There is a reason that the phrase, "starving artist" is a phrase. It is because most artists do not make a living selling their art. I am one such artist. However, I create art because I enjoy it, not because I am trying to make money. There's another facet to being a "starving artist". That is that it takes money, oftentimes, to create art, and unless you are wealthy, you have to earn extra money somehow in order to continue to create art. I am a mosaic artist so I need mosaic materials in order to create my art. I am pretty creative with how I gather my materials: broken dishes, broken glass, yard sale leftovers on the side of the road marked "free", thrift stores and yard sales all provide much of my materials. Also most people I know, know that I am a mosaic artist, and so I am always having people bring me chipped and broken dishes. Dishes are fun to work with, but there are so many other wonderful materials to mosaic with. I recently wanted to create an art piece using a form of Italian made glass called Smalti. Smalti must be purchased and it is expensive. I spent over $100 in materials just to make this piece. Will I recoup my costs and the value of my time if I sell my piece? Well, it would depend on how much I charged for the piece. That is another blog post.
That leads me to my title for today's post: "To Craft Or Not To Craft". In order to make some extra money to buy materials so I can create fine art, I often make "crafty" things to sell. I mosaic picture frames, flower pots, mirrors, and signs. I do well selling them in outdoor art shows and shops. People in my small community usually do not go to an outdoor art show and spend $300 on a piece of art. They will, however, spend $20-$40. I am going to be in an outdoor art show next month and have been spending all my time over the past four months making lower price-point crafty items to sell at this show. "All my time" equates to about 2 to 6 hours in my studio per week. (I have a 4 year old and a baby, so at this point in my life I do not devote more time than that to my art. I know this is just a season of life, and later in life, when my children are older, I will put in more time in my studio.) I enjoy making crafty things in part because they are quick and bring in revenue. I also find value in making crafts because it helps my fine art: I can experiment with adhesives, tesserae, technique and design on a piece that is smaller and more expendable if I happen to screw it up! It also keeps me humble because there seems to be an imaginary platform that some fine artists put themselves on, which keeps them "above" crafting. Although I do enjoy crafting and find value in it, I emotionally connect more with art that is more abstract and plays with texture and color. I get more satisfaction and enjoyment from creating this type of art. And, as the weeks creep by, my fine art ideas and sketches and plans collect dust and cobwebs in my mind. I am chomping at the bit to get in my studio and flex my more artistic muscles and create fine art again. But, if I don't make the crafty items, I won't make money so I can buy materials to create fine art. My fine art is, therefore, codependent on my craft creations.
The conclusion? Embrace it. My year is just simply broken up into months of craft followed by a month or two of fine art. It is a cycle that needs to be right now. So rather than buck against it, I will embrace it! Craft away!
