Was just checking out amorphic demonstrations. I am a big fan of Julian Beever who is dubbed “pavement picasso”. Great stuff!

Here are some other street artist.

http://www.european-street-painting.com/
http://streetpainting.tv/
http://www.truveo.com/The-Pavement-Picasso-Julian-Beever/id/275929490

And finally an awesome short pdf on Julian Beevers anamorphism is here.

Here again is a story that came across my google reader. Thanks to Ann Sieg for sending me this. The story is a heartwarmer amnd most importantly it is true. It has been investigated and verified by TruthorFiction.com.

It’s about Shaya, a learning disabled boy
in Brooklyn.

On weekends, Shaya and his dad like to go
for walks. As they do they like to stop and
watch the neighborhood boys play baseball.

One Sunday afternoon as they approached the
ball field, Shaya looked up at his father
and asked, “Dad do you think they would
let me play?”

——————————————-
DAD HAD A TOUGH
DECISION TO MAKE
——————————————-

He knows his son is learning disabled, very
uncoordinated, and has never played baseball
before.

But Dad also knows the neighborhood boys have
always treated Shaya with kindness.

And he feels that if he, his father, doesn’t
speak up for Shaya, who will?

So he walked over to one of the boys and
asked, “What do you think of letting Shaya
in the game?”

The boy didn’t know what to say and looked
around to his teammates for guidance. Not
getting any he took matters into his own
hands.

He said, “Well, we’re about to start the
eighth inning, and we’re losing by six runs.

I don’t think we’re going to win this game
so what’s the difference?

Get him a glove and he can play behind second
base, in short center field,” which Shaya did
with a big smile on his face.

In the bottom of the eighth inning Shaya’s
team rallied and scored three runs. But they
were still losing by three.

In the bottom of the ninth, they rallied
again. They had three runners on base,
two out and…

——————————————–
IT WAS SHAYA’S
TURN TO BAT!
——————————————–

His Dad wondered, “Will they even let him
bat?” But without hesitation one of the boys
yelled, “Shaya, you’re up” and he was handed
a bat.

But as he stood at home plate it was obvious
to everyone that Shaya didn’t even know how
to hold the bat, let alone hit with it.

So the pitcher for the other team moved in
a couple of feet and lobbed the ball very
softly so Shaya could at least make contact.

Shaya swung and missed by a wide margin.

Before the second pitch, one of Shaya’s
teammates called out, “Hold on, let me
help him, let me show him how to bat.”

This boy came and stood behind Shaya, and
put his arms around him so the two boys were
now holding the bat together.

The pitcher moved in a few more steps and
lobbed the ball as softly as he could.

The two boys swung the bat together and
managed to tap a soft grounder right back
to the pitcher.

Shaya’s teammates yelled…

——————————————–
“RUN SHAYA! RUN TO FIRST!”
——————————————–

And he took off for first base.

But the pitcher instantly pounced on the
ball and could have easily thrown him out
at first, ending the game.

Instead, the pitcher took the ball and, with
obvious intention, threw it on a high arc
way over the first baseman’s head, all
the way into the outfield.

Shaya was safe at first. The first baseman
for the other team turned him toward second
and said, “Run, Shaya, run to second!”

By then, the right fielder had chased down
the ball and he, too, could have easily
thrown Shaya out at second base.

But he understood what the pitcher had done.

So he threw the ball not just over second base,
but way over the third baseman’s head, so far
that nobody was going to retrieve it.

As Shaya chugged into second base the kid
playing shortstop ran towards him, turned
him towards third base and shouted, “Run,
Shaya, run to third!”

Of course, by now the three runners who had
been on base had scored.

The game was tied, Shaya represented the
winning run, and his teammates were
screaming with excitement.

As Shaya rounded third base, every boy from
his team and several from the team on the
field were all running behind him, cheering
him home.

And as he put his foot on home plate, both
teams gathered around him, lifted him on
their shoulders and cheered him as the
hero of the game.

