Terri St. Cloud went on a search to find her passion years ago. The search led to her life exploding and her need to find a completely new way to live. Wanting to be able to stay home and support her sons, Terri started a home based art business. Soon her sons were an integral part of the company! What started out as a means to pay the bills has turned into an intention to touch the world. While they sell books and prints and greeting cards, they do much more than that.

Hearing daily from people around the country that have been affected by her works, Terri has become convinced that offering who we really are to the world is what matters. Having just released her book, ‘Fabric of Her Dancing Shoes,’ Terri is walking her talk. “It was really scary to put that out there,” Terri laughs, “but I believe who we are is what we have to offer. And so I offered.” The book is a walk through Terri’s inner search to ‘find the real in her life.’

Finishing up raising her sons, and watching them spin off into businesses of their own, Terri St. Cloud is turning more and more towards writing. She works daily on listening to her heart and following it.

You can find her work at www.BoneSighArts.com

What are you working on right now?

Not too long ago, I figured out I was in a ‘mid-life awakening’ period. I did a lot of inner searching. Things quieted down, I got busy with the business and finishing the new book. Recently some deep stuff has been coming up with the theme of darkness and light – of how I cope when I see ‘darkness’ win over ‘light.’  I want to offer my heart to the world. How strange that sounds. And yet, that’s what I do with my business. To do that, I have to know it. I have to know my heart.  And right now, I’m not real sure about some of the stuff whirling around in it. I want to understand how deeply I trust the process of life, how much I really can offer, knowing that light doesn’t always win. I feel like I have to do some searching within. And that’s where I am right now.

3 Trends that excite you?

Trends that excite me are the do it yourself things that are so available now! If you want to make a video, you can! Publish your own book, start your own record label, sell your art, spread your news, share your creativity! I love, love, love things like youtube where anyone can post anything and the really creative stuff goes wild and spreads so fast! I love the internet for that and all it has to offer. The do It yourself stuff lights my fire. I see a great video, and I want to make one! I see a great anything, and I want to do that! I’m laughing here as well, it takes talent, but more than that…it takes creativity. And I think the doors are open more than ever now for creativity.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I don’t know any other way to explain this, except that I have a lot of the ‘fool’ in me. I just dive right on in. With my whole business, I had no art background, no businesses background, I just dived in. I do things hands on. If I have an idea, I just sit down and try it. I remember when I very first began, I would have an idea and wonder can I do this or can I do that? And every single time, EVERY single time, a little voice in my head said ‘Just try it.’ Every single time. That was new for me. I never had that before. It became my mantra. Then I forgot about it, but it had become habit. When I was working on my book and nervous about how to put it all together, the voice was back! I’d question and I’d hear it! JUST TRY IT! And that’s what I do.

What is one mistake that you’ve made that our readers can learn from?

Not listening to my heart. Sometimes someone would come through that I knew wasn’t going to be good to work with. But the money would call me. And I’d go for it. Do that a few times, and deal with people you knew you shouldn’t have dealt with, and you start to listen more closely. You really deep down do have the answers and know what you should do. Don’t block that out!

What is one book and one tool that helps you bring ideas to life?:

‘Women Who Run With the Wolves’ is like a bible to me. It reminds me that I matter, and that I have so much inside me. It reminds me to believe in myself. It reminds me of the importance of being authentically myself.  And then in the practical sense, Adobe Photoshop has been the software I wouldn’t live without. And believe me, I dragged my feet on learning it. And now I can’t believe I lived without it.

What is one idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Okay, I’m not sure if it’s supposed to relate to what I do or not, but I do have the idea that will make someone a fortune. And since I know I’ll never do it, and would so love to have one of these, I offer it to you. A knob on a toilet seat! Yes! On the side of the seat so that you can just lift the seat up and down without having to deal with  the seat itself.

Can you tell I have three sons? I really think the world needs this.

What kind of training have you had?

