Forum

Recently I had the privilege of Moderating a Discussion Session entitled “Strategies for the Seasoned Artist” at an enrichment conference held by the Best of Missouri Hands artist organization.  The purpose was promoted to be figuring out how to gracefully transition to the next stage of the aging artist’s career.  The session was well attended, the discussions lively, and most heads were crowned with silver.

The mediums represented were fiber, glass, metal, photography, jewelry, wood, painting, and clay. 

There was one new artist, four that had been selling for twenty years or more, and the rest were in between.

Two thirds of the artists depend on the income generated by the sale of their art as their primary source of income.  The other third considers their sales as part-time income.

A bit of time was spent on shows.  All but 1 attendee (and myself) reported that they could set up a show with only the assistance of their spouse or significant other – i.e. free help. I acknowledged that I pay helpers but am Blessed to have a person for St. Louis shows and a sister for out of town shows. 

The advice for the 1 attendee who needed help was to post an ad on Craig’s List.  Several have done this and found it works well.  All contact with the helper is in a public place – no private contact is necessary – therefore it is safe.  The suggested fee for the helper was $50 for set-up and $50 for break-down.  Alternate suggestions were to contact the show staff and particularly select shows that provide assistance.  There are quite a few shows that will provide assistance ranging from unloading/loading the vehicle to full set up.

Additional advice for facilitating show set-up/break-down was to create displays on wheels; use tents that break apart so that the components can be divided into lighter packages; and be sure that all boxes, etc., are light enough for the artist to manage on their own.

One artist questioned how to learn about shows that fit specific needs.  ArtFairInsider.com was lauded as the primary resource.  Festival.net was also mentioned as was St. Louis Artist’s Network group.  Naturally, the artist was encouraged to investigate any offerings listed with these groups.

In addition to shows, the attendees reported sales on-line, sales through galleries, wholesale opportunities, and one sold exclusively through a marketing representative.  The artist with the marketing rep acknowledged that it had started serendipitously but had developed into a full time job with no other outlets for sales.

The biggest shock from the discussions was in response to the questions “How many are planning to retire?” followed by “How many are thinking about retiring?”  The answer to both questions was zero.  No one in the group was even considering retiring! 

What turned out to be the pertinent question was “How can an artist continue to create income when they start to decline physically?”  The general sentiment from the group was that the artists would die before they quit.  It was acknowledged that aging bodies do put limits on capabilities but for those who enjoy still doing shows, the suggestions stated earlier were re-iterated.  Many said they love doing shows due to the interaction with the people and the positive reinforcement of their creativity.

So the discussion now turned to the ways the artist could continue to create income as their bodies began to slow down.  Ironically, those ways had pretty much been covered earlier as the artists had been queried as to where their income came from.  Specifically, the top recommendations were galleries and on-line sales. 

A lively discussion came from the suggestion of getting your art displayed “on consignment” in different locations like dentist/doctor/lawyer offices, hospitals, banks, restaurants, or office buildings.  It was acknowledged that this suggestion was primarily beneficial for, but not limited to, 2-D artists.  The host gets free decorating and the art is available for purchase.  The reason this discussion was invigorating is because most of the group had assumed that such locations were by invitation only whereas, in fact, the artist is free to approach any host.  Don’t be shy.  Cold Calling can’t hurt you.

For those artists who feel that production of their art is no longer necessary for an income stream but who want to still be regarded as a functional artist, these suggestions were made with the assumption that the artist is not asking to be paid: 

Mentoring which could take the form of spending one on one time with another budding artist.  Or holding sessions at an event.  For instance, GSLAA always has children’s booths at their Queeny Art Fairs in St. Louis.  If an artist wanted to provide such a service, they could contact the staff of an art show and make the offer.  Most shows would bend over backwards to make such a thing happen.

Teaching classes.  BOMH’s Visiting Artist is a classic example.  Once again, contacting an organization to offer your skills and letting them take the heavy work of providing the facility, supplies, and promotion would probably be well received.

What about literary contributions?  Blogs and columns on a variety of art topics should be another win/win situation.

What about a regular Q & A column in a newsletter or on Facebook?

Pretty much any idea is a good one.  And as Nike likes to say “Just Do It!”