Burning with Purpose https://blog.bzfurfur.com/ The BZ FurFur Blog Mon, 13 Jan 2025 05:02:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/avatar-60x60.png Burning with Purpose https://blog.bzfurfur.com/ 32 32 Creative Cloud Week 2 – Premier Pro https://blog.bzfurfur.com/2025/01/13/creative-cloud-week-2-premier-pro/ Mon, 13 Jan 2025 04:47:39 +0000 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/?p=1483 This post is part of a series on our experience learning some of the Adobe Creative Cloud Products. If you are interested in reading from the beginning please start with Mastering Adobe Creative Cloud. OK, so I am going to admit, before last week I had never used Premier Pro. Most of my video editing …

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This post is part of a series on our experience learning some of the Adobe Creative Cloud Products. If you are interested in reading from the beginning please start with Mastering Adobe Creative Cloud.

OK, so I am going to admit, before last week I had never used Premier Pro. Most of my video editing experience is using iMovie and various web-based video editors. So, here are a few things to keep in mind:

  1. My observations may appear very basic to anyone who has used Premier Pro
  2. The steps I take to do things are undoubtedly suboptimal

With that out of the way let’s see if we can get Premier Pro to help us with one of our biggest pain points: Creating videos for social media.

The Interface

Oh God! When I first loaded up Premier Pro I didn’t know what I was in for. The process to create a new project and import a video is pretty seamless. When I opened it up to start editing, however, my eyes started to bleed. This must be how people who have never used Photoshop feel the first time they open it up. There are so many widgets on the screen I didn’t know where to start. Fortunately, I looked for things that I was familiar with.

Under the video, you have some controls for playing, pausing, etc so I could watch the video. Under the video, also, I could see there was a timeline that had two layers. One for video and one for audio. There were additional empty layers for each as well so I could presume that there was some option to add additional audio, video, and possibly other layers. Clicking on either of these layers I could access a properties pane to the right which allowed me to adjust volume, color saturation, and other properties of the video. So far so good.

Editing

This is where I got stuck and I needed to seek out help online. I wanted to cut certain parts of the video out and splice them together. It wasn’t immediately obvious how I could do this. Turns out the razor blade in the toolbar is for cutting your video. Pausing the video at the point I wanted to cut and clicking the razor blade tool on the timeline (it’ll snap to where the video is paused) splits the video. Then I could do the same for the point where I want the segment to end. I could then select the segment and delete it by hitting the delete key. Simple enough.

Once you cut the video it is going to leave gaps. You can select a segment and move them left or right to line them up again so that they transition from one to the other. The transitions are abrupt, though. So if you are just cutting out some uhs and ums this might be fine, but if you want a seamless transition from two different locales you might want to add some effects.

Effects

Once again, stumped, I had to search for how to add transition effects to my video. In the upper right-hand of the interface, we have a window with library, templates, and effects. There are a bunch of different effects available here but the one I was most interested in was video transitions. I played around with a few of them by dragging and dropping them from this window to the timeline where I wanted the transition to take place. Viola. Personally, I liked the Additive Dissolve.

I played around with a few other effects. I do like that you can do picture-in-picture if you want to do a tutorial where you are showing yourself performing the technique while showing yourself to talk about it. There is a lot to experiment with here.

Adding Text

There is a Text Layer you can add to your timeline as well. If you want to caption your videos, add commentary, or just label transitions you can add text using this tool. When it is added to your layers you can set the duration it will show on your video. Honestly, since we are doing a lot of these videos for social media, the tools provided by most of the social media tools do a pretty good job of letting you add text to your videos so I prefer to just use those. As I get more comfortable with the tools, however, my options may change.

Exporting your video

That’s it. once your video is done you can export it and it’ll be saved in a format that can be uploaded to any of the social media platforms. Fair warning: This processing portion is a system hog. I have a fairly old laptop but it handles most tasks pretty well. My computer was all but unusable for the 5-10 minutes it took to export a video. Unless you have a super powerful machine plan something to so while the video processes.