And the answer would be “None.” I think that’s so important for people to know. What I had was complete desperation. I had to make this work. And I did. I learned along the way. On the job training. You do not need to be an expert to succeed.

You have a business based on pain and struggle (it was born from a divorce) and you hear daily from people with very real, deep pain. Has this dampened your belief in the joy and goodness of life?

And the answer so far is “I am finally learning that life is struggle. And it is joy. And it is happiness. And it is everything. I am finally learning that it isn’t a storybook line that we follow and that that’s more than okay, that is a good thing.  The opposites are there constantly. We need to learn to balance the holding of both of them. And it is completely our choice if we are going to be bitter or not. I choose not.”

Connect:

Terri St. Cloud ‘s blog: http://bonesigharts.blogspot.com/
bone sigh arts on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/bone-sigh-arts/76611786370?ref=ts
bone sigh arts: http://www.BoneSighArts.com

Nick Haas is an interactive, graphic artist and photographer whose gritty artwork has been the focus of exhibitions in Chicago and Los Angeles. His clients include companies such as The William Morris Agency, Random House Publishing, Livingstone Partners, Studio F Design, Art Effex USA, Night and Day Pictures, and Safeway Insurance, to name a few. Nick’s work has been featured in CS & CS Interiors Magazine, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Chicago Tribune Magazine, NBC News, websites, galleries, novels, motion pictures, and various residential and professional settings across the country.

To create his work, Haas shoots large-format digital photographs and collages them together in a digital environment. Each collage takes the individual objects out of their normal context and places them into one that more clearly expresses the beauty of the urban landscape’s form, color, and structure. Haas takes on a heavy influence from the movements of Futurism, Surrealism and Cubism. Haas’s artwork also aims to be eco-friendly, budget conscious, and unique in its production.

What are you working on right now?

I am working on a bevy of new artwork from my recent trip to New York City, a new website, and some potential client work.

3 Trends that excite you?

iPads

I love the iPad and the opportunity it presents for application/web developers, designers, and artists to really push human computer interaction. Less is more, only the essentials are needed. Beautiful.

Street art’s influence in design and pop culture

Everywhere you look there are new street art and artists popping up. The heavy influence of artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairy is being felt throughout cities and rural areas all over the U.S.

Augmented reality

I find the idea and use especially in the mobile arena really exciting. The more it becomes available the more it will shape the way we use our mobile devices. Imagine being able to point your phone at a row of apartments and get all of the details on those apartments, price, sq. ft, lease terms, photos, etc., all while you are walking by them. That is here, and it will continue to grow into some pretty amazing applications.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I bring ideas to life by setting out an action plan that helps translate the idea into something tangible. I often start by bouncing these ideas off of many people to gauge reactions, get input, and step outside my own head. Then I start to plan out their execution. For me ideas often evolve around a way to bring my art closer to people. Whether it is on the wall, furniture, apparel, or digital. How can I allow my audience to feel a part of the work? I will usually come up with something overly complicated. But that is okay; once I get them out in the open, discussions occur, they become much simpler and more effective in their execution.

What is one mistake that you made, and what did you learn from it?

One mistake I made early on in my career was pricing my work lower then I should have. This is a pretty common issue with artists. I did not know any better and had to gauge the market value of the work in order to really understand how I should price it. I spent a good part of early career eating a lot of my costs. Over time I was able to raise them to their correct value. My goal in pricing was to find an affordable structure so anyone really can afford the work, but also to make sure that certain costs are covered. What I learned from this process was to treat your work like any other product. Do your research on pricing and market value, do some market testing and see what customers respond too. I do this now with new works we release. I also learned to stand strong on my cost structure. People are always looking for ways to cut your prices.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

One business idea that I can communicate that has worked well for me is to take each opportunity you can to promote your work. You never know what can come of it. As an artist, it is imperative that you get your work in front of as many people as you can. Places such as galleries, wine bars, restaurants, furniture showrooms, online showcases, etc., all can benefit your exposure.

