What am I doing?
Aspens #1 ©2002 16″ x 13″ (wxh)
This week I sold the above quilt from my etsy shop. Most of my readers know I don’t sell much work and until a few months ago I wasn’t try to sell work so it wasn’t surprising.
Now I’m trying to sell my work.
It feels really great when someone I have never met loves my work enough to purchase it (thank you G if you are reading this!). It is definitely a big wonderful affirmation.
But it confuses me. Before I knew what I wanted to do. I just made what I wanted to make (generally really large work) and I didn’t worry about the market. And I was happy.
Except I have to work 40 hours a week doing something other than making artwork so I can pay my bills, which is exhausting and really cuts into the time I have to make my work.
But more so it really cuts into the time I have to market my work, because my studio often seem to win over my office. I spend 8 hours a day in front of the computer at work, it is very hard to force myself to do it again once I get home.
I had amazing goals for this year to really get going on the promotion of my artwork but I have found I simply do not have enough hours in the day to do everything. I’m still plugging along but I see so many missed opportunities it’s driving me nuts.
So I’m stuck in this paradox where if I work as a software engineer I have to continue to work because I don’t have the time to truly devote to making the art produce an income.
It’s such a confusing catch-22 situation I’m not sure what direction to turn.
But I worry if I quit my job I might have to stop making the work I want to make, because I know that few people can afford my larger work such as the work I have for sale on the Artful Home website. So I think the reality is I need to find some galleries to sell my work if that is what I want. I love my work and know it is worth every penny I am asking for it but I do not have the time to market it myself directly. This is what galleries do and maybe it’s time to find some that will work for me.
I also really enjoy making smaller items and selling them to people that can’t afford my larger work. I have a small budget for artwork and I could never afford large work so I’m very happy when artists that I love have small pieces I can afford. So I need to figure out how to make smaller work that doesn’t undercut the pricing and quality of my larger work but is also more affordable. [something I think is probably no easy task]
I do know I have too much on my plate at the moment. My goals were very aggressive for this year and I can’t keep up. So I’m going to revisit them and come up with a revised plan for the second half of the year. So look for some posts about my new goals before July 1.
I’m not sure I’ve made much sense in this post. So I suppose the point is I have a lot of thinking to do about the direction I am going. The biggest one I have to sort through will be this:
Is selling my work something I really want to try to do. Or should I just go back and make what I want to make and forget about trying to sell.
Posted by Lisa in: Being an Artist
cynthia said,
June 19, 2007 @ 6:28 pm
Congratulations on your Etsy sale!
Sometimes, I wish I had a job so that I could make the work that I want to make myself. Instead of trying to figure out a good product that people want to buy. It is a catch-22.
How is the guild working out? Surely they market well from what I have read about them to designers, architects and high end consumers.
Deborah said,
June 19, 2007 @ 10:00 pm
Of course, you are not alone in this struggle. I don’t have any brilliant insight, but I will say that I don’t think it’s totally true that “few people can afford” your larger work. There are thousands and thousands of very significant art patrons and collectors. Connecting with them is the challenge. But, they are out there.
David said,
June 19, 2007 @ 11:04 pm
It’s an interesting dilemma for you at this point. I’ve discovered for myself to focus most of my creative energy on creating art I like. It has taken several years, but I now know the art I like to create will sell (in a range of price points), and it is now starting to get some more important recognition (I have a painting that was accepted to this year’s Rocky Mountain National Watermedia exhibit!). I like to create large art, and I’m finding people willing to buy. At the same time, I tell people that I create art in sizes from “5 inches square to 5 feet square”, so I’ve purposely created art in sizes that almost anyone can afford (and find a space to hang!). I think exploring smaller work is a good idea.
To be honest, I think your goals were super, but very aggressive, and think a re-evaluation is a good step. Since your marketing and sales time is limited, how about focusing on the top 1-2 “sales channels” that will help you better understand the market and saleablility of the work you like to create, in different sizes? And, you might just have to simply give yourself more time - seems like you’re transitioning from creating art for yourself to focusing on selling pretty quickly (especially with a full-time job).
Looking back for me, I’m pretty lucky that I got laid off from my corporate career - chopping off that bloody stump with a clean cut sure focused everything I’ve got on my art in a hurry. I literally spent no time in the paradox that you describe between a corporate job and art.
Of course, in all of my rambling, I’ve not offered much on your real question about whether or not to focus on selling. For me, I get satisfaction (and joy) in sharing my art with people in an ownership sort of way. Only two ways to do that - sell it or give it away.
Sylvia said,
June 20, 2007 @ 3:36 am
Lisa
give yourself a break—-there is no rule that says you have to make a living within two weeks (or whatever time frame you’ve established) with your art.
Why not set a much more obtainable goal at first, and make earning a living on it a more distant goal?
For instance, you might decide that you would like to earn enough to pay one utility bill and for supplies. That would take some of the pressure off. And realistically, many artists worked away at ‘regular’ jobs for many years before they were ‘noticed’ and some were supported by their spouses or families.
I’d love to quit my regular job, too, and devote it to making art. But, I think that working adds a richness to my work, and the time crunch factor condenses the work effort so that when I do get to work, I am far more efficient. And you do need time to let ideas percolate and develop before delving into them.
Sylvia up early at QSDS in Columbus Ohio
tracy said,
June 20, 2007 @ 4:58 am
Lisa, you have gotten some really good feedback regarding the situation you are in and I don’t think I have any pearls of wisdom to add to it. I went through a similar thing when I decided to try and make a go of painting. With an active family life I could see that there would be no time at all to market and sell my own work in addition to actually painting. I decided to go the gallery route and am glad I did.