That’s pretty much it for now for Adobe Premier Pro. I may do a follow up post at some point as I learn more about it but I think it has a place in our toolkit for editing videos and creating content for our socials. If you have tips or tricks for Premier Pro let us know @bz_furfur and, as always, stay unique.

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Whats Ahead in 2025 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/2025/01/07/whats-ahead-in-2025/ Tue, 07 Jan 2025 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/?p=1480 We here at BZ FurFur hope you all had a happy new year. 2025 is shaping up to be exciting for us at BZ FurFur with lots of new topics for the blog. If you have been following along with our Podcast, www.pyrotoastytalks.com, we’ve got season two in the works. These first few months we’ll …

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We here at BZ FurFur hope you all had a happy new year. 2025 is shaping up to be exciting for us at BZ FurFur with lots of new topics for the blog. If you have been following along with our Podcast, www.pyrotoastytalks.com, we’ve got season two in the works. These first few months we’ll be working with our partners to line up markets, community events, art shows, and fundraisers. Keep an eye on our newsletter for dates and locations of these events as they are scheduled. Thank you everyone who made 2024 such a great year and we promise another exciting year and, as always, stay unique.

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Creative Cloud Week 1 – Photoshop https://blog.bzfurfur.com/2024/12/16/artist-switching-from-gimp-to-photoshop/ Mon, 16 Dec 2024 05:47:19 +0000 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/?p=1473 Brian here again. As promised I am back after my first week taking a look at the latest Adobe Photoshop that comes with Creative Cloud. As mentioned in last week’s blog post: I haven’t used Photoshop in over 10 years opting for the free alternative, Gimp, as my primary tool for Image Manipulation. Now, granted, …

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Brian here again. As promised I am back after my first week taking a look at the latest Adobe Photoshop that comes with Creative Cloud. As mentioned in last week’s blog post: I haven’t used Photoshop in over 10 years opting for the free alternative, Gimp, as my primary tool for Image Manipulation. Now, granted, a week working with this tool is barely enough time to scratch the surface of all the features, but I wanted to give some thoughts about the capabilities I got to play with.

Tutorials

If you don’t really know where to start with PhotoShop it can be really daunting. It is nice that it comes with some built-in tutorials that familiarize you with some of the finer details. I will say that, having worked with Photoshop previously, and with Gimp, which both rely heavily on layers it was pretty easy to follow along with the lessons. If you are less familiar I don’t know how comfortable you are going to feel with navigating the interface. It does come with sample images so you can follow along with exactly what the teacher is doing, even if you are just clicking exactly where she is clicking, it will help to start developing some of the core muscle memory you are going to need if you are using it every day.

The Tools

All of the typical tools I expected to be a part of Photoshop were present and accounted for. Having switched to Gimp, however, some tools have been added since the last time I used Photoshop that has some quality-of-life improvements. The Frame tool for adding placeholder images, variations on the lasso tool, and history brushes, but the one that I found the most useful was the Object Selection Tool. I am not sure how long this has been a part of Photoshop but, honestly, this tool alone is worth the switch from trusty ole Gimp. What this basically does is, if you select an object in your picture, it highlights the object’s edges and lets you copy them to another layer. What I found so useful, however, was how accurate it was. For every image I worked with it was able to properly identify the edges of the object so I could move them to different layers and change the background.

Object Selection Tool

Layer Effects

A majority of the time I spent exploring Photoshop was spent working with various layer effects. Adding drop shadow to pieces, saturating/desaturating foreground objects to match the background, and adding hue/saturation layers. Now this is not something I worked extensively with in the past so I relied heavily on the tutorials to show me how to use these features, but I was able to get some excellent results after just editing a handful of pictures. By moving the foreground objects to another layer I was able to increase the vibrancy of certain colors while desaturating the background on that same image creating a picture that highlights Zona’s pieces without having to completely remove them from the natural environment that we took the pictures in.

Bud vase with desaturated background and increased color vibrancy

Generative AI

This was a part that I was really interested in because, it’s a big selling point of the latest version of Photoshop, and it is unique to their product. The idea is you can add a layer to your image by describing what you want the layer to be and it will create that for you, giving you a couple of variations to select from. Personally, I found it to be a little hit or miss depending on what I asked for. Granted, some of this might be because I am not an expert at writing prompts. A prompt such as “Modern office with natural lighting” yielded some pretty good results whereas “mancave with rustic look and blank wall” looked more like the hull of a Viking ship than a family’s basement. That being said, I was able to get some nice background to contrast Zona’s pieces and was overall happy with the results.

