The Bottom Line
May 29, 2006
A bird with a piece of string in Havana, Cuba.
NOTE: As I wrote this entry, new tangents and topics related to art and money kept coming up, so I have decided to create a new category for this subject and will continue to write more about this.
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When I started Swirly in 1995, my goal was to build a profitable business as an artist. I had no concrete ideas about how I was going to do that, but one thing was certain: my goal of having a financially successful business was just as strong as my goal of wanting to be an artist. The goal was not to amass mountains of money purely for the sake of having money and material wealth; the goal was to work hard and take pride in the fact that my efforts were rewarded with a successful business that enabled me to continue being an artist for as long as I continued to do the work.
My profits grew quickly and steadily, and the financial success of Swirly is one of my proudest achievements, second only to the fact that the message behind Swirly inspired a lot of people along the way to follow their own dreams. My mission as an artist is still to inspire otheres, but the materials I am using, the type of work I am creating and the venues through which I am selling my work are all completely different than what they were for Swirly. Despite the fact that my studio time has been feast or famine for almost a year now, I have still managed to have two shows and have the beginnings of a solid collection of work. I can’t say that I’m anywhere near having a "profitable business" – can’t even say that what I am doing feels like a business at all because my ability to give it my full attention has been so challenged – but I can say that I believe there is great potential here and it is just a matter of me plugging into whatever system I decide to pursue. This could be galleries, my own studio shows, my website, a book, or any number of other venues and channels for sharing my work.
Because my success with Swirly was so intricately entwined to the bottom line, it has been hard for me to step into my studio without being bombarded with thoughts about how the work I am about to do is going to earn money. It has taken effort to ignore these thoughts and focus on what moves me creatively; my inclination has been to try to figure out what kind of work will be the most marketable, the most accessible. I do want the work I am doing now to sell – whether as original artwork, commissions, in a book, or in some other manner that I haven’t even thought of yet – but right now what is much more important is that I simply CREATE. If unexpected opportunities come my way, I will certainly follow them, but the greater need right now is to strengthen my creative muscles and push the limits of the concepts, imagery and ideas that I am now exploring as an artist.
When I made the shift from graphic design & commercial illustration to the work I am doing now, I met with a friend who is a successful painter to get his advice. The thing I remember most from that conversation was very simple: "Do your best work. Don’t try to figure out what will sell, just do your best work." I have tried to hold on to this ever since then, but my grip has been somewhat timid and weak. I realize now it is time to tighten that grip, and loosen the reins on trying to generate sales. The only way I have any hope of turning these latest creations into a profitable business is by letting go of worrying about how that will come about, at least for the time being. Right now I need to do the creative work, and beyond that I need to follow my work where it wants to take me, giving it a nudge here and there as opportunities and ideas come along. What I learned from Swirly is that growing a business requires you to have a "big picture" vision of where you want to go with a tremendous amount of flexibility as to how you get there. Growing Swirly required me to balance the specific, short term goals I set for myself with opportunities that seemed to come out of nowhere. The bottom line was that I succeeded not because I wanted a lot of money, but because I wanted a profitable business. A lot of money in and of itself would certainly have enabled me to be an artist to my heart’s content, but a profitable business enabled me to be an artist because the work I was doing provided that opportunity, and continued to provide that opportunity as the business grew. Ironically, in order to reach that point where my profit & loss statements showed black ink and not red, I had to put that focus on the back burner, especially in the beginning.
My challenge right now is to let go of worrying about the money in the short run while keeping an eye on greater financial goals in the long run. I offer this challenge to you as well. What would it feel like if someone came to you and said, "Here is one hundred dollars – I am paying you to do exactly what you want to do today – now go do it." What would you do? What would you create?
“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. It will give you the means for the satisfaction of your desires, but it will not provide you with desires.” -Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
The good news is I realized I would not take the $100 because I don’t need it. I just spent the weekend redesigning my bedroom, painting, organizing, etc. Now all thats in there are yellow (formerly a horrible, horrible mud brown from the previous owner) walls, my big pine desk that looks out over my backyard, and my bed. Now all I need to do is sit my tush down in the chair and finish my first draft of my second book. Never having made $ yet from my first true love, I think I am fortunate in that I don’t feel that sense of pressure you are describing, and yet, part or all of that is that I haven’t made the $ windfall you have from your first love. I think we each have to take a hard look at what we aren’t letting go of that is just simply in the way at this point. For you, its money. (For me, its the heartache of letting me and Laini’s first book go (for now, that is) and focus on the 2nd one now, knowing we can resubmit it later.) I really like what your painter friend said, to just create your best work. We just have to keep digging and carving, digging and carving, andI have no doubt your path will bring you all you are seeking Christine. You are multi-talented. Give yourself some patience and time to reap what you are now sowing.
although i’m not an artist in the same sense you are and although i’ve never lived the experience of trying to get a business based on my artistry up and running (and earning a profit) i could relate to this post. in some ways i find myself in the same dilemma with my writing–how do i balance what i want to write with what others want to read and should i even consider finding a balance or just write what i want regardless. profit comes when others want what you are creating and i often feel the pressure to give them what they want instead of what i really want to express. this post has made me think a lot…especially that last question. $100–i don’t know right now what i’d do with it…
oi(y)! hey! you go girl!
I am so glad you are writing about this. About the balance of profit and creativity. I think there is a lack of honesty in this area sometimes because artist don’t want to seem like they are selling out…
If I was given $100 I would buy art/craft supplies at ACMoore, create art, then sell it on my blog.
Wait, I am in the process of doing that right now!:)
So I would take the money and hire a Mother’s helper type babysitter to watch Ethan and Maggie while I create.
You’ve been reading my mind, Christine. I would gratefully accept that $100, but it wouldn’t change a thing for me beyond that one day. I’d still be worried about where the money would come from tomorrow, next week, next year. That’s why I feel shackled to my “regular” job, when I would much rather be working full-time on my art/business. For me, it’s about taking that leap of faith and knowing, with all my heart, that inspiration, ideas, and income will alway be flowing to me, regardless of how dry the well may appear at times.
Thank you for the food for thought.
thank you for going into depth about the $ side of art– it’s a constant that needs to be demystified in the art world!
Funny — the hundred dollars idea just makes me anxious. I would rather it not be hanging there, and just do what I do and then see if what comes out is something I think is worth trying to sell. Otherwise there’s the pressure. I really relate to everything you’ve said in this post. I have fallen into the rut myself of worrying about the profitability of everything I work on, and I’ve had times in the past months when I felt really confused by what I was doing, what I wanted to work on that given day. And then other times it’s so clear and fun. Always a cycle, always complicated, when art and money come together!