A few facts about the Cow Art and More artists

I work with an amazing and diverse group of artists. Here's a few factoids that maybe you didn't know them:

• We have two artists from outside the United States: watercolor artist Donna Greenstein (from Canada) and digital artist Michael Murray (from Glasgow, UK)
• Pencil drawing artist Laurie Winkelman will be the judge of the junior Brown Swiss show at this year's Pennsylvania All American Dairy Show. Laurie is also a Ph.D. dairy cattle nutritionist.
• Three of our artists also have their own graphic design firms: photographer Kent Weakley, painter Robert Saueressig and mixed media artist Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson
• Airbrush painter Jerry Gadamus is considered to be one of the two foremost airbrush painters in the world.
• When pencil drawing artist Amanda Raithel isn't working on her next piece of art, she is working cattle on an Angus ranch in Nebraska with her husband and daughter.
• I am not the only veterinarian with art on Cow Art and More. Painters Jon Plishka and Lynn Bishop also have doctor of veterinary medicine degrees.
• Pastel artist Carolyn Molder's recent work, 'Holstein and Fence', now hangs in the office of the Virginia State Veterinarian.
• Oil painter Deborah Grayson Lincoln belongs to the 'daily painters' group, where each artist member commits to finishing one oil painting every day.
• Mixed media artist Jon Ellis has had his art included on the covers of Time and National Geographic.
• Pencil and pastel artist Gary Sauder grew up showing cattle and received numerous showmanship awards.
• Stained glass artists Mike and Mary Ellen McIntyre had one of their stained glass pieces selected as the art for the official poster for the Gainesville Florida Downtown Festival and Art show for 2011. (picture at right)
  
• Painters Wendy Marquis and Shannon Grissom each have a twin. Wendy has a twin brother and Shannon has a twin sister.
• Painter Valerie D'Ortona is active on educating people on the importance of becoming organ donors.
• Watercolor artist Jo Lynch is busy creating animals paintings for the new neonatal wing at Tampa (Florida) General Hospital.

Of course I work with several more artists, but this was all I could remember off the top of my head. Wow! Many thanks to all the artists who are part of the Cow Art and More gallery. If you want to learn more about the artists (or even see what they look like), check out the Cow Art and More artists page.

Cow Art and More to attend the PA All-American Dairy Show next month

Cow Art and More will attend the 48th annual All-American Dairy Show September 17-19th in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Last year’s All-American Dairy Show included over 2,400 animals with 925 exhibits from 26 states along with Canada.

Gallery owner, Kathy Swift, is excited to be invited to participate in this premier event in the dairy industry. She adds, “We’re excited to showcase our art for the first time in the northeast. We’ve been expanding our art offerings and look forward to having it on display.” This event gives her audience an opportunity to view her latest charm, a milk bottle that she debuted earlier in the summer at the Holstein Convention in Virginia.

Cow Art and More booth will display a demo art gallery that includes handpicked art selection from various artists including ceramics, paintings, photography, handbags, and novelties. Visit Cow Art and More as an exhibitor in the trade show area and experience where “art and agriculture meet.”

For information about All-American Dairy Show, visit http://www.allamerican.state.pa.us/

Commonly asked questions at Cow Art and More

I love getting questions about our art and how things work here. Our customers have inquisitive minds! I wanted to take a moment and answer the most commonly asked questions:

Some of the artwork has writing over the picture. What's up with that?

Since art is copyrighted by the creating artist, many artists will "watermark" their art with their name, business name, or logo to prevent people from using the art without purchase. This watermark is not on the art itself of any prints of the art.

Original, giclee, lithograph, art print, limited edition. Aargh! What's the difference between all of them?

An original, means just that. It's an original piece of art. The artist can choose whether or not to make prints from the original.

Giclee and lithograph mostly refer to the printing methods, which involve a specific way of using ink (giclees 'spray' color whereas lithographs use plates to place color). An art print generally just refers to the process of print making, although usually refers to print reproductions on paper. They also tend to be lower cost as compared to canvas prints.

Limited edition means only so many are created. The artist decides how many prints there are, but generally not more than 500 of any one design. Limited edition artworks may also be signed and numbered. This is in contrast to an open edition, where as many prints as desired are created. These art pieces are not signed by the artist.

(Want more information? Read the recent blog post on Common Art Terms Defined.)

I wish you had more art work of _____________ (insert your favorite breed of cattle here).

I absolutely agree with you. I wish we had multiple artists who created art of every cattle breed that has ever existed. A few reasons why we don't:

1. Art quality is first and foremost. Without a doubt, I have to be sure the art is high quality before I include it for sale on Cow Art and More. It has to be well made and be able to last for many years. This means the artist must use quality paints, papers, canvases, metals, glass, etc. I also need to know the artist constructed the art using good techniques. It doesn't matter how beautiful a piece of art is if it's going to degrade or fall apart in a matter of weeks to months to years.

2. Artists selling their art on Cow Art and More must also be very well business minded. In addition to selling quality art, customer service is key. Since much of our art ships directly from the creating artist, I need to know he/she will carefully package and ship the art in a timely fashion to a customer.

These two reasons alone narrow the field of potential artists. I would say Cow Art and More generally only accepts 1 in 8 to 10 artists where a discussion has started.

3. Certain breeds of cattle, (like Holsteins and Angus) are better recognized by the general public. Not only is there a larger market for their art, there are also more artists creating art of those breeds. Our customer base outside the agriculture community has a preference for these breeds as well. The lesser known cattle breeds (like Dexters and Guernseys) just don't get the credit they deserve. *frown*

However, all that being said, I am ALWAYS on the lookout for high quality art of all cattle breeds.

