I was very happy to find this short TED talk that tells me no – my desire and habit of getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night is the key to my success.  Sleep is good – sleep deprivation and all nighters shouldn’t be a badge of honor.  (I’ve always thought this and feel quite validated today!)

Go here and take a look – it’s only 3 minutes – then join me in my efforts to “sleep my way to the top”.

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Here’s to your creative – and well rested – success!

– Tara Reed

Trying to stay on this wave, get ready for SURTEX, get art done for clients, get paperwork done for college, get ready for the last part of my move, deal with re-modeling surprises… and, keep up with this blog – is tricky!

As I was driving on Tuesday I was thinking, “What should I blog about?”  I knew I needed something but wasn’t sure what… then Michael Bublé came on the radio.  “I just haven’t met you yet” – a fun love song that makes me smile.  I remember the feeling of not having met “him” yet and now the happiness of planning our life together… but then my brain went into analogy land…

This love song is very similar to the journey of the professional artist.  You know what you want… you look, you work, you create, you try… and you are often frustrated and alone.  You just haven’t met your clients, your calling, your business mojo yet…

So today, I want you to listen to this song regardless of where you are on your journey.  Starting out or managing your dream business.  As the tile setter told us for weeks when we had no toilets in the house and wanted to know when the floor could go in so I didn’t have to go to the store to use the loo… “It’s a process.”

Finding love is a process.

Building a business is a process too.  Have the faith that Micheal does in this song that you will find what you are looking for…

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Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

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Here’s to finding your happy!

– Tara Reed

P.S.  Want more inspiration?  We have 41 videos of artists sharing their “art licensing story” now on the STORIES tab of this blog (look up!) – if you aren’t there, when can I expect your video?

Here’s my favorite verse – are you living and working like this and if not, why not?

Oh, this is how it starts, lightning strikes the heart
It goes off like a gun, brighter than the sun
Oh, we could be the stars, falling from the sky
Shining how we want, brighter than the sun

So here is your pick-me-up for this Wednesday – turn up the volume and feel it!

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Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

If you are licensing your art or thinking about giving it a shot – does it sound like something you will love?  I mean, it’s no cake walk.  There’s a lot of competition.  There are deadlines.  Most artists work alone so you don’t have the camaraderie and feedback of a workplace.  It can take time to get the royalties flowing.

But if you love the challenge of creating art for products, searching for the manufacturer who needs your art and wants to work with you, it can be awesome.  You have to create, create, create.  Market, market, market.  Always watching and learning as this business, like most others, is constantly changing.

I love what I do.  Of course there are days where I think, “This is hard work!  What else could I do that I might love – maybe even more than this?”  I come up blank every time.  So I have a “Steve Jobs mentality” about art licensing – do you?

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If you are new to the concept of licensing, I encourage you to look at the Beginner Basics Teleseminar – you can get it for only $10 if you sign up to receive my eNewsletter. (And if you are already signed up and want the discount code – email me and I’ll send it over.)  This 45 minute audio will give you a real-world concept of what it is to do the day-to-day work of art licensing.  It isn’t a fluffy “this is for everyone – come in the water is fine” type of thing but something to really help  you understand what it’s about.  I hope it can help you decide if you just might love it, or if it sounds horrid (it has had that affect on more than a few artists and it’s ok!) you can go off in search of another way to create and truly love what you do.

Because honestly, life is to short to spend it doing what you hate, don’t you think?

Here’s to y our creative success!

– Tara Reed

If you are near Anaheim, you could go to Disneyland, which will be open for 24 hours. (Love this video – makes me feel good!)

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If you are like me, you will finish packing up your house and studio and get ready for the “Big Move 2012 – Part 1″.  Part 2 will be in the end of June – just call me a glutton for punishment.   Not really – it’s all good, but very, very busy and more than a little overwhelming.  9 years of stuff takes a lot of boxes to move.  What goes to the apartment with Kyle & I until his high school graduation – and how can it be so close??  What goes to the house that is being remodeled that we will move into in the beginning of July, before the wedding in August? (Jinkies! I’m getting married!)  So I can assure you – I’ll take any extra hour – let alone day – that I can get this year.

