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Stay Connected

In my last blog post I suggested that renewal for artists might come in many different forms. What is challenging right now, for those still sheltering in place, is that the available sources of renewal are still mostly online.

For artists whose inspiration comes from human contact with the living, breathing, touching, feeling world, how do you get what you need? Museums and galleries are slowly reopening, but many changes in the art world will be long lasting.

You may have discovered the benefits of participating in the new art world. You enter virtual shows where you don’t need to pay to ship your art. You attend online art fairs and conferences that used to require expensive travel. You connect with new communities of artists, explore museum and gallery exhibitions that were too far away to visit, and even participate in events through virtual art talks and art walks.

Now it is time to build these resources into your daily life. If this seems overwhelming, take it slowly and try to control what comes at you. Sign up for email newsletters of art organizations that interest you, so that you receive regular communications. Include one or two national art resources, like Hyperallergic or Artsy or Creative Capital, so that you are in touch with what is going on in the larger art world. Explore and select art publications specific to your medium, like Fiber Art Now or Lensculture or Plein Air Magazine.

Schedule a regular time to review these publications so that you incorporate new information into your daily life. It isn’t the same as meeting real people or seeing art in person, but you will stay connected. When the art world opens up again, you’ll be better prepared to benefit from all the resources you’ve discovered.

~ Mary

Mary Edwards, Ph.D
Career & Life Coach for Artists
“Left Brain Skills for Right Brained People”
Instagram: coachingforartists.maryedwards

Finding Renewal

We used to look forward to September. You bought new shoes or new clothes or a new backpack, and got ready to go back to school. What we most enjoyed was the sense of renewal, as a new yet familiar cycle was beginning again.

Now many of us go to college on Zoom or struggle to create home classrooms for our kids. August fades into September without much change in our daily lives. The world around us is profoundly disturbing and confusing, and we wonder what we can look forward to.

Renewal is a source of inspiration for artists. If you are struggling to find it, you may need to create your own. Here are some questions to get you started.

Ask yourself:

Do I need more structure in my creative life, or less?
Where can I find a sense of community with other artists?
What new skills or attitudes will help me adapt to the changing art world?
Who do I trust to give me advice about my work or my goals now?
How can I help others and ask for help in return?
What can I do to make my world larger (or smaller)?
What daily habits do I want to develop or change?
Where can I find sources of renewal?

Think of renewal as a way to breathe new life into your world. Sometimes it requires dramatic action, but more often the positive changes you seek start with tiny actions that barely register at first. You decide to reconnect with an old friend who tells you about an opportunity you would have missed. You change a habit and discover a different rhythm to your days. You add more structure to your life and find more freedom.

Renewal comes in many forms.

~ Mary

Mary Edwards, Ph.D
Career & Life Coach for Artists
“Left Brain Skills for Right Brained People”
Instagram: coachingforartists.maryedwards

An Art Fair for Introverts

I spent last weekend attending UNTITLED, ART, an international art fair that used to be held in San Francisco, New York, and Miami.

This art fair happened on my laptop, of course. UNTITLED, ART Online was a “virtual reality experience” where 40 galleries showcased art and artists. During the opening weekend, you could take a tour with human experts, whose voices and faces enlivened the screen. As they introduced galleries, artists, and themes on one half of the screen, the other half showcased the art in virtual galleries.

These curated tours set you up to visit on your own, an experience I call “an art fair for introverts.” Artists who hate talking to strangers at a traditional art fair could click through virtual galleries and remain anonymous. You can visit dozens of galleries in a short amount of time, and learn about the artists they represent. You have easy access to data about a wide range of art: titles, size, materials, dimensions and prices. Organized to make it easy for collectors to buy, the virtual galleries provide a great research tool for artists.

Yet something was missing. The virtual galleries provided a simulated experience, a visit to a 3D digital world full of art but empty of people. The sensory overload of the traditional art fair became sensory deprivation in ghostly galleries that look like architectural drawings.

The organizers of UNTITLED, ART Online understood what was needed. The images and voices of gallerists and artists brought intelligent organization and vitality to the experience. They gave thematic tours: art celebrating nature and climate change, visits to lesser known galleries, introductions of artists of color from around the world.

So while technology made the art fair possible, it took people to bring it to life.

