Parts of Being an Artist: Finding the Balance

"Ideas, no matter how good, require an ecosystem to take root." - Rick DeVos

An artist's stock of energy

A broad dictionary definition of an artist is one whose work exhibits exceptional skill. However, as many will tell you, artists aren't always able to apply their skills or use their stock of energy in the most effective ways. The hardest part of being an artist might be finding the balance between time and resources.

Avenue for the Arts held an event in the spring in which panels of experts discussed smart solutions for artists to overcome hardships. One artist panel discussed in particular that income can be a constant struggle. Common among emerging artists, a surge of talent is conflicted by a lack of resources (kind of like trying to make a grilled cheese without any bread).

Time is another issue among artists. Jobs, families and other commitments circulate through an artist's schedule. What is important in relation to artists is how one interacts with time, because every minute of every day counts as potential “studio time”.

Brigid Avery, a new Cathedral Square artist, says: “Now that I am not in school anymore, the hardest part of the project is just doing it without having an assignment. It is not my full time job, so finding the time to create is difficult.”

If an artist thinks of a new masterpiece to create, the most conducive environment to work in might be one where the artist is alone. However, one major way for artists to maximize creativity is to share the experience with other people. 

New Cathedral Square artist Zach Mory illustrates what is integral to the work of an artist: "Solitude. Conversely, it’s just as important to have people to discuss work with whom you can be unashamedly honest. There has to be a balance of both things."

The "multiverse" of gifts interact and expand from each other

Every artist has a gift within them, but an endless number of other artists have their own gifts to share. So every gift floats among a "multiverse" of other gifts, where some interact and expand from each other -- but this is good, because building relationships develops a merge of ideas and resources. Take an ant hill, for example: the “healthiest” ant hill is the one in which all the participating ants work communally.

As members of an artistic community, we all contribute to the beauty of life. Like Rick Devos said with the birth of ArtPrize: “Ideas, no matter how good, require an ecosystem to take root.” The artists who work together to maximize their creative complexity and frequency of work are the ones contributing value to our “ecosystem”.

But where does the association between non-artists and artists play a role? Well, no artist can succeed alone, just like no single ant in an ant hill can survive alone. An artist should find the balance between personal enjoyment and public engagement.

Returning artist Tony Hendrick says: "The thing I look for is whether it looks like the artist is genuinely having fun creating [work]. What is fun essentially is different for each artist, and different for each person who views the work. However, the place where everyone connects is in the aliveness that opens inside when one is having fun."