Top 10 Free Website Plugins of 2011

If you’re going to have a successful art career, you’ll need a good website.

Please, do not rush out and hire someone to build your website for you. You do not need to do that.

In fact, if you can write email, you can create your own, spectacular-looking website… almost for free.

Start with WordPress. That’s what you’re looking at, here. I’ve been using WordPress since… well, almost since it began.

I use it for all kinds of websites, not just my art sites, like this one.

The basic WordPress design is nice, but it’s kind of “plain vanilla.” What make it shine are the plugins…. they’re sort of accessories for your website.

For art sites, there are many great, free WordPress plugins that will display your artwork on your website. They’re designed for artists and those who aspire to have successful art careers.

We’ll talk about art-related plugins at another time.

For now, here’s a list of the top free plugins that I use on all (or almost all) of my WordPress websites.

Akismet (of course)
Amazon Product In a Post Plugin (to share favorite recommendations)
BulletProof Security (keep your site as safe as possible)
cbnet Ping Optimizer (prevents accidental spammy pings)
DagonDesign Sitemap Generator (the best sitemap design)
Fast Secure Contact Form (simple and safe, with a Captcha form)
GTranslate (encourages international traffic)
Simple Google Sitemap XML (fastest, cleanest updates for Google)
WordPress SEO (I own SEOpressor, but I prefer this)
WP YouTube Lyte (clean, fast YouTube posting)

All of those (or most of them) are available free at WordPress.org. (All of them are free… but you may have to search for one or two, online.)

Here’s how to find and install most of these plugins in your WordPress website:

In your WordPress dashboard, click on Plugins > Add New > Search.

Then, search for the exact names I’ve mentioned above.

Install them, and then activate them.

Some will need to be customized. For example, I check the box that tells cbnet Ping Optimizer to prevent excessive pinging. Generally, I set that for once every 60 minutes. Then, I add a longer list of ping sites in the form. Always look for a current list. Here’s one from 2011. (Search at Google for “ping services” or “updated ping list.” Or, you can just use the ping list from WordPress.org.)

‘Recessionizing’ Art Careers

As you know, I’m always browsing articles, books, movies and TV shows for ideas about art careers.

Today, I stumbled onto an article about an art show, with a very cool word: Recessionizing.

That’s what some artists and frame designers are doing with their artwork, and it’s described in this article:

Local artists offer accessible art at Metcalfe show – Your Ottawa Region

news.google.com

Local artists offer accessible art at Metcalfe show.

Lyall grew up in an antique shop and now runs a picture framing business out of her log cabin home near Greely, where she is famous for making shadow boxes to display heirlooms and …

As I read that article, I was reminded of the “Why Cheap Art?” Manifesto from Bread and Puppet. I’ll post that manifesto at the foot of this article. Feel free to right-click to save it, and share it with others. I think it’s more important today than it was in the 1980s.

It may seem odd for me to advocate a cheap art manifesto that says “Art is not business!”

Well, for me — and I think for many artists — art isn’t a business. We’d make art even if we earned absolutely nothing from it.

However, it’s possible to have a successful art career and keep your art affordable… to “recessionize” it, as the Canadian artists said.

One way is to sell high-end art — the pricey stuff — and use some of that income to subsidize the art you sell for far less.

(I’m reminded of something George Hamilton’s character said in the movie, Doc Hollywood. If you haven’t seen that movie, it’s worth watching. It includes some good lessons about career choices, too.)

The challenge is finding ways to keep your high-end artwork valuable. Otherwise, your upscale clients will wait for your inexpensive art to become available.

Or, even worse, your lower-priced works devalue the art that pays your rent, and — in a blink — you’ll be asking the customer if he’d like fries with that order.

It’s a dilemma for many artists.

Here are a few possible solutions:

Price your art by the square inch. The smaller pieces will be affordable enough for almost anyone. The larger pieces will grace the walls of affluent homes and galleries.
Create some of your work in different media. For example, your pencil sketches could sell in one price range, while your oil paintings might sell in another.
Auction everything. Let the market establish the prices. Some will sell for more than others.
Follow the example of Banksy: Share your art with the world, when you can. Create some of it as collection-worthy art that sells at shows and fine art galleries.
Sell the high-end works. Barter everything else. Then, there’s no dollar value on the pieces you swap with others, so your work isn’t devalued in the marketplace.