A home office was generated with a prompt showcasing one of Zona’s pieces

In Conclusion

Photoshop’s pros outweigh it’s cons. I didn’t run into a lot of the bugs that people warned me about, performance was good, even on my clunky old Macbook Pro, and most of the features worked as expected. I think the generative AI will get better with time and as I spend more time familiarizing myself with the tools and tutorials I’ll surely feel as confident with it as I did with my previous tools. At this point I am confident this will become a part of our workflow. Stay tuned as I am going to start practicing with Illustrator next and I’ll have another update for you next week. Until then stay unique.

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Mastering Adobe Creative Cloud https://blog.bzfurfur.com/2024/12/10/getting-started-with-adobe-creative-cloud-essential-tips-for-beginners/ Tue, 10 Dec 2024 05:39:05 +0000 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/?p=1469 Howdy. Brian here this week.  Last week Adobe was having a Cyber Monday deal on their Creative Cloud bundle offering it at half off for an annual subscription. We’ve been hesitant about subscribing to Creative Cloud because it is costly. We figured, however, it’s an investment in the business and there are a number of …

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Howdy. Brian here this week.  Last week Adobe was having a Cyber Monday deal on their Creative Cloud bundle offering it at half off for an annual subscription. We’ve been hesitant about subscribing to Creative Cloud because it is costly. We figured, however, it’s an investment in the business and there are a number of uses that can save us time/money/hassle.  So, with Zona working tenaciously on products that need to be completed by the end of the year, I’ll be tasked with learning the tools and seeing how we can integrate them into the business. 

The Tools

  • Adobe Photoshop Week one we’ll be looking at what the latest version of Photoshop has to offer. I haven’t uses Photoshop since version 5.5 and, over the past decade or so, I have primarily used Gimp for my image editing. What I am particularly excited about is it’s generative AI and how that can be used to enhance some of her pieces when preparing them for social media and product shots. We’ll see how the features fare against the free alternatives and other web-based programs like Canva. 
  • Adobe Illustrator Week two we’ll be familiarizing ourselves with Illustrator. A big part of what we do is working with vector graphics and we have adopted a wide range of tools for this workflow. Hopefully, Illustrator offers us the ability to streamline this workflow and reduce some of the other tools we have rigged together with rubber bands and paperclips. In the past we’ve used Inkscape for a lot of our vector work and, hopefully, this is a more intuitive / stable tool.
  • Adobe Premier Pro This one I am excited about. We don’t really have a great free / cheap video editing tool that we can use for our social media videos. We’ve used iMovie but that isn’t very flexible. Most of the online tools don’t have enough robust options. Fortunately we have a friend who specializes in video editing so we’ll probably be phoning a friend if we get stuck. 

The Extras

  • Adobe Stock The membership came with a 30 day trial of Adobe Stock. We’ll definitely be taking a look at what assets are available and how they compare to some of the other asset libraries that we are using. Since this doesn’t come as part of CC we don’t expect we’ll be paying the added monthly fee unless it is head and shoulders over some of the cheaper options available.
  • iPhone / iPad apps We’ll definitely take a look at these. I primarily use the computer for any of my editing but I am sure Zona will be giving some pros/cons on the mobile companion apps.

We’re really excited to share the experience of learning these tools with you. Do you have something specific you would like us to focus on while we are learning these tools. Tag us @bz_furfur and, as always, stay unique.

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Thankful 2024 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/2024/11/26/thankful-2024/ Tue, 26 Nov 2024 04:29:54 +0000 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/?p=1464 Being that this week is Thanksgiving I think it is apropos to use the blog to reflect on some of the things we are thankful for.  Brian: I am thankful for opportunities. This year has been a year of new possibilities: possibilities for the business, for my family, for my job, and for my education.  …

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Being that this week is Thanksgiving I think it is apropos to use the blog to reflect on some of the things we are thankful for. 

