One of my friends sent this to me the other day. It seems so true for so many things! We work so hard on our own to be successful doing what we love, and so little of the work is seen and even less is acknowledged. Moving to a new area only adds more to the bottom of the triangle. In my case I moved to a different state, where I knew very few people and literally no artists. So, not only are my connections to "my art community" changed, my collectors live in another state, the design store where I sold my big abstracts is too away to easily or practically deliver and/or to keep track of what has sold. On top of that, Social Media is constantly changing and evolving.
Have you noticed that most of the email that you receive is "junk mail", trying to sell you something. Few people email anymore. Text is the way of the day. I don't even begin to know or want to know all the slang that is acceptable for text. They had a quiz of the new slang words at a local Rotary Meeting, and only the members that had teenage children had any idea what most of the new slang meant. Not only do you have to move from email to text, apparently you need to learn a new world of abbreviations.
Another new way of connecting is via "Link Tree", which I learned about, but have no clue how to do. Reels should be used on Social Media; so here is another new application that one should learn to let people know what they are doing.
Was selling your art ever easy? Probably not, but you sold it via people you knew, their connections and perhaps a gallery or more with whom you associated. Living in a town with only one gallery, that is "out of the way" of most street traffic, and a town where art does not seem to play an important role certainly changes how and how much art you are able to sell.
I've been lucky to sell a few pieces to people I'm meeting, and by putting a sign on the sidewalk that says: "Artist at Work", as you cannot have an "Open" sign if you have a home business where I live. In the Spring and Summer when I am working I open the garage door to my studio, and occasionally someone comes in from the street and talks, or buys cards and on a rare occasion buys a piece of art. It is a good way to relinquish some older pieces, as everyone is looking for a "deal".
I've donated pieces to local events, but never hear much about it. I am always glad to support a good cause, but sometimes think I am a good cause too! Ha Ha
Being an artist, if I have not sold something in a while I might not feel like spending so much time in my studio making art. Then someone buys a small piece and the enthusiasm comes back. I wonder if most artists feel that way.
What I really wonder is why some works make it into shows and others don't? Is it totally up to the juror and what they personally like, or is there more to it. I've been accepted into several shows, but never won a prize. Looking at winners I often wonder what makes the difference? Please let me know if you know.
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