Last night I was reading my blog comments, and about the millionth person looked at something I had made and said, "Oh how cute. I wish I had time to do fun things like that."
I work forty+ hours a week as an artist and a writer trying to eke out a living. Sometimes when I don't sell enough art or articles or poetry I have to get a temporary part time job which cuts my artistic production but I do it because I have to sacrifice many things to be an artist. The last time I quit one of those dehumanizing jobs I swore I'd put just as much time and effort into my art career as I did on that job. Even my boyfriend, who had hounded me to get a real job for years agreed it had been an utter disaster. In fact he told me I should quit months before I actually did.
I spent four years in college and I've spent many more dollars in private art classes, workshops, conventions and seminars to be better at what I do. And there are thousands of other struggling artists out there like me. Compliments are great; who doesn't like to get them? But I'd love to go to my dentist and when he's done with a root canal, give him a standing ovation and tell him how talented and wonderful he is, and then turn around and go home without paying the bill.
A friend of mine who sells art in his etsy.com store said recently he got an email from someone that greatly admired a piece he had created. So he wrote back and said, "So are you going to buy something or not?" I had to laugh because every artist has thought that as people pawed through their merchandise leaving oily fingerprints and cottoncandy debris, only to walk away and say, "That stuff is so cute, let's go home and make it ourselves." Only they don't make it themselves because they don't have the time, the skills or the committment.
To people who say they don't have the time to do art, to them I say, "You have the same 24 hours a day that I do." To those that say they have kids, well, so did I. I had two daughters and I homeschooled them. That was another sacrifice I made to preserve my creativity and theirs. Between being an artist and homeschooling my children, I didn't have time to work for a corporation and build a big nest egg for retirement. Any earnings I have go back into my business. I think there is a misconception that an artist is a glorified bum that just sits around watching TV and crocheting afghans or whittling wood in their spare time. The career artists I know work at least six days a week. We fight to preserve our production time, because huge blocks of our time get taken up by traveling to and from craft fairs, designing websites, marketing, doing quarterly taxes, making trips to the post office to mail out orders to customers, and somewhere in there in our 'free time' squeezing in trips to the doctor, housecleaning, attending school functions and all those mundane tasks that are a never ending story.
But the most frustrating of all is that people don't take us seriously. We get comments all the time like, "Sure wish I could just hang out at the beach and paint all day", or "Wish I had someone paying my bills so I could make dolls all day." My friend Mary was running her own gallery featuring fantasy art. The overhead was enormous so she was working 24/7 to keep her doors open. One day an elderly white man came in. He poked and prodded around in the gallery awhile and turned to her and said, "You have a wonderful hobby here, little lady." She about took his head off. If her husband hadn't been there to hold her back, she probably would have beaten him to a pulp. And she refused to sell him anything.
So support your local artists. And for goddess sake, don't tell them their stuff is "Cute".
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Comments: 21
I was a professional potter for some 20 years. I was there in the bad times, there in the good times, and then there as the market began to wane as more buy sell was allowed into arts and crafts shows, and every Tom, Dick and Harry saw crafts shows as the fund raising event to have until the market was so saturated that none of us could earn a decent living...now, ten years later, the fall out is still going on, and it will probably be another ten years before truly talented souls can prosper off their artistic talents.
As for the cute thing...I used to have a shirt that read, "Cute rots the brain, but it sells." Further, back in my day when people told me it was cut, I responded with, "The ultimate compliment is a purchase."
Unfortunately, I spend 45 hours slaving for a corporation, learning how to drive (properly), preparing to move into a new home and then onward to unpacking and sorting through the lives two people; one a semi-packrat, the other a severe packrat. I do some graphic design for my husband's job, also (letterheads, mailing labels, flyers, coupons, discount cards, gift certificates, etc.) I also play with two lovely cats and pet them until they have purred so much they couldn't possibly purr another moment, because my cats are wonderful little beasties (Well, when I'm home, I do.) I don't think this is wasting my time, but I'm certainly not doing anything with artwork, unfortunately. I've also had to deal with all my supplies being boxed up for nearly a year (it will be such a relief to get them back!!!)
And I must say, I have bought some sculptures this month, but since I know that I have limited space, I only buy the things that fit my style. Unfortunately, that means no pink piggies (though I wouldn't mind gifting one of those to my grandmother at some point, I bet she'd love it!) -- But then again, as I said, I'm moving house and need to get my financial agenda in order so that I know just how frivolous I can be.
