The Artist Next Level Podcast with Sergio Gomez

What does it take to be an artist? Adaptation may be a good word. In this episode, Sergio and Chicago-based Jaime Foster talk about life, pets, family and the hustle life of an artist. Jaime shares her story and figuring out how to combine passions with the causes we care about.

FUSEDChicago is an organization of Midwest artists who share an interest in the medium of encaustic. A method of making art using pigmented wax fused to a surface by heat. their mission is to advance public awareness of encaustic art through workshops and thematic exhibitions, and to create professional opportunities for networking and learning exchanges for their members.

Do you have trouble coming up with content ideas for Instagram? Are you running out of ideas what to post? Look no further. In today's episode, Sergio shares 20 Instagram Post Ideas to Try Next. Check out Sergio's new online course Social Media Skills for Artists to Grow Your Audience and Get Results in 2019. Visit http://www.theartistnextlevel.com/socialmedia

Are you having trouble catching up with all things social media? Do you feel like you just have no time to manage all your content? Maybe you just cannot seem to be able to grow your Instagram account. This episode is for YOU! Social Media Course: http://www.theartistnextlevel.com/socialmedia

As we get started with the new year, have you taken the time to plan and THINK about the new year? In this episode I talk about planning and spending time thinking for the new year. This is an episode you do not want to miss.

Every year, I take time in my schedule to visit Art Basel Miami Beach and many of the other art fairs gather in Miami for that week. Everything from shows, art, people and more, Art Basel is a destination for thousands of people in the art world. In this episode, I chat with art expert Ruth Crnkovich and I share tips to visit Art Basel on a small budget.

I spent 25 minutes with artist and writer Sarah Opat talking about writing about art. This is something she is super passionate about. In the episode we discuss why artists should have their work written about and documented in their careers.

In this episode Sergio talks about one strategy to adopt when looking for international opportunities for your art. In 2018, Sergio was subject of four solo museum shows in three different countries. He talks about what it takes and one specific strategy that will help you get outside of your country and into the world.

Twisted Oyster is an annual theme-based and socially conscious festival showcasing stories and works of human interest. At the core of the festival lies community engagement and social inclusion with a mission to place a spotlight on stories of human interest across a broad range of social issues, through the curation of films and time-based media artworks. Twisted Oyster is a unique festival in Chicago where film and art intersect in a dual program exhibition. The works created by culturally diverse artists and filmmakers from around the world open doors to stories that engage the public into an in-depth experience of human tales and narratives. Every year, the festival selects a number of works created with the use of advanced digital technologies or electronics to create provocative installations, while films are selected by a jury panel of artists, filmmakers and writers. The festival's dual program offers an opportunity to experience local and international short, feature, fiction, experimental, documentary films, and animation, plus a time-based art exhibition that includes small and large installations and performance for an immersive sensorial experience. Twisted Oyster hosts lectures, presentations and invites high school- and community college-level artists to show their films or video artworks.

In this episode I have a great chat with the brand new art space Satellite - Chicago in the eve of their debut opening their space to the public. This group of four young emerging artists and creatives share their experiences and challenges with collaborating with one another. Satellite Chicago is a co-operatively run artists space for performative, interactive and installation-based art. Founded around the thesis that the monoculture of economic rationality does not allow for the collective imagination of new social/organizational projects. Our mission is to: Activate the art exhibition space as a tool for producing disruptive sensorial experiences that estrange socio-spatial contexts from codified etiquettes.

November is the perfect time to take a minute to evaluate your art career and start planning for the next year. Often we wait till January to plan ahead. Understanding how you used your time and the results you got will help you strategize for success in the new year. This episode will help you look at the areas of marketing, sales, organization, productivity and wellness.art

Sometimes you need a break from an art project or an activity you may be currently doing. Giving yourself permission to stop is the first step in moving to a happier place.

