That is SA Artists A2Z.com starting up the engine again.

After more than a year of slumber this site will again be actively updated. Unfortunately the contact form does not work at the moment and until that technical detail has been sorted out please leave a comment to this post and I will contact you.

Also, please let me know what information would be useful on this site and then let me see how can make it happen for you. Other than that, nice to be back and see you around.

Update: The contact form has been reactivated and is now live. Use the contact form or leave a comment below, either way would work.

I sat down in the garden. After Caytee left for work I went and bought myself some slap chips and a coke and I was nursing my depression quite delightfully when I noticed the hadeda.

I don’t know why but I explained everything to him about the workshop and what Caytee said. And then he turned his head sideways as if he didn’t believe me.

“Now, don’t get me wrong. Of what I told you you might get the idea that I am a delusional artist who cannot keep his feet on the ground long enough to realise there ain’t much going for him.”

I took a sip of coke.

“You might think this but my feet are very firmly on the ground. I know because I have checked. It was quite an experiment, trying to make sure that my feet were completely and utterly on the ground.”

Just a side note to say that my experiment did last three months but I did manage to produce a number of quite delicate watercolour sketches in this time. These were of course reworked as I will tell you right now.

I eyed that hadeda straight.

“And as to my head in the clouds, walk outside on a misty morning and where the bloody hell is your head, hey? I thought so.”

But come to think of it now. Hadedas can flight up into the air. It would therefore be much easier for them to get their heads into the clouds much more frequently. Just saying.

“Okay, established that. My feet is on the ground and my head is in the clouds like everybody else’s.”
I took a deep breath so that I can get a dramatic pause. I felt I had to convince that stupid bird.
“Here’s the deal. I can see reality.”

Most people laugh right here. Not the normal way people laugh but he way they laugh at exceptional ideas. What they do is this, they say: “this is interesting.” And then they nod their head slowly and back out the door, hoping that you would not contaminate them with some real original thoughts. And that’s what I told the bird.

“No, seriously. It is not me who is deluded. It is everybody else who buys in to fascist and capitalist system that says that you have to conduct your endeavors towards either social or economic improvement.”

I sat back and stared up at the light blue sky. It was late spring. Not cold yet. A good time of the year. The greens just starting to fade. I ate some more chips. Then I noticed the hadeda was still there.
Waiting for me to continue?

“Not me. My artwork is directed towards only one thing. The unfettered creative expression of my inner soul — What else is there?”

The chips was finished and I still felt a bit empty.

“At least I am not a fat old lady painting arum lilies in blue pots and undulating landscapes echoing the bums of green pigs. What swill!”

I bunched up the chips paper and chucked it at the bin. I missed.

Now, the thing is, to express my unfettered creative self is not so easy. It takes quite an amount of effort. And believe me, there has been a number of false starts.

I’m not sure if I said that alive. I might have, but then I am now not even sure I said anything aloud. The next piece I did because I knew the hadeda was not convinced yet and I so wanted to convince somebody.

“Fortunately I am also a devout and dedicated self-appropriation re-cyclist. I have managed for many years to rework my work into new work, developing deeper and more impactful expressions of my…?”
Of course the bird didn’t have an answer.

“…Unfettered creative self, right. This is where Caytee has it wrong. It is not that I cannot see the economic value of my artwork. Greatness have always demanded a price. It is valuable beyond even what I can reckon and certainly, some people do calculate that value in terms of financial investment.”

I took out my wallet to see if I might have enough money to get some more chips. I didn’t.

“I could be doing brilliantly I know, but there is a problem. If I do sell my work of then I am removing vital pieces of myself from the picture. To talk of pieces is in itself quite wrong.”

I looked at the hadeda. He was picking at the ground again. Eating I don’t know what. Bugs? Wouldn’t it be great if we did not have to buy food ourselves? If we could graze like animals. I almost told him that, good thing I didn’t.

“I do not have separate pieces. I have one complete body of work, all connected with cross references and sub text and intra-delightful accidents of conjunctions and…and…I can’t get that word right now but this is the point. It works together and I cannot sell of pieces of it. It would be like cutting of my toes and selling them one by one.”

That seemed to get his attention.

