Chapter 8 - Art work
Consider again my goal for this book: to equip you to serve God and others through a thriving, fulfilling, and financially sustainable arts career.
What does it mean to you to thrive?
What makes, or might make, your creative work fulfilling?
What would it take financially for you to be able to build and sustain a thriving and fulfilling level of creativity over time?
What does it mean to “sustain” your arts career? According to Merriam-Webster, “sustain” means to give support or relief, to keep up or prolong, or to nourish. Your arts career will need to be supported and nourished. We might not say that about the vocation of a teacher or lawyer or police officer. We don’t think of those callings as needing to be sustained, but perhaps we should. I know plenty of burned-out teachers, lawyers, and police officers who could use support, relief, and nourishing. Those professions come with adequate (if not always generous) financial compensation, so their sustainability needs tend to be emotional and spiritual.
But for artists, our creative work is emotionally and spiritually nourishing. That’s why we do it. It feeds us. What we don’t tend to get (easily) is the financial upkeep for it.
From everything I’ve seen and heard in forty years in the arts, not making enough money is, by far, the #1 reason why artists quit.
Remember that art is not free. If you’re not being paid an amount equal to the total of your production costs, overhead, and time, you’re self-funding.
There are only four good reasons I know of why you would self-fund:
You identify as an amateur. Remember from Chapter 5 that this is a perfectly legitimate way to fulfill your vocation.
You want to give to a cause you believe in. Many professionals in other industries donate their time and other resources. Just be sure that the recipient of your gift is aware that you’re making a donation, otherwise you’re sending the message that art is free, which it’s not.
You’re investing in building your skills or experience, with the intention of being paid once you’re at a more competitive level. Don’t let this phase stretch out indefinitely.
You would rather spend your time creating on your own terms than doing what’s necessary to get paid.
All of those reasons for self-funding are just fine. They’re perfectly valid ways of using the abilities, enjoying the affinities, and serving in the opportunities God is giving you through your vocation. They may be temporary or occasional stops along the way of a longer journey within or toward financial sustainability, or they may be the end destination.
I’ve heard artists complain bitterly about being asked or expected to self-fund. If you’re offered an “unpaid opportunity” or less money than the full financial value of your work, please don’t take offense. You don’t have to say yes. You can’t really fault people for trying to get a good deal or if they don’t know (or care about) the full value of what you do, especially if you or others have willingly self-funded to work with them in the past. It’s probably not personal, and even if it is you can choose not to let it get to you. You can also choose to accept the opportunity and joyfully self-fund for any of reasons 1-4 above. Sometimes it’s better to self-fund than miss a chance to create.
It’s about your mindset. Artists aren’t helpless victims of the whims of society and the economy. We can make choices, including choices in how we interpret and think about the circumstances we find ourselves in. God is not going to call you into creative work then abandon you. But there are many ways it can look and what you assumed that would look like might not be what God intended. Here are a few ways it can look.
It is worth being flexible on what “making a living” is and “being an artist” looks like. “What do I need to live” and “how do I want to live” are two different things.
Joseph Frost, playwright
Full-time artist
Being able to do your preferred creative work as your sole source of a livable income is likely your hope and expectation at this point. You probably grew up seeing most adults around you going to one job every day and depositing a paycheck every two weeks. It’s a good job, if you can get it. So let’s start there.
Employed: You work for someone else. You do the work they want you to do, when they want you to do it, and they pay you a salary or hourly wage. If sales are bad, the company takes the hit, not you (unless they can’t afford to pay you anymore, then you lose your job). If sales are great, the company makes all the money and you still take home the same salary/wage (unless they give you a bonus or raise).
In any business, large or small, there’s a ton that has to happen that has nothing to do with making the product or providing the service. Most of it falls into three areas: money, management, and marketing. When you work for someone else, that’s their job and their problem.
Self-employed: You work for yourself. If you work alone, providing goods and services for others, you would be considered an independent contractor, known more casually as a freelancer. Or you can officially start a business (corporation, non-profit organization, etc.), which has different tax requirements, but if you’re the boss you’d still be considered self-employed. You might choose to pay yourself a salary or, if it’s a commercial business (i.e. not a registered non-profit, or charity), you might just pay yourself out of the profits as they come in.
In any business, large or small, there’s a ton that has to happen that has nothing to do with making the product or providing the service. Most of it falls into three areas: money, management, and marketing. When you work for yourself, that’s your job and your problem.
Running your business may take as much time as actually doing the creative work. Or more.
Some examples of artists who are employed-by-someone-else to primarily do creative work include: symphony orchestra members; in-house designers for companies (graphic, product, game, fashion, etc. — those jobs can also be contract); some design, technical, and backstage jobs in theatre, film, and TV production (those jobs can also be contract); performers in theme parks and on cruise ships.