Born and raised in the Chicago area Fred Moss was drawing and sketching the world around him from an early age. He grew up visiting the Chicago Art Institute, often admiring the outstanding impressionistic and classical painting collection. He also saw the traveling shows, and was influenced by the master painters and Impressionist shows. He attended the College for Creative Studies after receiving a partial school grant and earned a bachelor's degree. After graduation he studied with renowned painter Romel De La Torre, who helped him convey on canvas his thoughts and feelings. He also studied at the Florence Academy of Art in his grandparents' native country, Italy. There he found a subject matter that inspired him—the scenic towns and countrysides of Italy. Fred painted Florence, Lake Como, Venetian canals, and hiked the mountains of the Cinque Terre looking for scenic views to capture on canvas. In 2007 he was accepted into the American Impressionist Society's Annual National Juried Exhibition for his painting of "Springtime Flowers" which was held at Hilligoss Galleries in Chicago. In 2008 he was accepted into the American Impressionist Society's Annual Juried Exhibition for his painting of "Rose Garden" which was held at Coda Gallery in California. In 2008 he had a solo show at the North Charleston City Gallery. In 2011 he had a painting in ArtPrize, which is a global art competition held in Grand Rapids Michigan. In 2014 he was commissioned to paint a public art "horse of honor". Each horse was dedicated to a Chicago police officer who was killed or injured in the line of duty. The exhibit featured life size statues of Chicago mounted patrol units that were each artistically designed by local Chicago artists. The exhibit benefited the Chicago memorial foundation. In 2017 he was commissioned to paint a public art "K9" statue. Each K9 statue was of K9 officers. Fred created a Chicago Blackhawks themed K9 that was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks team. In 2014 he had a solo exhibition at the Harold Washington Chicago Library of "Impressions of Chicago Gardens". He has exhibited in several galleries and shows which include the Hinsdale Center for the Arts, Beverly Art Center, Karen Solem's Gallery, 7013 Studio, Hinsdale gallery, Arlington Heights Historical Museum, Elmhurst Artist Guild, Mainstreet Art Center, and Silhouettes Fifth Annual Exhibit. During 2004 and 2005 he participated at Art in the Barn, a juried art show. He has also painted Chicago and Italy cityscapes for limited edition prints which were signed, numbered, then distributed and sold in the Chicagoland area. Chicago city hall has one of his prints hanging there. His painting "Cliffside View of Vernazza" was a finalist in the May Art Muse Contest. And his painting "Gliding Gondola" was a finalist in the January Art Muse Contest. Over the years, he has done painting demonstrations for Friendship Village, taught oil painting at Art Cube Studios, and taught a workshop at the Elmhurst Art Guild about the use of computers by artists. Fred is now working on paintings of National Parks.

Mentorly was Co-founded by artist-entrepreneurs, Ashley Werhun, professional dancer formerly with Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and Katherine Macnaughton, Filmmaker and Co-founder of Bis Films. Both are working artists with 20 years combined professional experience. Mentorly is the first online arts mentorship platform providing accessible and engaging opportunities to connect with emerging and professional artists from around the world. their mission is to empower artists by fostering learning through creative exchanges and to giving back to the community through our InKind Fund. As working artists, Mentorly's co-founders united over a common pain point. On one hand, Ashley, would receive hundreds of informal requests for advice that would clog up her Facebook messenger and Instagram inbox. As much as she wanted to help these aspiring dancers, the channel seemed too informal and inefficiently setup for providing thoughtful guidance. She noticed that this happened to the artists around her and wondered if it was a problem that crossed industries - it was. Katherine, however, experienced the gap from a different perspective. "Founding a video production company right out of school and building it for the following 8 years was extremely rewarding, but also isolating at times. I often felt I missed out on the opportunity to build a network of peers and more importantly, experienced and like-minded professionals that I could look up to for guidance. What I really needed was a mentor." Both set out to fill this gap by building a platform that would foster creative exchanges and overall unite and strengthen the art community. After speaking with hundreds of artists who expressed the same pain points, the gap became achingly apparent: artists are hard-pressed to find guidance that can help steer their careers, develop and sharpen skills, and build confidence. This led to an urgent call to action: to provide direct access to mentors in one stroke and Mentorly was the timely solution. Since launch, the feedback has been resoundingly positive with many users asking us why this platform hasn't existed sooner! Mentorship is essential to growth, though it is often informal and inaccessible to most. It's difficult to find a mentor in any profession, not just the arts. Universities feel this gap every day. They have experienced alumni that want to give back to their alma mater and enrolled students but they don't live in the same city and are most often only solicited for donations. Students, however, attend that school because of their respected programs and resulting successful alumni. They aspire to be like them, but are currently disconnected from past graduates. The task of bringing them together and guiding these young minds is often left to a handful of staff who are already doing a million other things. By streamlining mentorship, Mentorly adds value to any university or organization. Mentorly, most recently is working with MIT! "Finally something truly helpful in the world of art education and an opening gate & path to realizing a dream for many more creative people! (...) Linking people who want to learn with the people who have paid their dues and achieved a measure of success in their discipline has been rare and often extremely expensive. You are changing that!" - Barbara Rogers

Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt spent her work career facilitating the education of younger students. As teacher and administrator she was involved in creating learning environments for students with special learning needs. Elaine is now spending her time and energy on a number of other projects she holds close to her heart. She lives with her husband, Steven Alan Bennett, in San Antonio, Texas. She and Steven are art collectors who specialize in realist paintings of women by women artists. This undertaking has afforded them the opportunity to create a collection of women experiencing various emotions from all walks of life as well as to meet many creative artists. The couple recently launched The Bennett Prize, designed to propel the careers of women painters who are or seek to become full-time professional painters. Elaine also is one of the curators for "Visions of Venus/Venus's Visions" at the Zhou B. Center which opens this coming Friday.

Doug Frohman is a contemporary artist working in Chicago. His explorations into painting draw upon minimalist, color-field and architectural influences. Painted primarily in oil and encaustic with a cement trowel, he delivers a richly, sophisticated palette on wood panels. Mr. Frohman's work has been collected and exhibited widely across the US, including at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, Eaton Center, Cleveland, OH and the Library of Congress, Washington DC. Doug is currently represented by 4 Galleries across the US. in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Columbus, OH. In 2016-17, he exhibited at 6 top US Art Fairs, including CONTEXT New York and Art Basel Miami. He has worked extensively with corporate art consultants, interior designers and architects executing commissions, installations, and sales to private collectors.

Claire Becker, born in Paris, France, grew up in Strasbourg where she studied art, literature, music, theater and dance. At 22, she left France to cross the Atlantic Ocean to Washington DC, and never returned, except to visit and present exhibitions. She has lived in the United States, a short time in Tokyo in Japan, and presently lives and works in Mexico City. She dedicated 10 years to dance, and has been a sculptor for the past 20 years. Her camera accompanied her in all of her travels and is a key tool in her creative process. Over the last 4 years, she has shown photography alongside her sculpture work. Her work has been recognized with several grants and prizes and is part of important private art collections, museums' collections, and public spaces. She has participated in more than 80 exhibitions and international shows in galleries, art fairs and museums in Mexico, USA, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Australia, Singapore, China, France, Germany and Italy. She has presented more than 20 solo exhibitions in galleries, museums and public spaces, mostly in Mexico, like the Women's museum (The Table is Set, 2016), the Traeger and Pinto contemporary art gallery (Head in the clouds, 2014), the downtown Plaza Juarez (Bbla, 2012), the Chopo museum (Sweet and Sour, 2007), all in Mexico City; She presented Materia Dispuesta in The Museum of Contemporary Art of Yucatan (MACAY) in the city of Merida, Mexico, in 2013; The moon's exuberances in The Matthei gallery in Santiago, Chile (2007); Dismantled Reality in the Museum of Anthropology of the City of Xalapa, Mexico, in 2005.

Introducing Breakfast with Sergio. A live video show on social media covering art topics artists need to know about to grow their art career. Listen to episode one in today's podcast.

Within a few short years, following his decision to focus solely on his fine art career, Darryll Schiff became an internationally recognized artist. His work appears in the collections of many private collectors and in leading museums, such as the Art Institute of Chicago, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Norton Simon Museum in California. Darryll takes the camera well beyond its conventions. He is unique in the poetic and painterly results you see in his art. Darryll Schiff's work has been featured in international art fairs in Art Busan South Korea, and Bazaar Art Jakarta Indonesia. He had solo shows at Prak-sis gallery and En Foco Gallery, and more is in the works, including SCOPE Miami Beach and SCOPE New York. Recently, Schiff unveiled his massive 24x56 foot mural "Descending to Heaven" in the famous Wabash Arts Corridor of Chicago.

