A creative blog on The Whole 9

Outside The Abstract at Gallery 9 Tomorrow

Join us for the Artists Reception of Outside the Abstract tomorrow night from 6:30pm – 10:00pm at Gallery 9.

Mark Acetelli, Janet Bothne, Harry Gundersen, Natalie Gray, Mark Brunner and Abram Santa Cruz, all unveil new pieces.  Plus, Sasha Bell, Aimee Shocket & Heather Cox all join us for jewelry trunk shows.  DJ sXotty keeps it live and as always, wine will flow and lot of cool people will be in the house.

See you there!

“Outside the Abstract” Artists Announced

The Whole 9 and Gallery 9 is pleased to announce the artists for the upcoming Outside the Abstract show.  The exhibit opens June 5th in conjunction with the 5th Annual Culver City Art Walk.  An Artists’ Reception will follow on June 19th.

Artists include Mark Acetelli, Janet Bothne, Mark Brunner, Natalie Gray, Harry Gundersen, and Abram Santa Cruz.

This show will run through July 24th.  Please check back for the call for our next exhibit.

Mark Acetelli

Janet Bothne

Mark Brunner

Natalie Gray

Harry Gundersen

Abram Santa Cruz

Success! Last Saturday’s Art Stimulus Show

Thanks to everyone that joined us Saturday at the opening of the Art Stimulus Show.  The night rocked with DJ Blas cranking up the old school, and lots of people leaving with art for their walls and jewelry for their bods.  Stay tuned for info about our Mother’s Day Open House this coming Saturday.

Great music, ultra cool peeps and amazing multi-talented artists. What’s not to like?

It’s always a pleasure to hang with the Gallery 9 crowd.

Save the Date: Art Stimulus Show on April 24

Join us on Saturday April 24 from 6:30pm – 10:00pm for Gallery 9’s Art Stimulus Show.  All artwork $500 and under and 15% off all jewelry and functional art.  Music by DJ sXotty and free flowing wine to get you spinning and spending.

Call for Abstract Artists for Culver City Artwalk

On June 5th, Gallery 9 will open an abstracts show in conjunction with the Culver City Artwalk and the exhibit will run through July 24th.  The 5th annual artwalk promises to bring thousands of people through the Culver City galleries.

To be considered, you must have a solid body of abstract work (at least 10 pieces of the same series,) you must be a member of The Whole 9, with a completed Portfolio of applicable images.

In order to submit yourself, please create a Gallery within your Portfolio titled ABSTRACTS and upload and caption all applicable pieces.  Please send a link to your Portfolio to  submissions at thewhole9.com.  This is the ONLY way to submit yourself for this show.

Gallery 9 is located in the heart of the Culver City Arts District and we offer a 60% artist / 40% gallery split on all work sold.

We look forward to hearing from you!

I am trying to submit work for the upcoming abstract show in Culver City. Have I missed the deadline? I’m sending my link below.
http://www.thewhole9.com/profile/michelemccarthy/

Art Stimulus Artists Announced

The Whole 9 in conjunction with Gallery 9 are pleased to announce the artists for the upcoming Art Stimulus show, opening April 24th.  From Los Angeles artists Mark Brunner and Ameneh Eslami to Japanese artist Yuriko Etue and Jessa Dee from Trinity, NC.  Seattle artist, Greg Boudreau, will also join us.

Stay tuned for the call for our next exhibit, an Abstracts show for the Culver City Artwalk, which we’ll be posting shortly.

Mark Brunner

Ameneh Eslami

Yuriko Etue

Jessa Dee

Greg Boudreau

Wine and Friends last Thursday

Besides seeing some familiar faces, meeting some new members of The Whole 9 community, and drinking some great wine, I also learned a thing or two at our wine tasting last Thursday including that Rieslings do not have to be “gag me” sweet and that Lambrusco is Italy’s biggest imported wine into the United States.

Sommelier and Whole 9 blogger, Allison Arbuthnot, has made it her personal mission to change the way people think about Rieslings — and I made it my personal mission on Thursday to have my mind changed as well as to invite people to drink the Lambrrrrrusco that had just a hint of frrrrrizzante.

If you weren’t able to join us Thursday, please do join us at our next event, the opening of our Art Stimulus Show on April 24.

Will you be posting those artists accepted into the Stimulus Show sometime soon???…

looks like a great event! as usual… One good reason to live in LA!

Get Work!

At some point, you took the plunge and joined The Whole 9. It seemed like a great idea at the time, eh? And it was free. Now that you’ve done most of the work, it’s time to reap the rewards. Read on and learn how to make your Whole 9 membership (and your TW9 portfolio) work for you.

GET A JOB! Check out JOBS ETC often for jobs, gigs, call for artists & writers and other opportunities. And be sure to forward opportunities to your friends.