But more artists are self-employed in their creative work. A lot of artists do contract work, which can last from a few hours to many years. Theatre, film, and TV performers, and most designers and crew, are hired for a particular show or film then, when that show ends or film wraps, their jobs end too. Musicians, even if they play in an ongoing band or ensemble, are hired and paid for individual gigs in clubs or concert venues. Playwrights and music composers are paid for the use of each piece they’ve written.
Visual artists and craft artists operate under more of a traditional business model. They make work on an ongoing basis and sell it online or in person, and their jobs don’t start and end the way contract workers’ jobs do. There are tax implications for either contract work or a traditional business model. If you’re self-employed, it’s very important that you work with a tax professional, especially when you’re starting out.
Downsides
Many artists do manage to do the kind of creative work they want to do most, full-time, whether for someone else or themselves, at some point in their careers. There are downsides, though.
If you’re working for someone else, you’re doing what they want you to do the way they want you to do it, which can be creatively stifling while taking enough of your time and creative energy that you aren’t able to do what you’d rather do on the side. The terms of your contract with the employer might even bar you from doing other types of creative work.
If you’re working for yourself, the demands of running your business and doing what’s needed to make an adequate income can be exhausting. A good way to suck the fun out of something is to try to make it pay your rent.
And for either full-time employment or full-time self-employment, you have to get there. It’s very competitive and, right out of school or early in your professional life, you might not have the skills, experience, and connections to get that job or generate enough income as a self-employed person. How do you build skills, experience, and connections? You gig.
Spotlight page - Grants
Gigging and hustling
Many working artists have multiple income streams. They have gigs doing the work they’re most passionate about, gigs that are just to pay the bills, and/or gigs that are somewhere in between. “Gig” is a term borrowed from the music world, which is now getting applied across all types of industries. (Google “gig economy” and see how many hits come back.) These days we use the term for anything from a single performance to ongoing part-time employment.
A gig can be self-employed or employed by someone else, so a lot of what is in the Full-time Artist section above applies here also. If you can strike the right balance of gigs you might get most of the advantages of being a full-time artist without some of the disadvantages.
Even if your goal is to be a full-time artist, you might need to go through a period of gigging to get there. You might work three mornings a week in a coffee shop, drive Uber on Friday and Saturday nights, and do your preferred creative work in between. Maybe as you start to make more money on your art you can drop the Uber nights, but you add a fourth morning at the coffee shop. Then as it grows some more, you drop to two days at the coffee shop, then quit entirely once your income on your creative work is to the point you don’t need the extra gig.
But some artists stick with gigging as an ongoing way of working. They find that it gives them creative freedom (they’re not trying to make their passion pay all of their bills), feeds other interests (we’re allowed to have those), gets them out of the studio or rehearsal room and into the world, offers variety and flexibility, and provides financial and emotional stability.
You have to get good at managing time and money to make it work, though. Gigs come and go — that can be a good thing or a bad thing. It’s likely that some of your gigs won’t have reliable hours or salaries. Invariably three of them will get really busy at the same time, then two of them will go away at the same time. It can feel like you’re always hustling for work.
If that way of working doesn’t appeal to you, or if you try it for a season but the season changes, some artists find a good solution in teaching or arts leadership.
Teaching and leading
Teaching and leading are both spiritual gifts; but even for those who aren’t gifted in those areas, many artists consider them aspects of the artist’s calling because of the best Biblical example of an artist. Think back to chapter 1, and the tabernacle from Exodus. I skipped over an important part of the Exodus narrative in order to talk about it here.
After God gave the designs for the tabernacle to Moses in Exodus 25-30 (including some instructions on rituals and sacrifices), Exodus 31 begins:
Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you….” (v. 1-6)
Bezalel is the first person in the Bible to be filled with the Spirit of God. Before Pentecost, when Christ’s followers permanently received the Holy Spirit, the Spirit came on people temporarily so that they could fulfill certain tasks for God. So although Bezalel only got the Spirit for this one gig, we artists claim it as a pretty big honor that he was the first one.
God never specifically designated Bezalel as the leader of the project, but it’s implied. Bezalel didn’t need “wisdom and understanding” or an assistant so that he could “make artistic designs,” he needed them to lead “all the skilled workers” whose job was “to make everything” God had commanded. Later, in Exodus 35:34, Moses repeats God’s instructions in Exodus 31 to the Israelites, but he adds: “And [God] has given both [Bezalel] and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others.”