Laura is also thrilled to share her artistic visions as a choreographer with Still Inspired(?). She independently co-produces Still Inspired(?) and is honored to produce the show's fourth installment in the beautiful City of Chicago, where she can share artistic visions with other dance and visual creators AND provide opportunities to artists and dancers alike through this incredible project. It is a dream come true!

Alejandra Zermeño conducts studies in Visual Arts Degree with an average position in the High Academic Performance Program at the Academy of San Carlos, UNAM. From 2006 to 2008 she completes her Master studies with honors in the same Institution. Zermeño´s interests have been since her beginners, the human body exploration. Her prolific art production has been present in more than 50 collective exhibitions and National and International Biennale, which include: Latin Views Biennale, Connecticut (2014- 2012-2010). International Tokyo's Prize, Centro Diffusione Arte, Edizioni e Promozioni Artiche. Italy-Tokyo (2011). Art Women International Encounter, National Polytechnic (2011). Nord Art Busseldorf, Germany (2011). Description of a Journey, US and Canada (2010-2012). XIV Iberoamerican and International Women Arts Encounter, Madrid (2010). Art al Vent VII, Alicante; Spain. She has 15 solo exhibitions in Mexican galleries and museums, some of them are: "Cellular physiology", Chavez Morado Gallery, Guanajuato (2015); "Cherchez la Femme", Women´s Museum (2014) y "BIDA (Internal Biology of Animals)" Chopo´s Museum (2012). Her work belong to José Vasconcelos Public Library, Presidential Project it is called City of Books, Zermeño produced three sculptures which are exhibited in the Castro´s Leal Collection in collaboration with the renown architect Bernardo Gómez-Pimienta. This artwork was commissioner by Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes in 2012. Her sculptures could be seeing all over the Mexican Republic thanks to Taktile Project in 2016. In 2016 she was invited to the ESSARTS International Sculpture Symposium to produce a public sculpture in Quebec, Canada. She has received several awards, fellowships and honors, which include: 1er Acquisition Prize V International Biennale Sacred Contemporary Art, Monterrey (2015). International Tokyo´s Prize: To the Master of Arts, Japan (2011). Honorific Mention V National Art Biennale, Yucatán (2011).First prize National paint and sculpture contest, Women in Arts (2009). Acquisition Prize I International Biennale Sacred Contemporary Art (2008) Monterrey. In 2007 won the contest Open art and the Annual Contest organized by Leopoldo Flores University Museum in Mexico State. Alejandra Zermeño was invited in 2016 to be part of the Arts & Letters Council of the Mexican Museum in San Francisco, CA.

Check out the top 5 most dowloaded episodes of 2017 and find out why they were at the top of the charts. Thanks for an amazing 2017!

The skills you need to succeed in 2018 are probably very different from those you needed say 20 years ago. Yet, there are skills such as the ability to work with others that still remain as important regardless of time. I consider the skills I share in this episode essential in the context of today. If you don't think you have these skills or you think you need to get better at any of them, I give you resources to follow.

Didi Menendez (Cuban born) is the creator and publisher of PoetsArtists. She has been curating group exhibitions since 2013 mostly with Sergio Gomez at the Zhou B Art Center. In 2018 she has several group exhibitions planned including WTF at Art Palm Beach International, Visions of Venus/Venus' Visions curated by Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, Painting The Figure Now curated by Walt Morton, Chronicles of a Future Foretold curated by Dr. Samuel Peralta, The Human Condition curated by Steven DaLuz and she has already made plans for the 2019 season. Catch all of her upcoming publication and exhibition calls at www.poetsandartists.com.

In this mini-podcast, creative attorney Patrice Perkins talks about the process to trademark your art work.

In this mini podcast episode, creative attorney Patrice Perkins talks about the benefits of registering your work for copyright.

In this mini episode art expert and appraiser Ruth Crnkovich discuses artists donating art to public museums and what the law says can and cannot be deducted.

In this mini episode, art expert and certified appraiser Ruth Crnkovich talks about the reasons why artists may or may not consider putting their work for auction.

In this mini episode, Creative Attorney Patrice Perkins answers the question of if artists should trademark their name. Don't miss it and share it with your friends.

In this podcast episode, Justin Antony, co-founder of Artwork Archive discusses how to manage your art career, save time, be organized and productive. Additionally, he shares valuable insights into current and upcoming features of Artwork Archive.

