Finding Creativity on the Internet : Cyberspace: Jeannie Novak and Pete Markiewicz created Kaleidospace, a place to view and purchase works of artists, musicians and writers.

Jeannie Novak was having trouble finding a record company to distribute her solo album of modern classical piano. So last year she began thinking about other ways to promote and sell her music. With her background in computer programming, it’s no surprise that she thought about the Internet, which seemed like an inexpensive way for independent artists to reach potential buyers.

That idea was the seed that bore Kaleidospace. Last March, Novak, 29, and partner Pete Markiewicz, 38, maxed out their credit cards and used some room in their Santa Monica apartment to launch the arts-oriented site on the World Wide Web, the fast-growing, easy-to-use graphics-based part of the Internet.

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Kaleidospace showcases an eclectic range of works, including lithographs, sculpture, alternative rock, world music, avant-garde compositions, comedy, graphic novels and experimental fiction.

Those who have full Internet access can reach the site by pointing a Web browser program such as Mosaic or Netscape to https://kspace.com. By clicking on words and pictures, users navigate the site, hear music samples and view visual art on their computer screens.

Kaleidospace now attracts several thousand users per day and promotes the work of more than 60 artists, musicians and writers. Although the company only sold about 100 pieces of merchandise last year, it sold about that many this past January alone, according to Novak. And sales are still increasing.

To help finance the art site, Kaleidospace also does consulting work and has become one of the prominent companies designing Web sites for the entertainment industry, according to American Recordings executive Marc Geiger. Novak and Markiewicz have built Web sites for such entertainment companies as A&M; Records as well as American Recordings.

Kaleidospace has also basically taken over the apartment in which it was launched. And though Kaleidospace users can read about Novak’s album and even hear short sound samples from it, “Reign of Fire” still cannot be purchased. The reason? Novak has been so busy with Kaleidospace that she’s only now getting around to having her album mastered.

“Is this living?” a busy Novak asks during an interview in a living-room-turned-office filled with several computers. “I guess it is.”

Partly because the World Wide Web is international, the Kaleidospace workday goes on well into the evening. “Every machine makes a certain sound,” Novak explains. “(And a user) might call to place an order at 4 in the morning.”

Users accessing Kaleidospace first see the site’s “home page,” a cyberspace entryway from which they can access other areas, including those devoted to visual art, writing and music. They can also view two collaborative art projects put together over the Internet, as well as the Web pages of such higher-profile “artists-in-residence” as musician Thomas Dolby and filmmaker Clive Barker, who shows his paintings.

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Each of the areas concerning specific art forms contains a list of Kaleidospace’s clients working in that medium. By clicking on one of the names, users can access the artist’s area. There, for example, people interested in sports artist Stephen Holland can read about him, view his lithograph of Muhammad Ali on their computer screen or order it for $650. Though the sound and graphics can take a while to download if a slow modem is used, both are good enough to convey a sense of any of the artists’ works. Other items available range from a $1,580 iron sculpture called “Haribda” to a $4 two-song record by alternative rock band Dark Archies.

Orders can be placed in on-screen order forms, then transmitted directly over the Internet. A Kaleidospace employee will call to take down credit card information, which the site cannot yet safely receive over the Internet.

The ordering system, along with the site’s eye-catching design, helps separate Kaleidospace from most of the other independent arts-oriented sites on the Internet. Another Los Angeles-based arts site worth looking at is Underground Net, which can be found at https://underground.net/. The site allows users to listen to sound samples, find out about the current releases of such record labels as World Domination and Catasonic Records and view video clips from the Un-Cabaret comedy show in small windows on their screens.

Artists using Kaleidospace to promote and sell their work pay a setup fee of $100 and then either a monthly fee of $25 or a 10% commission on the site’s sales. But some artists haven’t made many sales. “It’s not going to happen right away,” Novak says. “That’s why we offer a commission deal.”