While both my undergraduate and graduate experience in art school have given me plenty of opportunity to grow, change and evolve as an artist or person, there are a few pieces of wisdom or lived experience that would have been useful alongside our fervent discussions of Foucault, the interaction of colour and the difference between Monet and Manet. Here are some practical tips on how to move through the real world and your studio.
Finding Your Place in the Many Art Worlds
As an emerging artist, it can often feel like there are so few opportunities available and that we are all competing for the same exhibition, show, gig or award. And while this overwhelming feeling of a single narrow path forward might seem like the only way to move forward as a successful artist, please know that this is not the case. I am here to tell you that there are, in fact, many artworlds available with many forking paths, mandates and agendas.
Many kinds of artworlds exist concurrently with varying agendas and major players. Some artworlds intersect, some overlap, while others are uniquely siloed off. Throughout your career you will be a part of many, leave some, and feel gatekept by others. Artist-run culture varies wildly from the commercial gallery or auction scene; which can overlap with the university art gallery circuit with a final layer of major public museums and national institutions.
As an emerging artist, I know it is difficult to say ‘no’ to any opportunity that comes your way. But for the longevity of your career and the health of your soul, it is more important to connect with your collaborator/dealer/curator or peer and find the right place for your voice. As you move through the multiverse of artworlds available to you, you will discover what will feel right and what doesn’t. Go with your own sensibilities for what fits with your own work and artistic voice.
How Emerging Creatives Actually Make a Living
This topic was never really discussed in the blissful classrooms of academia and thus my expectations fell vastly short from reality after graduation. In truth, very few emerging and even midcareer artists can survive without a day job, trust fund, supportive partner or some other means of income.
So don’t buy into the myth that you need to make all your income from sales or artist fees. Spoiler Alert: you won’t. Ignoring the reality of earning an income to support yourself is naïve and disingenuous. Artists go about supplementing their income in a number of ways that work for their practice, tendencies and personalities. Choose which option works best for you.
Option 1: Day Job
The choice of having a separate Day Job is attractive because it offers a separation between your art practice and the need to earn money, one is not dependent on the other and never the twain shall meet. Some even choose to have part or fulltime income that has nothing to do with art or design to further this severance; while others select a position that is adjacent to their chosen field like a photo lab technician, or art administrative assistant, framer, art handler, set builder, web designer, etc…
Option 2: Teaching
This is one of the most popular options and can be both very rewarding and draining. It is an opportunity to share and learn about art with students every day, revisiting fundamentals and reinvigorating your practice at the same time. That being said, not everyone is good at teaching. There are a lot of fantastic artists who just aren’t patient or good verbal communicators and lack the skills to meet students where they are at. Teaching also requires a lot of preparation, energy, discipline, and stamina year after year as you might encounter a lot of apathy or disinterest that will feel disheartening.
Option 3: Influencer
Turning yourself into a content creator and managing your own social media brand is also another option that maintains your own independence though it comes with a lot more skill building in marketing and video creation. Managing your own online shop of prints, stickers, items, books, small editions, paintings along with partnerships/promotions with other brands create a unique connection with capitalist venture that is attractive to some but not to others. In essence, turning yourself into the product is the highlight but can be draining on mental health and may be questionable in its sustainability.
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Protecting Your Studio Time (and Redefining What Counts As “Work”)
Or, “If you don’t love your studio, how in the hell is somebody else gonna love your studio?” There is a delicate balance that needs to be struck when it comes to studio time. As a practicing artist, it is important to guard your studio time as serious, precious, and holy. Treating it as seriously as any other 9-5 job with a boss and coworkers in an office is imperative, especially since it is a solitary and often undervalued occupation that is rather confusing or opaque for others to fully understand.
I have found in the past that setting specific blocks of office hours for studio time and not deviating from it prevents other obligations to interfere. And coming to realize that you are your own boss, coworker, project manager, administrator, social media coordinator and transportation specialist is key. No one else will force you into the studio to make art but yourself, and accepting that reality has made it easier.
Re-evaluating what is actually considered studio time helped me value other things that I was already integrating into my life. For instance in a graduate school seminar, we were given a writing assignment in class to make a list of all the activities, actions and behaviors that are part of how I make art. So, of course, I started by listing all of the physical actions it takes to make my work: photographing architecture, downloading and cataloguing my photographs, syncing hard drives, printing and scanning, folding and cutting paper, carrying cardboard, pouring resin, etc…
As the list went on, I began to realize that researching, writing, thinking, seeing art in museums, watching films, and even spending time in nature staring at the swaying branches of a sunlit tree is also a deeply important part of my process. In fact, these actions are just as generative and important as mixing colors or printing in the darkroom. So while I do suggest that you treat studio time seriously outside of the studio; while you are all'interno the studio being playful, open, and generous is key to continue making something.
A Sustainable Creative Career is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Maintaining a breakneck pace of art production, exhibition, and travel from residency to art openings straight out of graduation might seem sustainable for a couple of years, but life will inevitably catch up. At a certain point, life will get in the way, either in the best possible ways or sometimes in tougher, more challenging circumstances. Then, the exhaustion will show up physically, or as emotional or mental burnout.
While this might not be the advice a young emerging artist wants to hear, it is prudent to be patient and protect and take care of yourself. If your goal is to have a long sustained career, it takes time. And unfortunately, running from A to B to C might not get you to X, Y and Z safely. This is a marathon not a sprint, and you need to treat yourself and your art practice with the love and respect it needs to flourish over years to come.
Try not to focus on the quick successes or instant gratification, despite their lurid attraction. Invite those hiccups, pauses, rests, swerves or forking paths to become something else in your life. They might actually open up your art practice to new opportunities, and yourself in ways you had never imagined.
Give Yourself Permission to Make Mistakes and Change
Maybe the most vital and cherished piece of advice I’ve heard that I try to integrate often (though not always successfully) into my own practice is words from a past artist, mentor, and teacher, Nayland Blake. When I feel blocked in the studio or my particular brand of cynicism about the artworld mechanics interfere with art production, I turn again and again to Nayland’s words from past graduate seminars and critiques (and even illustrated in some of these recent public talks) where they talk in a clear-eyed way about the obscure process of making art.
To paraphrase their words, the process of making art is messy, indefinite and truly about thinking out loud with objects and images. As artists, we are embarking on a process to bring our truths into the world and manifest a greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Oftentimes, this means making mistakes, wasting material and losing time. But it is vital to give ourselves permission to fail, change our minds, or evolve into something else. That permission, grace, and empathy will only help us grow.
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