Kate Harper's Blog

Graduation Card for Techies

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:29:00 +0000

Here is a sample from Leanin' Tree of my new graduation card.

Buddhist Minister Brings Her Spiritual Life into Her Art

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Thu, 09 May 2013 01:34:00 +0000

I fell in love with Kuon Kubo's art when I first discovered it at an art show at the Institute for Buddhist Studies, part of the Graduate Theological Union, here in Berkeley. She is a visiting minister from Japan who incorporates her Buddhist experience into her art.

She uses watercolor images and then cuts them into shapes to make a collage. Each one has a story.

This picture above represents the rain of gifts that fell upon her from her spiritual path. She said there are so many, she cannot catch them all.

Below is the piece I purchased, along with the verse that goes with it:

This is the back of her business card. Very wonderful graphic of her life. A great idea for making a business card more personal (and humorous!)

Her postcard. Koun's mother was a survivor of Hiroshima.

A cute pin she made.

Meeting her reminded me that it is important to bring your spiritual life into your art, to celebrate what matters to you, and to share it with others. When someone is joyful about their art like Koun is, it is infectious.

My New Check Designs

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 03:18:00 +0000

Just received proofs today of my check designs today. They are now live at CheckAdvantage.

Where to submit your greeting card designs.

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 17:56:00 +0000

I have just updated my list of greeting card companies who seek out submissions from artists and writers.

These listings include companies that have guidelines on their website and I have provided a link to that page.

Check it out at http://kateharperblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/10-card-publishers-artist-and-writer.html

How to Send Large Files Digitally

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:03:00 +0000

Here's an important article by Joan Beiriger on sending large art files:

Art Licensing: How to Transfer Multiple & Large Hi-Res Files

[article excerpt] "...If three or more images are requested, they usually cannot be sent in one e-mail because it will most likely be rejected by the e-mail carrier. And, if a large Hi-Res layered Adobe Photoshop image needs to be sent it may be at least 250MB in size that is impossible to transfer via e-mail... " continue reading.

What would you do if your computer was stolen today?

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:33:00 +0000

This could be you. And if your art is irreplaceable, then you should have online storage that is in a different location from your computer. For only $5 a month you can save yourself a lifetime of trauma from losing 5 years of artwork. External hard drives are not sufficient because they can be damaged or stolen also.

I use Backblaze and Crashplan. They both backup your computer automatically in the background and I have found they have more free features and better customer service than other storage systems. Some companies like Backblaze even have mapping system that can locate your computer if it is stolen.

Taking Pride in Our Work: Policeman and Artists

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:02:00 +0000

Boston honors a fallen policeman this week, and I am reminded of my own encounters with policemen. I've found they have a unique skill where they are able to transform discipline, authority and responsibility, into spontaneity and humor when the situation requires it. Perhaps this is because they must be open to everything, all the time.

On my first trip to New York City, my girlfriend and I saw a policeman in the middle of Broadway directing traffic. I had this sudden urge to meet him, so I ran through the traffic, weaving in and out of taxis, which appeared to cause him alarm.

But I couldn't let this moment escape me. I thought it might be the only time in my life I would ever meet a New York City cop, who I considered one of the toughest guys in the country. Little did I know, four years after the photo was taken, this would be proven on September 11, 2001.

While I pleaded my case in the middle of Broadway, requesting a photo, his scowling brow transformed into a gravelly laugh. And while honking cars zoomed by, he opened is gun-ready posture, gave me a bear hug and said "HEY, why NOT! It's PUUblic RElations!"( in his New York accent of course).

Once again, I witnessed that transformation taking place... from responsibility to spontaneity. As an artist I hope to develop these same qualties in my own job. I think they are the two elements that make our work the most complete.

Publish Your Own Children's "E-Book"

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:17:00 +0000

If you have designed a children's book and can't get the attention of a publisher, consider publishing it yourself and selling it in an eBookstore (Amazon, Apple iBookstore, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, etc).

If you want to see what an ebook looks like on an eReader, download some free children's books and see what others are doing.

If you don't have a Kindle, all you need to do is download a free app so you can read them on almost any other device (tablets, cellphones, desktop computers).