Brian: I am thankful for opportunities. This year has been a year of new possibilities: possibilities for the business, for my family, for my job, and for my education. 

The Business: Although the economy was tough this year the business thrived in many other ways. It gave us the chance to look for innovative ways to expand the business into different products and new venues. This year was the inaugural season of our Podcast “Pyro Toasty Talks” with David and Renee. I also had a chance to put some of my IT skills to the test and completely redesigned our website.

Family: We are crossing a threshold as a family as our boys are growing into young men. With college on the horizon, working part-time jobs, driving, and, of course, girls, we are starting to see what life beyond the nuclear family is going to look like. These are bittersweet times, but they are still something I am thankful for as it means that we’ve done our job of preparing them for life beyond the Greig household.

Job: Last year I made the decision to take a job at another employer. This would be my fourth company I’ve worked for in my 20 years in IT. It was a risk and I had to seriously consider the risk and reward. Fortunately it was the right choice and this year I achieved much more at this job than I have at others. Working with people I respect, and who respect me, has made it so much easier for me to start every day and achieve my goals. 

Education: This is a big one for me. This year I started my Masters degree. Over two decades have passed since I got my B.S. and I never thought I would be able to go back to school. Now, here I am, two semesters into my Masters Degree course and I am starting to realize this is something I can achieve. 

And, of course, I am thankful for my wonderful wife, Zona, who has encouraged me to seize these opportunities. Without her support I could very well have let these opportunities slip away and been content with what was ‘safe’. 

Zona: I am thankful for growing my friendships with my online friends / peers by spending time together, in person.  Having moved from NY to NC I don’t have a lot of friends who I can see in person. I have met a lot of people virtually through pyrography, some of whom I’ve met in person, and it is nice to meet people who are close enough that I can meet with them more frequently.

I am thankful for my opportunity to grow as a pyrography artist. By connecting with others who I look up to. It is nice to be able to talk to the people in the industry I consider mentors. They have pushed me out of my comfort zone and empowered me to create things that I, otherwise, didn’t think I could.

I am grateful for my loving husband who pushes me and supports in my dream. Without him I can assure you, I would not be doing this.

This year I sold several pieces that I was very proud of. When I was at my lowest I sold some of those larger pieces which gave me validation. Validation that I am doing what I should be doing.  I am thankful for those customers.

There is a lot for us to be thankful for. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a great start to the holiday season. What are you thankful for? Tag us @bz_furfur and let us know. And, as always, stay unique.

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How to Find Your Niche in the World of Art and Pyrography https://blog.bzfurfur.com/2024/11/19/find_your_niche/ Tue, 19 Nov 2024 04:51:26 +0000 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/?p=1461 As a new artist trying to sell your work, it can be tough to match what you make with what people want to buy. You will get a lot of unsolicited advice from people as you go to different markets, socialize with people, and post online. You may ask yourself “How do I make a …

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As a new artist trying to sell your work, it can be tough to match what you make with what people want to buy. You will get a lot of unsolicited advice from people as you go to different markets, socialize with people, and post online. You may ask yourself “How do I make a decision based on all this feedback about what I should be making?” Let me take you through the steps:

The Big Three

There are three things to consider when deciding what to create: What do people want to buy, what are you good at, and what do you love to make. Starting out you may not know the answers to the first two, but you probably have a good idea about what you want to make. So that is where you start. Here’s the rub; the things that you love to make may not sell great initially. You have to test the market with things. The most important thing to remember is that not immediately connecting with your audience isn’t a bad thing. Pay attention to what people are saying they like/don’t like about your work so that when you can start answering that question about “what people want to buy”. Pay attention to which items do sell and consider making more of those.

You also need to try to answer that third question: Things you are good at. There are a few ways to do this. It can be hard to sometimes to have an unbiased critical eye on your own work so seek advice from others. Ask friends and family. Post online to FB groups, Instagram, and Reddit and ask for others’ opinions of your work. Ask people at markets. Sometimes I’ll have two versions of the same piece that is each slightly different and I’ll ask customers which they like better. Be warned; if you post online, be prepared for honest criticism. If you cannot take harsh critiques or aren’t used to receiving negative feedback you should brace yourself when posting your work online because honesty can sometimes be hard to hear and some people can be downright rude.  Just remember that your work is not a reflection of who you are and, with criticism, you can only improve.

