In many artists groups there is usually a “plan for next year” discussion that is happening at this time of the year. There are paid and free workshops as well as downloadable pdfs and classes. They can include plans and prompts to help you get thinking about what direction you want you art practice or art business to go. They can be as simple as a one step, make more art to intricate build a better business type discussion.
What’s been on my mind for the last several months is whether or not to shutter both my Facebook art page and my website. Weird? Possibly. But it’s a topic that’s getting a ton of page time in my journal. I go back and forth between “don’t be a quitter “ to “it takes time to build a style, following and reputation” to the “be gentle with change” mindset.
Most of my buyers are my friends and my family. I have only sold 3 piece to strangers. Although almost all of the sales are a result of posting on social media, zero sales have come through my website, which costs about $190/year to maintain, plus the time and effort to keeping it maintained. My desire has always been to have my art sales cover the costs of the business and supplies, but what happens when sales don’t reach that threshold. This isn’t a pity party and I’m not looking for you to cheer me up but I am at a point of “is it worth it” ?
My sales are sporadic and unpredictable and usually get absorbed into my monthly bills. Not unlike many people, money is tight and I need to trim the excess, is it sad that my art business is excess? Or is it a reflection of a greater issue happening out there? What does an artist do when she can’t afford art supplies? Is there another way? Am I missing something?
I know i can’t stop making art, It’s not even up for debate but really, how to continue? Whats next? Earlier this year I was thinking about rebranding so maybe this is part of that. I don’t have to decide about my website until May so I have some time. It seemed like the right time to start talking about it, I have a hard decision to make but it’s two thirds made already.
When I started making art almost 9 years ago, selling it was never my end game. I would occasionally make something someone wanted to buy but most of the stuff I made was rubbish. The unexpected sales helped me pay some bills now and then. At some point, I wanted to make consistent sales to help supplement my life but the more I focused on it the more illusive it became.
In May of this year, I announced in a blog post that I was taking a break from making sellable pieces. I was taking a step back from that hustle partly because of a mindset shift that I needed to make and partly to give myself a break from the constant push against something that wasn’t working. I wanted to approach my art from a place of creativity and not of outcome.
What does this long ramble mean? It means I am an artist, with or without a website. Creative me is still making art, making due with what I can. Life has become financially challenging for alot of us but I know my art is part of my essence and it won’t stop just because I don’t have a website.
Please consider following me on instagram if you have it, the link in on my homepage.
Thank you for joining me on my artistic evolution. I wish you all a happy New Year and a fulfilling 2024!