Brighton, U.K. based ceramicist, Nicola Gillis makes functional tableware. Nicola takes inspiration from the East Asian use of tableware, a specific purpose for each vessel and where pleasure is drawn from individuality. Although there are commonalities, she does not seek to replicate exact size or marks and embraces imperfection. Shadows and light on daily walks throughout the seasons and the beauty found in degraded surfaces and patina also inform her work. Nicola has developed her interest in ceramics over the past 8 years, studying on the full-time Ceramic Development course at Forest Row School of Ceramics in 2019, and beginning to sell her work in during 2020. Initially using the wheel, Nicola developed her practice to include hand-building with slabs, carving, and coils, all of which she finds to be a slower, more thoughtful approach to making.
How important is it to reflect on your interests, values, and strengths in order to pursue your passions?
Very important I would say. It wasn’t an easy decision. I mean the fact is I had some money saved up that could allow me to go and do the course. I had worked for three years (2016-2019) just as a hobby whilst doing my job. I knew that I wanted to do it but it wasn’t something that I could jump into just like that. I needed to know that I could make a go of this.
Would it be safe to say that before you fully committed you definitely had a time of exploration?
Absolutely, yes. I think, you know, it’s hard work isn’t it being a potter. It’s really hard work. You’ve got to know that you love everything about it. It’s not something you kind of jump into just like that.
How important was feedback for confirmation as you started to pursue it more vigorously and seriously?
I think if I hadn’t have had positive feedback then I would have just taught people. I would have continued with teaching people starting their journey. It is so important when you are exhibiting your work in person and people tell you how it feels to you about something you have made, when you get notes from something that you sent to someone and they tell you how it makes them feel, it is just…it melts my heart. It makes a huge difference.
Did you have to develop a game plan for getting from A to B?
I didn’t. I mean I had a very vague plan for what would I do after I had done the course. Would I go back to work for someone or would I work for myself? So yes, I had a vague plan that I would teach. That was going to be the way that I was going to bring in money. But other than that I hadn’t planned how things were going to look for me. I just kind of take every day as it comes.
How did taking action and being consistent with your actions play out in getting you where you are today?
It’s everything. I am completely obsessed with clay and making my work. Being consistent and getting in there as much as possible. I will be in there on the weekend, most weekends. And I work long hours. So yeah, consistency is very important.
How important in a person’s journey is it to celebrate milestones and celebrate your progress?
It’s so important. I am actually a member of a group called Connected Artists which is run by Louise Fletcher and Alice Sheridan. They do a podcast. And a really important part of being in that group is celebrating your wins. And I don’t always voice the successes and it’s very easy to skirt over them and just keep working. But it is really important and I’ve started to recognize them and mark them with doing something nice for myself.
Will Donovan is the founder of Donovan Pottery, where storytelling and craft collide to create fantasy-inspired ceramics. Passionate about blending history, literature, and art, Will explores how pottery can bring stories to life. Will also runs Mathom House, a brand championing craft, community, and creative storytelling.
How do you come up with the concept for your events? Do you do it alone or with a group and how do you brainstorm for them?
A couple of different ways we conceptualize events in collections is one I try to listen a lot. I pay attention to what is happening online and what people are interested in, participating in with social media, books, or stories. I am always paying attention to what I think people are interested in, in a big scheme of things and I try to create in a little way in the middle of that.
Once you have decided on your theme how do you go about planning your budget for something like this?
That’s a great question and I don’t know if I have a perfect answer for how to plan a budget for an event. What I probably should have in place is a better system for that. But I tend to err on the rule of cool and if I can I fund it.
The rule of cool. (laughter)
If it’s cool we will try to do it.
How many people do you bring into the planning process?
It’s a whole team endeavor wo we have at any one time between five and seven employees and staff that help us coordinate everything. And when we are coming up to an event it’s all hands on deck to make sure we have the pots, the food, the entertainment and the people who feel like they are a part of something that is happening and not disorganized chaos.
Do you have an agenda laid out for the day of the event?
We do. We schedule everything out as best we can with some flexibility to make sure that people coming to the event know what’s happening and when, but also the team can be prepared for anything that we need to make sure we are coordinating and doing.
How do you keep the event tight and in control?
There is always room for strange things to happen when you are trying to control something like an event that contains a lot of people. One of the ways we try to mitigate that is clear communication. Whether that is through the staff or through people that are attending. If people are coming we say, Hey, this is the scope of the event. Here are some important things that are happening at these times and we want to make sure that we are able to do them for you and that you are able to enjoy them. We tend to post a schedule of any moments that we want to make sure that people are aware of and that helps to make sure anyone in attendance can be a part of it.