——————————————–
HE HAD JUST HIT A GRAND SLAM
HOME RUN AND WON THE GAME!
——————————————–

These boys not only gave Shaya the thrill of
his life, but also something more precious
than that — their acceptance!

All 18 of them who let him play that day have
cracked the code and figured out the true
meaning of happiness.

Very Cool and unique art using data. I have not seen much of this and had not previously considered it as art. Viewed in the manor presented I thought it was awesome. Click here it for your perusal.

Here is an awesome video that Allison sent to me. She is a music geek so was entralled by the harmony. Me, I thought the puppets were a riot. One note though I dont necessarily agree with the “negative” tone regarding economy and so forth. We will make our own way and I choose not to participate in the recession. Business is booming here!

Tim

I am not sure who the originator of this is so unfortunately I cannot give proper attribution. It arrived in my mailbox. I love the short story and it is presented in its entirety.

The Son

This is great. It will make your day!
The ending will surprise you.

Take my Son

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.

He said, “Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.” The young man held out this package. “I know this isn’t much. I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.”
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. “Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift.”
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. “We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?”

There was silence.
Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, “We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.”
but the auctioneer persisted. “Will somebody bid for this painting. Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?”
Another voice angrily. “We didn’t come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!”
But still the auctioneer continued. “The son! The son! Who’ll take the son?”
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. “I’ll give $10 for the painting.” Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
“We have $10, who will bid $20?”
“Give it to him for $10. Let’s see the masters.”
“$10 is the bid, won’t someone bid $20?”
The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of the son.
They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!”
A man sitting on the second row shouted, “Now let’s get on with the collection!”
The auctioneer laid down his gavel. “I’m sorry, the auction is over.”

“What about the paintings?”

I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.
The man who took the son gets everything!”

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is:
“The son, the son, who’ll take the son?”
Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE…THAT’S LOVE

God Bless

Art marketing demands sacrifice. Try sleeping with the enemy. What!!? Here is a secret from an abundance perspective that has been a huge benefit in many different business niches. The world of art is no different. Part of marketing art is awareness, internal and external. When we see a threat or view a “competitor” as a threat we clam up, shut up, bare our teeth and generally attack or run. Right? Why is that ? I am not big on Darwin’s gig so I don’t want to open that can of wrigglers but… in most cases I think it is a knee jerk reaction. What else would we do. We survive with art marketing. That is what we always have done. We go into “protection mode” and become single-minded in avoidance or defeat of our perceived enemy. I have seen this first hand and in fact have been the brunt of some seriously low, below-the-belt tactics from folks who view me as a competitor. Sad. I am a big boy so I know there really is competition out there and marketing our art is tough. If you have read me long enough you will know that I am a hardcore, old-school capitalist. A free enterprise guy to the core. But here is a thought. Lets do the ol’ compare and contrast thingy. What happens when we manage to run across anyone or anything that we perceive can help build our business, improve profitability, expand our market? We begin to salivate like one of Pavlov’s dogs and instinctively begin to think of ways to leverage that to our advantage. Yep. I know that is true. So do you. Lets change our way of thinking about this just for a moment. Humor me here. In most cases we become protective because of FEAR. Really. What I mean is we view a competitor as someone who can potentially steal from us. Take away, make less that which we believe is ours. Market share is really what I am talking about. If we were not fearful of a “competitor” taking some of our business, we may have a different outlook. I submit to you that the fear in this case is coming from a bad attitude. Stinkin thinking. It stems from a core issue, a believe in scarcity instead of abundance. The belief is that there are 1000 customers and I have 800 of them. If you take one now I am down to 799 and so on. The proverbial pie is only so big and you need the largest piece possible so 3 year old Johnny can have the newest zipideedooda in every color so he can be entertained when not playing his Nintendo Wii on his 42” plasma. (another rant for another time) The fangs come out, hackles raise and kitty cat becomes a lioness.

