I want to make LOTS of art. The more I make, the more ideas I have for new images to create. It is all that I want to do anymore, it seems.
I want my art to be enjoyed by others. What good is it if I am the only one who sees it? I also want to pay my bills. So, it stands to reason that I would want to sell my artwork to the people who enjoy it.
Artist, meet the Marketplace.
The creative genius meeting the marketplace is where the spirit and the ego collide. We want to stay true to our artistic ideals, yet the desire for recognition and for compensation cannot be denied. How does one reconcile the perpetual paradox?
Personally, I fear the marketplace. it is an intimidating environment full of people hawking their wares and trying to convince others of things that may or may not be true for them. Nonetheless, I cautiously court it, knowing that I won’t get far with my artwork if I do not engage in the business aspect of my creative products.
Will I and my art change if we are embraced by the marketplace? That is the REAL fear of an artist.
I have had tentative success so far, matching, no doubt, the tentativeness of my foray into “the biz”. That success has had positive and negative impact on me. I have had the kind of success where others grasped and celebrated my vision, allowed me artistic freedom, and compensated me for my efforts. But I have also had success where I had to adjust my creativity to satisfy the whims of patrons, sometimes taking the work out of my artistic comfort zone.
I do not have a problem adjusting my ideas as a result of collaboration, and I am not such a purist that I cannot be flexible with my ideals. I do have a problem being false, though. I do have a problem creating work that does not reflect my own vision. Somehow, I have to find a happy medium, and somehow, I have to find a way to interact with the marketplace that is true to myself.
Where will it all lead?
I do not have that answer, but I am committed to finding it. I invite you to follow along with me on my journey. Let us see where this adventure takes me!
Life is an Adventure!
BZTAT
Art Adventures Studios
Buy Artwork and Gifts by BZTAT
Art Adventures Studios, located in downtown Canton, OH
near Second April Galerie and the historic Onesto Hotel.