Who We Are:
To be honest, we are a small crew made up of myself, Tommy Frank, and my wife, Faith. Hi there!
Let me give you a little bit of background on me. I'm originally from the Tampa, Florida. I have a BA in Art from Asbury University where I concentrated in Ceramics and Sculpture and an MFA from Bowling Green State University. That degree was focused in the many areas of Ceramics, including wheel-throwing, handbuilding, molding making and slip-casting. I’ve participated in a number of artist residencies, including the Morean (FL), Archie Bray (MT), Odyssey (NC), Arrowmont (TN) and Watershed (ME), and participated in the Post Baccalaureate Program at the University of Florida.
For nine years, I lived in Kansas City and was the Studio Manager for the Belger Arts Center and Belger Crane Yard Studios. During that time, I helped expand the programming from a 3,000 square foot facility into a 22,000 square foot facility that housed a ceramics studio, gallery and retail clay supply.
As in any arts organization, one must wear many hats. In the last six months of my time there, I was directly managing the Studio Membership program, the Education program, the Artist in Residence program, the Visiting Artists program as well as the retail clay supply store, Crane Yard Clay. I was also heavily involved in the Gallery area while a search for a new Gallery Manager was conducted.
Shortly after the pandemic started, I went out on my own and transitioned into producing and hosting virtual workshops for artists in a business I named FrankArts. While partnering with 30+ artists, I have produced and hosted more than 50 workshops, reaching an international audience in the thousands.
It’s been a really exciting time to help artists continue to present workshops and make some cash at the same time. And it’s also helped both of us reach more people then we could have on our own.
How It Works:
The premise is pretty simple. I produce and host two-hour workshops that are presented by you, the Artist Presenter. We host them on Zoom and during the workshop, you present the skills and I verbally make comments and ask questions. We can’t see or hear the participants, but they interact with us through the Chat. I curate their questions and verbally ask you the appropriate ones. And sometimes I come in with my own questions/comments, because don’t forget, I’m a fan too!
What Do We Need For Success?
We need just a couple of things for this to be successful.
- First, speed counts. The faster and more clear the internet speed, the better. Without that, the visuals aren't clear, the sounds is choppy and we end up with upset participants. Can’t blame them for that.
- Next, marketing is (almost) everything. We both combine our efforts to bring people in using social media, email lists, you name it. The more people we have, the larger the amount we split down the middle. And because FrankArts takes on the fees and you don’t, your half is bigger.
- Also, people LOVE handouts. These can include clay, glaze and slip recipes, tools you use and love, websites, books, podcasts, artists’ work you love. All of it helps people along the way and this is your chance to inform them more about your process. The best part: we won’t have to answer the same technical questions throughout the workshop. We can simply direct folks to the handout.
- Finally, good equipment makes all the difference. I’m not sure if you’re an Apple user, but I’ve found AirPods to have the best sound quality for the Presenter’s voice. And there is an excellent webcam on the market that is much better than the standard camera our laptop computers come with. When it comes time, we can talk about how to get this equipment into your hands and tested before the workshop.
What Kind of $ Are We Talking About?
I confess, it can be quite a range. And a lot of it depends on two things: when we schedule it and how much we promote it. When both are in sync, we’ve been able to capture 100, 200, even 500+ participants. And with the Artist Presenter getting 50% of each enrollment fee, that adds up nicely. More moderate numbers have been between 50 and 80 people, which is still good money considering there’s no travel time for you, the equipment and materials are in your studio and you get to finish and sell whatever you are demonstrating. Again, getting the word out is the key, that’s why we both work hard ensure people know your workshop is happening. Again, keep in mind that the Artist Presenter receives 50% of the money coming in, not just the profits. FrankArts absorbs the fees and that means you’re not going to get half of the money after fees are taken out.
After that basic information, you might have more questions. Please read the following to get a few more details. If you still have questions, I’m happy to discuss them. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to work together on a workshop soon!