Why don’t we try a different method to market our artwork? Wouldn’t it be the coolest thing ever if you could milk your competitors, figure out how to make money from them…how about with them? Awww…. run Forest run. I am only saying, stop trying to divide the same freakin pie. Stir the pot, (I love that …it’s what I live for) combine, collude, and compliment. Then make a new pie. Joint venture or become an affiliate. Heresy, I know. Just check it out for a minute though. What would happen if you transformed the pickled grey matter into fostering an ethos of abundance instead of perpetuating the lie of scarcity? Don’t ya think there may be a tad of wisdom in utilizing our competition, leveraging that relationship into a positive instead of the same ole thing. I know it hurts. But consider this, if you can figure out how to compliment what they do, how much nicer and less stressful and more profitable would things be? And further …keep your eye on the prize. What are you in business for anyway? To earn capital to fund the dream, I would guess. I hope you have the why figured out already, if not go to “starting with the end in mind”, and come back here later. If you are just in business to compete I would suggest another arena, maybe WWF or UFC, there are a ton of places to get your butt kicked. In business you can still compete and I submit we always will, it’s a good thing. If however we can begin to work in a synergistic nature with a perceived competitor a few things will happen.

First you will definitely become a contrarian. That is a good place to be because we all know that what most people do, i.e. the masses, doesn’t work. Doing what everyone else does is a sure ticket to the mindsuckin-dreamstealin-state of mind and way of being… average. Cream of the crap. Mediocre. So step out, receive the tomato or egg in the face and become a contrarian. I promise it will positively affect your bottom line.

Next, you will find a breath of fresh air in your business life, your art will reflect it, your home life will be transformed and you might even smile…and on occasion accidentally forget to stifle a earth shattering belly laugh. Be sure to have your cell phone with you always because your family could in fact mistake this new (real) you for a dissociative identity disorder and ship you off.

Another serendipitous change from all of this blather is you could re-create your business, find new direction, or even find the air speed indicator edging closer and closer to redline. Sweet!

So instead of listening to chicken little and tuckin’ your horns in I suggest opening yourself up to sleeping with the enemy and finding out what’s under the sheets that may be mutually beneficial.

Until next time…live, love, laugh.

