Book swapping

As an artist, I have an overwhelming collection of books - some of them art books, some philosophy, a fair amount of fiction, collections of essays, and a sprinkling of historical biographies. I try to get more and more books at the library - waste less money, less paper, etc., but something about having the books to keep is really nice. However, my bookshelves are crowded with books that I have already read.... so here to rescue me are the "book swapping sites". There are quite a few out there, but basically the idea is that you mail and book and get a book back - for free. The sites can be a great tool for students, as well, to get textbooks.

A few sites:

Bookmooch

Treehugger

Swaptree

websites

Now that we all seem to live in the digital world, so many of the great art resources out there exist solely in cyberspace. I previously raved about NYFA and ubuweb, but there are many more great sites out there.




The New York Times Art & Design section is often my go-to for reviews and interesting articles. They have the best critics and are in the vicinity of the best museums and galleries, although they tend to group all of the "arts" together.




As the Bible of the art world, ArtForum has long been a top-notch publication. As time has gone on, the magazine has gotten fatter and thicker, and is now full of many ads (although the ads are almost always for exhibitions, so they are usually beautiful and informative). Artforum's website offers a good selection of articles from the magazine, videos, a great search feature - plus the Diary/Scene and Herd section gives us snapshots from all of the fabulous art parties.





There are several websites that compile information about artists, museums, galleries, and articles, but my choice tends to be MutualArt.com. They let you add "preferences" to your profile, and make recommendations in a little gray box based on that - so you don't have to filter through all kinds of things you aren't that interested in. Also, their new advanced search option lets you narrow down specifically what kind of event you are looking for - like, for example - art fairs in Basel, Switzerland during the second two weeks of June.

Inside the Grant Process

Last week I posted about the online resources available over at NYFA.org. Well, they actually have a physical presence in the world, and occasionally host events. In a few weeks they will be putting on a seminar concerning grant-writing for artists. See below:


Inside the Grant Process

From Applications to the Panel

Two session seminar:
Tuesday, June 23, 6-8:30pm and Tuesday, June 30, 6-8:30pm

Grants provide much needed funding, yet the process can be overwhelming. Join us for a two part workshop on grant seeking, including an inside look at how a grant panel is run and decisions are made. Session one will focus on the nuts and bolts of finding grants and creating a strong application. Session two will walk through the panel process using real life examples from visual arts workshop participants. Come and see what matters when a panel sits down to vote.
Please note this workshop is geared towards visual artists.

Location:
New York Foundation for the Arts
20 Jay Street 7th Flr
Brooklyn, NY 11203

Price: $30- Please note this is a two session seminar. The cost covers both sessions.

Visit the site to preregister or join the waiting list if it has sold out.

NYFA

One of the best online resources for artists has got to be NYFA.org (New York Foundation for the Arts). The website is a great tool for finding jobs - as all of the jobs are reviewed and filtered before being posted, so you don't have to rifle through hundreds of ridiculous postings before finding one decent one. Although it is pretty New York-centric, there are posts for all over the country, and occasionally something international.

NYFA is also a great place to look for calls for artists, residency opportunities, classes and workshops. Also, if you are looking for artist assistant, the pool of applicants you get from this site will be of really great quality. Go take a look at it and peruse the site - you'll find more than I can even talk about here.

Ubuweb.com

I came across UbuWeb a few years ago, and have consistently gone back to it. Personally, I use it to check out the videos and films from major and emerging artists, but there is much more to the site, in particular, a large collection of poetry-related audio and text.

Founded in 1996 by the poet Kenneth Goldsmith, the site operates freely, with works not viable or intended for commercial use.

From their site:

UbuWeb is a completely independent resource dedicated to all strains of the avant-garde, ethnopoetics, and outsider arts.

All materials on UbuWeb are being made available for noncommercial and educational use only. All rights belong to the author(s).

UbuWeb is completely free.

Ask the Lawyer

The New York Public Library is a great resource for public lecture and talks. On Monday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m., at the Mid-Manhattan Library(455 5th Avenue), a pretty resourceful lecture will take place:

"Ask the Lawyer - An Artist Career Development Lecture," with Elena M. Paul, ESQ. and Alexei Ormani Auld, ESQ.

This interactive panel presentation with a question-and-answer format will cover a wide array of legal and business issues with an overview of the major legal topics affecting artists and professionals within arts organizations. The topics to be addressed include:Intellectual Property (copyrights primarily), Contracts,Entity Choice and Formation including nonprofit and for profit options.

Simply the best

Although most of us practicing artists tend to stray away from perfect technique, there is a time and a place for doing things properly. If you are concerned with technique, archival methods, or simply interested in traditional artist materials, this is your BIBLE. It is extensive, and really amazing to just look through to get ideas about how to make your own materials. Learn how to properly mix pigments, make your own tools and paints, etc. Looking at my old copy last night, I got the urge to work on some silverpoint drawings I had abandoned years ago.

The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques
by Ralph Mayer