VIRTUAL WORKSHOP AGREEMENT
The following is an explanation of the expectations for FrankArts (the “Host”) and the Workshop Artist Presenter (the “Presenter”).
Expectations
The Host agrees to:
1. Gather written and image workshop content from the Presenter and organize it on the website for means of promoting the workshop properly online.
2. Promote the workshops via social media, marketing, or other appropriate promotional channels.
3. Schedule the corresponding workshops with the instructor.
4. Manage the registration portal on FrankArts.com.
5. Maintain communication with the participants.
6. Field and answer questions regarding the organization of the workshop and the content of the workshop with information provided by the Presenter.
7. Distribute to participants handouts provided by the Presenter.
8. Manage technological needs for the workshops, including Zoom sessions, recordings, and any equipment where applicable.
9. Send links of the Zoom recording to the participants after the workshop is complete and manage the 90 days of visibility for participants.
10. Supply the Presenter with email addresses of willing participants after the completion of the workshop.
11. Host assumes costs including payment/transaction fees, Zoom video hosting fee and FrankArts marketing promotions.
The Presenter agrees to:
1. Supply Host with a clear message about the workshop content and what participants can expect from the experience.
2. Enthusiastically promote the workshop through their personal or professional social media, email or other appropriate promotional channels. There is NO requirement to share email lists with Host.
3. Provide any handouts they choose for the Host to distribute. Provide handouts at least seven (7) days before the scheduled workshop session.
4. Arrive to Zoom session at least 30 minutes before the session is scheduled to start in order to address any technological issues. This will also allow the Host and the Presenter to become comfortable.
5. Instruct the workshop with the utmost professionalism.
6. Presenter assumes costs including workshop supplies, studio fees and marketing promotions from their personal/professional accounts.
Compensation
1. The Presenter will receive 50% of paid registrations for live Zoom workshop sessions.
2. The Presenter will receive 50% of paid recorded Zoom workshops sessions.
3. The Presenter is solely responsible for any and all taxes, social security contributions or payments, disability insurance, unemployment taxes and other payroll type taxes applicable to such compensation.
4. The Live Virtual Workshop payment will be disbursed to the Presenter within two weeks after each workshop is completed. If the Presenter would prefer a monthly disbursement for multiple workshops, those arrangements can be made. Disbursements can be made by check, PayPal or Venmo at the Presenters request.
5. Payments from Workshop Recordings will be disbursed to the Presenter on a quarterly basis (after the end of March, June, Sept, Dec) unless otherwise specified but the Host.
6. Any expenses incurred by either party will be their independent responsibility unless agreed to in writing before expenses were incurred.
7. ForthenumberofworkshopsthePresenterpresents,theywillbeableto participate in that number of workshops held by another Presenter free of charge. Each Presenter understands and agrees that they will not receive a payment for such Presenter participant registrations.
Discounts
In the event that the Host unilaterally decides to discount the Live Workshop or Workshop Recordings, the Host will solely absorb the costs of the discount. In the event that a Presenter wants to offer a discount for their workshops (live or recording), the Presenter agrees to solely absorb the discount unless otherwise agreed to by Host.
Cancellations/Postponements
In the event of a cancellation or postponement, no fees will be paid until the completion of the workshop. If a workshop is canceled and cannot be rescheduled, the Host is responsible for the communicating the cancellation and issuing refunds. The party responsible for the cancellation may be accountable for any processing fees.
Exclusivity
Entering into this workshop agreement does not create an exclusive relationship between the Host and the Presenter. However, the parties may mutually agree that the Presenter shall perform more workshops with the Host pursuant to the terms of this agreement. Both parties retain their respective creative and intellectual property.
Ownership
Except for material previously owned by Presenter and provided for use to Host, FrankArts, LLC and its licensees, suppliers, agents and related entities, as appropriate, will own all rights to the material in the FrankArts.com content areas that is supplied or created by Host or such licensees, suppliers, agents and related entities for use therein.