On the day of the event how do you keep yourself involved with both the participants and “staff”, the event leaders?
I try to make myself as available as possible to attendees when it’s the day of the event because I know I am the front-facing person and the one people are most familiar with, so if they have questions or want to so hi, that’s mostly me. A lot of it is pre-delegation of making sure the team knows what’s happening, what their role is in it, and then mostly getting to enjoy the day.
What kind of evaluation do you do after the event about what could have been done better etc?
That’s a great question. We do two things. One is we make sure we publish and share the story of what happened either on social media or our newsletter list. And we invite feedback from all the attendees who went. And two, we have a debrief meeting with the team and we go over in the studio after the weekend is done and we just check in with each other and see what went well, what could have been better, and what we will improve on next time based on what we hear.
The right art display can transform an ordinary room into a personal museum. Whether you’re showcasing family photos, collected paintings, or your creative works, a well-planned home gallery adds character, style, and mood to your living space. But how exactly do you create the right space for a gallery? Do you need a room with many windows, or is artificial light better? What should the layout of the room look like? Let’s break down the essential steps to create an impressive art display that fits your home, lifestyle, and budget.
Pick the Perfect Space
The first step is choosing the right location for your gallery. While many homeowners automatically think of the living room, consider other spaces that could work better. A wide hallway, home office, or even a dedicated spare room can serve as an excellent gallery space. Your bedroom could have a large, empty wall. The office space might have a long, narrow wall that’s grey and boring unless you put art into it. The key is finding an area with enough wall space and natural traffic flow.
Look for rooms with minimal furniture and clean sight lines. To display art beautifully at home, you need to make it possible for viewers to focus on the art without visual distractions. Also, consider how people move through the space — a gallery shouldn’t block normal traffic patterns or create awkward bottlenecks where you bump into the art with your shoulders.
Don't hang big art where is not enough space between art and the viewer to see it properly. Don;t hang art too close to the kitchen's oven or cooking stove as hot vapors may damage the art in the long run.
Before you start hanging artwork, assess the walls. Older homes often need wall repairs or fresh paint. Fix any cracks, holes, or uneven surfaces. Color your walls in a light, neutral hue like light grey or beige. A smooth, clean wall surface makes your art look more professional and protects your pieces from damage.
Light It Right
Proper lighting can make or break a home gallery. Natural light is beautiful but can damage artwork over time. UV rays fade colors and can crack canvas art. If your chosen space has large windows, consider installing UV-protective window film or light-filtering shades. In general, it’s best to display the art under diffused light that has minimal UV impact. I’m not a big fan of direct, artificial light that leads to uneven fading of any art.
For artificial lighting, you have several options:
Track lighting offers the flexibility to adjust individual lights as you change your display.
Picture lights mounted directly above artwork provide focused illumination.
Recessed ceiling lights create overall ambient lighting. This might be the best option to display art without creating damage to it.
Wall-mounted sconces add both function and style.
Coderch and Malavia, ALIS VOLAT PROPRIIS, sculpture display with track lighting at the Context Art Miami 2023
The color temperature of your lights matters too. Aim for bulbs rated between 2700K and 3000K for warm, natural-looking light that shows true colors. LED options now offer excellent color rendering while staying cool and energy-efficient.
If you display drawings (art on paper including watercolor), I strongly recommend the UV-protective, non-reflective plexiglass to protect art from damage. The thicker the plexiglass, the more exponential the protection is for art.
Installation and Layout
Before making any holes in your walls, plan your layout. Many professional installers use the paper template method: cut paper sheets to match your artwork sizes and tape them to the walls. This lets you experiment with different arrangements without damaging walls or artwork.
Consider these layout principles:
Keep larger pieces at eye level, roughly 57–60 inches from the floor to the center of the piece.
Allow enough space between works so each piece can “breathe.”
Group similar pieces together: by theme, color, or frame style.
Mix up sizes and orientations to create visual interest.
Leave room for your collection to grow.
Keep space small between art and sofa. Most people hang art too high above the sofa’s line.
Structural Considerations
Most home walls can support small framed art (under 16 inches long and light frame), but heavy pieces need special attention. Locate wall studs with a stud finder and use appropriate anchors for your wall type. In older homes, plaster walls may need different hardware than modern drywall. If you don’t do this, your heavy art may fall off of the wall, break the frame, and damage both its surface and the floor or furniture below it.
