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.

This is an event that will bring your Art to a new level. What is an Artist Rendezvous? Well the Buffalo Bills Artist Rendezvous is in North Platte, NE. This event is put together to bring Western Artists together with Western models. The artist and actors/models work together to organize scenarios for photographing, those images then are used as resource material for the artist. This event is in during the week of NebraskalandDays, which is a celebration of Nebraska’s western heritage. June 20-22, 2009. This is a unique opportunity to meet high-end professional artist working in the western genre. Care is taken to limit the number of artist to 50 to ensure a specific market is not flooded with the same model/location/scenarios. Artist and models are on an invitation only basis.

Artist work directly with the actors/models to create the scenario they have in mind. The event is 250.00 for artist if they sign up by January 31, 2009. After that the entry fee goes to 300.00. That covers the three days of opportunity to work with the actors. The actors are paid by the artist who work with them. So each model will makea different amount of money. A person who has a unique look or regalia may be utilized more than someone else. For Artist bugeting purposes generally artist spend 2000.00-3000.00 in the weekend in tips. A good rule of thumb is $1 a minute forthe actors time. If the model or actor has equine or another animal then it may be 2$ a minute. It really works nicely. It may sound like a bunch of money to some but you are getting access to a model in period western gear, If you work with that model for 15 minutes it will only cost you 15-30 bucks. Oh and also this particular event is held at Buffalo Bill State Park in North Platte. We will ahve access to the barn, cabin and house for images. We also have 240 acres next door with 3/4 of a mile riverfront that we will utilize, and finally we will be able to access the Historical museum grounds where there are over 20 buildings to be used.   As an additional benefit there is also an established art show that artist can jury into to make good use of time and travel expenses.  The Nebraskaland Days Governors Art show is at the Qualty Inn and Suites Sandhills Convention Center.  The art show is a separate event not associated with the rendezvous.  We are working together though to make a better opportunity for artists.  The participation fee for the Governors Art show is only 100.00 and includes a 16′x4′ space to display your work, admission to an Artist’s reception and Buffalo Bill Rodeo on Thursday, June 18 and a buyers reception on Friday June 19.  Their will also be a 25% commission for any sale or commissioned work arranged during the show.  

The artists and models will be invited by a jury process. If you have interest in application please contact Tim ONeill at topimages@msn.com. or 308-520-6512.  You also can view the blog at http://www.buffalobillartistrendezvous.com/

Alright so first I will give you an apology for the funky formatting of this review. Weird. I know. I did this as a book report for one of my classes. I am finishing my masters degree. Weird. I know. At my age, not old by any means but not a typical college student either, I will not use the degree. It is the knowledge I crave. I have this bent to continue and learn marketing, copy-writing and that skill set that will keep me moving forward helping artist market their gifts. I learn more valuable information from being an entrepreneur and doing what I do.  Th college enviornment is a different perspective.  Art marketing is such a tiny little niche. As an artist I understand the need, as an entrepreneur I have a passion for marketing, not because of the logical-connect-the-dots-for-money, but because in and of itself it is an art form composed of the power of the word. In marketing art we utilize the power of psychology, sociology and many other sciences just like taking a brush to canvas or any other “technical” aspect of art uses science. I want to bridge that gap and utilize my right brain talents to combine the ever so slim left brain component in a synergy for producing and marketing art that I could not have had with either piece standing alone. Hence my passion for marketing. I digress, here is the review of Seth Godin’s, “the dip”

Critical Review “the dip” 1

Running head: Critical Review “the dip”

“the dip”

A LITTLE BOOK THAT TEACHES YOU WHEN TO QUIT (AND WHEN TO STICK)

A Critical Book Review by Tim O’Neill

Program Evaluation MGMT 551

Purdue State College

Critical Review “the dip” 2

Seth Godin’s book, “the dip” caught me off guard. I had heard the musings and rumbles,

felt the groundswell and partook in the many viral aspects of the internet launch of his

NY Times Bestseller but…it caught me off guard. His book has everything cool that

reflects the marketing genius of Seth Godin: The title creates curiosity, the title printed

without caps creates its own emotive response, (typically negative), it has a shamefully

simplistic dust cover and pencil drawn illustrations. Again, it uniquely screams, “buy

me”, “read me”. All typical of Seth Godin, what I didn’t expect though is content created

solely on a muse. No reference, or very little anyway.

This author, for those that don’t know him, is a phenomenal success by most people’s

standards. Seth has written a few New York Times bestsellers and is the editor of the Big

Moo, yet writing is not his main profession. He is the founder and CEO of Squidoo and

also one of the most popular bloggers worldwide. He is a serial entrepreneur. The target

audience for this book is not the folks who are content with mediocrity, or skating

through life on a whim. It is written for the motivated, those that want to stand apart and

excel.

