Ok, Now Go

I think I've got it now. There is a reason I'm an artist as opposed to an office manager. Sitting in front of the computer so much is making me crazy. If all goes well, and this really gets off the ground, I'll have to hire someone else to sit on their butt. I'm just not that type!

Ummm... what was the purpose of this post, again?

Oh yeah, We are GO GO GO. (I suddenly have the urge to read Go Dog Go)

The Kickstarter Campaign Starts now and will End October 17th at 8:00 PM

Pop Art Murals Kickstarter Campaign 

Back the Truck Up

If you have never tried to put a kickstarter together, you will never know how time consuming it all is. Verifying identity and bank accounts are swallowing up huge chunks of my time. At least I know Kickstarter is legit. It would be very hard for anyone to run a scam off there and not get caught. 

I am currently waiting on the bank verification to come back with could take 7 days.

I've updated the rewards ladder, as St. Mary's was unable to guarantee I would be able to run a live web cast. I understand completely. It's a whole other legal nightmare if one of the kids were to show up in the broadcast.

AND... While Godsmack is an awesome band, I've been advised not to use their song in the Kickstarter video. So, I begged my buddy DJ IM to hook me up with something. He was awesome enough to provide me with an instrumental version of a song he collaborated on.  I am forever in his debt, but don't tell him that.

You guys should check him out. He's on Facebook and Soundcloud.

DJ IM Facebook
DJ IM Soundcloud

Now I present you with the NEW and IMPROVED promo film:

Get Set

The video is done:

On your marks

Oh man, what a week. First some family issues, and then problems getting video from the dentist office... They had patients so I had to wait a week to get "kid free" video.

BUT
We are back on track now. I just finished putting together the kickstarter video. All I have to do now is figure out what format it should be saved in to publish it here, facebook and kickstarter. I'm very proud of myself. It took more than 6 hours to make and edit a 4 minute video. Phew, that stuff is hard.

 I've researched the webcasting aspect, so as long as St. Mary's has a wifi network I can get on, that should be good to go.

Check back tomorrow to (hopefully) see the finished video.

Green Light

Great News!!!

After some research, legal and otherwise, and behind the scene talks, We Are A Go!

St. Mary's Home informed me yesterday that the mural is approved.  We decided on this:

A fat, happy dragon surrounded by differently abled kids and Donald Duck. The kids and Mr. Duck will be roasting marshmallows with the dragons fire breath.  I'm very excited about this concept, and I can't wait to get started.

But first... We must start the kickstarter campaign. Everything is basically ready, except the video. Even that is mostly done, but I'd like to get some video of St. Mary's to add to it.

I'll be busy the next couple of days.  Hopefully we can start before the end of next week.

YAY!!!

Friday July 25

It's been a productive week. I worked on the movie a little. I spent a lot of time looking for some editing software that didn't cost a fortune, ie; free. No luck, so I stuck with movie maker. It's ok, gets the job done. I need to write and record the narration. That will be the hard part for me. Hope to have the entire thing finished next week.

I never heard back from the elementary school.

I have a meeting with the people in charge at St. Mary's Home, Monday afternoon. YAY! I'm working on some sketches for them now. I should be able to finalize my timeline and start date early next week.

I'm super excited about all of this coming together. Can't wait until I can lay some paint down.

The goals for next week:

Finish the Kickstarter video
Establish a timeline and start date
Work on sketches for St. Mary's

July 21

It's been another lovely weekend here at The Beach. I hope you had a good weekend too.

I completely forgot about a key component of a kickstarter campaign... The Video.  I guess I have my assignment for the week.

I went and got video of some work I did in downtown Norfolk yesterday morning. I also contacted Godsmack to see if I can use one of their tracks for background music. I'm not holding my breath that they'll get back to me, but I have to at least try. And I got together all the other photos and videos I want to use for the "film". 

At some point this week I'm going to try and get video from Dr. K's office. Maybe get some video of the children's places I'd like to paint. I'd also like to interview my boss. While I know he is all for me breaking out on my own (he's said as much) I don't know how he'll feel about being filmed.

This little project should be fun. I enjoy cutting together little movies. .

Week 1 Recap

Happy Saturday Morning!!!
First, let me say, I love 4 am. With all it's peace and quiet it allows me to work and think clearly. So here is the graphic for the t-shirts and mugs...

Yes... the letters do get smaller as they go. The original Dream graphic is something I drew for a tattoo and I needed the letters to scale down in order to fit the space....

I am such a fan of the power of a "dream" I have it tattooed on me so the whole world can see!

So there you have it. I did all the things I set out to do this week. Contacted my charities, came up with a budget, researched rewards and finished the graphic! Next week I hope to have a timeline with a start date for the campaign.

Have an awesome weekend!

Day 4

First... for the good news. St. Mary's emailed me back and they are interested in my offer. They want to set up a meeting next week. YAY!

Now, for the bad news... I started editing the graphic for the t-shirts/mugs. Later, I needed to take my laptop to a friends house. I closed it up, unplugged it and packed it in my bag. Only after that did I remember that I don't have a battery pack on this laptop and had essentially just shut the computer down. With Out Saving!!! So, I had to start back at the beginning. Needless to say, I'm not done with that yet.