I like to support my artistic friends. Early in the month (before I had even heard of Gather), I paid for an order of T-Shirts for one of my friends. He is starting up his own business. Since he's been a terriffic friend, I thought nothing of giving him $160 (the only stipulation was that we wanted two of the shirts.) I make pretty good money with what I do, and I think when I retire is when I'll try living off the fruits of my labor once more. Until then, I'll be attempting to shove myself further through the door of graphic design and web site design. But, for such things, I must go back to school and update my education. I'll have to post an article about me sometime and go through all that.
Anyway, the best of luck to you and all that you do.
I do have a question, though... Do you accept requests for works of art?
Like you said, people forget all the time spent on the preparation and studies and education and workshops etc etc that is behind every work Even all the ideas that did not end up in products adds to the time spent on average per finished work. Then there is all the work afterwards from cleaning up to packing and posting not to mention advertizing and other kinds of exhibitioning. And I have not even mentioned the time and money spent on getting materials, finding the right frames etc etc.
Artists don't get rich by laying on the beach that is for sure. You are right in your rants.
And I can see you foaming by the mouth metaphorically speaking when you receive the 101th "cute" comment, especially if the work isn't of the cute kind LOL.
Good luck, but I fear prices and sales will be low and maybe even go lower for a while on etsy or ebay or similar.
To Carolyn...imagine if people were buying your beaded items. That would sure lighten the financial load on you. Millions of women live in poverty because we don't support their artistic endeavors. When you buy from an artist you also feed her children and help her pay her rent.
To Crystal...I do some custom work, but since each thing is original, I don't make anything 'just like that last one.' As far as graphic arts, some of the etsy.com artists are doing quite well selling banners, business cards and buttons to other etsy.com artists to help them advertise their shops. It's a job you could do from your own home and you don't need to go back to school either.
To Trine...it's a constant struggle to get artists to charge a fair price. Some of them are so hot to make a sell, they'd even undercut Walmart, and that hurts all of us.
To Porgie...you are so right. I am sad that the world has lost a potter and now who knows what kind of work you are doing.
I get a lot of people who come in, browse around, tell me how great it all is, and then leave. I try to tell myself that they might come back some time and buy things -- I know I'm prone to window shopping now and then, too. But it does get frustrating when it comes witht he condescending tone, as it often does. It's exactly like when I was a waitress and bartender and I'd get the customers who would shower me with compliments about the great job I did for them and then leave a two dollar tip on a fifty dollar meal.
People, on the whole, DON'T realize what it takes to be good at this kind of thing and to make a living at it. My girlfriend started to get a degree in art, then dropped that major because she just wasn't "getting" it. She's got some talent, and she's done some pretty awesome abstract pieces that I really like. She asked if she could maybe exhibit in my gallery, and I told her that I might pencil her in on the schedule once I saw that she had stuff finished (she's SEVERELY ADHD, and has a hard time getting motivated to finish unneccessary projects), and that I'd have to hold her to the same standards I hold any other artist wishing to exhibit. And she's having trouble. She's started a few, and I'm having to walk her very gently through the critique process to get her to think and work and see like an artist who wants to sell their art.
I've had to do a lot of talking with my family to get them to understand how this whole thing works. My parents have always been the kind to throw general compliments at anything I did, just because I did it and they wanted to be encouraging. It's taken them a long time (and helping me out at the shop now that I work two jobs) to get to the point where they understand that just saying "Hey, that's cute! That's great, honey! You're so creative!" might cut it when you're five and want your latest crayon creation hung on the refrigerator, but it's almost insulting to a serious artist who's devoted time, money, and effort to create something with which they can support themselves financially. Now they actually appreciate my art enough to let me pay the rent (they're my landlords) with artwork instead of money a few months when I've been short on cash.
Really excellent article. Tell it like it is all right.
Please keep reading and don't write me off just yet!
Ask yourself, "What makes my work unique, special, or desirable?" or "Is there something about my work that is so hauntingly beautiful that a (potential) buyer just can't live without it?" When you can –truthfully – answer these questions, your work will begin to sell. Sadly, it is not enough to have a creative spirit and express yourself creatively; you must be producing first quality ART before you can sell art.