Narrowing your scope

Now that you are starting to get to know the big three it is time to start segmenting those into different categories of work. I am going to break these down individually:

  • Aspirational Projects These are the things that you love to make and people want to buy but you haven’t mastered the skills yet to create them. For me, these are photo-realistic portraits. I get asked for them all the time, I would love to make them (especially pet portraits) but I don’t feel my skills are there to quite do these pieces justice. I aspire to be good at this and one day I will but, until then, they are out of my wheelhouse.
  • Things that make money but can burn you out These are those projects that you have made that everyone loves, you have perfected the skill of creating them, but you just aren’t passionate about doing them. I had a lot of success with coasters early on. I made dozens of coaster sets and, eventually, got sick of them. They sold well so I kept making them but eventually, I got burnt out. So I raised my price on them so, if people really want them, they can still buy them but I don’t find myself making them as frequently which means I am less likely to be frustrated when an order comes in for them.
  • Things that you make for yourself There are going to be those things that you make, that you love, and that look fantastic but never seem to sell. This can be because they only suit your particular taste or because they just don’t have the broad appeal of some other things. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do those things. You do what you do because you love it. If these projects bring you joy then make them, hang them up in your house, and share them with your loved ones. Not every piece is going to sell and that is ok. It is about keeping your passion alive and, if you can do that by making the occasional piece for yourself, c’est la vie

The Sweet Spot

Obviously, as time goes on you’ll start to find that sweet spot.  The place where all three converge: Things people what, that you love to make, and that you are good at. Me, when I realized how much people loved my florals, it occurred to me that I found something special. Something that makes me happy, that I have honed my skills at, and that people absolutely adore.  Once you find that, try your best to capitalize on that. Make large statement pieces to draw customers in, make small affordable pieces to get those volume sales, and make mid-size pieces for those people who want some beautiful wall art but can’t afford the big statement piece prices.

Remember, finding that sweet spot isn’t going to happen overnight. It takes time to hone in on each one of these categories. If you listen to our podcast, PyroToastyTalks, you’ve heard Renee and I talk about this in “How to Stay in Love with Your Art”. Take your time, have fun doing it, and make sure you are constantly learning and adapting along the way.  Have you found your sweet spot? Let us know and tag us @bz_furfur and, as always, stay unique.

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Building a Flexible Art Business: 4 Key Strategies for Success https://blog.bzfurfur.com/2024/11/11/building-a-flexible-art-business-4-key-strategies-for-success/ Mon, 11 Nov 2024 23:59:00 +0000 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/?p=1457 Adaptability is one of the keys to running a successful business. Often times when we start a business we have a clear idea of what that business should be. After months of creating and you aren’t seeing your product move you may start to feel defeated. Sometimes, however, it is just that you are missing …

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Adaptability is one of the keys to running a successful business. Often times when we start a business we have a clear idea of what that business should be. After months of creating and you aren’t seeing your product move you may start to feel defeated. Sometimes, however, it is just that you are missing the mark in some way that isn’t getting your product in front of the right demographic or you just aren’t hitting the mark with your customers.  Here are a few things to consider when you are struggling to match your style with that of your customer:

