Truth!!! I had very similar feelings (and abhor is absolutely the right word) about selling my work, in the past. There's such tension in that art/marketing/sales dynamic. You write about your struggles with it all, but my friend, you navigate it all so well, despite all of the difficulties. In school we teach our students about grit and stick-with-it-ness as key ingredients for success in any endeavor. You've got both and I always stand in awe of you and your tenacity to move forward. In Hawaiian, this forward motion is called "Imua!" and we say it like a battle cry when pushing towards a goal. I love you. You're amazing. The world needs you!
I know this is true about paying the rent. For me the focus is still on why I do what I do. The last few lines in my morning papers ‘ The Mysteries, the magic of our combined history, of our joint story of what ties us together. I get a headache trying to put words to it. It is Elusive. “ At that point I opened my phone and read the above. Crystal you make it look so easy. Thank you for all the sign post you paint for us. You are a light in the dark.
I love the sentence you shared, the mysteries, the magic, the combined history , the joint story of what ties us together. I absolutely lit up reading that. Thank you for such a beautiful affirmation Debi.
So much truth in your response, Christine. Much of what we encounter as artists here in the US is not the same experience in other cultures. I also think that the internet has brought us so many opportunities as artists that we wouldn't have been able to achieve before, but has also served to numb the audience with such an overwhelming amount of free content. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I am ever grateful for the wisdom of other artists in my community.
Truth!!! I had very similar feelings (and abhor is absolutely the right word) about selling my work, in the past. There's such tension in that art/marketing/sales dynamic. You write about your struggles with it all, but my friend, you navigate it all so well, despite all of the difficulties. In school we teach our students about grit and stick-with-it-ness as key ingredients for success in any endeavor. You've got both and I always stand in awe of you and your tenacity to move forward. In Hawaiian, this forward motion is called "Imua!" and we say it like a battle cry when pushing towards a goal. I love you. You're amazing. The world needs you!
I know this is true about paying the rent. For me the focus is still on why I do what I do. The last few lines in my morning papers ‘ The Mysteries, the magic of our combined history, of our joint story of what ties us together. I get a headache trying to put words to it. It is Elusive. “ At that point I opened my phone and read the above. Crystal you make it look so easy. Thank you for all the sign post you paint for us. You are a light in the dark.
I love the sentence you shared, the mysteries, the magic, the combined history , the joint story of what ties us together. I absolutely lit up reading that. Thank you for such a beautiful affirmation Debi.
Thank you, Crystal for bringing this up about selling our art.
I used to have difficulty years ago doing so, and now the older I get,
I can throw away those worries of feeling awkward about letting people know that rent,
food, medical bills need to be paid. We all need to be proud of what we do and
deserve to be paid fairly. I think many of us were never taught that it's ok to speak
up and sell our art. I have begun to despise the phrase "starving artist" which is unacceptable.
Our culture doesn't help, either. In the Netherlands, those who purchase artwork get
a tax deduction. That would be laughed at in the U.S. Time to change that.
So much truth in your response, Christine. Much of what we encounter as artists here in the US is not the same experience in other cultures. I also think that the internet has brought us so many opportunities as artists that we wouldn't have been able to achieve before, but has also served to numb the audience with such an overwhelming amount of free content. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I am ever grateful for the wisdom of other artists in my community.
It was exactly what I needed when I woke this morning. And sparked an idea for a new work that I happily started almost immediately.
I noticed the synchronous timing of Robyn’s post too. The spiral of time.