tim

How can we bring some of the passion and energy to the marketing of our art that we bring to creating our art. Both skill sets are creative. Although art marketing may be considered by some to be mundane, it does require some right brain thinking to be efective. This article hit my desktop courtesy of google reader (which we will be covering very soon). It was a hit from one of the over thirty marketing newsletters and blogs that I follow while I am growing as an Art Marketer. Followng is the article, the attribution stementis at the end.
————————————
Is There One Skill That Earns You
More Than Others?
Fellow Business-Builder,
Is there truly a single secret to small business success?
Or is the idea that there is one single secret a joke?
Having worked with some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, I think I found it.
There are many secrets to growing a business and remaining profitable and sane throughout the process.
Why are they secrets?
Because if they were well known, more entrepreneurs would be more successful … earning more and working less.
Here is the most valuable skill you can master …
… Massive implementation mode
The ability to make many things happen simultaneously sounds good in theory … but is it feasible? And if it is, what can the average business owner do?
SIMULTANEOUS vs. SEQUENTIAL EXECUTION
Many people fall for the systematic planning idea that is taught in many circles. While it is very important to use templates and formulas to make this happen as they should, it can also severely limit the results you get.
Unless …
You can find ways to make things happen in a sequence, but systematically making multiple projects and initiatives happen all at once.
A rapidly growing business requires an owner who can hold it all together, while riding the momentum they have already built.
This is where many people fall down – they get a winning marketing campaign put together – and they ride the wave, loving every single deposit in their bank account. But they typically forget to continue to grow it – while it is already growing like gangbusters in other areas.
When the momentum slows or dies (which it always will, unless you have other things going simultaneously) … they are lost and completely confused as to where their money and success went.
Here are some of the most important tools I have found for building massive implementation into my business:
• Constant motivation. This best comes from a combination of external and internal sources. First, you MUST have a big vision on what you will do – and how it will feel when it’s done. If you don’t know where you are going – you will never get there! External motivation comes from mastermind groups, coaches and mentors. I personally belong to 3 mastermind groups – each one provides me different areas of support, ideas, and expertise. You can swap ideas, problems and discussions. If you do this right, this will push and stretch you to highly uncomfortable levels in very short periods of time.
• You are better to do 10 ideas than 1 [I do not mean 10 different business ideas here – I mean 10 different marketing efforts]. Do not put all your eggs in one basket. It will be much harder for the average small business owner to get 1 idea that makes you $100,000 than to get 10 ideas that make you $10,000 each … right?
• You MUST do the things you read here in The Total Package newsletters! It is not about amassing this great storehouse of knowledge – it IS about implementing what you learn on a massive scale.
• Get other people working for you – for free. Who in the heck wants to work for free? As I showed people at the Wild West Wealth Summit, LOTS OF PEOPLE WILL WORK FOR FREE … if you position it properly so there is an upside. Think about it: Joint ventures (free until they sell something), commissioned sales reps, affiliates, volunteers, interns, barter, etc. The list is long, and gives ample proof that there are those who will work for free up front. Having multiple parties helping you grow your business, without upfront capital, can provide you with immense leverage and momentum.
• Get one key assistant to help you manage everything you have on the go. This may take time to find – but they are out there. The best thing you can do is figure out the hourly income you SHOULD be making. Then factor in what you can hire an assistant for … the difference is the profit margin you make from having them do the little things for you, while you focus on your most effective and profitable tasks.
• Keep track of what works so that you can do them again, and again, and again. Use the numbers to push you. Constantly be looking for new and more creative marketing ideas. Track and measure everything – how it worked, how many people, how much they spent, what they said, who they referred.
• List out 10 things you would love to get done in the next month. These are 10 MAJOR projects. How can you ‘re-purpose’ the time, effort, and content you put into each project? If you lay it all out on paper, there will be areas that duplicate efforts – THOSE are key areas for massive implementation. Do the projects that have a common tie-in all at once. Stick to a timer and set aside at least one hour of uninterrupted time (see the point below for more information on this). Work on just one project per hour.
• Shut yourself off from distractions! Last week I wrote about my one and a half day hideout in a remote location. Are you interested in what I got done?
Rather than checking e-mail 27 times and answering the phone 14 times … I did:
• 2 newsletters from start to finish …
• 3 blog posts – written and posted when I got back to “The Internet Zone” …
• 3 speeches written, polished and rehearsed …
• New product written for Wild West Wealth Summit …
• New coaching and mentoring program designed, written and released …
• Quiet time to relax and visualize my success at the summit …
• A lot of little things – more micro-managing rather than macro …
• Steal other ideas from those who ARE doing what you want to do …
You know what’s really interesting? While I did all of this – I had a team of people making sure the day to day stuff was still happening. AND I AM HOOKED! I am not needed doing the things I was doing – I can be much more productive (and profitable) when I do what I am good at, and what I enjoy doing).
This is not going to happen overnight – you will not master this tomorrow. It can take months to find the right system that works for you … but when you find it, you will get more done in an average day than you used to in a month.
Learn how to become
a massive implementation expert.
Get those projects done and out there – without worrying about them being perfect every time (you think shoddy products, full of bugs, are a concern of Microsoft? You know as well as I do – they are the model of massive implementation without concern for trying to be perfect each time.)
THAT is one of the greatest secrets of those who reach the top of their game and industry.
This is a rare skill
– but one that anyone can master with practice.
Aim for a new sales party once a month – all leads from existing clients who wants to learn more about a continuity program are invited to a party, teleseminar, etc. to learn more about the program.
To your success,

Attribution Statement: This article was first published in The Total Package. To sign-up to receive your own FREE subscription to The Total Package and claim four FREE money making e-books go to www.makepeacetotalpackage.com.