Perhaps you will spend some of your extra time working on your portfolio, creating some collections for licensing.  Learn more about how to create art licensing collections …

Will you spend some time researching agents and trying to find a good fit?  There’s a list on the blog of nearly 30 agents that have requested to be there – which means they want to see what talent is out there.  Click here to learn more…

Perhaps you want some inspiration.  Watch a few videos from artists in licensing and learn how they got into the business and what advice they might have for others… watch artist stories here.

Maybe you want your extra day to be all about pampering yourself.  Head to the movies, get a manicure, sleep all day, surf the net – whatever makes you happy and keeps you feeling refreshed and creative!

Whatever you decide to do with your 86,400 extra seconds – enjoy!

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

P.S. Accepting all good moving vibes you care to send my way – I wish there was an “unpacking and organizing” fairy waiting to help me!

But the difference in how I feel today vs. last week before I left is like day and night.

I’m refreshed and less frazzled.  I need to do this more often, even if it’s just a day of really, really giving myself a mental and physical break.  I hope you are finding the time to relax, change your scenery to change your perspective and keep your batteries balanced and charged.

I’ll be back at the blog this week.  Until then – I have a few things to get done on my move, remodel and for my business.

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

Something to think about for 2012: …..”The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are. Analyze your life in terms of your environment. Are the things around you helping you towards success or are they holding you back? You are not planted in the ground like a tree… you can change. What part of your environment needs to change?”

 – Keith J. Cunningham

I’ll be doing so much moving in 2012 it is making my head spin… and as if I might forget everything that will be happening, my mom reminds me at least once a week.   “Tara, you just have so much going on and coming up…”  Really?  I had forgotten! (Okay, I really hadn’t but you’d think I might with all the well-intentioned mentions.)

• I’ll be changing my physical environment – selling the house my son and I have been in since 2004 when I got divorced and moving into the house I’m remodeling with my oh-so-fabulous fiancé.

• Who I hang out with will change drastically as my son graduates from high school in June and heads we-don’t-know-where-yet for college.  He’s been my sidekick for over 18 years – talk about a change!

• I’m getting married in August – hence the change in environment and it will be a change in day-to-day life.

These are all givens… but I’m going to give more thought to the ideas put forth by Mr Cunningham. (Not sure who he is, by the way) Have I optimized things to be happy, to lead me to the success that I want on all fronts – both business and personal?

Just because things are what they are doesn’t mean you can’t change them.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read that you are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with – and usually have similar wealth, health and attitude.  So are you hanging out with whiners who just complain about the status quo or people who actively try to live life in a positive way and do things to get them closer to their dreams? What do you watch on tv, read or listen to on the radio?  Is it uplifting and motivating or demoralizing and making you want to go back to bed because “what’s the point anyway?”

I’ll be taking some quiet time to think about these things and recommend you do too.  We only have so many days on this earth so why not make them as happy and fulfilling as they can be?

Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed

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Take a few minutes to take stock of your year – what was fan-tabulous?

What are you happy to put a year behind you?

What do you wish you had done better?

What worked great that you will carry forward into the new year?

What do you want for yourself in 2012 and beyond?

Wishing you a Happy & Safe New Year with all the success your heart desires!  Let’s send 2011 off with a blast from the past… remember this one?

– Tara Reed

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The Heat Miser doesn’t want a day under 60 – the Snow Miser prefers 40 and below.  If you listen to the songs you will find they explain very well what they like, what they do and what they are good at.

Can you easily explain who you are as an artist?

• Who is your target market – or who does your art appeal to?
• What types of products would your art work best for?
• What themes, styles, etc. do you work in?

Take a moment today and think about these songs – if you had to do a song and dance to let art licensing manufacturers know who you are and what you do, do you know what you’d say?  Just a little food for thought and fun videos that might take you down memory lane too!

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Here’s to your creative success!

– Tara Reed