But, hey... St. Mary's got back to me.

Now if you'll excuse me, there is a graphic that needs tending... lol

Day 3

My Boss text me as I was driving to work today to tell me I have the day off. I thought, "Cool. Now I can research the charities." I'm a dork, I know.

Todays research was easier than yesterday BY FAR! It didn't take me long to find a bunch of childrens organizations. I tagged more than a dozen to dig into. Of those I narrowed it down to 2 that I am sending my first offers to.

St. Mary's Home for children

Betty F. Williams Elem.

St. Mary's is pretty self explanatory. The Elementary school is in a section of the city where poverty and crime are major hurtles. If one (or both) of these groups don't accept my offer, I will send an offer to Childrens Hospital. But I thought it would be good to offer it to smaller groups first. Emails have been sent!

Now for the reward ladder: (edited 8-27-14)
For those out there who don't know what Kickstarter is, check them out: Kickstarter 

But to quickly explain, when a "backer" pledges to donate to your campaign, they can get rewards depending on the denomination they pledge. The following are my rewards:

$10  4 x 8 Photo of mural in progress and printed thank you for your contribution.

$25  8 x 10 Photo collage of mural with printed thank you for your contribution.

$50  8 x 10 Photo collage mentioned above. White short sleeve t-shirt with printed graphic drawn by M.J.

$100  8 x 10 Photo collage mentioned above. White short sleeve t-shirt mentioned above. Access to daily video updates while the St. Mary's Mural is in progress.

$250  8 x 10 Photo collage mentioned above. White t-shirt mentioned above AND White coffee mug with printed graphic drawn by M.J. Access to daily video updates while the St. Mary's Mural is in progress.

$500  All the rewards mentioned above AND Custom airbrushed portrait of any person/pet of your choice, by M.J. 19” X 24”, 96 lb, acid free, archival quality paper, shipped in tube mailer.

Ok... Not bad for 3 days work. 

Day 4 Goal:

Clean up the graphic for the T-shirt and Mug rewards.

Day 2

YAY! I did some research and have come up with a rough estimate on how much this will cost. I'm aware this may change as I discover or remember other things, but I think this is the bulk of it.

Overhead Projector $400

Air compressor $200

Airbrush $480

Spray mask $30

Laptop $400

Asst. paint $300 (for charity project)

Car Signage $70 per pair

Flyers $150/100

Facebook promotion $10/day x 28 days = $280

Listing on YP.com FREE

       Sub-total $2310

Reward/shipping costs: $576

Kickstarter/C.C. Fees: 5% each $264

Total goal: $3150

I decided against Google ads, only because I can't really track or target my ads, and it's too confusing. The good new is the listing on YP.com was free. We like free! I have already done that.

The bad news is I've spent all day researching reward fulfillment costs and not only does my butt feel wider, but I have a headache. So I didn't get any research done for the childrens charity to donate a mural to. Grrr, that's the part I was looking forward to. It's now after 7pm. Tomorrow is another day.

So day 3 goals are:
Research charities to donate to.
Outline the backer rewards ladder.

Day 1

Hi there. My name is Missy, also known as M.J.  I am an artistic painter who currently works for Old World Artists based in Hampton Roads Va.  We mostly do "faux" painting. Everything you could imagine, we have or can paint. Our work is mostly walls, cabinets and furniture.

Objective: Make the white bookshelf look like it's made of bamboo...

 Objective: Make the plate cover blend with the tiled wall...

 Objective: Make this pine island into distressed grey.

I love my job. I feel so lucky to get up every morning and know I'll get to do something creative. And can you believe, I get paid for it? I know, sounds crazy, but I'm blessed.  On a rare occasion we get commissioned to do a mural. That's what I live for. When we get mural work, it's all me. On occasion I will have some help on the background, but I am the fine line painter. I love this kind of work.

I've been thinking the last couple of months that I would like to put more energy into the mural side of the business. Today, I decided to start working towards that goal.

I am going to make a name for myself in the mural world. Because painting makes me happy!

So where to start... there are some things I will need to really get this going.  A new projector, because my overhead one finally took it's last breath a few weeks ago. I would like a digital one, so I can hook it up to a laptop rather than lug a huge one around. A new netbook, because my laptop is on it's last leg. An air compressor, and a detail airbrush to add to my airbrushing tools. I think I'll also need some advertising funds. I'm finding that the road block in my business, and probably any start-up, is getting the word out.

Now, how to fund this crazy adventure? Er.... Well I've heard some fantastic things about Kickstarter, so I went and looked them up. After reading... and reading... and reading... I think this may be worth exploring.

Day 1 assignments:
*Research Kickstarter CHECK
*Open a twitter account CHECK
*Start a blog CHECK

For day 2 my assignments for myself are to:
*Research the cost of the things I will need to make this a reality
*Find a local childrens charity that I can donate a mural to. Maybe more than one. Did I mention I love to paint?
*Write a blog post about my progress.