These are the top free children's books today on Amazon. Since they are free, it is a good way to preview how other people have designed and published children's ebooks. To see a list of the top 100 free Children's books on Animals, make sure you look at the list on the RIGHT that says "Top 100 Free." Then download them.

Note: Free book listings change daily.

How to Download a free children's ebook:

1. Go to the page with free listings on the right side..

2. Click on a book you like, and then select where you want it to be delivered. In this sample, I can choose where I want to read it (on a variety of multiple devices and on my computer). In this example below, I'm selecting my Kindle.

4. If you don't have a kindle or any of these listing available, then download a free app to read on multiple devices.

Learn more about self publishing ebooks

1.check out this free guide:

2. Read article about Patti Gay publishing her first children's ebook:

Artist Publishes Children's book for E-Readers (Kindle and Nook)

Adobe Suite Alternatives

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:59:00 +0000

Here's a great article on how to get low cost alternatives to Adobe Software for artists on a budget by Geoffrey Goetz
http://gigaom.com/2013/04/06/how-to-build-your-own-adobe-creative-suite-with-cheaper-mac-app-alternatives/#_=_

Here's an excerpt:

Through apps mostly available via the Mac App Store, you can decide which components of the software set matter most to you and build up your own custom suite over time to meet your creative needs. Here are the best alternatives I’ve found that offer similar functionality to what is available in each of Adobe’s products.

Photoshop to Pixelmator ($14.99, Mac) By now it’s no secret that Pixelmator is one of the favorite apps on OS X for many. When you think of Photoshop, you think more than just applying filters to your images; you want to edit them. With its multilayered support, you can easily touch up and enhance your images with Pixelmator. Many of the same tools that Photoshop users have become accustomed too are here too, like the smudge, sponge and brush tools. Pixelmator also comes with some basic vector tools that may be all that you need from a full-featured vector editing tool like Illustrator. For most of your day-to-day image editing needs, and at the current low price point of $15, it is hard to beat Pixelmator.

article continued...

More Street Art

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 22:23:00 +0000

Here's another piece of street art near my house...or perhaps it is mini library? I'm not quite sure.
This is a perfect way of how an artist can make people smile when they walk by on the street.

Do you have any of your own art on the street?

New Pizza Greeting Card

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:48:00 +0000

Here's a card I designed for Leanin' Tree that was published recently.

My favorite pizza is at Zachary's Pizza in Albany, California. What's yours?

Please Steal This Art #3

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 20:53:00 +0000

Instead of a "bad hair" day, have you ever have a "bad art" day? Here's a little inspiration when things feel frustrating. Feel free to print out, pass on, edit, or put on your website or blog.
: ) -Kate

Have you checked out these professional greeting card groups?

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 22:02:00 +0000

GREETING CARD GROUPS

Linkedin Greeting Card, Stationery & Gift Industry Gurus
Networking links of sales, marketing, product development and sourcing people from these related industries and to help entrepreneurs gain access to industry knowledge and 'how to's."

Greeting Card Professionals
The worldwide default network for publishers, distributors, designers, buyers, developers, (online) retailers and anyone else relevant in the business. Feel free to join and don't forget to invite your colleagues and business relations.

Greeting Card Professionals
The Independent Greeting Card Professionals Association is composed of working professionals--and beginning professionals--who create and sell greeting cards retail or wholesale, at craft fairs or trade shows, or via the Internet. Members produce work in a variety of greeting card genres.

Power of Storytelling in Business

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:41:00 +0000

I enjoyed this audiobook I checked out from my local library: "The Power of StoryTelling." It was interesting to hear why "story telling" is so important in business -- especially if you have to explain something boring in an interesting way. I also recommend it to people who have to do presentations.

Some cards I like

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:51:00 +0000

Artist and blog reader Sylvia Shanahan sent me these images of her beautiful pastel note cards. I think her colors and textures are very heartwarming and inviting.

Do Copyright Laws Help us or Hurt us?

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 07:04:00 +0000

Sometimes "copyright infringement" is a hot button topic with artists, but copyright law is changing fast in the digital age -- and not always for the artist's benefit.

