I’m preparing to lead a discussion on the book, It’s Not Your Money, by Tosha Silver, for a local writing organization to which I belong. Money is a constant source of worry, debate, motivation, and frustration for artists of all kinds. How much do we give away for free? How high can we raise our prices before we’ve gone too high? How do we advocate so our industries, as well as the buying public, see the value in our work? Or is it just the art that matters and not the money at all?
Most artists accept we need to pay our dues. We work for free or charge little in the beginning, and as our talent and skills develop, we expect to charge more. But in order to get to the point where we’re very good at what we do, we need time. Lots of it! And resources, and training, and all those things that are hard to come by when you’re working various jobs to pay the bills.
At a certain point, most serious artists take the step of trying to work full-time on their art. Some succeed. Others find it impossible to get by. I was talking to a very talented artist friend who said she advises young people to “fund your own art.” She tells them to keep their outside jobs until they can make it on their art sales alone (if they ever can). I see lots of benefits in that: you are not beholding to any patrons or grants for the type of art you produce; you don’t have to adhere to someone…
