Working with Artists, Being an Artist

I am surrounded by artists.  Even the cat tries to paint. It can be harrowing. The days when only one of us is creating can be just as bad as when only one of us isn't.  We do things like go to art museums and critique the layout of the paintings on our rare days off of work. If one of us is completely stuck the other two vary between trying to help and tiptoeing around the fact that we are on a roll. Being an artist is the truest form of masochism I know. Being an artist in a family of non-artists would be worse, but being an artist in a family of artists is not masochism it's certified insanity!

The best thing to come from this? I am working in many mediums that I haven't for a very long time.  From my writing to my painting and even some of my crafting I am doing things that a decade ago I had "given up" for that sake of making money.  We have recently in this family had an epiphany: Money sucks. Say what?  Money sucks. We need it. Paying the bills without it is very hard, but the way we go about getting it?  Yeah it sucks.  Even when you are doing something you love, the money part of it sucks. We have made a deal with ourselves to do the things we love, make the art we make and work the jobs we have to work. Money is a necessary evil, but it need not rule our lives. We are always in the process of trying to make our art that thing that brings us that necessary evil. It hurts to make that exchange.  We firmly believe that we make things with owners, they just haven't found each other yet. When the two come together and it is money keeping them apart...yeah, money sucks.

We write, paint, photograph, craft, meld copper, create jewelry, sculpt, play instruments, write music, sing, and are slightly insane.  Some we do extraordinarily well, some we are still working on. The hardest part? Using the term art to describe what we have made, determining that it is good enough to be sold, and then allowing a price commiserate to the effort and materials we put into it. I use a very simple formula for pricing:  250% of materials in the piece + $10-$25 per hour used to create it. The price per hour varies mostly because our skill level varies in our respective crafts.  You want Crimson to play piano at your wedding then you are going to help pay for her equipment, training and her time. Did I just pull these numbers from nowhere? Nope.  There is a logic to it. 100% of materials is the cost of the materials you are holding in the piece. The next 100% goes to replace those materials. 50% is in profit-although if the cost of materials has gone up that eats into the profit. Oh and the cost of the trip to the site, yeah that does the same, don't forget about the cost to set up. I think you get the idea. The pay per hour is simply paying the artist for the time they put into a piece. The amount that is paid depends upon the time they have been performing an art and their skill level. Crimson has a Masters in Music, Piano Performance. Her price per hour is actually significantly higher then is listed above. You get what you pay for.

Seeing a piece you have made with the price tag determined by the above variable is both great and scary. You KNOW in your soul that it could have, should have been better; that it isn't worth the tag the price is written on. At the same time you KNOW that it is a stunning example of your work, quite possibly the best thing you have ever done, and way under priced.  That is the dichotomy of  being an artist. We support each other through that and giggle at the anxiety. We then turn around, a day later (or less), and do it ourselves. There is no relief from the thought that you might not be good enough and the thought you are doing amazing things.  They are both in your head doing battle throughout every piece you create. It is calming them down and  making them work for you that makes each piece worth it to the new owner.

Pictures of our gorgeous copper and gemstone bonsai on display at an event; because, everybody likes pictures.

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Painting

I have been inundating you with my poetry, earlier this week was even kind of dark and sad.  Today we are going to talk painting.  When I paint I am not going for a specific look.  That just occurs.  I know how to start, I know when to finish; but in between I am freaking out because I have no idea what I am doing.

Sound familiar? It is not a new or unique problem.  If it was I doubt we would have any artists of any medium.

“A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, and some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfectly plain you end up boring people” 
― Edgar Degas

Dragon

Malestrom

Small and large, minimalist and so not.  These two paintings only look like they are from the same artist because I signed them. Yet they make the same statement in their way.  I let the art stand for itself most often and try not to impose my view upon the viewer.  To me these are both about beginnings.  Sometimes simple, sometimes messy; starting over is the only way to move on.  We all start over every day.

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The Elements and Artistry

I finished them and got photos!  Whoot!

EARTH

AIR

FIRE

WATER

I am exceptionally excited to have finished this, as it has been waiting for almost 6 months due to lack of funds.  We are still lacking in funds, but in the cleaning to find things to sell or pawn Sar found the Christmas present he had forgot he had purchased for me...so new paints!

Today we are going to talk about something on topic, but not related to these pieces specifically. 

 What makes an artist an artist?  

Short answer?  They do.  Long answer?  Fine, I'll do it.

An artist is an artist when they say (or admit-I have known several who deny it-they are normally the best, by the way) they are.  The viewer of the art can determine if they like it or not, but they shouldn't try to determine whether or not it is art.  Anything we are passionate about can be art.  Yes, anything-ask Don Juan and Casanova, better yet, ask the women they were with; whether or not they were artists.  You are a house painter, a plumber, a secretary?  You love what you do and you do it well?  Then YOU are an artist.  

That begs the question though of "do it well."  How do you determine that?  That depends on the criteria.  Secretaries should be able to type, file, search google for the boss' lunch again and many other things and they often have to be extremely flexible in what their day is going to be like (and I know secretary is passe. I don't care. I was one for years, I know what it takes).  At the top of their game there is some serious artistry involved.  There is also very little subjectivity to it.  A painter, a writer, or a poet though? Someone like me who claims to be all of the above and more?  There is a lot of subjectivity there.

So how do you know?  How do they know? This is the ephemeral part.  Art is art. Or is it?  My paintings would be considered "modern," but many people know 1st graders who could finger paint "better."  What makes one art and the other not?  Answer:  I do.  Art is the creation of work for the appreciation primarily for the appeal to the emotions or senses.  A small child creates to please yes, but seldom are they creating it as art.  An artist is expressing, sharing and giving you a part of their soul.

So I am an artist.  Are you?

Love what I am doing and want to see more?  I am now on Patreon. Personal appearance this weekend in the Shadoe Stones booth, at the Indy Pagan Pride Day.