The concept of selling? I would still be painting if I wasn’t selling my work, though maybe not quite so much:) But I have to say that selling is really a great feeling. Not because of the income, but I really value the connection I feel when a person likes one of my paintings so much that they are willing to put money down AND live with it in their home, hopefully for the rest of their lives. Can’t beat that!
Rachel Simons said,
June 20, 2007 @ 5:53 am
I faced the same dilema. I solved it by reducing the hours I work in my ‘proper’job. I now work 4 days a week, and hope to reduce to 3 when funds allow. This way I still have a secure and steady income, but more time to devote to my creative persutes.
The other interesting outcome is that my 3 day weekends are much more productive because I’m not so tired from working, and then come Monday I am pleased to go back to the office.
In Britain there is a new law which makes it a legal obligation for employers to consider you for flexible/part time work if you request it. They have to come up with a good excuse why they cannot reduce your hours. My old boss was awful and wouldn’t let me go part time, claiming my job was incompatible with that pattern of working, so I moved to a new company where it works out perfectly. A little bit of forward planning and good communication with co-workers means that everything gets done.
I would thoroughly recommend part time working as one option to consider.
paula said,
June 20, 2007 @ 6:56 am
Hi Lisa,
It’s good to read this post. One thing you say ‘I love my work and know it is worth every penny I am asking for it but I do not have the time to market it myself directly. This is what galleries do …’ I wonder how you will feel when that ‘every penny’ it is worth gets cut in half with the gallery taking 50% commission and you aren’t supposed to raise the prices of your work to make it ‘evened’ up so you can get that every penny.
My experience is, galleries don’t really ‘market’ your work in the way you might think. Of course I’m not nearly as experienced as some other artists and can only speak for myself. They have walls and hang your work. They decide how many pieces, how long, and where in the building. New artists get a small space usually (maybe more brillant artists get more who knows). I’ve had my work be on the floor sometimes more than the wall.
Don’t get me wrong, I am glad and grateful as all get out to be in a gallery that I consider superb and beautiful. But unless you are selling like hotcakes for them don’t think they are going to ‘market’ you. Your work can be on the wall but if no one is going to go up to the lookers and speak with enthusiasm about you or the work, chances are they will keep on walking.
I’ve said it before, you are probably as smart as they come, so I’m curious to see how this journey evolves for you when it comes to selling art. God knows sitting in front of a computer all day and then coming home to do it isn’t fun. I sat in front of the computer all day yesterday for my own ‘art’ marketing and I just felt angry that I don’t have time and space to make art these days.
anyhow, the journey continues for us all. I’m cheering for you!!!
Daniel Sroka said,
June 20, 2007 @ 9:18 am
I’m been thinking about this a lot as well, and have a recent post on my blog about the different markets I’m looking at: high-end, low-end and everything in between. I decided I have to approach this as a small business, and for each potential market (galleries, etsy, whatever) I need to evaluate time/effort involved in getting in against the potential revenue it can generate. For example, I was thinking about galleries, but in my research I learned that (a) getting into galleries requires a lot of work and time, yet (b) fine art photography (what I do) sells quite badly in galleries — very few photographers make a decent income from gallery sales. So I decided that it’s not a market worth pursuing.
My guess is that no one market will provide enough sales to be a full time job. But maybe a combination, built over time, will eventually start to raise enough money.
Henning Riebe said,
June 20, 2007 @ 9:40 pm
Some other important small business strategies are to stick to your core competencies and look for opportunities to resell what has already been developed to generate multiple streams of revenue. As Daniel points out, you do have to have a main target market and position yourself accordingly, but ancillary markets are important revenue generators and promotional tools. Ideally while one is waiting for the big sale of the original (or the limited edition), and even afterwards, some money is trickling in from cards and t-shirts, or whatever. And more importantly your art is out there being viewed by potential new customers who might not know they were interested in your particular art… This could also lead to you changing your target market if you feel things are going better elsewhere.
As far as I could see you only have one design available in other formats at CafePress. Have you considered making more of your work available as reproductions in other formats? Why not all of it? You already make great photos for your blog and other promotional purposes - reuse them for reproductions. Think of it as relatively free, possibly paying, advertising for the originals.
It’s easy to see which services are popular with sellers, harder to know where the buyers are going. We’re so many needles in such a big haystack! Martha Marshall recently wrote about her online selling experiences here. I’ve also looked at spreadshirt.com and printfection.com as CafePress alternatives, but can’t offer any feedback yet.
Diane Clancy said,
June 21, 2007 @ 2:07 pm
Wow, Lisa,
What great input you have gotten here .. I am learning from everyone else too! I was going to suggest going down a little in time as you could at your regular work to give yourself more time for the art - if you can. As someone said, it is hard when you don’t have someone else supporting you as so many artists do (not me). I think it is great when partners believe in an artist’s work - and can afford to! - and then support someone so they can pursue their art and marketing.
By the way, congratulations on selling another piece at Etsy!
I think you are on the right track with selling different sizes at various prices so that you can reach a wider audience. Also I think choosing a few venues to start marketing in makes sense. Someone talked about how much work certain marketing directions are - like galleries if your work doesn’t fit a usual gallery. So I think being smart - which you sure are! - which directions to pursue …
Keep looking at different venues and how they are doing. It seems to me, that Etsy isn’t that much work to just keep your items there and perhaps you will sell some. I like these things that are passively active for you - and then you can choose to be more active. Especially the ones that don’t take much money up front.
I too am working on these issues … plus more!
~ Diane Clancy
http://www.dianeclancy.com/blog