If you’re planning an extensive gallery, consider these structural updates:
Adding wall studs for heavy piece support
Purchasing heavy-duty hooks for big art display
Installing dedicated electrical circuits for gallery lighting
Building shallow display niches for three-dimensional art
Adding crown molding with integrated picture rail systems. This is an advanced method and a vast majority of homes don’t really need this for picture display.
Protection and Preservation
Your home environment affects artwork differently than a museum setting. Consider these factors:
Temperature fluctuations can damage certain materials, especially canvas.
High-humidity areas like bathrooms are ok for art made of metal but please don’t hang valuable paintings in your bathroom space no matter how big it is! Humidity and strong light deteriorate any art quickly.
Air vents can blow dust onto pieces.
Direct sunlight causes serious fading and deterioration. Don’t put too much light onto your wall art. Pick a wall that has enough natural light on it but no direct sunlight or electrical light!
You might need to upgrade your home’s climate control system or add a dehumidifier to protect valuable pieces. Installing quality air filters helps reduce dust and other airborne particles that can damage artwork over time.
Besides creating a wonderful art collection at home, you can also become a trendsetter by displaying art in your office. If you’d like to create a unique environment in your business space, consider the following details.
1. Brand positioning
Your art collection can make your brand and space different from millions of boring office spaces. You can attract new clients by showcasing your unique, luxury space that sparks conversations and makes you and your business memorable! Many offices looks the same having no clear direction or authenticity. Contemporary art can help you stand out from a crowd.
Describe your company using visual language so we can understand it without words. Bring art that relates to your business and matches in color. If you sell flowers, have floral art on the walls. If you’re in the real estate business, art with local scenery well. If you sell cars, have excellent, high-quality art or photos of rare cars on your walls. If you’re a law firm, you have many options keeping it either conservative or contemporary.
2. Visual comfort
You can create a soothing productive environment with light and art pieces that distress workers. Office employees can improve focus by resting their eyes on art. It creates a positive energy flow. Art can make offices a safe and comforting space you want to come back to. Pay attention to how psychologists decorate their offices because their art often creates inner comfort and warmth. Art with green plants can match your interior or canvases with blue landscapes may be a perfect fit for your space. Think of a feeling you want to elicit, colors help you communicate that feeling.
3. Inspiring space
Your art wall displays can become an inspiring space your clients will want to come back to. Art encourages positive emotions, creative thinking, and a light or fun atmosphere in an otherwise boring workspace.
4. Cultivate culture & become a trendsetter
Give people more chances to talk about your business for free! Without buying expensive ads, a great art collection speaks for itself. Be the leader in your business by displaying memorable, high-quality art that gives people more chances to talk about your business! Invest in art that inspires us and holds value long-term.
How to find & fit original art in your office space
Finally, let’s talk about the most important and practical aspect of your art collection for office space. Before rushing to your local art fair to buy paintings, think of all 5 points I mentioned earlier: brand positioning, color, visual comfort, feelings you want to create, and trendsetting. Here are a few more things to consider.
The easiest thing to do is to create wall art displays designed around 1-2 colors (white-blue, green-yellow, or pastel colors of soft blue-lilac-pink, for example). Think of a specific color scheme to represent your brand in chosen artworks. Warm or cool? Light or dark? Red-white or gray-aqua? Vibrant or subdued?
Another simple idea is to hang landscapes/local natural scenery art or photographs. Many medical offices do just that. Hang big art at eye level to have a visual impact.
Think of the medium. Large-scale photography or canvas art?
Consider the wall size to choose the right art for your space. Most of the time people make the mistake of hanging art that looks too small on a huge wall. The result is that art gets ‘lost’ on the wall.
Have consistency in your art collection display. It needs to tie in together in color, type, theme. Abstract or representational? Bright or soothing? Figurative or floral? Framing should be consistent in style too!
If you feel intimidated by this work and need help organizing office space, check out local services that include interior designers, local artists, and art consultants. If you know a local artist you like, invite him or her to see the space to commission art for your space.
One of the rules in home and office decoration is to arrange art, furniture and plants around a single color. Make it two if you have to. Say, green-white. Color the walls in a neutral color (light grey), so any change in art would be ok for the wall space in your office.
Making It Work Long-Term
A home gallery will grow with you. Leave space to add new pieces, and don’t feel locked into your initial arrangement. Professional galleries regularly rotate their collections — you can do the same at home. This keeps the space fresh and lets you highlight different pieces throughout the year.
Consider practical matters like cleaning and maintenance. Leave enough space between pieces to dust effectively. Think about how you’ll reach higher artwork for cleaning or rearranging. If you’re installing track lighting, make sure you can access it for bulb changes.