Many artists teach or lead as one of the gigs in their mix, but others pivot full-time into those jobs, which utilize their creative background to some extent but largely draw on other skill sets. Sometimes these artists continue to do their preferred artistic work around the edges, but that can be difficult when your creative energy is going into the teaching/leading job.
Full-time teaching or leading is one way of having a career in the arts without having to make the sacrifices that a full-time artist has to make. You’d probably have a structured schedule. You’d probably get a paycheck of the same amount of money (which really helps with financial management) plus paid vacation, sick time, and other benefits like health insurance. If you’re really good at it, you might work your way up through the ranks into a position of visibility. Great teachers and leaders might not be household names, but in the business we know who they are.
These kinds of pivots typically involve additional training. To become an arts educator in the K-12 school system, you will likely need a teaching certificate which requires additional coursework. To be a college professor, you’ll need an MFA or (more attractively to colleges) a Ph.D. Full-time, tenure-track college professor positions are getting scarce, and people with professional experience as artists are usually getting those jobs before someone just out of grad school.
To get into a top leadership role in an arts institution, you might need a Master’s degree in arts administration or business administration, but you’ll definitely need a good bit of on-the-job experience. Other types of leadership positions, like leading a church worship and arts ministry or leading public service projects in the arts, may also require additional education.
Entry-level jobs in arts organizations tend to be a lot of work for little pay, but if you can stick with it for a few years and are good at it, you’ll likely move up quickly into higher leadership roles. In teaching there’s not a lot of room for advancement.
If neither teaching or leading appeals to you but you’d like the advantages of being employed full-time job, don’t discount the dreaded Day Job yet.
Working and Playing
Having a non-arts-related full-time day job and doing your creative work as a paid side hustle is not a failure in any way. In fact, artists going that route have been some of the most content and successful artists I’ve known.
It’s possible to find joy in a day job, even if it doesn’t utilize our creative abilities at all. When you can “clock out” of your day job and leave it at the office, it protects the creative energy and bandwidth you need for the art you’d most like to be doing.
Poet T. S. Eliot worked as a banker for almost a decade, including when he wrote The Waste Land and other famous poems. Then he worked as an editor at a publishing house (leadership with some teaching aspects) for forty years. Composer Philip Glass worked as a plumber and taxi driver even after he’d become famous within his field as an avant garde composer. The most notable artist where I live now in Waco, Texas, is painter Kermit Oliver. Oliver was Texas State Two-Dimensional Artist of the year in 2017 and the only American artist to create scarf designs for the famous French design house Hermes. Oliver spent more than thirty years working in Waco as a post office mail sorter, believing that “a steady income was the best way to support his family while allowing him the freedom to pursue art on his own terms.” (Wikipedia)
“On his own terms” is an important consideration. If you’re not dependent on your art to pay your bills, you can make whatever kind of art you want, however you want. Artists with a day job and arts side hustle do sell their work, so it’s not really self-funding; but because they don’t need to sell their work to pay the bills, they can work the way they wanted to.
Of course, if your day job is sucking the marrow out of your will to live, you may not feel like creating any art at all. So there’s a balance to be sought there.
To wrap up this chapter, I hope you have seen that a career making art can work many ways. Most artists cycle through several ways through their careers, not always building toward and landing at being a full-time artist, but adapting their working style to whatever their life needs are right then. “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, KJV) Where you live and what your lifestyle expectations are will also affect how and whether your arts career is financially sustainable, and we’ll be talking about those factors in the next two chapters.
Here are some practices you can start to cultivate now that will prepare you for working as an artist, and help avoid being a “starving artist” or finding yourself so burned out that you quit.
Count the costs, in time and money, of your creative work. (See the Spotlight on page ___.) How much do you spend on materials and overhead? If you don’t pay those costs yourself yet, research what the costs would be for you. How much time does it take you to create something? Include preparation for that artwork (not general skill-building) as well as the final execution. Using an entry-level hourly wage of, say, $15/hour, how much was your time worth on the last artwork you created? Add materials, overhead, and time together to know what it cost you to make.
Manage your money well now. Are you clear on where your money is going? Jesus taught that “where your treasure lies, there your heart will be also.” After your bills for housing and food are paid, is your money going to what you value most? If not, what changes do you need to make? Building the habit now of making good financial choices will be your best preparation for a sustainable arts career in the future. If you don’t know where to start, there are lots of great places to learn. Some are listed in the Resources section.
Develop interests that could become satisfying, well-paying non-arts gigs or day jobs. If you were going to take that teacher’s advice and find something else you could be happy doing, what would it be? If a lot of training or experience would be required for it, research types of work that would be similar or draw on the same interests/skills. Is working part-time an option in that kind of job? Do some research about options, and consider using elective credits in college to explore them.