As for pink crocheted pigs, are you truly including pink crocheted pigs (or for that matter stuffed witches in baskets) in the category of art? If what you want to sell is crafts, then that is a different story all together. If your goal is to make a living selling crafts, your first step should be to research trends in the craft market and design and sell to those trends. Yes, I hear you already, "What I create comes from my soul. It is an expression of who I am." This is a lovely dream; but the truth is that if your goal is to make a living, you must produce whatever it is people want to buy this year. I have a friend who lives in a resort town in California (she stays there to care for her aging parents who don't want to give up their home). She is a remarkably gifted portrait painter, yet she is forced to spend 4 to 5 days a week painting snow scenes to sell to the uber-rich ski crowd who frequent the gallery that is contracted to sell her work. She paints portraits on a commission basis or for friends and family. Has she "sold out"? No. She is making a (darn good) living doing the thing she loves best, painting. Does she wish she could paint portraits full time? Darn right she does. But she also realizes that in order to make a living she has to produce work that sells.
Finally, whatever you make to sell MUST be quality work. Your wood work (burned) plaque of the pentagram in interesting, but it needs to have a focus on quality craft. For example, the words should arc evenly around the plaque, and the 'solid' areas should all be either solid or have a repeated texture. On the subject of words though, words – unless they are a recognized quote or inspirational phrase – are usually the kiss of death to sales. They limit your market to those who readily identify with the words used, and even when they do identify with the words or phrase, some are not ready to broadcast that belief by having those words emblazoned on their walls. Also, in art –and yes, even in craft- the work should speak for itself without the need to use actual words, unless the work is a series or compilation of words for a specific thematic result. But words or not, quality of craft must be your first concern.
And in answer to your unasked question, yes I do make a living as an artist. I teach for the love of teaching, and the love of seeing a student (child or adult) have one of those "aha" moments when it all becomes clear or when she or he realizes that they are capable or producing the art they envision in their minds. (Oh, and the medical & dental benefits for my 4 kids are a really big plus too!)
Please know that I offer all of this with a spirit of love from one artist to another; and that sometimes by being challenged we can be prompted to produce better work than we have thought possible.
Peace and artistic growth to you!
My daughter recently got her BA in Art and Design. I'm so proud of her. I hope she can carry on the family legacy.
I can't believe someone would judge the quality of my art based on photos I posted just for fun on Gather, including a kitchen witch hanging in my kitchen that my boyfriend's dad gave me as a gift or snapshots of my garden. Should I only post things here that I'd planned on selling in a gallery or entering into a photography competition? Do I want that kind of stress?
You obviously don't know my buyers, nor can you recognize a work in progress when you see one. As far as putting words on things, I'm a Poet and that is my legacy. Can you see Maya Angelou only putting Shakesperean quotes on her artwork?
For those small minded labelers, I sell arts and crafts. I don't want to debate what is an 'art' and what is a 'craft' because all that does is get people fighting.
And amigurumi (small crochet animals) are very big right now, something I happen to know because I do constant market research. I'm sorry you think so little of my 40 years of art pursuits. Do you think you helped me? You just made me more angry that just about anything in years has. Congratulations.
I've studied pottery, oils, acrylics, gourd art, art history, crochet, knitting and jewelry making. I've been hired by major chainstores to teach crafts,photography and fiber arts. I guess you'll never be one of my buyers, but I'm speaking for thousands of other gifted artists and craftswomen that are in the same boat I'm in.
How you can even teach art with your lack of people skills is beyond me. I'm glad you weren't one of my art professors.
Over 50 pieces of my gourd art were recently on display for 2 months at a public library in S. California. It was covered by both the media and art magazines. Yours is one opinion.
SOmetimes the art I create that receives recognition is not the art that will sell. It has taken a while but I've learned to accept that. The production art, so to speak, that I create is still original, is still my art, but I am deliberately choosing to make something that will sell. With that art, my goal is to sell enough to pay my co op rent and buy art supplies, which may be yarn, paint, found objects, buttons, etc. With the art quilts, the purpose is to exhibit and hopefully receive recognition. and maybe sell.
Another thing to take into consideration about selling is the geographic location, and the type of shop or event. Pottery sells really really well at our co op, but paintings don't. That is different elsewhere, I am sure. The people who buy my art dolls, weavings, felted flowers etc are the people who like my style. It helps also to have some knowledge of merchandising, how many of an item to stock, how to display items, the labels and tags need to look professional etc.
It's not easy. But it is worth it to try selling.