“But I only have ten toes and what when I’m done. I won’t be able to walk and…” the right image suddenly dawned on me, “Thats it! If I sell my work I am turning myself into a creative cripple.”
I felt better. Even if all I’ve done is tell my troubles to a stupid bird.

“Covered. Done. There is no way I can start selling of my work.”

The elation lasted for only a moment. I still had to do something. Something that will both fool Caytee and buy me some time. Now I was thinking out loud.

“If I go to this stupid workshop thing then she’ll leave me alone… I know, I can come back and tell her it would take a couple of months to implement all the ideas and then she would leave me alone and I can get on again… Easy, solved – no problem.”

The hadeda stopped pecking at the ground and walked closer to me. I had a clear sense that he did not like what I’ve been saying.

He stopped right in front of me.

“What do you want from me you stupid bird?”

The hadeda opened his wings and shook himself. And then he spoke to me.

“First of all sonny, I’m not a he, I’m a she.”

You could have smeared me on toast.

“And secondly, you are thinking like a lame duck. Pull your head out of your cloaca (that means bird anus) and get a grip.”

I did not have much to say after that but she talked for a good while more.

Disclaimer: Above post is fiction and published here for entertainment purposes only.

From the 13th of July this year until the 6th of August, Salon91, Cape Town, will be transformed into a magical ‘Winter Wonderland’.

The Salon walls will be filled with a large selection of artworks, some by this country’s finest young illustrators, as well as a handful of pieces by budding stars on the international front.

The artists took inspiration from miscellaneous sources; some looked to the snow, ice, rain, pools, storms, fur, dreams, hot chocolate, vintage relics, knitted jerseys, snow angels, Xmas, twinkling lights, reflections, snow animals, adventures, warm friendships, diamonds, silver, frosted cakes, gloves, hot-water bottles, and ear muffs; others imagined white winters filled with delicate, fragile, precious, beautiful and sometimes fearful objects and scenes; while others found the heart of winter in someone’s eyes.

The result is a highly accessible exhibition, featuring mostly prints, and other forms of multiples, as well as selected original works, in an icy hued display of enchanting imagination.

• Opening: Wednesday 13 July 2011 19h30
• Closing: 6 August 2011
• Gallery hours:
  • Tue-Fri: 10am – 6pm;
  • Sat: 10am – 2pm.
  • Sun & Mon: Closed.

Featured artists include: Adam Shear, MotelSeven, Jaco Haasbroek, Katrin Coetzer, Mine Jonker, Sindiso Nyoni, Jade Klara, Jordan Metcalf, Emma Cook, Jade Waller, Daniël Hugo, Andrew Sutherland, Miss Yucki, Marsi & Maya for Animal Kingdom, Kronk,
Bruce Mackay, Lorraine Loots, Clement de Bruin, Simon Berndt, Adam Hill, Cassandra Johnson, Mieke van der Merwe, Lauren Fowler, Linsey Levendall, Candice Ježek aka Ž & Jean de Wet.

“I don’t have time for this.” I rubbed my hand behind my neck. It was warm, getting warmer. My head was going to launch and hit the ceiling any moment.

Caytee shrugged her shoulders and closed the paper deliberately. “If you say so.”

But she didn’t mean it. I could see the small muscle in her jaw twitching.

“You don’t know how busy I am. I have so many projects on the run. Juggling, balls in the air you know.”

She stood up from the table, her chair screeching loudly on the brittle linoleum. “How many of them are going to make any money.”

My head exploded. I felt it detach and go through a stage one, two and three rocket launch. My body lurched out of the kitchen slamming a hand against the door as I passed.

It took me a while to find my head and re-attach it. It was still hot to the touch. It took a lot of slow breathing before I managed to keep it attached. Then I went back to the kitchen and leaned against the wall. Caytee was washing the dishes. Glaring at the back of her head I used my mindforce to make her see reason.

Caytee turned around and looked at me “You can’t blow your top every time I mention money.”

I turned and looked out the window. Damn, she could sometimes deflect the force so well. Where was the time I could make her do anything? The rooftops of the neighbouring flats made an abstract in the morning sunlight. How would I mix that kind of yellow orange? No hope of calmly going to figure that out. Caytee is going to sit in my head all day. I had to get her out.

