Butte Creek Organic Porter is this week’s beer. It hails from California, and reminds me of all the good things about the state – sunshine, rolling hills, and warm evenings. It is, of course, organic, which means they use no pesticides or chemicals to grow the ingredients. Its flavor is sweet, smooth, and crisp, with a light tang and aftertaste. It just goes to show that wholesome ingredients = good beer. It also proves that just because something is organic doesn’t mean it has to cost an arm and a leg – it is very reasonably priced, and cheaper than a lot of the beers we’ve reviewed.
M: 8.5
N: 9
***********************************
I’m still working on that pastel piece from last week, but I have no new insights or complaints. So this week I’ll wax philosophical.
Artistic courage is a many-faceted part of being an artist that few people discuss. I thought I had a good handle on it, until yesterday, when I made my first sales call. Oy.
The courage I do have, I apply to the works of art themselves. I’m not afraid to waste film, paint, paper, etc. I’m not afraid of an empty piece of paper – in fact, I look at it as a challenge. When something is going through an “ugly” stage, I never for a moment fear that it won’t work itself out. And if it doesn’t… no big deal. I’ve learned from the experience and improved myself as an artist.
But then there’s the other part of arting – selling stuff. I’m excellent at posting things on the Internets, but lousy at promoting. And having a bunch of people you don’t know “favorite” your art or photos is great, but gets you zero dollars. So I must sell myself, and that, I’m afraid of. Yesterday I called up a small store in Laurens, IA, where my family lives and the subject of many of my photos. I asked the owner if she’d be interested in selling photos of local scenes… and she was wonderful, helpful, and a joy to work with. It turned out well, as I told myself it would. But it took a long time and a lot of courage for me to make that call. This part of artistic courage is something I need to practice, and although it probably doesn’t come naturally to many artists, I haven’t seen much written about it. Anyone have any insights?
****s for you, good job calling up the store! I’m proud! I too have phonophobia about coldcalling, and even stuff like making doctor’s appointments, but I find the more you do it, the less squirmy it makes you feel. Maybe repetition will also help you because it lets you realize that a rejection isn’t a rejection of *you*, nothing personal, but just that whatever you’re proposing won’t work for any number of reasons for the person on the other end (stock, clientele, subject matter, laziness, didn’t get their coffee that morning).