  1. Price point: The biggest driver of how your product will be seen is how much it costs. You want to set a price point that will cover your costs and ensure you are compensated adequately. At the same time, you need to make sure that your prices are palatable to your customers. Do some recon; go to markets in the area before your market and see what comparable work is selling for. If similar works are selling for less than what you are charging you need to consider a few things.  Can you afford to lower your price? Are there less expensive pieces that you can make that would better suit this clientele? If neither then maybe this isn’t the right market for you.  Listen to what people say as they browse your booth. If they are commenting on the price (too high / too low) take note of that and see if you can adjust your prices accordingly in the future
  2. Display: How you present your work is going to play a major role in how it is perceived to your customer. How do you want people to see your work? Are you going for a craft show, small business, or fine art? If you are trying to appeal to the craft show crowd think of lots of simple, cute, low-price pieces. Display is important but not as important as matching the price point of your customers. Small businesses you should appeal to customers who are looking for quality and value. Having a good variety of products along with some high-ticket items is a good balance. Offer “deals” such as two for one or buy one get one half off. Cross-promote your products and try to upsell.  If you are going to fine art think about fewer, expensive pieces.  Leave the low and medium prices back at the studio and present only your big-ticket items. Invest in good quality displays (pedestals, acroterion). This crowd is looking for quality and isn’t generally thinking about price. So your display should reflect that.
  3. Style: When you start out you may have a very specific style of your own. This could be subject matter, technique, color palettes, or detail. It is good to stick to your style as that is what will eventually set you apart from other artists. At the same time think carefully about what customers ask for. Are a lot of your customers asking for pet portraits? Try your hand at them. It may not be your passion but being able to give people what they want can pay the bills while you spend the bulk of your time working on the things you want to work on. As you work on these pieces you may gain new skills as well that you can then incorporate into your pieces. Try not to be too stubborn in what you are willing to create if it means that you are alienating yourself from your customers.
  4. Marketing: this is something that is going to change constantly throughout the life of your business.  You may find that your social media posts aren’t getting much traction.  Look at what other people are doing, read up on what the people are saying is trending, and adapt your strategy accordingly.  Maybe Facebook is prioritizing lives or Instagram is promoting reels. Use this to your advantage. If you have money to invest in marketing spend some money on a campaign. Run a contest or a giveaway to increase engagement and gain followers.  The important thing is to try new things until you find something that works. Then, when that thing doesn’t work anymore, try other things until you find something new that works.  Rinse and repeat.

Learn to adapt your business to best suit your customer and you are on your way to being a successful small business. Remember, this doesn’t mean you change your style every time someone suggests something to you. You don’t need to chase trends or try to make everyone happy to be successful. But look for indicators of what is selling, what is working of others, and what you read online, and make adaptations as you go along to better meet people’s needs and wants. Have your own tips? Tag us @bz_furfur and, as always, stay unique.

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4 Reasons Why Handmade Gifts Make the Holiday Season Extra Special https://blog.bzfurfur.com/2024/11/05/reasons-handmade-gifts/ Tue, 05 Nov 2024 03:46:43 +0000 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/?p=1453 With the holiday season upon us, it is time we start thinking about what we want to gift our loved ones as we travel near and far to spend quality time with them. With the plethora of options of things to get for them, it is very easy to look for quantity over quality. There …

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With the holiday season upon us, it is time we start thinking about what we want to gift our loved ones as we travel near and far to spend quality time with them. With the plethora of options of things to get for them, it is very easy to look for quantity over quality. There are tons of mass-produced products on the market that can make for an inexpensive gift. Instead of ransacking the stores on Black Friday trying to get the lowest price items or trying to catch every Cyber Monday sale, I propose that you instead think about what makes a great gift.

Four Reasons to Give Homemade

  1. A gift should be unique. When you are choosing a gift for a family member or friend it should be representative of that person. Although getting a neat gadget or knick-knack might seem like a great idea those gifts are less likely to make them feel like you recognize what makes them unique to you. Handmade gifts are one-of-a-kind. Every crochet stitch, brush stroke, and marking is a one-of-a-kind. It will contain imperfections but, like us, those imperfections are what make it special. The receiver will know, without a doubt, that this was made with them in mind.
  2. A gift should tell a story. One of the things I like to tell my clients who commission work from me is that the wood I use has a story behind it. Whether it is the tree itself that it was cut from, where it came from, a mishap or mistake that turned into your favorite part of the piece, or some new technique that you needed to learn to complete the piece. These stories become a part of the piece. They are the stories you tell when someone comes to your house and you are admiring it. They become a part of what makes the piece special.
  3. A gift should last a lifetime. I never like to throw away a gift. This is something that was given to you because the gifter thinks you are special and deserving to be remembered. Giving something that is only meant to be used a few times only to be discarded or re-gifted means that the receiver will not cherish it. Something that is made with care, love, and quality materials is going to withstand years of use. These are gifts that will move with someone from home to home. These are the things that will be passed down between generations.
  4. You don’t need to be an artist to make something homemade. There are plenty of ways to make simple, homemade gifts that don’t require you to be a master craftsman. Beginner crochet kits and Paint by Numbers are great ways to be creative while maintaining guardrails to help you along. Pinterest has tons of ideas for things that you can create that are beautiful and personal. Or, if you simply don’t have the confidence or the time, you can commission a handmade gift for a loved one. Artists such as myself love creating unique and personal gifts. These make wonderful gifts because, even though you didn’t create them yourself, it show that you took the time to find an artist whose art represents what you want your loved one to think of when they think of you.