~ Mary

Mary Edwards, Ph.D
Career & Life Coach for Artists
“Left Brain Skills for Right Brained People”
Instagram: coachingforartists.maryedwards

Creative Recovery

Recently an artist told me: "I’m so worried about what I’m not doing, that I forget what I’ve already done."

This anxiety is especially prevalent now. Many artists are stuck, wondering how to justify spending their days developing their own art practice, when so many crises in the news clamor for attention.

When you are feeling stressed, give structure and purpose to your creative life. Set simple goals for the week. Look back at what you managed to accomplish yesterday, and give yourself credit. You may have spent a few hours in the studio, even though you haven’t yet completed anything. Maybe you learned a new skill or experimented with a new process. Some artists are learning how to make the transition to the virtual art world, by taking or teaching classes online, or entering virtual exhibitions, or staying connected by participating in virtual art fairs.

It is also OK to just focus on developing your art. When the noise of the world intrudes, remember the advice of Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way. She suggests starting the day with "morning pages," one of her tools for creative recovery. You write out three pages, in longhand, every morning, about what you are thinking and feeling. You don’t critique the pages or even reread them. This habit is especially helpful during stressful times. The morning pages drain your brain of thoughts that might get in the way of making art. Many artists find it helpful to include visual images, sketches or drawings of how you are feeling, rather than just words.

Then give yourself permission to be an artist, in any way that comes naturally. Your own creativity will bring positive energy back into a world that badly needs it.

~ Mary

Mary Edwards, Ph.D
Career & Life Coach for Artists
“Left Brain Skills for Right Brained People”
Instagram: coachingforartists.maryedwards

A Call to Artists

In 2006 Daniel Pink predicted that the future would belong to creative people, especially those who were able to combine the two hemispheres of the brain into “a whole new mind.” While he did not anticipate our current crisis, he understood that artists could lead us through times of great uncertainty.

No one knows where the art world is headed right now, so it is time to create a new one. Artists are in the best position to do this because they are able to form images in the mind of what doesn’t yet exist. When you imagine a work of art, you find new relationships among familiar things. You make a collage out of antique wallpaper found in thrift shops; you photoshop images from many places into a new landscape; you sculpt the human body in the form of a vessel. These visual metaphors help you imagine and then create something new.

An artist’s mind is intuitive rather than logical, synthetic rather than analytical. You experiment with materials and process just because they interest you. You don’t need to know the end result because you enjoy the process of discovery. You are not tied to what has gone before because you can visualize an alternative reality.

What would happen if artists used these right brained strengths to build an art world that supported and sustained creative people? An art world that served the needs of artists and art lovers, collectors and critics, that welcomed the participation of broad and diverse audiences? What would this new reality look and feel like?

Start small. Think about your own art practice and then about your local and regional art community. What could be different? What would be better? How do we begin?

~ Mary

Mary Edwards, Ph.D
Career & Life Coach for Artists
“Left Brain Skills for Right Brained People”
Instagram: coachingforartists.maryedwards

What’s in a Business Plan?

In my last blog post I talked about an artist’s vision: what your art is all about, why it matters, how it lives out in the world.

If you intend to market and sell your art, this is your first step. You start with your personal vision, as this painter did:

“I paint to celebrate daily life, to illuminate the ordinary, to shape the day.”

In order to create a business, you first need to think about your customers. Entrepreneurs, who are the artists of the business world, develop what is called a “customer profile.” A profile defines the demographic characteristics of the people who might buy your art (their age, gender, income level, etc.).

Your customers are the audience for your art, your fans and followers, your people. You may not have a lot of detailed information about them, but take a look at what you do know. Who has recently bought your work (or would buy it if they could)? Do they tend to be older, younger, rural, urban? What do they have in common?

This information will help you figure out the next step: your marketing strategy. How will your work become visible to your audience? Where will they find it? How will they learn about you? The more you know about your potential customers, the easier it is to figure out how and where they buy art.

Then you’ll need to set up some simple measurements. Your art career is like a road trip, where measurements are signposts to keep you on track. This is especially important when you are stuck. A good measurement system puts you in motion again.

Follow these first steps in order to create a business plan.

~ Mary

Mary Edwards, Ph.D
Career & Life Coach for Artists
“Left Brain Skills for Right Brained People”
Instagram: coachingforartists.maryedwards

Please note: I recently published a longer version of this article, “An Artist Should Think Like an Entrepreneur,” in www.callforentries.com. This well-curated site lists open calls for artists and photographers. Take a look, you can join for free!