Off on a Limb, in a Good Way :-)

[artsfarm]

I've just started doing something that's very fulfilling, yet a bit intimdating in a good way.

I had a bit of a revelation recently concerning job/income/what-am-I-doing-with-my-life.

I've been mulling over the fact that I need to make a decent amount of money to live, but at the same time, would die inside if I had to work one more unfulfilling, soul-eating job. Much grinding of teeth, whining and ravelled nerves later, I realized I don't 'want' to make a living as an artist, I 'need' to.

I'm focusing on art with the intention of it solely supporting me financially. I normally am able to keep things running by selling whatever I can to whoever will buy it, and this seems to work well because I've always had a feel for what people want. At every 'regular' retail job I had, I was able to predict what would sell and to whom, and this made my bosses very happy, but didn't get me anywhere. They got a buyer's brain at associate prices.

After more than 30 years of this, I swore I'd never fall back into the trap. But, given the skyrocketing cost of living here in NY, it's nothing short of a miracle to get by on your own worth. But miracles do happen, and so here we go :-)

The one thing I must figure out is that while I'm great at selling someone else's work/product, I stink at selling my own. This is something I really have to work on.

After much purging of baggage, old thoughts and habits, plus many long productive talks and more than a little encouragement from a dear friend, I'm happy to say I decided to for it. Since then, the ideas and images have been flooding my head and are fighting for preference to be created. This is great beyond words, but where to start? And more importantly, do I know who will buy it? I can make the world's most profound statements with my work, but how do I get it in front of those who want it enough to take it home with them? This is something I'll be figuring out and watching from this point on, and I'll be sure to update as often as possible. I'm sure there will be some falling down and dusting off, and maybe even (shudder) getting a prt-time job to supplement, but I'm very tenacious and will do whatever it takes.

One thing that's new to me is making art in 'production'. This is totally out of character for me, having always done everything as a one-off. It's a weird feeling, but not bad, really, because I'm going to compromise.

The first item in this vein is ATCs/ACEOs (Art Cards). These are normally either one-offs or printed as an edition. The compromise I'm doing is making editions but doing them by hand. This will allow for tracking what is popular in the long term, but still satisfy my need to make art individual, and exclusive to a degree. It's a LOT more work than running something off on a printer but right now, it's do-able. I may have to change this at some point, but I'm sure I'll be drinking a LOT of coffee to get it done.

I'm also getting back into painting, collage and assemblage, my first love. So that will allow me to offer original, full-scale art and also have the cards as a low-priced item. Before this, I'd not touched a brush in years and until yesterday when I made the first set of cards, had no idea if my paints were even good any more. But they were; it proves that it's worth it to buy the good stuff :-)

So off I go, and will report back soon with what is hopefully some good news.

[Spincus]

:) Being a starving artist is ok, but putting wine and cheese and maybe a deserved vacation on the table is a worth while goal.

Go for it, fail often, but succeed more.

I too had this problem where I could sell other folks work much easier than my own, because I am invested in the work. I was really good at it. Now I am selling my own work. At first it was painful to not have many sells of my work online. But in a funny way I think that let me get over the ego part of selling my art.

I make beautiful art and put it up for sale, and like a child that moves away from home, I let the art go. That seems to make it all the much easier to sell my own work. It is still tough to let go of the attachments, but it is ok, and getting a bit easier with practice. :)

[artsfarm]

V-v-va-cation? What is that? I don't believe I've seen one of those, is it a new thing? He heh.

Seriously though, I'm not afraid of falling, although the lack of income that goes with it is the scary part. I don't believe artists consciously decide to be poor; rather they have to make tough decisions as to whether they care to compromise in order to survive. In that mindset, money and what it brings can seem so trivial when compared to being true to who you are. I've had lots of practice in using my hands to generate income, but not to the degree that's happening now, where prices for work seem to stagnate while everyday costs escalate daily.

I like your analogy of the child leaving home; I often compare finishing a piece of art or writing (when it comes out well) to giving birth since it leaves you exhausted and pleased, and hurts when it's gone. I think part of that comes from wondering if you can pull it off again, that magical thing that happens when things just 'work'. Good art leaves you with memories of the relationship you had with it, however rocky or smooth :-)

[artsfarm]

I get it completely :-) This is why I said 'going out on a limb; he heh. Thing is, I already have lived off my art and I'll tell you, I never thought of it as work (as in a chore) because I also lived the other side of it, and it was hell, really. When I worked at home before, just waking up in the morning and knowing all I had to do was stumble into my workroom or shop/barn and start creating is my idea of heaven. I slept less, had tons of energy and never wondered if what I was doing was right.

Now that I'm 50, it's even more of a mission because everyone knows how fast time goes by and I refuse to look back at my life and think "what if?". There's no time for that, really.

I can see how what you describe as the intense, demanding left-brained job really doing a number on you. I try to work in such a way that I'm either working at something that isn't draining and/or involves some kind of work with my hands. The pay isn't always great, but the trade-off is coming home and not feeling spent. I've even worked for a contractor painting trucks and heavy machinery which was hard work but I had a brush in my hand. At another, I painted pottery at home for a designer who sold wholesale to high-end gift shops and florists. The best one was working at home painting envelopes for a company that sold first-day covers to collectors.

I said above in the original post that I didn't want to have to get a 'regular' job, but after really thinking about it (and looking at my present expenses), I ended up calling a place today and have an interview on Friday. It's with Michael's art/craft stores, and while it's still a 'regular' job, I'll be in a creative environment and hopefully, among other creative types.

I think the trick is to really think about where you are and what you need to survive, monetarily and spiritually, as a creative person. Working for yourself is VERY hard work with little or no downtime, but if you can stick it out and figure out what your priorities are and what you can or cannot live without, it's definitely worth the trip :-)

[Spincus]

I show a comment by indemoon, but the comment is not in this thread. It seems that artsfarm posted two comments in a row. But the text reads as if her last comment was in response to another posting. My guess is someone deleted indemoon post. Or things are messed up. I would like to figure this out. and report a bug if it is a bug.

[artsfarm]

I was replying to IndieMoon, and her post was right there above mine when I replied. Very strage indeed. Who would want to delete her post? We can only delete our own, no?