Happy Holiday Shopping

The holidays are so hectic and being creative may be the last thing on your mind for this time of year. Maybe, this year, set aside some time from your busy schedule, make a list of those loved ones who you know would appreciate the care and consideration that only comes from something handmade, and come up with a plan for how to make their holiday extra special. Have you ever received a homemade gift that you cherish? Share your story and tag us @bz_furfur and, as always, stay unique.

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Artistic Endeavors https://blog.bzfurfur.com/2024/10/29/artistic-endeavors/ Tue, 29 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/?p=1449 As a fairly new Pyrography Artist (and it’s taken me some time to call myself an artist) I’ve been searching for my “style”. Finding your Muse All artists have a unique way that they create their art. It takes time, however, to find that style and, as a result, every artist starts as a copycat …

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As a fairly new Pyrography Artist (and it’s taken me some time to call myself an artist) I’ve been searching for my “style”.

Finding your Muse

All artists have a unique way that they create their art. It takes time, however, to find that style and, as a result, every artist starts as a copycat of another artist they admire. Much like an apprentice, they begin learning the techniques and theories of this artist. This can be in the form of classes, or learning directly from their mentor. Others learn by studying their mentor’s work through books, history, or simply admiring their pieces. Learning the basic techniques takes years or study and practice and, eventually, every artist starts branching off, evolving, adopting techniques from other artists, and ultimately establishing their own unique style.

Learning your Strengths and Weaknesses

In my mind’s eye, my drawings are superb. In reality, however, my skill when it comes to drawing leaves something to be desired. As an artist, this is unfortunate. There are, however, things that I can do such as trace, and create beautiful lines. When I started doing pyrography I did simple pictures much akin to those you would find in coloring books. Tracing the lines allowed me to develop techniques for creating straight lines and neat curves. Once I was comfortable with those I began experimenting with different mediums to color them in. This continued on to more complex patterns and further experimentation with coloring mediums until I started to find my niche. Now I continue to challenge myself by trying realistic pieces. My next endeavor is to create works that look like photographs burned into wood.

The Journey of a Thousand Strokes

Throughout my journey I found many things which I loved, particularly shading. There is something satisfying about creating shadows and depth, lines that draw the viewers eye to focal points. Minisa Robinson of Woodburning University (@minisa_robinson) was a muse of mine. She inspired me, through her patterns and her classes, to create a piece with flowers and an owl. 

Having failed before with fine lines and shadow I was reluctant to try again, but something about these patterns called to me. I took the two patterns and made my own design combining them together. The wood, a piece I had been sitting on from Carolina Urban Lumber (@carolinaurbanlumber) for about two years, was undoubtedly the canvas I was going to use for this piece. It was cut on an angle, stands upright, and is itself unique. After putting the pattern on the wood, I’m not going to lie, I was worried.  I worried that I might damage the wood beyond repair. Worried I bit off more than I could chew.  Reluctantly I took a leap of faith, and, what I created is a piece of work that I absolutely love. 

I amazed myself with the patience demonstrated, the lines I drew, and the depth I created. Most of all I found that I love creating flowers evident by the fact that I subsequently created two more floral pieces. Those pieces sold without hesitation and I learned that not only do I love doing florals, but others love them as well.

The Next Endeavor 

So does this mean I found my “style”. Maybe, or maybe I this is a stepping stone to what my style will ultimately be. What I do know is I will continue to push the limits of my work, try things that are outside my comfort zone, continue to learn from those around me, and hopefully create many more beautiful things along the way.

