I am always on the look-out for ways to be more efficient and often wonder how other artists, who don’t have assistants, manage to pull together all the loose threads that make up their practice. Unfortunately, most of the artists’ blogs I follow neglect to cover the nuts and bolts of their approach to the business side of their work. They announce their upcoming shows, but what I’d selfishly like to know more about – beyond artistic process – is how they juggle the behind-the-scenes details that lead up to an exhibition. Admittedly, not a very glamorous topic, but an important one.
Snoozing ©2016 Elizabeth Fram
Figuring out how to organize my time is one of my greatest challenges. As the fall season gets underway I’m definitely feeling the push to start checking off all the business-y things I let slide over the summer, meaning I have some serious computer hours in front of me. Website updates, adding a gallery page to this blog, rewriting statements and researching social media are just a few of the many items on my to-do list. Add to that the exhibition possibilities that seem to sprout like weeds after Labor Day and I begin to feel overwhelmed. How to get it all done?
Other than those who are directly involved, I doubt many of the art-viewing public are aware of the time-consuming steps that go into getting one’s work seen. Deciding which opportunities to pursue, which pieces to submit where, gathering and providing all necessary supporting materials (to the the exact specifications requested by each show organizer…wouldn’t it be nice if it were a uniform process across the board?), all take up a surprising amount of time and are just one more faction of getting our work out into the world. In fact, I just spent the better part of an hour and a half crafting a 96-word statement, which seems absolutely crazy as I write this, but I know I will get plenty of mileage from it in the future and so I consider the time well spent.
Are you struggling with how to keep all these balls in the air too? This week I found a couple of resources that I’d like to share that I hope will be useful and perhaps help us all make smart and time-saving decisions as we move forward.
ColorSquare Collar ©2016 Elizabeth Fram
First, whenever I have a business question or am looking for ideas and solutions, I always start with Alyson Stanfield. Her checklist in two parts for assessing juried exhibitions is well-worth reading (and rereading from time to time) when deciding whether or not a particular show is the best venue for you and worthy of your time and energy.
Secondly, I just learned yesterday about Katherine Tyrrell’s Art Business Info. for Artists website — and can’t wait to delve into what looks like an absolute treasure trove of information. She is an incredible resource — save the link!
Finally, nothing beats the personal, homegrown solutions that are born out of necessity. What have you discovered that helps you balance the business vs art sides of your practice? Please share your best hint!
“Just Do It”. That is my very best hint. The longer I let the “business” side of my work park on the sidelines waiting for me to get to it, the larger it seems to loom….I try to address anything that will be used more than once in January – I keep a couple “core” statements on file which I can easily embroider to suit different occasions (teaching or exhibiting.) I make notes as I work on actual work as to what I might want to say about that work.
Very smart Pam! It comes as no surprise that you are so organized. Do you make a general game plan for the year ahead in January too?
“How to get it all done?” We won’t!! And that is good because it demonstrates we are always stretching our shadow bigger than our selves. And don’t forget—and I know you won’t—that sometimes the best thing to do is go for a long walk with that new model of yours! Maybe I’ll give you a call and tempt you out on one soon, OK?!
I like your attitude John – and yes – walks are key! Let’s do it.
Let me start by confessing that I am “to-do-list”-driven. I suspect someday to write a to-do list that goes like this: 1) Lie down. 2) Die. 3) Go to heaven. But as silly and OCD as it seems, it does allow your brain to set aside the tasks that you aren’t doing at the moment. Because they are documented, you don’t need to try to remember them, and you can get back to them as time goes along. So each week I write a weekly task list which is composed of both pushing my art forward, and taking care of the business end of art. So neither one gets ignored for the week, and I make progress, if small, on both fronts. At this point, Pam Druhen’s “just do it” advice helps you tackle the list. As boring or onerous as a particular task might seem, if it’s on the list waiting to be checked off, just doing it gets it done. My husband, an ex-Marine (though he would claim there is no such thing), uses his mantra from the Marines: “Do it now and bitch later”. The weekly list is crafted each Sunday, and I work to it as faithfully as possible. If things don’t get done, they roll onto the next week’s list. The minutiae of the list derives from my yearly Studio Action Plan…so the little tiny boring actions of the week all go together to support what I’m trying to accomplish this year.
Marya, you gave me my chuckle of the day with your “final” list!
I keep a running list as well, but it’s a bit like taking your hand out of water: it always fills right up again. The trick, for me, is finding the right balance…some days I’m more successful than others.
Love the Quinn studies. Hope she is settling in nicely as she appears to happily be making it into you he(art). Look forward to seeing more of this lovely form!
Thanks Adrianna; she’s a gem!