% of any sales we made, I felt it only fair to arrange to donate 25% of all art sales to the theater, since any traditional exhibit venue would expect a commission.
The prices start at $20 for an 11″x14″ matted print up to $80 for my large matted prints in 22″x26″ frames.
My artwork will hang in the lobby through November 14th. I will occasionally try to switch out some of the prints as I develop new pieces; I think my upcoming Alice in Wonderland series would be appreciated by the theater crowd, and showcasing them might generate crossover promotion for Art For the Animals (where the originals will be auctioned in October).
I also promised Laura that I would create a special ORIGINAL PAINTING just for this exhibit, to coincide with opening night of the musical “Cabaret” on Sept. 26th. I have been wanting to paint “showgirl” cats for awhile, and this gives me the purr-fect opportunity! Rrrrawr! ;)
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