How about you? What are you good at? Who was your muse? Tag us @bz_furfur and tell us about your journey and, as always, stay unique.

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Fulfilling a flighty dream https://blog.bzfurfur.com/2024/10/22/fulfilling_a_flighty_dream/ Tue, 22 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.bzfurfur.com/?p=1441 Fellow Guild of Charlotte Artists (@guildofcharlotteartists) member Jill Melyssa (@jillmelyssa) had the opportunity to showcase her couture jewelry in The Sound of Fashion. She asked me to be her assistant and I was thrilled to have the opportunity.  A Dream Not Realized Little known Zona fact: After doing a testimonial published in a print ad …

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Fellow Guild of Charlotte Artists (@guildofcharlotteartists) member Jill Melyssa (@jillmelyssa) had the opportunity to showcase her couture jewelry in The Sound of Fashion. She asked me to be her assistant and I was thrilled to have the opportunity. 

A Dream Not Realized

Little known Zona fact: After doing a testimonial published in a print ad some time ago I got the modeling bug. The lights, cameras, and excitement were intoxicating. It was short-lived, however, as they said I was too short and their ideals of what a model should look like did not align with mine. That’s not to say it wasn’t fun while it lasted. However, the one thing I had wanted to do, an opportunity that never presented itself, was to walk a runway. 

Lending a Hand

Fast forward twenty-odd years later and I am being asked to assist a designer at a show! Truthfully, the tasks I was assigned offered a nice opportunity to sharpen some of my managerial skills that I don’t use so often as a solo business entrepreneur. Jill placed me in charge of inventory, distribution, and collection. Being able to help her in her first-ever fashion show was nice. Imagine the fear, excitement, and anxiety she must have felt. I was happy to be there to support her. It was also nice that it wasn’t “my” show, so I didn’t need to worry about all the details, I only had to focus on certain tasks that needed to be taken care of.  

Now, those of you who know me, know there are two Zonas; Work Zona and Fun Zona. Work Zona is driven to complete tasks efficiently, completely, and correctly. I was there to do a job and, damnit, I was going to do it right. That doesn’t mean that Fun Zona wasn’t invited at all. I dressed in my favorite outfit; an all-black corset and leggings. Unbeknownst to me this was actually the theme of Jill’s show; victorian lace and badassery. 

You Better Work, Girl

Of course, no event can go by without a hitch.  It turns out one of her models was a no-show and, of course, the pieces she was intended to wear were pieces Jill absolutely wanted to show. Surveying the outfits of all the models none of them quite fit the theme for this particular piece. When her gaze came around to me her immediate thought was “Zona, you could do it”. I didn’t hesitate and I told her I would do it. Not only did I walk out there with confidence (save for some nervousness as I waited at the entrance to the runway), but I was the first to represent her.

It was a bit of a crash course for me. Terms like “flood walk” – the walk all the models do together after everyone has walked and with the designer – were new to me. What I also learned was that I could still do the things that scare me, but that secretly I always wished I could. It was a bit of a Cinderella moment for me, albeit a bit more badass given the black corset with chains and buttons, black shiny leggings and heeled boots.

Dreams Fulfilled

What I learned after all this is my experiences have value.  Over the years I’ve acquired life skills that have benefitted me in many different settings. Being a manager taught me how to handle a team, identify tasks and prioritize.  It taught me how to devise and execute a process quickly. My creativity helped me quickly see her vision and help her make it a reality. My experience as a small business owner, operating in 10’x10’ spaces in pop-ups, taught me how to operate in small spaces efficiently. All those hours playing Tetris helped me manage all those pieces in a small container. Knowing how to be a friend helped me make her show a success. It was amazing to be able to sit back and watch her shine. 

If you know me you have heard me talk about karma. You do good things, and good things happen. Maybe, by putting aside everything to help out a friend, karma was allowing me to accomplish something I never thought I would have the opportunity to achieve. On top of that, maybe this new experience will be something that I will carry forward to help me succeed in other future endeavors. Do you have a dream that you were able to fulfill that eluded you for years. Tell us about it and tag us @bz_furfur and, as always, stay unique.

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