Did I tell you I got a brand new Etsy store. It’s true I did. As one of my many New Years resolutions I decided I wanted to try my hand at different crafty mediums and painting was one of them. Since I started I am having trouble stopping. I always thought of myself as a crafter, not an artist. In my mind the two paths didn’t really intersect that often. Everyday I am finding different was to bring one medium to the other closing the gap for myself. I am finding that my art, like my jewelry, is made with a wink and a smile. Lot’s of color and lot’s of kitsch and only for the brave home decorator. Before I can call myself an artist I have made up a check list for myself. It might take me 20 years to complete this list, but I am pretty sure I will keep painting in the meantime.
1) Have someone (that is not blood related) buy a piece of my art.
2) Have another artist I really admire offer to trade with me.
3) Be asked to be in a joint art show outside of Austin.
4) Have a solo art show.
5) See a picture of my art hanging in someone else’s house.
6) Have my art featured/mentioned in a respectable art publication.
7) Someone (even if it is just once) refers to me as an artist and not a crafter.
8) See someone has pinned my art on Pinterest.
9) Get to the point where I can make and actually sell prints.
10) Have someone tell me that the piece of my art they own makes them happy and smile each time they see it.
This list may seem silly to some. It seems a little silly to me. It is just always good to have something to shoot for right? I’m not planning on quitting my day job or looking for validation from others. I make art for me. I make art that makes me happy and I find amusing and that won’t stop. I don’t make art because I think it will sell, I make it because I enjoy it. With my jewelry line Naughty Secretary Club there were always my “bread and butter” pieces and then the more eccentric pieces that I enjoyed making and truly loved. With art there is no “bread and butter”. Every piece, every time has to be what you love or it kind of stops being art. At least for the artist.
This post speaks to me as a writer. In my writing group someone posed a similar question; When do you consider yourself a writer? When you’ve written a book, when you’ve published a piece, when you start a blog, when another writer you admire acknowledges you? I enjoyed your list and I hope you hit every goal sooner rather than later. At least you are doing what you love!
Hey Robin,
I’m glad it spoke to you. Calling yourself an artist or writer is tricky. I call myself a mother and a crafter, but somehow artist seems like a lofty title that has to be bestowed on me. It is my own hang up. In the meantime I am having fun painting things that I enjoy and they look great in my kitschy house. Hope you hit your goals soon too.