In this mini-episode, curator and professional art appraiser Ruth Crnkovich answers the question of how to price your own artwork.

In this mini-episode, artist and gallery director Dan Addington answers the question of how artists should approach and get into art galleries. Do to miss this practical advice.

In this mini-episode, artist Steve Prince answers the question of why artists need to be part of an art community. If you want to listen to the full podcast episode, listen to episode number 006 of the Art Next Level podcast.

In this episode, Sergio Gomez shares why you should have an Electronic Press Kit for Artists. He talks about how to use and how to make one. Listen to this episode and make a Press Kit to add to your arsenal of marketing tools.

I am Christy Lee, better known as Christybomb, a visual artist based out of New York City and Charleston, WV. The "Christybomb" moniker was given to me by friends because of the energy and vivaciousness embodied within my art. I was born in Louisville, Kentucky and graduated from the University of North Florida with a bachelor's degree in biology and a minor in public health. In spite of my research biologist training, I ultimately came to the realization that creating art could be more than a hobby. This realization occurred when I was living in Japan after the tsunami and earthquake of 2011, with the subsequent reflection and introspection that resulted from this upheaval. I was inspired to create a completely self-taught portfolio of work, which resulted in my acceptance into the prestigious MFA Fine Arts program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where I received my MFA in Fine Arts degree. One of the more significant accomplishments of my formal education was bringing glitter and other craft materials to academia, and exhibiting them in academic spaces. My art practice has developed in such a way that I now pull from my scientific background, my self-taught art training, as well as from my academic, traditional artist education. I would say that it is the marriage of these aspects of my background and personality that have resulted in my unconventional style. Since then, I have shown both at major art fairs and in international exhibitions as well as having completed large commissions for public spaces. My work has been acquired by major private collections and a foreign museum. More recently, I have also ventured into Design, where I have worldwide exclusive licensing representation. I continue to exhibit my work regularly at a variety of venues and locations.

Childhood Fractured is a Humanities based Human Rights Initiative centered on exploring, defining, and preventing the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. The foundation of this project is a series of 13 paintings each with a written narrative meant to explore the childhood sexual abuse of artist, Allen Vandever. This contemporary artwork functions as a creative interface for the public to be made aware of the realities of childhood sexual abuse told from the male perspective and to foster constructive, critical, and positive dialogues on this topic. The artwork and their respective narratives are currently being compiled into a book. This book will also feature expository writings on the topic of childhood sexual abuse, current medical research, and critical analysis of what we can do as a society in relation to childhood sexual abuse and exploitation.

In this podcast episode, Sergio and Dr Yanina Gomez discuss the features and benefits of the Art NXT Level program. In their conversation, they answer recently asked questions and clarify what the program is and how it works. The Art NXT Level program helps artists manage their art career and take it to the next level.

Charles Gniech is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Joliet Junior College and has been teaching at various colleges and universities for more then twenty-five years. Chuck served as Curator for the galleries of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago from 2002-2013 and acted as the Collections Curator for the Institute's Corporate Fine Art Collection. In 2013, acting as Curator-at-Large, Chuck launched two traveling group exhibitions—one that addresses human rights issues and the other exploring visual harmony in contemporary art. In March 2016, he was a member of a four-person panel that presented a session titled "Change Artists-Using the Arts to Leverage Change" at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, 60th Session. In February of 2017, Chuck acted as a Session Chair at the College Art Association, 105th Annual Conference in New York, where the three-member panel defined the ability of fine art to confront social issues on a global scale. Chuck holds a Master of Fine Art degree with an emphasis in painting and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in illustration, both from Northern Illinois University. While teaching, curating, and consulting, he continues to paint and exhibits at the national level. Chucks paintings have been included into numerous gallery and museum exhibitions. His work has been exhibited repeatedly at both The Rockford Art Museum and The Fort Wayne Museum of Art. his paintings have been acquired for multiple public and private collections, with a large canvas recently purchased for the Permanent Collection of The Fort Wayne Museum of Art.