I turned back to answer. Caytee spoke first.

“This is an opportunity to learn how to make money from what you do. And it is for freakin free. Why would you not want to do it?”

I had to use my words. “You don’t know how tough it is.”

“Oh yes I do. I have to make do with macaroni and processed cheese. Did you notice that last night’s dinner did not melt. It was like cardboard and old mattress. Because I have to make do with the cheapest ingredients I can find. The stuff that flood victims in outer Mongolia sends back even though they are eating goat droppings. And all because you refuse to consider that somebody here needs to start making more money. And it certainly ain’t me.”

I stuffed my hands in my pockets. I was limp. I could feel my creative energy for the whole day seeping out through the soles of my feet. I’ll have to take a power nap just to get myself onto an equilibrium again, never mind getting to a point where I do anything productive today.

I took a breath to tell Caytee that I can’t cope with this now.

She slapped the dishcloth on the table. “And don’t tell me you can’t cope with this now. You would want to go crawl back into bed right now, wouldn’t you? Conserving your energy for what?”

“I…”

She walked towards me, her hands on her hips. “This is how it is. You take yourself and do this workshop. You go and learn something useful that is going to make you some money and then you come back and you do it — you do what you have to do to make money from what you do.”

I stepped back until I stood against the fridge. “I have projects on the go that can’t wait and—”

“Tsch!” Caytee wagged a finger in my face. “No, you don’t. You have one project and one project only. You figure out how to get all that junk out there to make some money or I drag it outside and set it all on fire.”

I gasped and my knees when week. The little vegetable magnets clattered to the floor as I strained against the fridge to stay upright. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the cucumber and the pumpkin rattling of underneath the stove. “You won’t.”

“Oh yes I will. And when I’m done I pack my stuff and I leave.”

The coldness of the fridge seeped right through my back and into my chest. Everything inside me slowed down to a glacial speed. I could not think of anything to say.

Caytee stopped at the kitchen door and turned back. “I love you but…” she sniffed and wiped her nose on her elbow “…I also want a life, a real life. Not this poor me starving in a garret. I am not a prostitute in Paris. You promised me a life when we married. It is time for you to deliver.”

It was a while before I peeled myself of the fridge door. I slowly dragged the newspaper across the kitchen table and gave it a sidelong glance. Caytee had folded it so that the article was on the outside. Maybe if I didn’t look at it straight it won’t become real. I squinted at the page.

‘Free Art to Business Translation Workshop’ said the headline.

I gave a sigh. “Aw hell.”

Then I sat down and read the rest.

Disclaimer: Above post is fiction and published here for entertainment purposes only.

Die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Vereniging vir die Visuele Kunste (SANAVA) vergader in Stellenbosch op 7 Mei 2011

The Annual General Meeting of the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA) will be hosted by the Stellenbosch Arts Association and will take place at the Sasol Art Museum.

Die Stellenbosch Kunsvereniging is vanjaar die gasheer by die Jaarlikse Algemene Jaarvergadering van die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Vereniging vir die Visuele Kunste (SANAVA) wat by die SASOL Kunsmuseum plaasvind.

• Date / Datum: Sat 7 May/Mei 2011
• Time / Tyd: 10:00
• Venue / Plek: Sasol Art Museum / Sasol Kunsmuseum

SANAVA is the oldest, constitutionally established, national non-governmental association for the promotion of the visual arts in South Africa. Over the years, the Society has grown to become a national inclusive body of artists and lovers of the visual arts.

SANAVA is an administrative body, serving autonomous branches and affiliated organizations (art galleries, museums, educational institutions and corporate bodies providing for the promotion of the visual arts) country-wide. SANAVA is registered with the Department of Social Development as a Non-profit Organization as well as with the South African Revenue Service as a Public Benefit Organization. Presently, the Association comprises 26 branches and 19 affiliated organizations, including two academic institutions in Mozambique.

One of the aims is to facilitate access to art competitions and dialogue with contemporaries. The ABSA Atelier Competition and Exhibition for young emerging artists is presented in collaboration with SANAVA. Member branches are also informed of all other national art competitions such as the annual SASOL New Signatures Competition.