Also, network your ass off with interior designers. If they like your work, they might use it in their projects.

In what new ways are you hoping to grow Haastyle?

Well, a few things have been on the radar. We definitely want to continue our foray into furniture with more modular pieces. We want to create a large collection of furniture pieces that people can use to mix and match their Haastyle art. Another avenue is a more philanthropic approach to things, working with shelters, children, teaching computer arts and photography. We have had some opportunities to do so in the recent past and it has been wonderful. Also, connect with companies to do some more commercial work. Things such as book covers, ads, posters, etc.

What’s your favorite thing(s) about Chicago?

Well there is plenty, but I would say that one of my favorite things about Chicago has to be its depth. I have lived here for over 10 years and I am still finding new places, neighborhoods, stories, opportunities, experiences, and people that make our world here so very interesting. Chicago constantly amazes me.

Connect

Company Website: www.haastyle.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/haastyle

Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/dAtvcB

Molly Crabapple is an award-winning artist, author, and the founder of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School. Molly learned to draw in a Parisian bookstore. She later drew her way through Morocco and Kurdistan, and once into a Turkish jail. She’s developed her trademark Victorian style based on a fascination with ambition and artifice. Remember, the devil’s in the details.

Molly has drawn for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics, and has illustrated over a dozen books. She’s also turned her talents into giant theatrical backdrops, parade installations, burlesque posters, and gallery shows around the world. Molly is also the creator of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, an international chain of alternative drawing salons that take place in over a hundred cities on five continents. A business case study and a media darling, Dr. Sketchy’s has received hundreds of media profiles and changed the way life drawing is done.

Molly and her projects have been covered in the New York Times, LA Times, New York Post, Village Voice, La Repubblica, BUST, HEEB, Venus, HOW Design, Playboy, SF Chronicle, Sydney Morning Herald, Melbourne Age, BBC Radio, AP Wire, NPR, and hundreds of other media outlets around the world. Molly lectures internationally, at places like the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, South by Southwest Interactive, and Pixel Design Fair in Sao Paulo.

What are you working on right now?

I’m slaving away drawing curlicues for The Puppet Makers, a webcomics series for DC Comics created by me and John Leavitt. The Puppet Makers is a murder-mystery set in an alternate historical Versailles. Think Blade Runner meets Dangerous Liasons.

3 Trends that excite you?

I’m obsessed with the flashmobby, wish-fulfillment immediacy of Twitter. I love magazines like Coilhouse that are showing how print, as print, can be done right. And artists smashing the high/low divide never cease to thrill me

How do you bring ideas to life?

I just do things. The time one spends talking about a project is better spent doing that project

What is one mistake that you made, and what did you learn from it?

When I first started out, the taste of being young and powerless was so fresh in my mind that I tried to do EVERY opportunity. Everything! What a fantastic way to burn yourself out. I’ve learned to be more selective over the years, but I still have to train myself to focus more on the big picture and less on the details.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

The worst thing an organization can have is the useless Higher Up. The vice president of muckety muck who collects a fat salary and deliberately avoids decisions. These people will kill the spirit of innovation in your company, frustrate talented employees, and will make freelance innovators and creatives not want to work with you.

What can you recommend to young artists who dream of making art their livelihood?

Be these three things to a large degree: persistent, opportunistic, motivated. Art is a brutally competitive field; you have to work hard to make a go at it. If you have trouble staying motivated to do art, it’s better you do it as a hobby than a profession.

If you had to put everything you do right now in a drawer and do something else, what would it be?

Middle Eastern studies student. I spent years learning Arabic, and damn have I forgotten it.

Connect

+Artist

http://www.mollycrabapple.com

+Founder of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School

alt. life drawing in 100 cities

http://www.drsketchy.com

+follow me on twitter

http://www.twitter.com/mollycrabapple