If you try to access or share some media content, you can be charged with a criminal felony of violating a copyright.

I am particularly concerned about content that was initially funded by tax payers, but is now being restricted by private companies for a profit. Aaron Swartz was someone who fought these kind of copyright laws, and it led to a tragic ending.

Today, if you download pictures of Disney characters without permission, and then share it with your friends for fun, according to current copyright laws, you might face a felony, fines, and 35 years of prison. One has to ask: Who wrote these laws? And for whose benefit?

It is highly unlikely they were written for independent artists and musicians.

Oddly enough, I have never heard of a case where the federal government stepped in to protect an artist when their work was stolen. These cases normally end up in civil court. No one usually goes to jail.

As artists, we need to examine both sides of copyright law and look deeper into these issues and investigate how these laws effect us, and our access to resources. We may be worried about someone stealing our picture and reproducing it, but I'm equally worried about copyright laws being enforced in such an irrational way, that it shuts down an entire generation of creativity in a society.

Why Greeting Cards are So Expensive

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:09:00 +0000

Here's an interesting article a friend sent to me who is a greeting card sales rep. Check it out at http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/why-are-greeting-cards-so-expensive/273086/

Why Are Greeting Cards So Expensive?

By Derek Thompson

Why should a piece of paper with a slogan cost $5? The answer starts with classical economics, takes a world tour to China, and ends with you.

PAPER, PEOPLE, AND V-DAY MONOPOLIES

To understand a greeting card's price, start with its most important costs: Paper and people. High-grade paper is necessary to distinguish greeting cards from something you could print from a home computer, and it's getting more expensive. So are people. In China, where greeting cards with "special treatments" (e.g. sound chips) are often produced, wages are rising quickly. In the United States, where Hallmark makes most of its cards, workers are already expensive, creating tension in an industry facing a slow decline in the face of a cultural shift toward paperless greetings. In October last year, Hallmark closed a Kansas City plant and let go of 300 workers. The company declined to comment for this story.

article continued...

How Does Your Pet Disrupt Your Business?

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:49:00 +0000

It's time to do taxes, and I decided to take over the kitchen table and sort all my receipts and documents, thinking this would be a responsible way to keep it all in order.

Well, I woke up to find my cat "Spot" bathing in my taxes, with papers and folders spilled onto the floor. "Oh what joy" he says.

A few other ways a pet can participate in your business:

Do you have a "Pet Disrupts Business" story?

Leave it below in the comments!

Independent App Maker Seeking Artists

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 22:22:00 +0000

Micah Russo wrote to me and is an independent developer who is planning to launch his first web app called "Toon Talks" and is looking for artists to participate in his project. Here are the details from him:

"I am seeking a few artists who would like to have their work featured on Toon Talks in exchange for a byline and a link back to their website or portfolio.

Users of Toon Talks:
1. Browse art from various artists,
2. Select an image, and
3. Craft a personal message to post on Facebook or share with friends via email.

-The long-term vision for the project is to support independent artists through revenue sharing and mictro-transactions.

-Images should be submitted in a set of 4 so that I can dedicate a whole page to each artist.

-Art images may be modified and shared by users of the site.

Try out the Facebook App at http://apps.facebook.com/toontalks

Artists should visit www.toontalks.com to look at the 'Goopymart Talks' page as an example.

He can be contacted via the form at http://www.toontalks.com/contact.php for more details.

You can also visit his kickstarter page at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1010833921/toon-talks-express-yourself-with-toons

Letter Writer's Alliance

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:28:00 +0000

I really like the blog Letter Writer's Alliance. Every time I read it, I want to make mail art.

Here are some images from their blog:

The Demise of Teaching Handwriting?

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 01:44:00 +0000

Here's an interesting radio segment http://ttbook.org/book/precious-ink on how schools have stopped teaching handwriting. *Please note it starts about at the 20-minute point. Click "Listen" at the top of the page.

Show Description: Precious Ink

Everybody used to learn handwriting in school. And whether or not our handwriting was beautiful, we knew cursive and studied penmanship. Today, clasroom instruction hours are shrinking and who needs penmanship when we have keyboards and autocorrect? This hour, are we witnessing the twilight of handwriting?