If you hang art in office space, strongly consider foot traffic around your art. Some artsy hotels display original art in glass cases, large wall spaces can have canvas art displays in groups that have no direct reach to it. In other words, your customers shouldn’t bump into wall art displays constantly.
To sum up, creating a home gallery or a business space decoration takes planning and often some home modifications, but the result is worth the effort. A well-designed gallery space showcases your collection, adds personal character to your home, and lets you feel joy. Take time to consider all aspects — from wall preparation to lighting to preservation — and you will create a display space that works beautifully for years to come.
From playful domestic scenes to captivating mirror fantasies, the art world is alive with boundary-pushing creators inviting us into their imaginative realms. This article highlights six exceptional women whose work promises to leave a lasting impression. From Brazil to Iran, these artists explore everything from the beauty of daily life to profound philosophical themes, each offering a distinct perspective.
Brazilian artist Aline Gaiad creates playful and personal domestic scenes, drawing inspiration from everyday life. Delicate curtains, eclectic wallpapers, and whimsical figures populate Gaiad’s quirky, dollhouse-like abodes, transforming ordinary spaces into richly imaginative, smile-inducing worlds.
Left: Chapter 7 (acrylic on raw canvas, 2024) by Aline Gaiad | Right: Aline Gaiad in her studio
Working in a distinctly figurative style, Yana Medow’s playful and humorous works express the plasticity and beauty of the human form while evoking off-beat situations with a jocular tone. Yana’s work has been exhibited across four continents and she regularly holds solo shows in Spain, France, and the UK.
Photographer Xidong Luo specialises in mirror fantasy, a combination of self-portrait and still life. Her work aims to express transient feminine beauty, the pain women carry, and the profound connectedness between women and nature. Her work is deeply rooted in Taoism and the philosophy that “Heaven and earth coexist with me, and all things and I are one”, implying the interconnections and interdependency between all things in the universe.
Apollinaria Manko, a talented Belarusian graphic designer, painter, and draftsperson, wields oils with the precision of an illustrator, crafting vibrant compositions that captivate and command attention. Through her art, a harmonious blend of simplicity and geometry, Manko explores themes of self-discovery and the complexities of human connection, offering a fresh perspective on the everyday and inviting viewers to see the world in a new light.
Apollinaria Manko surrounded by her signature colourful works in her studio
Camille Royer, trained in Paris at ESAA Duperré, the Sorbonne, and ENSAAMA Olivier de Serres, co-founded the Mâ Nouvelle Orfèvrerie workshop in Bordeaux in 2018. Her work, centred around metal, blends tactile sculpture with ceramics, glass, leather, and paper. Through techniques like hammering and patina, she explores the feminine body as a political and philosophical space.
Iranian artist Sanam Sayeh Afkan creates captivating worlds of illusion and dreams, where elements seemingly complement each other but never offer a clear meaning. With bold colours and sharp lines, her work invites viewers to embark on a journey of interpretation, leaving the outcome open to them. Drawing from art history and contemporary literature, Sayeh Afkan weaves deceptive, multi-dimensional narratives that immerse the viewer in seductive, timeless spaces. The banner artwork in this article is A Little Dreamlike Tale (Lilinaz and the Rabbits) (oil on canvas, 2022) by Sayeh Afkan.
After all the work you’ve done to create your website, you as an artist and creative soon realize that no one visits your art gallery unless you give your web address. Bringing traffic to your art site is a must-have, but how do you stand out from a crowd of millions of websites?
While almost every artist obsesses over Instagram following as their art marketing strategy, few creatives consider the power of Google search. Yet, it’s the number one search engine that can bring you considerable traffic and a much higher ranking of your site over time. There is no free lunch as you have to put lots of hours, days, and weeks into your unique blog creation. However, when it all kicks in, you’ll be amazed with your results. Your blog can become very popular and have lots of organic traffic to it.
Here, I’ll share some savvy business strategies with you to generate more traffic to your website and art. These ideas didn’t fall from the sky to me. It was a lot of wasted money, sleep, and useless courses. However, I developed a workflow that brings me results because I made a ton of mistakes. Here is my secret about art marketing strategy no one talks about.
#1 Combine unique idea and trends
My posts combine 3 things: my expertise+searchable keywords+unique perspective+my images.
You need to come up with a unique spin on a topic that’s searchable. To do my research for content ideas and keywords, I use two unbelievably powerful tools, Ubersuggest and Answer the Public.
