I was lucky enough to get along to the opening of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s latest exhibition today. My wife Lynda worked there for ten years as Artist in Education and got the invite. It was good for her to get back and see some old friends, albeit in her new wheelchair.

I didn’t know much about Isamu Noguchi before today – ha, ha – actually I didn’t know anything. Wow – did this guy know how to make beautiful sculptures.

Much of what was on show was not as ‘finished’ as the monumental sculpture in the picture, which is in the beautiful grounds of the park. [Note added December 2009:  I now know why they're so different from the image above - it's not by Noguchi but by Nigel Hall. My apologies to both Nigel Hall and the late Isamu Noguchi, and thanks to Jimmy for taking the time to let me know - Andrew Leigh] They are often hunks of stone with, apparently, minimal but well chosen working. Sometimes these pieces seemed to hint at a figurative source – a flint tool, a dinosaur’s skull, perhaps, and sometimes they seemed purely abstract.

But everything he put his hand to oozed sensuousness and personally I like the rocky stuff the best. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many pieces that were so beguilingly attractive to the eye. I can’t wait to get back and see them when it’s less crowded.

As you might guess from the above ‘review’, I tend to react to sculptures from the gut rather than at an intellectual level, and I’m certainly not going to attempt anything like that here.

What I will say is this – if you are near enough to do so then give yourself some inspiration by getting along to this exhibition. It’s running from now until February and it’s by far the biggest collection of Noguchi’s work ever to be shown in Europe. And if you aren’t close enough for a trip to gorgeous Yorkshire (I get more hits from the US than the UK, so I know it’s too far for a day’s outing for y’all) – well, go visit something else that will give those creative juices a good shaking.

• This was also the opening for Sarah Staton’s Shucks, Sucks, Sticks, Stacks – brilliant title, but unfortunately our wonderful British weather and Lynda’s fading energy levels means we’ll have to save that for another day. What we heard about it sounded very interesting and we’ll get back to see the park and her exhibition soon, and hopefully in the sunshine – is that too much to ask?

• Finally, hi to Harvey Alexander, a printmaker from Harrogate who we had an enjoyable chat with over a glass of bubbly. Nice to meet you Harvey.

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Other relevant posts:
Book Review: I’d Rather Be in the Studio, by Alyson B Stanfield
Find Your Definition of Creative Success

If you are an artist the chances are you’ve got one or two fine excuses for not promoting and selling your art more than you do -  rom simply not having enough time, to not having a clue where to begin.

Well, help is at hand with I’d Rather Be in the Studio: The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion.

Author Alyson B Stanfield knows what you need to do to get your art noticed, exhibited and sold. And she’s worked with countless artists to help them do just that. That’s why she’s heard all our excuses – and let’s face it there’s always some much cherished excuse why we don’t promote ourselves and our artwork.

If you are attached to your excuses – if you are determined to keep on believing that those excuses (okay, reasons, if you must) explain why success is there to be grabbed by other artists but not by you – then whatever you do, don’t buy this book. That way you can hang on to your illusions and keep on hoping for that million-to-one lucky day when a top curator accidentally sees your artwork and rockets you to art-world stardom. Yeah, right.

On the other hand, if you are fed up with seeing other, often less talented artists strutting their creative stuff while you soldier on, hiding your light in the undergrowth, then this is the book for you.

Stanfield herself makes no excuses for pointing out that if you are making, promoting and selling your art, you are in fact running a business. And she doesn’t pretend that no effort is involved in achieving success, pointing out that hard work and self-discipline are vital ingredients.

People who succeed- including artists – do not succeed simply because they are the best at what they do. They do so because they have a combination of passion, commitment, focus, self-confidence, and fortitude. They know how to get things done!

And that’s where I believe this book excels – giving you the know-how and courage to get things done. It describes a variety of strategies to get your art in front of art buyers – and it tells you precisely and clearly how to go about doing it.

I’m not going to list everything that’s in this book – enough to say that it ranges from a myriad of practical ways to publicize your artwork, to the best ways to approach galleries. It shows you how to write about yourself and your art so that people will take notice, and how to deal face-to-face with the people that count. Stanfield particularly emphasises the immense selling power of a well maintained mailing list.

Right at the beginning there’s a wonderful chapter about getting organised. Did I really just describe a chapter about getting organised as wonderful? You know, I’m not a naturally organised person. I have to work at it. This chapter vividly explains the benefits of being organised. It tells you clearly and simply how to do it. And by that I mean right down to details such as helpful category names for your new files.

Does that sound daunting or boring? Strangely I found it anything but. It actually felt inspiring and liberating. Not only do you begin to understand the profound benefits of being organised (both for your creativity and your career), you also get an empowering sense of ‘I can do that’, and even more empowering – ‘I want to do that!’

Are there any drawbacks to I’d Rather Be in the Studio? None that I could see and believe me I did try to find them.

I’d Rather Be in the Studio is an impressive achievement. Stanfield is the first to agree that ‘the studio is the place where the magic happens’. But it seems to me there is another kind of magic that all too often eludes many superb artists. That’s the magic of actually building your creativity and art into a truly rewarding career.

If you just use a fraction of the information in this book you’ll go a long way towards that. Now – what’s your excuse again?

***

Buy I’d Rather Be in the Studio

You can also find excellent free articles and other resources at Alyson’s website artbizcoach.com