I’m not sure that any of those are good answers. You may have to come up with your own .

“Recessionizing” is an elegant-sounding term for this, and a practical view as well.

To succeed as an artist, on both personal and economic levels, I think affordable art must be part of your business plan.

In addition, as you saw in the article I linked to, you can use this as a springboard for some great publicity.

Now, here’s the Cheap Art Manifesto:

Art – Residential Learning Communities

College doesn't have to be boring. The University of Wisconsin offers artists something better.

One of the surest signs of a growing career field is when colleges and universities start making more room — and create better spaces — for students in that field.

In this case, it’s art careers. I’m not kidding. The University of Wisconsin at Madison is creating a residential learning community. It’s for students preparing for art careers.

Those art-related careers include: art, dance, design, engineering, fashion, film, music, theatre and computer science. (Okay, I blinked a few times at the “computer science” part, too. Except for some animation and digital art, I struggle to use the words computer science and art careers in the same sentence.)

Focus on art careers = The whole is greater than its individual parts?

It’s the residential learning part that intrigues me. That keeps creative people together every day. That’s very different from spending one or two hours a week in the same lecture hall.

Their combined energy and shared creative visions could result in products far greater than the individual works. It could be like a four-year artists’ colony. Highly innovative concepts could emerge, taking art in new directions.

Pretty cool. I like seeing things like that for the next generation of artists.

Also, this program views art careers as a collaborative movement among several disciplines, which takes it beyond artists’ colonies where — for example — everyone is a painter.

I hope this is the beginning of a trend. It can re-energize colleges and attract more high-quality students. That should make everyone happy.

See if a college or university near you is thinking about something similar. If so, that could be a community to participate in, even if you’re not a student. (For example, you could become an ad hoc advisor.)

Here’s the UW press release. Yes, it’s pretty dry reading. Read between the lines. You’ll see a dynamic concept that may be very exciting once it begins thriving: An art and design community.

These are people who are already committed to (or considering) art careers. They could be an extraordinary group. It’s not just about future networking. It’s about the experience of the four years you’re together.

UNIVERSITY HOUSING TO LAUNCH CREATIVE ARTS AND DESIGN COMMUNITY – Media Newswire (press release)

news.google.com

UNIVERSITY HOUSING TO LAUNCH CREATIVE ARTS AND DESIGN COMMUNITY

… campus’s Sellery Hall, will welcome students from a broad array of creative disciplines, recognizing that the arts, innovation and creativity are vital …

It’s the collaborative concept that intrigues me the most. I recently wrote about community causes and events (Use Social Causes to Grow Your Art Career). In that article, I explained that some of our best ideas can come from related fields and the world around us.

For examples, look at some of today’s most innovative artists.

How mixing creative disciplines helps art careers

Recently, I was deeply moved and inspired by the art of Nathalie Miebach, whose art is based on weather measurements. Her art crosses several disciplines; her sculptures are also musical scores.

That’s an example of what happens when people exchange ideas, triggering “ah-HA!” moments that lead to even greater innovations.

Throwing a group of creative people together may be a risky, volatile move. This could become one of those legends. You know, like the Cape Cod School of Art in the very early 20th century… art communities spoken of in hushed tones, and with awe.

This takes art education beyond the usual routine. You know: Classes, homework, projects… and then partying with people who don’t really get how you think.

Throwing creative people together — people focused on art careers — the experience could be very different. If I were looking at colleges, I think the University of Wisconsin (or any other college with a similar program) would be near the top of my list.

The Art Magazine Scam – it’s back!

Don't get caught in this money trap!

It’s been years since I’ve seen this art-related scam in my mail or email.

However, it was back in my email today. I was amazed.

I was also worried that an artist unfamiliar with this scam… well, he or she might fall for it, and even think they got a good deal.

Here’s how this scam goes:

An editor of a major art magazine — or at least one with an impressive title — contacts you. The editor has visited your website, or seen your Flickr photos, or your photos file at Facebook… or so they say.