In this episode, artist Justin Vining shares his story of going through Law School and building a sustainable art career from the ground up. Justin Vining is an Indianapolis-based artist, specializing in landscapes and cityscapes. Justin studied Art Education at Purdue University and taught elementary art for three years. Following his tenure as a teacher, Justin attended Valparaiso Law school, where he rekindled his love for creating between classes and clerking. Shortly after graduating and passing the bar in 2010, Justin decided to pursue art full time and hasn't looked back since. Originally from a small farm town in Indiana, Justin finds inspiration from American regionalist painters and WPA-era public works. In his progress as a full-time artist, his artwork has evolved from bright, whimsical watercolors and acrylics to more classical oil scenes. In his exploration of oils, he's begun working en plein air and exploring more muted, natural tones. In 2017, Justin plans on continuing his exploration in oils, balancing this new found love of plain air painting with his studio work.

Chicago artist Victoria Fuller has an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and fellowship awards from the Colorado Council on the Arts and Humanities, and the Illinois Arts Council. She also received an Illinois Arts Council CAAP Grant, and was a resident artist at Sculpture Space in Utica, NY and Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest, IL. Her large-scale public sculpture "Shoe of Shoes" is in the collection of Caleres Shoes in St. Louis. Sound Transit in Seattle commissioned another large-scale sculpture, "Global Garden Shovel," and she was commissioned by Comed to create a the sculpture, Peas and Quiet." In 2016 she was featured in Sculpture Magazine's May issue, as part of the show "Disruption" at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. Her most recent large-scale public sculpture, titled "Canoe Fan," is installed along the Huron River in Ann Arbor, MI. "Domestic Disturbances" Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago August 4 - October 1, 2017 Alberto Aguilar, Robert Burnier, Lily Dithrich, Victoria Fuller, Alyssa Miserendino and Alison Ruttan, curated by Victoria Fuller Opening Reception: Friday, August 4, 2017, 6-9pm Artist Talk & Performance: Sunday, September 24, 2017 at 2pm "Domestic Disturbances" is an exhibition of work relating to the home, the human condition, and how our lives are reflected in what we call home. Issues represented in the work of Alberto Aguilar, Robert Burnier, Lily Dithrich, Victoria Fuller, Alyssa Miserendino and Alison Ruttan deal with what constitutes a home, and how homes reflect our selves, outwardly and psychologically. In this exhibition, Robert Burnier's suspended tent installation suggests the impermanence of home, whether in the urban environment, or in war-torn countries. So too does Alison Ruttan find urgent subject matter in the displacement of people, with ceramic sculptures of bombed buildings in Syria. In his photographs and installations, Alberto Aguilar explores formal and personal connections to objects from his own home, and from the homes of local Ukrainian Village residents. Lily Dithrich and Victoria Fuller also draw from everyday domestic objects; the former finds hidden meaning through the manipulation of furniture, and the latter manifests ordinary household items in extraordinary ways. Alyssa Miserendino re-photographs the photographs made by her father, who coped with a personality disorder by using a camera to connect with his family and home life. Homes have such a deep connection to our identity and it is where our most intimate moments play out, for better and for worse. The loss of home by war, disaster, or economic hardship can be devastating. Objects we collect are both personal and impersonal – some have a personal history, and connect to our personal identity, and others are of throwaway value or simply utilitarian. The artists in "Domestic Disturbances" approach the subject of home through psychological and symbolic perspectives, as well as situational ones.

In this episode, Sergio & Dr. Yanina Gomez discuss procrastination and provide four practical strategies to get things done. Often it is the mundane, boring or tedious tasks that as artists we put away for later. Things like updating the website, following up with people, taxes filings, and others are the common tasks we try to avoid as much as possible. In this episode, you will find ammunition to fight back procrastination. Do not leave it for later and listen to this episode TODAY!!

