Episode 246: Balancing Art and Business

The Messy Studio with Rebecca Crowell

For many artists that want to market and sell their work, finding a balance between studio practice and business life is challenging. There are pitfalls in spending too much time on the business side of your practice, and drawbacks to not paying enough attention to this. Finding a good balance between your art and your art business is not simply a time management issue, but also one of your focus and emotional investment.

A key to navigating this balance is being flexible because your needs for greater focus for either studio time or business change over time, depending on your current situation with your work and your financial needs. Besides time management, also consider where you find that your focus and emotional energy are best spent. Not everyone wants to invest a lot of themselves in marketing their work, teaching workshops, or other forms of art business. Motivation for becoming involved in art business needs to be an inner drive. Art business can be stressful and there is no shame in deciding not to go in that direction.

Deciding to begin or develop your art business requires artwork that is consistent and of good quality, and confidence in yourself. It is common for people to either be too eager to enter the art business world or too reticent, so seeking honest, objective feedback is valuable to understand if you are at a good point to go forward. If you do become involved in art business, finding systems that work for you is crucial. You need ways to track expenses and income, and to manage other aspects of your art career like maintaining your website. What you hear from various art business in terms of advice may or may not suit you personally, so you may need to be creative in finding ways that do.

As you go forward, prioritizing your studio time and setting aside enough time to feel creative flow is always critical. Without the focus on your art, there is no reason to be involved in marketing or art business. As your work improves and becomes more widely displayed and collected, the challenges of balancing studio and business focus can shift. Exhibits, for example, require great effort on both fronts. But experience with art business does ease the way, as you learn what works for you.

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What's new At Cold Wax Academy?
Rebecca and Jerry have wrapped up their winter quarter of online sessions at Cold Wax Academy, where as always members have access to in-depth and varied content for learning, growth, and support. Their Winter quarter included presentations by guest authors Eric Maisel (may-ZEL) and Shaun McNiff, a painting clinic for works in progress, and live sessions on procrastination, tips on photographing your artwork, and source ideas for your paintings. All of these sessions and many more are available as video recordings in the member library. As a member, you can also access the private Facebook page and the community there of informed and supportive artists who post paintings, ask questions and initiate discussions.

It's never too late to join Cold Wax Academy! Stay tuned for a list of topics to be covered in the upcoming Spring Quarter and please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com for more information as well as basic information about using cold wax medium.

Please visit http://www.coldwaxacademy.com for more information.
Here is what a member named Sandy has to say about her own experience with Cold Wax Academy:
"Rebecca and Jerry have presented the most professional, authentic and structured approach to a creative activity I have ever come across. Their selfless sharing of all their knowledge and encouragement is a gift in my life unsurpassed."

Also-- please visit https://www.espacioart.org to learn about Rebecca and Jerry's newest project, Espacio, dedicated to providing beautiful living and working spaces for artists and writers. Espacio's first offering is Casa Clavel, a modern, fully equipped house opening this September in the beautiful cultural city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. A few booking openings are still available in 2023, so please incquire if you are interested.

Have an art related product, service, or event you would like to advertise on the Messy Studio Podcast?
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For more from The Messy Studio:
www.messystudiopodcast.com
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For more from Rebecca Crowell:
www.rebeccacrowell.com
www.coldwaxacademy.com
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The Messy Studio Podcast is a Tick Digital Media Production.