The Dragon Project

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 00:21:00 +0000

A friend of mine, Marie Jensen submitted her art to "The Dragon Project" and I thought other artists might want to know about this. It is a project to help children in Japan who were affected by the earthquake, the tsunami and the radioactive pollution in Fukushima, Toko Shiiki and Nino Trentinella.. The Dragon Project is an international, collaborative endeavor to showcase all the artwork created by the participants in fundraiser exhibitions around the world.

The project joins all the artwork submissions together to make a long dragon which are exhibited at a Fundraiser art exhibition in Paris and other cities around the world. Also, they make and sell books with all the submitted artwork.

ALL money raised through the fundraisers and the sale of books will be sent to the Fukushima Children’s Fund and Living Dreams and used to help buy food radiation detectors, provide material support such as clothing and footware, create monitoring stations and construct a rest home for the child victims.

The Show

The Book

Marie's Art Submission (Also in the Book)

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:49:00 +0000

Have you filed your copyrights for all the art you've created this year? For only $35 you can file your images digitally online at http://www.copyright.gov/eco/

Kate's tips:

Have the Tutorial open on your screen while you go through the application process, otherwise it's easy to get sidetracked and go down the wrong road, especially when a lot of their examples are oriented towards musicians & video producers.

There is a hour time limit for downloading, so it's best to have your art ready before you get on the site. Make copies of your art files, reduce their file sizes and put them all in one folder on the desktop. That way, they are ready to download and easy to find. I reduced each image down to 100-500K range.

Have any tips of your own? Leave them in the comments below or write to me directly and I'll add them on this post.

Before using the service, read

eCO Acceptable File Types,

eCO Tips,

eCO FAQs, or eCO Tutorial (PowerPoint) eCO Tutorial (PDF).

For recently added features, see eCO Updates

Articles on Copyrights

Fear of Getting Your Art Stolen? Look at the Numbers

How to Register You Copyrights Digitally

Artist Protects Copyright Through Twitter

The 10 Key Points That Must Be In Every Licensing Agreement

Protecting Your Designs with Watermark Tools

Photoshop Tip: How to create a customized signature brush

Protecting Your Art: Interview with Alyson B. Stanfield

How to protect your assets in a licensing agreement

Free Booklets from the Copyright Office

PDF Copyright Basics PDF Registering a Copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office
PDF Make Sure Your Application Will Be Acceptable
PDF Cartoons and Comic Strips
PDF Have a Question About Copyright Registration?
PDF Make Sure Your Application Will Be Acceptable
PDF Publications on Copyright
PDF Copyright Notice

Legal Books for Artists:

Legal Guide for the Visual Artist, Fifth Edition

Copyright Law for Artists, Photographers and Designers (Essential Guides)

The Copyright Handbook: What Every Writer Needs to Know

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How Customize Keyboard Shortcuts in Photoshop

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:26:00 +0000

Check out this great article that explains how to make personalized keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop. It's a great step-by-step explanation with graphics.

Go to: http://designmodo.com/customize-keyboard-shortcuts-photoshop/ on the designmodo website.

(sample visual)

What 5 things do you want to accomplish this year?

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Harper) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 00:47:00 +0000

I can't make or keep New Year's resolutions very often, but what I can do the "Rule of 5" I learned once in a vegetarian cooking class.

The teacher told us: "Most people eat the same 5 meals over and over again-- so if you want to cook and eat healthy foods -- just find 5 meals you really like, and don't worry about trying to create new recipes or changing your eating habits dramatically."

I found that very easy to do, perhaps because I don't enjoy cooking that much. Keeping things simple works. I think it's better to have 5 small goal that one big elusive one.

I've always remembered that "rule of 5" for setting realistic goals in my work life and personal life. But I've also found it helpful to look at the past accomplishments and acknowledge them.

It's so easy for years to fly by and you might wonder if you are heading in the right direction. One way to answer that question is to look at what has already happened last year. Are there 5 things you are glad you did or learned? Did you move closer to or away from your life purpose? Or perhaps you haven't even sat down to ask the question.