Tuesday, June 28

Making cards happen (Part 2: Charity ideas)

For my cards, I think I want to have certain charities paired with certain cards. Here are some categories of photography subjects and some related charities that came to mind:

Nature:
The Nature Conservancy
The Arbor Day Foundation
Tim DeChristopher Legal Defense Fund

People:
Unicef
Doctors Without Borders
FilmAid International
something to do with health care and something to do with education...

Abstract:
Artist residencies, like La Muse, the one I went to in 2007
There are also organizations like Artist Trust of Washington State, which help support artists.

Maybe I could donate to a scholarship fund as well...Hmm, I must do more research (and start earning money from my art). More to come...

Note: Here is the website for American Institute of Philanthrophy, a charity watchdog organization, the director of which was interviewed in a 60 Minutes piece about the Three Cups of Tea author and his organization. (Related link: "The best way to help children in Afghanistan and Pakistan")


Making cards happen (Part 1)


For years, I've been toying with the idea of printing my work and making cards with it. I want to share my work and figured cards are an inexpensive way to do that. But, I want the cards to look professional, to be affordable, and to be "not for profit" in some way.

I started making cards for profit when I was a little girl, selling hand-drawn cards to the merchants of the small town I grew up in. Since then, I've experimented with making photography and hand-made cards and envelopes. I've never come away very satisfied. They either didn't look the way I was hoping they would or they were too expensive to make; either the paper or printing costs were too much or it took a lot of time and energy for me to make them. I wanted to also add a dollar to the selling price so I could do something that my philanthropist great-grandfather did: for every dollar earned, a dollar went to charity.

Considering this recently, I think I've come up with a solution. I'll be putting together some cards made from inexpensive card stock and printed on my printer at home. Hopefully the final product's cost will be about $2-$2.50.

I'll post the results of this latest experiment later. My goal is to get my materials together, print the cards, and see if they sell at my next art show, coming up on July 8, 2011 (see Art Invitation post). Bon chance to me and to anyone else working on their own creative endeavors!





Copyright © Kara Q. Lewis 2007-2013





"You can't force things. If you do you are lost." - Henri Cartier-Bresson (translated)
“It’s been a slow growth, but extremely fun for me,” he says. “For me, it’s about expanding and working from a place of joy. If I can enjoy what I do, and make new art that inspires me, everything will work out for the best.” - Mason Jennings
"We are nourished by studying the past, though we must also be fully involved with the moment." - Cartier-Bresson

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