He or she says how much your artwork has impressed the art magazine’s staff. In fact, you’re one of the country’s better artists, and they feel honored to be among the first to discover how talented you are.

They’d like to feature you — and several color photos of you and your artwork — in the next issue of their art magazine.

Of course, they have expenses to cover — professional photographers to take pictures of your art, the cost of sending a journalist to interview you in your studio, and so on — but they’ll take care of most of the fees themselves.

All you need to pay is $500. And, after all, that’s less than you’d pay for an advertisement in an art magazine with their level of prestige and circulation. (Sometimes they even mention the glossy pages, as if that’s going to impress you.)

Umm… no. Don’t fall for it.

What absolutely amazed me today was the title of the magazine that made this offer. It was about art of the southwest.

I was born, raised, and still live in New England. That fact is prominent in all of my marketing materials, on my website, and so on. I have never painted in the southwest, and only visited briefly (Arizona? New Mexico? I forget…), on my way to somewhere else.

In other words, nothing connects my art with the southwest.

The email seemed very personal. They used my name and even spelled it correctly. It was sent to me alone (not a mailing list), and it was eloquently worded.

The rest of it…? It practically had SCAM written all over it.

Yes, I’m fairly visible, online, and have been for many years. I’m not sure if that made me a more likely target.

I doubt it.

My point is: If you receive one of these letters, ignore it. I’m sorry, but they haven’t a clue who you are. It’s a scam.

Also ignore requests to include you in variations of “Who’s Who” directories, when a fee is involved. (That scam usually offers to sell you one to five copies of the published book at a “special honoree price.” It’s always ridiculously expensive, and preys on your vanity.)

Desperate times lead to desperate measures. It looks like we’re there now.

Legitimate publications don’t charge you to be featured in them.

If you’re paying, that’s an advertisement, and you’d better be very sure you’re getting good value for the money you’ll spend.

Requests like these, from (fake?) art magazines and “who’s who” directories, are fraudulent. Don’t take them seriously and don’t reply to them, or your email will fill with other, similar scams.

Use Social Causes to Grow Your Art Career

Animal rights - monkey in tree - art career boost?

To boost your art career, look at the world -- and important causes -- around you.

Have you considered how a social cause can help your art career?

One of the best ways to get ideas for innovative art shows is to look at fashion.

See what they’re using as themes for fashion shows and challenges.

Often, those same themes can inspire art exhibits, as well. This is especially true when the fashion event is related to a social cause or charity.

For example, look at the Humane Society’s Cool v. Cruel challenge. How could you use a similar theme to promote your art career, or build a specialized art exhibit — your own or a collaboration with other artists — and focus on an important social issue?

It’s not as much of a stretch as you might think.

For example, using the Cool v. Cruel theme, what if you…

Organized a show, and required all participating artists to use synthetic bristle brushes, instead of sable, camel, or other animal hair brushes?
Hosted a “bring your pet to the art show” exhibit, and featured art that includes animals and wildlife?

Those are just two ideas that came to mind right away. If I (or you) were to think about it, there are probably another half dozen (or more) ways you could use this theme to energize your art career.

Every week, your local newspaper (on- or offline) and nightly news (and local interest shows) talk about upcoming events. Charity events are usually featured. So are special programs at local art schools and fashion institutes.

Why not use them to piggyback your own art career toward higher visibility?

Maybe you’ll find a way to be involved — as an artist — in the upcoming event.

Or, maybe you’ll find another way to help the cause or charity while bringing attention to your own art career.

As an artist, it’s easy to live an isolated life. Art careers aren’t always very social… not innately, anyway.

By finding opportunities in (or inspired by) your local community, you may boost your career as an artist, and become a celebrity at the same time. This is another example of using leverage to help your art career.

There are many reasons to get involved with social causes and charities that align with your own interests. Add your art career to the mix, and it’s another “everyone wins” situation.

Here’s the article that started me thinking in this direction. Maybe it will inspire you, too.

Art Institute students show they care with flair – Vancouver Sun

news.google.com

Art Institute students show they care with flair… designer graduates at the Art Institute of Vancouver are also showing stunning creativity. For the first time, the students have been given the freedom to design pieces that foreshadow …

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