One of SANAVA’s major objectives concerning the development and support of artists relates to the administration of three artists’ studios in the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, France. Artist members of branches may apply through SANAVA for residencies of two to three months.

Although the SA Arts Association, as it was formerly known, was a founding member of the International Association of Art (IAA) in 1954, it was for many years a dormant member. In 2005 SANAVA was readmitted as a member of this non-governmental body, closely associated with UNESCO (Afrikaans follows below).

SANAVA is die oudste, konstitusioneel gevestigde, nasionale nie-regerings vereniging vir die bevordering van die visuele kunste in Suid-Afrika. Oor die jare het die Vereniging gegroei tot ‘n nasionale inklusiewe liggaam vir visuele kunstenaars en kunsliefhebbers.

SANAVA is ‘n administratiewe liggaam wat outonome takke en geaffilieerde organisasies (kunsgalerye, kunsmuseums, opvoedkundige instansies en korporatiewe instansies wat die visuele kunste ondersteun) landwyd bedien. SANAVA is by die Departement Maatskaplike Ontwikkeling geregistreer as ‘n Nie-winsgewende Organisasie asook by die Suid-Afrikaanse Inkomste Diens as ‘n Openbare Welsynsorganisasie. Die Vereniging het tans 26 takke en 19 geaffilieerde organisasies, insluitende twee akademiese inrigtings in Mosambiek.

Een van die doelwitte is om toegang tot kunskompetisies en gesprek met eweknieë te fasiliteer. Die ABSA Atelier Kunskompetisie en Uitstalling vir jong opkomende kunstenaars word aangebied in samewerking met SANAVA. Taklede word ook van alle nasionale kunskompetisies soos die jaarlikse SASOL Nuwe Handtekeninge Kompetisie in kennis gestel.

Nog ‘n oogmerk wat gemoeid is met die ontwikkeling en ondersteuning van kunstenaars is die administrasie van verblyf vir kunstenaars in drie ateljees in die Cité Internationale des Arts in Parys, Frankryk. Kunstenaarlede van takke kan deur SANAVA aansoek doen vir ‘n verblyf daar van twee tot drie maande.

Alhoewel die SA Kunsvereniging, soos dit destyds bekend was, in 1954 ‘n stigterslid was van die Internasionale Kunsvereniging (International Association of Art: IAA), was dit vir baie jare ‘n dormante lid. SANAVA is in 2005 weer toegelaat as lid van hierdie nie-regerings wêreldliggaam wat met UNESCO saamwerk.

Staring at the screen, wondering how to begin, how to start my first post on SAartistsa2z.  And then I realize that I can just start by telling you a little about my life and experiences as an artist.

If you’re an artist, you might be able to identify with a lot of what I will say. If you’re an art lover, collector or arts administrator, then you might already be familiar with some of my experiences, and some others will inform you and provide you with more information about the life of an artist in the ‘modern’ world.

A panoramic view of my studio when it was in Woodstock (I now share studio space with Sarah Kruger at White Rabbit Studio, Gardens).

It’s worth mentioning that I’m writing this post after reading Gerhi’s post on what a creative professional needs, and most of my challenges are with time, freedom and money as the core element. One of my biggest personal obstacles is procrastination. And this one comes in many forms. Browsing the internet as ‘research’ rather than working on a new artwork is one of my worst. It’s very much the same than studying for an exam when you’re at school or studying – suddenly everything else seems more interesting or important, like cleaning your room or watering the plants.

It’s not that I have a lack of ideas or inspiration, I’ve got a creative journal full of potential artworks and projects – it’s just GETTING DOWN TO IT and just doing it, that seems to be the problem. I have no idea whether it’s a fear of failure, laziness or just being undisciplined.

But mainly it comes down to very bad time management and misuse of freedom. Which is both also at play when you’re looking at admin tasks and the making-money part of being an artist. You tend to spend ineffective time periods on what you’d classify as admin; give up the freedom that you have to make artwork to do more commercial activities; in order to make money; in order to be able to afford materials.

And THEN you don’t use the materials as effectively and timeously as you could and should, because your time management, discipline and operational system is a bit out of whack. Vicous cycle.