Surface Tension: Beauty and Fragility in Lake Michigan A collaboration project between by Nelson Armour and Ted Glasoe It's a beautiful summer day in Chicago. The sun beats down on the azure waters of Lake Michigan, the fifth-largest lake in the world. Gentle waves lap the sands of a beach. Puffy clouds drift across the sky. But no one is in the water. The lifeguards stand watch over an empty beach. Why? Because raw sewage has fouled the water. It was released into the lake after a torrential rain overwhelmed the municipal storm sewers. This scene has become all too common along the shores of Lake Michigan and in much of the world's water supply. But untreated municipal sewage overflows are only one of the threats to the health of our water. For example, according to the Alliance for the Great Lakes (greatlakes.org), other major areas of concern for Lake Michigan are nutrient runoff/algae growth, plastic and plastic microbeads, pollution from petroleum refineries and other industries, pharmaceutical pollution, and invasive species. So we are faced with two uncomfortable realities: Lake Michigan is a beautiful, vast, life-sustaining natural wonder and, at the same time, a valuable resource under silent siege from pollution and other perils. In Surface Tension, we explore these opposing realities. Ted Glasoe's photographs of Lake Michigan invite us to contemplate and appreciate the lake's power and its ever-changing moods, textures and colors. Each of these is juxtaposed with a Nelson Armour photograph of the lake altered to unsettle the viewer. These multilayered images reveal the unseen forces and traumas that threaten the lake. Surface Tension challenges viewers to reconcile the outward beauty of Lake Michigan with the dangers that lie beneath the surface. It also asks that we all consider how our water is being polluted and what we can do to protect our water supply.

stARTup Art Fair is a unique contemporary art fair for independent artists. The boutique hotel fair provides artists and art enthusiasts with direct access to the art world, in three major cities across the country: San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. The founder, Ray Beldner is himself a sculptor and new media artist whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. He started this fair as a response to issues he faced as an artist in the 21st century art world. His work has been reviewed in several national publications including Art in America, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and can be found in many public and private collections including the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Oakland Museum of California.

Are you protecting yourself from online art scams? In this episode Sergio talks to gallery owner Renée LaVerné Rose about identifying red flags and prevent possible scams to artists and galleries. Increasingly, scammers get more cleaver in there message and pursue of victims. Artists need to be savvy and smart to protect themselves. Share this episode with your friends.

Join Sergio and Dr. Yanina Gomez as they share their latest free eBook resource for working artists. The Artist Survival Kit 2017: Organization and Productivity Guide will help you organize your art career and use resources to help be more productive. In this podcast, you will learn about tools for managing social media, back up your art, manage your inventory, sales, time and project management, learning and much more. Do not miss out on this useful episode and share it with your artists friends. Download the Artist Survival Kit free eBook at: http://www,theartistnextlevel.com

Tim and Suzanne Smith are a power couple whose career path took them from the New York art scene to open a successful art gallery in the Miami area. Sirona Fine Art is a grand showcase for artists who embrace classic academic structure and technique, yet have an understanding and facility within the modernist landscape in which their work is viewed. Art can appeal to the senses, the emotions and the intellect equally or separately, as long as it connects. Creators who skillfully present their ideas and personalities, constructed with a masterly hand, these are the artists Sirona Fine Art represents.

Do you feel like time is always running short? Do you find yourself struggling to keep up with all the things you have to do as an artist or creative? Stop chasing the world around and get practical strategic advice from Sergio and Dr. Yanina Gomez on how to manage your life/work balance in a way that makes sense to you. In this Part 2 of 2 podcast episodes, we unpack this topic with a few effective tips so you can experienced a more balanced life.

Do you feel like time is always running short? Do you find yourself struggling to keep up with all the things you have to do as an artist or creative? Stop chasing the world around and get practical strategic advice from Sergio and Dr. Yanina Gomez on how to manage your life/work balance in a way that makes sense to you. In this Part 1 of 2 podcast episodes, we unpack this topic with a few effective tips so you can experienced a more balanced life.

What happens when the plans you make for your art career do not go as you wish they would? What happens when plans have to change? In this episode Sergio & Dr. Yanina Gomez address this issue and provide 4 practical suggestions to avoid feelings of frustration and defeat before they pop up:

Have you ever been asked to facilitate an Artist Talk during your solo exhibition? Chances are that if you have been showing for a while, you have been asked. Perhaps more than once. Yes, it is the dreaded "artist talk" many artists fear about. There are good reasons indeed. For once, you are in the spotlight and people are staring at you and your every move. Aren't we supposed to make the art and let the people figure it out on their own? Well, it turns out Artists Talks are not such bad idea after all and you do not have to be intimidated by them. In fact, a successful talk may result in greater self-confidence, can lead to increased sales, greater friendships, new connections and future opportunities. And, who wouldn't want this? In this podcast episode, we help you get ready for your next Artist Talk.