HIRE FROM WITHIN. Looking for someone to do your business cards? DJ a party? Photograph your wedding? Give you a massage? Find them in The Whole 9 PORTFOLIOS section or post an ad for FREE in JOBS ETC. You can also post something if you’re looking to collaborate on a project or are interested in bartering your services. Strong communities are built when members utilize the talents of others within the community. Take some time, take a look and reach out.

KEEP IT REAL. Your real name that is. Use your real name or your business name as the name for your portfolio. Why? It not only looks more professional, but using your real name ensures that your portfolio shows up when someone Googles you. If you’d like to change your portfolio name, simply log-in, click on Edit Profile, Portfolio & Images, click on PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO and change your portfolio name.

GET ‘EM UP! Your images, writing samples, music samples and video. We’ve recently revamped our image system and newly uploaded images will display much larger (almost full screen in fact).  You can also create separate galleries and caption your pieces.  Be sure to put your strongest image first. Once you’ve got everything up, keep updating it — Google loves pages that are updated frequently. What the heck does this mean? If your name is Joe Smith, your ranking on Google increases if you’ve got a website or page that is frequently updated.

SELL YOURSELF (without standing on notorious street corners). Take a few minutes to build your credibility and list past projects, shows, etc. and also tell people why they should hire you. If you don’t, who will?

DON’T BE SHY. Build your Creative Circle on The Whole 9. You’ll be able to keep track of these people (and they’ll be able to keep track of you) via your personal home page. Just log in and visit other members’ profiles or portfolios and then click on ADD TO MY CREATIVE CIRCLE and send them a note. To find someone specific or others in specific industries or professions, search by their member name, their portfolio name, their industry, etc. Questions? Click here and send us a note or just leave a comment on this post.

CHECK CHECK. Log in and click on View My Portfolio in the right-hand column and make sure your website link is working (as well as your other links) and that all of your images, music samples and video are working properly. Hint…if you’ve got http: included, it won’t link.

LINK IT UP. Link your portfolio directly to your profile. This can be done by logging in, clicking on Edit Profile & Portfolio, clicking on PERSONAL PROFILE, going to TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF and checking the box under Occupation to link your portfolio to your profile. Linking here exposes your portfolio to even more people.  NOTE:  For this to work, you must also have your profession shown in your personal profile.

SPEAKING OF LINKS. Create an email signature that includes a link to your TW9 portfolio. Your Whole 9 address is  www.thewhole9.com This is super easy, just find the account settings in your email client and look for the option that says “add (or use) signature.” From there you can customize it by pasting in your TW9 portfolio link. Now every time you send an email, the receiver will have your portfolio address, generating more hits and potential jobs for you!

CHECK IT OUT. Other TW9 portfolios, that is. These are great for inspiration when you’re in a rut. They give you an idea of what other members are doing and where they’re finding work. And for the love of creative-types everywhere, leave comments! People want to hear what you think of their portfolios. Remember to play nice while using constructive criticism. Even if it’s something as simple as giving a shout-out to someone who has great black and white shots, let them know. Comments are also a great way to make yourself known.

TELL A FRIEND. That’s right, spread the love and invite your friends to join you on The Whole 9…the more people, the more opportunities.

And finally, STAY TUNED. Later this month and in the following months, we’ll be making significant changes to The Whole 9 including an EVENTS section that enables you to post events, invite others and meet TW9 members who will be attending.

Thanks for joining us…and if you’ve got questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave them here.

I am still learning to submit work online, and am running into a lot of scams. But it is still exciting to put myself and my work, one and the same, out there.

Last Call — Art Stimulus Show

We are still accepting submissions (through Friday, March 19), for The Art Stimulus Show which opens on Saturday, April 24.  All work will be priced at $500 and below.  To be considered, you must have a solid body of work (that means at least 10 pieces, friends) with pieces retailing for $500 or below (we do a 60% artist, 40% gallery split), you must be a member of TheWhole9.com and you must have a completed portfolio on TheWhole9.com with a gallery of images applicable to this show.

In order to submit yourself, please create a gallery in your portfolio titled ART STIMULUS SHOW and upload and caption all pieces in it with sizes.  Then, please send a link to your portfolio to  submissions at thewhole9.com with SUBMIT WORK in the subject line.  If we believe your work is a good fit, we will be in touch.  We will also announce the artists we have chosen to participate right here in this blog no later than March 23.

Gallery 9 is located in the heart of the Culver City Arts District and we offer a generous split 60 artist/40 gallery split.

Thanks for being part of our community and we look forward to hearing from you!

FACES Opening last Saturday!

The FACES Opening was a smashing success!  If you didn’t get a chance to join us on Saturday, come have a glass of wine with us at our wine tasting next Thursday evening, March 25, 6:00pm – 9:30pm.  Click here to RSVP.  FACES is also on display through April 17 at Gallery 9.

I so enjoy the atmosphere at the Gallery 9. The energy was unreal and the artists are not only talented but personable and approachable~

R~