It would be hard to guess how many people count themselves as artists, since this is not a “measurable” vocation. We can count our nurses because they’re licensed; likewise, we could make a pretty good guess at how many cooks or waitresses work in America, if anyone wanted to tote up all the restaurants and do a little math.
But artists? They’re everywhere and nowhere, if you know what I mean. Every workplace contains artists, but relatively few workplaces employ people to be artists.
Nevertheless, art is indeed a viable career path, whether your muse is in performance, writing, visual arts or one of the rapidly evolving hybrids that use digital processes as a primary medium.
If you have an artist on your gift buying list (including yourself), these two books might be just the ticket.
"Starting Your Career as an Artist: A Guide for Painters, Sculptors, Photographers and Other Visual Artists" by Angie Wojak and Stacy Miller (Allworth Press, 2011, $19.95).
As the subtitle makes abundantly clear, this book shines the spotlight on the studio arts that result in tangible products. If that focus sounds too narrow, you might find a more appropriate title on the publisher’s website (Allworth.com). Here you’ll encounter a range of practical books on such topics as legal forms for artists, as well as a bevy of specialized editions to help artists in specific disciplines. My vote for most interesting niche title? “Splatter Flicks: How to Make Low-budget Horror Films.”
In “Starting Your Career as an Artist,” the co-authors have compiled a no-nonsense guide divided into six sections. Some of the sections, such as “Setting Up and Maintaining a Studio Practice,” will be of interest primarily to those in the fine arts. But other sections are more broadly applicable to all types of artists, including “Your Artistic Practice,” which focuses on business aspects of the artistic career, and “Self Assessment and Developing a Career Plan.”
Interwoven with their own advice (Wojak and Miller are both fine artists who work for a design school), the authors have included articles written by others, as well as scripts of informational interviews they conducted with individuals in fine art, education, art criticism, art activism, galleries, fundraising and nonprofits. The result is a bit hodgepodge in overall tone and content, which feels entirely fitting for its subject matter.
In addition to some very illuminating and pragmatic information about the world of professional art, this book also contains a short list of publications and a longer list of websites to pursue for further information.
In all, I think the authors have done a good job of supporting the thesis they put forward early in the book: “You are in charge of your own destiny. You can make money to support your art and still be sincere and authentic. You can create a community to support your art practice.”
"The Artist in the Office: How to Creatively Survive and Thrive Seven Days a Week" by Summer Pierre (Perigee, 2010, $13.95).
So, what if you’re an artist who has to work in a non-art job? For Summer Pierre, author of this imaginative handbook, one (bad) solution was to squash her creativity into an after-work box and focus on her day jobs (administrative assistant, nanny, store clerk) as best she could. When that plan fell apart, she tried quitting work to focus full time on her writing, drawing and music. Here’s what she says about that in her book:
“I always believed my job was the problem. I was an artist and I hated having a job. ... So I tried to quit working cold turkey and something interesting happened: I didn’t do well. The magical life I thought being a full-time artist would entail dissolved the moment my coffee mug was empty. ... It turned out there were a lot of things that having a job did for me. At a minimum, it gave me structure, accountability, and an opportunity to be around people.”
Pierre’s Plan C? Incorporate the artist mentality into the day job, while simultaneously resolving the issues that blocked her from realizing her goals after punching out. Pierre examines this dual track with both honesty and compassion. She knows that many artists hold themselves back for reasons ranging from low self-confidence to poor time management to laziness. With those insights from her own experience, she’s able to provide very specific and usable ideas for breaking the logjam.
While not as process-driven as “Starting Your Career as an Artist,” this slim guide oozes with handy tips, Web addresses and personal insights, all wrapped around delightful drawings and diagrams by Pierre. Artists in any discipline would find it helpful and fun to read.
Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or at 626 Armstrong Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.
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