The trail to Seth’s thought process is revealed in “the dip”. His basic premise is, be the

best in the world at what you do. I can hear many saying…yeah right. Isn’t there only

one best in the world? As Godin defines it, “Best as in: best for them, right now, based

on what they believe and what they know. And in the world, as in: their world, the world

they have access to.” (chap. 1, pg 10 “the dip”) The temerity of the statement “best in the

world” is unbelievable until you bounce it back on his prospective. Truly, best in the

Critical Review “the dip” 3

world can change according to timing, knowledge, the breadth of the “world” of your

potentialclient and other factors I would not have thought about. I happen to agree. In

fact, with his definition, it makes it believable, possible, even probable given time, effort

and a directed passion in your niche.

So what is the dip? Well, really a type of summative evaluation on a micro scale. It is an evaluation of personal goals, and where you are in terms of reaching them… as you’re striving for them. Andy Wibbels, another blogging expert and internet marketing guru defines the dip like this, “It is the escape velocity to superstardom. It is the ritual hazing of academia. It is passing the bar exam, getting your 2 top abs visible and then wanting to go for the whole six pack, memorizing a complete piano concerto or taking a microbrewery macro.” (Wibbels, Andy. May 29, 2007.) I love that. Seth explains it in a different manor though. It is the point after which starting a new project the newness wears off and the doldrums of commonality and repetition cause an introspective look at why you started the “project” in the first place. That is the dip. It is the “keep your eyes on the prize” mantra that I learned as a kid. Seth drives further though to say that just a few curves can define most situations you face while striving for accomplishment. There is the dip, which I have explained. The cul-de-sac, which as its name implies, means you work on and on and go in circles with out much change in the view. There are other curves explained in “the dip” but these two account for the bulk of the situations in our life’s.
Following the rabbit trail of Seth’s way of thinking we also then bump into quitting. He believes that quitting is not a bad thing and in fact “strategic quitting “(chap. 2, pg 16 “the dip”) is one of the unbidden secrets of success. The evaluative process comes in determining what types of situations cause you to want to quit, and when it is beneficial
Critical Review “the dip” 4

to quit as opposed to trudging onward. Likewise if you know what potential hazards the dip will throw at you, part of the evaluation process will be determining whether to start down a specific path to begin with. As an entrepreneur I find comfort that someone has recognized the power of quitting and put a different spin on a typically vilified taboo. While Godin is not encouraging serial quitting he is in fact suggesting an introspective evaluation of present circumstance to help determine if you are in a cul-de-sac.
In conclusion Seth’s book really did catch me off guard. I expected a little book chocked full of numbers, graphs and systematic scientific evaluation. What I found was an insightful peak at the way a multimillionaire in my field thinks, an insiders view of the various reasoning behind seemingly unsound decisions primarily based on anecdotal euphemism. It was a great read, motivating, thought provoking and totally unexpected. What does this have to do with program evaluation…everything.
For more information about the dip you can get another outside perspective from Guy Kawasaki at
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/04/the_big_dip_ten.html, or hit one of Seth’s blogs at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/the_dip/, or http://www.squidoo.com/theDipBook

Reference:

Godin, S. (2007).the dip.
New York: Penguin Group.

(Wibbels, Andy. May 29, 2007. “The Dip” by Seth Godin (book review). Retrieved November 14, 2008 from http://andywibbels.com/2007/05/the-dip-by-seth-godin-book-review/

Hey all!  As some of you know that have been following me on twitter or facebook I left the world of banking.  I was a investment advisor with a regional bank and last Friday was my last day!!!  i left my position so I could dedicate more time to building my online businesses.  My new gig is with AAA where I am a field manager.  I will be working alot less and have more flexiblity with time, not to mention less responsibility.  So anyway with Monday being my first day I headed to Omaha to see the corporates.  What a nice little get-a-way.  As it turns out I was fortunate enough to get in touch with my friend John Derry.  Many of you know John.  He is an excellent artist and photographer as well as the co-creator of Corel Painter.  We had the opportunity to set down and eat dinner.  What a blast!  It was great to chat with John and catch up with what was happening in his world.  We talked about painter, painting, the history of painter, marketing, internet marketing, how to get some fine art prints out in the world, fulfillment, video production of “how-to” materials, putting together workshops and on and on.  Poor guy.  It was nice though, a 99 cent margarita and good conversation with a friend.  What could be better?

I can let you in on a small secret.  John has moved back to Nebraska, which is not a secret, and will be putting together some workshops.  Some really fun stuff you cant miss.  The secret though is John will be coming out with a very special fine art print.  It will be offered and explained by John soon.  What I can tell you is that this special offering will be put together for a specific purpose.   It will be a way to raise some funds to offset the rising cost of Pam’s (Johns wife) Leukemia.  You will want to be a part of this.  We have the opportunity to own a really nice pice of John Derry fine art and at the same time be able to offer support for an awesome family and a pioneer in our industry.  You can check out Johns site here.  Also keep checking this blog as I will be doing a podcast with John as well.  I am not sure when we will publish it but it will be recorded in the next several days.  So stay tuned!