But all is not as bad as I might make it sound. There are days when I wake up with the energy, inspiration and drive to create something new from nothing, to do something that I haven’t done before, to walk up to Table Mountain, take films full of photos and then use them as reference material for a new work. Yes. There are days that I produce more work than I sometimes create in 2 weeks!

An artist’s book or creative journal, with ideas, reference photos and pre-sketches to inspire and guide new artworks

And that’s the problem with a schedule, a system or plan with art production. You can’t predict when you’ll feel like going to a gallery for inspiration or research, or when you just need to update your blog. It’s an organic and ever-changing process and balance of finding the time, resources, and yes, money, to follow your passion, to act on your creative whims, and to finally be happy because you live according to your own rhythm.

Keep your eyes peeled for photos from the HumanEarth exhibition that happened at Wessel Snyman Creative in Cape Town in the past month, to be posted on this website within the next few days!

I define a creative professional as follows: “A person who does work that produces unique products or experiences.”

I know it is a very broad definition but I need it to figure something out.

Applying the definition then to a visual artist such as a painter gets you: “A person who does work (paints) that produces unique products (paintings).”

You could also include the viewer experience but I’m not busy with reader-response theory so the above will do for now. But what is the now I need it for?

The now is that creative professionals struggle for a couple of reasons:

• Time – They are in a time/priority bind because they both make their work and is solely responsible for marketing it
• Freedom – They need of a business system that is both unique and effective to free them up timewise and mentally
• Money – They require support with admin and marketing but cannot afford it

Creative professionals do not want to lose time, money or freedom but because their “system” is deficient they normally lack one of the three ingredients that would make their creative work possible.

As I defined it, a creative professional can be a painter, a designer, a musician, an actor or a consultant. Anybody you can label as an “artist” would fit the bill. And all of them share the same constraints.

Now, what if there was a support system that would give a creative professional any number of the three ingredients without costing any of the three in return – wouldn’t that be great? Is there something like that out there? Or is it worth the effort trying to build it?

The end of last year almost saw the end of SA Artists A2Z. The beginning of this year leads in to a new approach.

SA Artists A2Z will continue to function until February 2012. The current approach will again be evaluated in January 2012 to see if it works or not.

What is the new approach?

This year SA Artists A2Z will focus much more on being a resource for artists. Exhibitions will still be featured and artist information will still be uploaded. But information that would benefit artists will be posted as well. And the content will shift to support artists with resources.

To help with this I am inviting anybody who have valuable information for artists to contact me and talk about ways to get it out.

But the main approach is to get guest bloggers to offer their insights. The first blogger to join SA Artists is Janet Botes.

Janet Botes

Janet Botes, artist, designer, writer and new blogger at SA Artists A2Z

Janet will write about…

Expressing and exploring my love for art and writing, and also taking advantage of my networking skills and friendly, outgoing nature, my contributions to this blog is aimed at offering a look into the art that I admire. Sharing the exhibitions, the artwork and also the resources that I find useful and important as an artist.

If anybody else wants to write a guest post, a series of posts or become a regular blogger they can contact me. With a combined and networked effort we hope that SA Artists A2Z will grow into a helpful and valuable resource for South African artists.

Enjoy the ride.

SA Artists A2Z has been taking me through a reality check the last couple of months. Partly there is the fact that nobody can keep doing a job for no pay, unless you have another source of income or a fortune squirreled away. I don’t, so I cannot continue to work on this site for free.

I have to decide exactly what I am going to do with my visual art background and network. But I am not going to decide this now. I will be working on it in January 2011 – after I had a proper break.

SA Artists A2Z.com expires in February 2011. One option I have is to just let the registration lapse and to move on. I can also keep the domain, park it and redirect traffic to another site. I could sell it. All options are possible.

What I cannot continue to do is to offere free publicity because the amount of work for the return does not warrant the effort. I could give the site another go and make it work – it is still a good idea, but I have other irons in the fire, and I want to direct my energy and efforts there.

If you have any input or inspiration regarding this site please feel free to contact me and let me know. I might only get back to you late in January 2011. I am open to suggestions but whatever happens SA Artists A2Z will not continue in the current format.

Thank you for reading – enjoy what is here while it still is here.

Yours sincerely,

Gerhi Janse van Vuuren