Ubersuggest shows not only popular keywords, but also gives me other blog ideas I could explore. It shows my website rank and the pages or issues I must fix to get higher ranking over time. It shows domain authority, and organic monthly traffic to any site you enter into this program! Another tool I use once in a while is “Answer the Public”. I learned a lot about SEO generation from free content posted by Neil Patel, and these are his tools. (They are both free and paid options to use the tools).
To get the most out of your blog post in terms of traffic, you need to leverage trends. I rarely do it myself because I focus on my interests, but if you find a trend that matches your passion, then you can potentially do well. One of my trending articles was about Leonardo da Vinci when his painting emerged as lost Leonardo. I had a lot of traffic to my article. However, this traffic isn’t consistent and it can decline if I don’t update the article once in a while or the trend disappears altogether.
#2 Use headlines with keywords
Pay attention to click bait headlines you see online to give you ideas about topic and headline generation. Magazines are good at this. It’s important to come up with a clickable headline that has specific keywords in it. You can also use a service for title generation like Vidiq
The subheadings must make sense with keywords to have a flow and clean article design. I often struggle with this part myself and tend to change some of my headlines over time.
Also, organize your content into sections from the start. So when you write, you create a useful article with specific sections (with keywords). I often think of the usefulness of the article and if I want to read it or not. Many sites write AI-generated, averaged content that’s useless and lacks personal experiences, but it’s our experiences that make us stand out from the crowd. However, if you truly struggle with content generation ideas and need help writing your articles, some AI tools for copy can help you. My advice is to be more precise with your prompts to generate good quality ideas.
#3 Update your blog post!
Update your posts every half a year. Consolidate small content pages into one solid article and delete all other useless posts because it confuses the Google search crawler. It’s better to have a few well-written, unique articles instead of having 100 pages of useless content. When you update your posts, it gives Google fresh content to crawl and include into its new search results. The example is this consolidated article I wrote about the colored pencil drawing.
#4 Optimize your images
Images must be named with a keyword or description of the image. Don’t name them ‘flat123.jpg’ because Google often can’t classify this.
Also, images must be optimized for fast download speed. I usually edit them to 700-800px for web use.
#5 Links generation & placement ideas
In art marketing, link placement is important. You need to reference some top sites with links to them. Wikipedia ranks high in search results because of all the links they get to and from them, not the content. For example, you can write about an artwork and place the link to a museum’s site.
However, what’s even more important is to have external links going back to your site! It often happens naturally because you write such awesome content that people reference your site in their writing. That’s the general idea behind it. Otherwise, link placement is quite difficult these days, and when the websites get higher ranking they won’t place a free link. Businesses often pay for link placement to bring their websites higher in search results and Google ranking. This is one unexpected side of the business I have. I have requests from businesses to place their links on my site.
#6 How some blog posts become popular
Some of my most popular posts are very long and others are quite short. I think that when I write unique content ideas that interest me and don’t have much written content about it on the internet, like the symbols of transformation in art. It gets pushed higher in the search results. I update these articles quite often, adding new information whenever I have it. Popular niche topics like ‘colored pencil drawing’ have a lot of content written already. So to compete with all that content I have to create a much more extensive post about the colored pencil drawing.
Finally, you can combine the power of Google search with two other powerful platforms, YouTube and Pinterest search engines. Post searchable content there and pin your images with direct links to your site to see even more traffic flowing to your art website! You need to post on both platforms consistently, especially on Pinterest. Pinning unique content from other cool sites benefits your account. It’s not just about pinning your content. I pin 75-80% of art content I love from other websites. This strategy grows your following on Pinterest. How cool is that?
I must add that Pinterest has implemented a new policy recently that strikes and bans art content that has nudes in them, including some classical art! I must say it’s annoying because if you want to close someone’s eyes on classical nudes, then adjust your algorithm not to show it to children under 18. Yet, the company prefers to punish everyone else with this. So don’t pin the nudes to keep your Pinterest account happy.
#8 Don’t miss this final step!
Your final step is to catch your incoming traffic to your art website by collecting emails or directing them to your art shop at the end of the article, or giving them a free download or discount, or perhaps to sell a low-price item that they would enjoy owning from you. 🙂
Selling art is about cultivating personal relationships with people. So, whenever you have a person interested in your art, try to develop a genuine relationship. Give him or her a call and stay in touch via email and phone. This is where most creatives fall out of a wagon, but this step is crucial to your success in art sales and beyond!
In conclusion, I hope you found these art marketing tips useful. If so, I’m very glad because I hate wasting my time and yours writing useless content! It does take time to write good content, in which you are an expert or have proficiency to distinguish yourself from others. You also need to enjoy this task and find your flow to create beautiful and searchable content that stays above everything else.
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