Money is important to artists because money buys time.
It’s easy to believe that the next grant, teaching position, or opportunity will change everything, but it may not.
Most artists I know constantly feel like they can’t get enough time in the studio. And even when they get there, they often find it hard to get anything useful from that time.
The Importance of Time for an Artist
Artists deserve time because it takes hours, days, sometimes years, to create the vision that we have in our heads. Art forms that require collaboration can take even more time as creative partners sort through the nuanced differences in their visions.
It takes time to play in the studio. You need time to make mistakes, to fail, and to correct your direction when you’re working on a project.
Experiments take time. You need to make time to let your mind wander. I used to do this during my commute. But working from home means that I have to make time to take a walk so that my brain can wander. So, it doesn’t always happen.
My job often takes over my art practice. After work ends there simply aren’t enough hours in a day to take care of my family and my body. This means I often sacrifice the time it takes to play in the studio. I’ve spent years feeling like a failure as an artist because I need to work full-time.
How To Make Time for Your Art
So, I make time.
In January 2022 I decided to set aside one night a week to work in my studio and I’ve kept it up.
Sometimes I spend 15 minutes working. Other times I get in 2-5 hours. Every once in a while I just sit and look or flip through one of my art books. Some weeks the most I can do is to meet my friend Gedy for drinks and we sit and draw together.
What I’m saying is that while you deserve both money and time for your valuable and unique art, you might not always get it.
I started a new job about a month ago and I’m loving it. But I’m also seeing that it’s too much for me to balance this site with my art practice and the puppet show I’m building with my partner while I’m working a 40-hour week.
I’ve reached a point where I need to be realistic about what I can do and how I can do it. But I’m not going anywhere.
That said, the vision of this site will be shifting from deep and intensive posts that reflect my experience in art education and the art world to something that’s a little bit more personal.
I hope Artists Deserve Money continues to help them form the way you advocate for yourself and your work as an artist.