I live overseas. Why can't I place an order on your website?

The way the shopping cart on our website is designed, it's "all or none". For example, we can't specify that we only ship jewelry or art purchases less than $50 outside the U.S. Since there are issues with shipping large and/or valuable items overseas (duty taxes, insurance, and time to receive just to name a few), it's easier for all involved to take everything on a case by case basis as to avoid surprises and headaches down the road. If interested parties email us (info@cowartandmore.com), I can email you back shipping options and invoice you through Paypal for your payment.

What else would you like to know?

Monday's agriculture website - Farmer Bloggers

Have you ever wondered what happens on the farm? Do you want to know how the milk gets from the cow to you? What does a rancher ride the prairie for? If you've ever wondered about this or other farm and food questions, head over to the Farmers Blog, a collection of farmer blogs in "one stop shop" setting.

The group of blogs consists of several farms and ranches from the California Valleys and Mountains to the Midwest plains and south to Florida! There are organic, conventional, large, small, grain, produce, livestock operations and more. Click here to see a complete list of the farmers and their backgrounds.

Common mistakes when buying jewelry for a gift

Part of making jewelry and interacting with customers also means that I have learned the do's and don'ts of buying jewelry for a gift. These are the top 5 "blunders" I've seen people make when buying jewelry and my advice on how to prevent them.

1. Not knowing the details. I have actually had men buy earrings for a gift and not know if the woman had pierced ears. Wow! Major gamble! Find out as much information about your lady as possible. A good start is to find out a ring size, bracelet size, preferred length of necklaces, color preferences, metal preferences and any allergies.

2. Getting her something she doesn't have. This is only a good thing if you have heard her say that she wants a ".....". For example, if she doesn't own any bracelets, there may be a good reason why. Maybe she has a job where it gets in the way or she would have to take it off frequently. Take a quick inventory of her jewelry and get an idea of what she prefers or take notes the next time you are window shopping together.

3. Not considering the "what ifs". Is your jewelry purchase sizable? Can you return or exchange it if she doesn't like it? What if she likes the pendant but wants a different chain? Understand the exchange and return policy on the jewelry BEFORE you purchase it.

4. Buying something that doesn't go with her body type. Believe it or not, how a piece of jewelry is shaped or formed impacts how it looks on a person. For example, round earrings do not look good on a woman with a round face. A small pendant on a short chain isn't particularly flattering to a curvaceous woman with a large bustline. When you're buying the piece, get the person helping you to give suggestions or even the model the jewelry if necessary to help with the decision making process.

5. Buying something that doesn't go with her style. Buy her something she will wear! If she doesn't go to a lot of fancy occasions, she may not get a lot of wear from a big, fancy cocktail ring. Inexpensive earrings may be a better fit for daily wear. If she does a lot of work with her hands, a ring may not hold up to her rough schedule, but a necklace might fit the bill.

I am always happy to help shoppers with their gift purchases! There is also a group of articles on the Cow Art and More art resources page that art collectors, enthusiasts and jewelry collectors may also find helpful.

What is a typical day like at Cow Art and More?

The first thing, is that there is never anything typical about running an art gallery (or any other business for that matter). Certain days of the week have certain patterns, but I'm glad there is always a bit of flexibility in what I can do.

Regardless of the day of the week and whatever is scheduled, the first thing I focus on every morning is taking care of orders that need to be filled. If an order is being filled from Cow Art and More headquarters, I make every effort possible for it to ship the same day and mail those orders off early. I also check orders in the middle of the day, if I'm in the office, and try to fill them in time to catch a late pickup at the post office. (There is a drop station close to me that picks up mid-morning and late afternoon.) If a package doesn't ship the same day the order it is received, it will go out the next business day. (We ship 6 days a week.) If a customer has placed an order for art that ships directly from the artist, I make sure the artist has received the order and is set to ship.

Generally, I have at least one day a week that I call and office day. On this day, I usually write blog posts for the week, list new art, update the website, correspond with artists (current and potential), pay bills and take care of other tasks from the last few days that need addressing. I also do some planning for advertising, mailings (postal and electronic) and our printed catalog.

If it's a day that I have veterinary work scheduled, I get up an hour earlier to give me time to get through my emails. First priority goes to filling orders from overnight and second priority goes to taking care of urgent emails. Otherwise, other important emails might have to sit until I have another office day to go through them.

In case you're interested, these are a few of my favorite products I use here in the office that help me remain productive and provide excellent customer service:

• Endicia internet postage. I can buy the postage online, weigh packages and envelopes in my office and print out the appropriate amount all from my own computer. All I have to do then is drop items in a postal box. (I also do something similar for my FedEx and UPS packages too.)
• Grasshopper toll free phone number. It's an inexpensive way for me to have a toll free number for customers to call.
• Paypal. Not only does Paypal handle all our online transactions processed through cowartandmore.com, but I can also invoice people directly for their purchases. (I have to do it this way for international purchases since the default for our shopping cart system does not allow purchases outside the United States.)
  
• Having a really good assistant. Unfortunately, my assistant graduated college back in May, and I have yet to find a suitable replacement. I'm hopeful that when school starts again in a couple of weeks, I will find another good one.
• Shelves and bins. Part of running the Cow Art and More office is storing the art we sell (including the jewelry). Being organized is absolutely essential. Trips to home improvement stores are on an as needed basis to get whatever I need to make this happen.

What else would you like to know? Was this what you were expecting?

Packaging cow jewelry orders - Cow Art and More

So you're thinking about ordering some farm jewelry? Curious as to how it's packaged and gets to you? This two minute video shows you how cow jewelry is carefully handled and sent to recipients.