You’ll find more questions to think, write, and talk about in the Workbook on pages _______.
Thoughts from Artists and Others
Cole Matson - I have one friend who makes a six-figure income as a realtor, which allows him to do the shows he wants during his six-month off-season, while also fulfilling his love of teaching part-time. Another friend works a day job as a private investigator, which comfortably pays her bills as a playwright and novelist (and gives her plenty of story material). Both of my friends perform well at their day jobs, and therefore are valuable enough to their employers that their employers grant them flexibility if they need to adjust their schedules or take some time off. Neither of them has to worry about healthcare or paying rent, even while living in NYC.
From the beginning, have the attitude that you are a working professional, and do what the working professionals in your immediate sphere whom you respect do. Go to them for advice on your next steps, and do what they tell you. “Pay your dues” by working hard and doing well in the roles you’re assigned (or the roles you create), treating everyone with respect, until you earn their respect and trust, and they start giving you more responsibility and referring you to their friends. But do it in a professional environment, where you’re getting paid for your time. That’s the difference between making a professional living vs. doing art as a de facto hobby.
And never accept the premise that you have to suffer mistreatment and disrespect in order to work in the industry. Life is too short. Find better people to work with, even if you have to bring them together yourself.
Ebi Baralaye - Being an artist is a business and as a business people have achieved a living and success in it since the monetization of art production. It’s hard, and few succeed but it’s also like any other form of business in that regard. You have to work hard and smart to make a living at it. And, even with your best efforts, nothing is guaranteed.
Elizabeth Dishman - God is your provider, and will tailor the way He provides for your living to His wise purposes for you. Sorry, but…maybe your artistic life needs a certain level of struggle to go as deep as you can go in your work? Making a living at it isn’t always the goal, but sometimes it is. If so, think about taking some business classes or finance workshops for artists that many organizations offer.
James Kearny - God provides. Bottom line. If God has created you to be an artist, He will make a way for you to be an artist. This often means being a tent-maker, or having to earn money from a source different than your art. Within the American economy, most artists have to pave their own trail. For me, God led me into carpentry. That avocation supported me and my family while I pursued my vocation as an actor.
Laura Bergquist - Diversifying is the key to making a living in the arts and having as many skills in and around your field is essential. If I’m only a painter, singer, or composer and only see myself as one entity, it’s going to be difficult. What other skills surround your art form? In my world as a musician it would be: educator, software skills, admin skills, photography, web design, coaching, self-taping, recording, resume, masterclasses, orchestrating, vocal writing, coaching, composing, arranging, programming, conducting, piano conducting, accompanist, concert designer, mentoring……
Laurie Lea - Twenty years or so after I started out in art, I noticed three main paths that artists had taken and where most of them landed:
the poverty path–sacrificing tremendously to focus on art while living impoverished lives. I saw too many embittered artists later in life.
the conformity path–pursuing an all-consuming career to make great incomes and lifestyles, and planning to pick up their art later. They never did that I saw.
the intermediary path, perhaps the most difficult–pursuing an income to support a family and a life and making art in the nooks and crannies of time. I saw these artists able to pick up their art more easily when their physical lives opened up time and opportunity later in life.
One of the dangers of being an artist is the repercussions of being naturally independent and being a loner. Mentors, critics, a team and/or community to support and advise are crucial. Bottom line is relationship with your Creator - pray, pray, pray! He will guide you if you ask Him. He is a supernatural God, and He wants us to be salt and light in the culture which means having funds and success.
Sean Oswald - You can make a living as an artist, but it may look different than you think. I grew up in a German immigrant family that came to America around World War II and I always felt like I had to become a doctor, engineer, or lawyer. These were the types of people who had “respectable careers” and so naturally I imagined that successful people have one job that they do which makes them lots of money and that’s what it means to be an adult.
My parents were very supportive of me being an artist, but I didn’t really know any artists where I grew up. So when I got out of college with my art degree and found out very quickly that my artistic path was not taking me immediately to a high paying job, I started to feel very down on myself. One of the most helpful things at that time was meeting a few older established artists.
One of them invited me to apprentice with him one summer out of his art studio. I learned from him that an artist may make money from many different things all at once. This principle of having “multiple streams of income” is based on a Biblical idea from Ecclesiastes: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2) This was a very valuable lesson to me and it has stuck with me. I have worked to develop multiple streams of income including portraits, teaching painting and drawing at various institutions, selling my own artworks, selling prints from my website, mural projects and other commissioned artworks; as well as income streams not related to art like investment accounts and an Airbnb property. Sometimes my artwork makes 90% of our family’s income and sometimes it’s the teaching. Things ebb and flow depending on the season of life.