On Monday, July 27, OregonLive the online version of the Portland, Oregon daily paper, the Oregonian, posted an article on the state of the creative economy in Portland. It opened with a tale of an experienced, educated artist who has been out of work for 10 months and continued with an economist who said, basically, that while Portland is a liberal, artistic, free thinking society, prices here have always been cheap and people don’t want to pay a lot for art.
The author poses a contest between young, bohemian artists who flock to Oregon because it’s a cultural mecca and the established mature artists who want to own a house and have a family.
“But mostly, the contest crystallizes the status of arts professionals in general: financially, they’re stuck in adolescence. ‘Here we are in a recession with so many designers out of work, and we’re having a free contest instead of digging into the great resources we have.’
But City Hall shouldn’t be blamed. The problem involves a collective state of mind, not just bad practices by institutions and bureaucrats.”
Perhaps artists as a group will always be stuck in that adolescent state, but I don’t think that each of us as individuals have to be stuck there as well. I was speaking with a friend last night who is a succssful kinetic sculptor and he was talking about how much he wished that he had time to make pieces just for himself, but instead he’s so busy doing commissioned pieces for his excited fans that he doesn’t have time to tinker in his studio. Instead he spends all of his studio time doing work for which he’s already been paid. I’m sure there are many artists who wish they were in that situation.
My friend, and many other artists like him, are in the position that he is in because he saw something that he wanted to do and found a way to go out and do it. He learned to blend his artistic skills with the demand of the market and hasn’t looked back since.
Again, from the comments section on that Oregon Live article, here’s what some people believe about making a living as an artist.
Get a grip and recognize that most of us sacrificed our ideals many years ago to earn a living at a standard we desired. Linda K. Johnson and others should do the same, or learn to exist within the boundaries of what society is willing to offer.
I propose that if you are serious about your career as an artist then you will find a way to make it work. I also propose that if you are serious about your career and you need help, then you will find the help that you need. Yes, it would be all well and good if the government and our society publicly funded the arts, but they don’t, so we work around it. The USA has a reputation as a creative and innovative country precisely because of that. Restrictions create art just as often as they kill art, and real artists know this and work with what they’re given.
A Call to Action – Artist mastermind groups.
Do you know any artists who are successful? Success can be financial, artistic technique, networking, or whatever you like. Get a few of those artists together who are really serious about their careers and meet together every other week, or every month, and discuss what you’re doing. Share artistic ideas, share financial & business strategies, and get advice from others in the group.
You can form your own mastermind group in any city, wherever you are. There are artists everywhere. On Friday, I will be announcing the first Abundant Artist Mastermind group and a special teaching opportunity that I will presenting to the community. If you would like to be a part of the Mastermind Group and learn more about the teaching opportunity, please come back on Friday morning. Also, feel free to contact me if you can’t wait until then.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
An Abundant Artist Mastermind group is a great idea. Count me in!
.-= mediaChick´s last blog ..(3) Happy Alone =-.
Thanks for posting a solution instead of more whining.
Master Mind groups are essential, and more important effective for anyone who is working solo. For artists, these have the added benefit of being connected to other artists, who are probably the most fruitful tree of ongoing, current information about what’s happening in the art world.
I’m going to tweet this one up!
Thanks so much Ariane! It really is all about the solutions, isn’t it? We can whine and complain all day, but in the end we have to make it happen!
Thanks for crystalizing something for me. I have been discussing the lack of renowned women artists in museums etc. I talked about the loyalty groups that surround politicians–usually male–the master mind group can be the same for women artists. Each of us brings our knowledge and energy and insight.
This is a fruitful discussion – thank you.
Here in Arizona, we’ve faced government cuts (who hasn’t ) to the arts. At one point, there was a proposal to eliminate the Arizona Commission on the Arts altogether. In contacting our representatives, I pointed out that, in addition to inspiring others and helping them see things in new ways, artists make things. Making things (AKA products) requires materials and services, which stimulates the economy more than service businesses.
People – including artists – need to see art as a business. Yes, art is absolutely more than a business, but it is also a business. There is a time for creativity and a time for business. The lines sometimes blur, but there are many instances where it’s pretty clear. From a business perspective, an artist has a right to ask to be paid properly, but also a responsibility to act in such a way there is value for that payment.
Finally, for the artist who is too busy with commissions, the sculptor I work for, Kevin Caron, has also had that challenge. It’s very difficult to turn away dollars when people want to give them to you! Kevin has learned, though, that his own work is important, too. It’s part of his development as an artist, which builds value. Artists can “commission” themselves to create work, setting aside some time in the schedule for that important part of their development.
Just some thoughts.
Valorie – thanks for your comment. The Mastermind concept is discussed methodically and in great detail in the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I recommend reading it.
Mary – thank you for stopping by. The Eastern idea of a Thousand Cuts is the concept that individually, small wounds cannot hurt us, but a thousand small wounds will bleed us to death. Eliminating a few artists or art organizations won’t hurt the country/economy as a whole. Eliminating support for the arts altogether (as has been done in some schools) kills off an important part of life.
Valorie,
Thank you for crafting such an informed response to the OregonLive article. As a big time networker, I find that surrounding yourself with other like-minded, positive people who are striving to succeed and want to see you succeed is critical to ones success…whether it’s a mastermind group or a casual gathering.
And, you’re absolutely right…if you want to make it at anything, you answer the calling, make the commitment, and do whatever it takes to get to your goal.
Thanks again!
Rebecca
Thank you for an antidote to that cynical article on OregonLive and to the even more cynical comments! I love Portland and moved here precisely because where I was living before was culturally and artistically barren and dead. Making it as a creative there was a real struggle. It was also a place totally in the shadow of Hollywood and Disney and tried to emulate that pre-digested, regurgitated commercial crap that those two institutions promote.
What are some of those commentators thinking? Can you imagine what the world would be like without creatives? We’d all be living in concrete boxes eking out a miserable existence like some indifferent robots. There would be no music, art, or architecture. People, and society in general, thirst for beauty and inspiration to live happy, gratifying lives.
To me, Portland has just the right mix of culture, art, and inspiring environment to live and thrive in as a creative (and affordability!). Whether Portland itself can support the arts community fully on its own, I think, is not as important as to do what you are passionate about. And don’t EVER sacrifice your ideals (as one commentator suggested) to settle for less than what you are worth. That is misery and life won’t be worth living. As creatives, we are only happy when we are creating. Do what you need to do to make it work for you. Your light will attract an audience from within the immediate community and beyond. Perhaps Portland’s greatest export could become it’s art. Use the internet and social media to get exposure nationally and internationally. It’s a very powerful tool.
It’s important for us creatives to flock together. As my friend, Barbara Saunders of Self-Employed Creative Professionals recently said, artists are like coals in a fire. If you take one out of the fire it will go cold and die. But if you keep all the coals together, they keep each other burning brightly. And to further this metaphor, the fire attracts people and keeps them warm (and, I dare say, alive!). This concept of Mastermind groups is a great thing, and somewhere we can all go to get fired up and inspired to do great things and succeed.
We all need to believe in Portland and the great people that live here. Let’s keep that creative energy alive.