host: Alyson Stanfield

I want to talk about something that I think gets in the way of how you think about what a successful art business is or can be.

I want to help you reframe your daily decisions, actions, and results (or lack thereof)—to embrace the volatility of an artist life. To understand that there will be highs and lows, and that just comes along with the territory.

One of the most-used business metaphors is the ladder of success, which is problematic for two reasons:

1. Nobody reaches the top of anything in life by going straight up.
2. What happens when you get to the top?

I have a different vision. Your art career is a circle consisting of 3 areas:

Inspiration+Research, Studio Practice, and Business+Marketing.

You’re a sphere (okay, a ping pong ball) bouncing back and forth from one area to the next as you grow your art career.

Let me explain …

🎧 RELATED EPISODES

Calculating Risks in Your Art Business with Leah Smithson (ep. 94)

What Your Failures Are Teaching You with Laura Petrovich-Cheney (ep. 95)

Risk, Rejection, and Resilience with Christine Aaron (ep. 114)

How to Feel Like a Successful Artist (ep. 165)

📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/growth-minded-artists

🔶 Does your art business need a boost or a refresh? Please see my comprehensive art-marketing program, Essentials for Artist Success 🔶 full of tools, strategies, and process you need to establish your professionalism and increase your visibility. For those with beginning and emerging art careers and those who need to approach their business with more thought and intention.

⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.

~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~

This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

host: Alyson Stanfield

Some artists are fine working by themselves in their studios. Other artists need to move their art beyond the studio walls and into the public in order to be fulfilled.

My guest for this episode is Marilyn Fontaine, a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in East London. Her work is spiritual with a strong foothold in feminine themes.

She has begun marrying that work to the history of the local community—in particular, the stories of those who share her Afro-Caribbean roots.

Marilyn and I talk about the work she does within her community, including how it is funded and why her growing network is essential.

We also discuss:

• Her ritual upon entering the studio for a day’s work, which is always a favorite topic of mine.
• Why she’s leaning into rejection and learning to be curious about negative reactions that some people have to her work.
• How she is learning to let go—to not hold too tight to the idea that she wants something so badly—and to allow it to come by creating that space.

🎧 RELATED EPISODES

Injecting Personal Narrative Into Your Art with Sara Lee Hughes (ep. 131)

Committed to Telling Native Stories Through Her Art and Activism with Danielle SeeWalker (ep. 153)

How Your Art Makes People Feel (ep. 184)

📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/community-fontaine

⭐️ Connect with Marilyn and see more of her art: https://marilynfontaineart.weebly.com/

🔶 Please join me for THE PEOPLE PLAN 🔶 a planning workshop to identify, establish, and nurture stronger relationships with buyers, collectors, curators, students, gallerists, and more. May 7-9, 2024. https://artbizsuccess.com/peopleplan

⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.

~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~

This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/

Host: Alyson B. Stanfield

For so long, I asked artists Why they make art.

Some artists have a Why.

For other artists, being asked why they make art is unfruitful—even debilitating. They feel unworthy if they can’t come up with a good Why.

A better strategy is to focus on the people who will be viewing, talking about, and living with your art.

How does your art make people feel?

Bernadette Jiwa says, "People don't buy why you do something. They buy how it makes them feel." If you think about it, this, ironically, leads to your Why: Connection.

🎧 RELATED EPISODES

Episodes that focus on your relationships:

Following Her Curiosity and Making New Connections After 60 with Jan McCarthy (ep. 158)

Being Seen—Networking for Artists (ep. 148)

How to Guarantee that People Remember You with Skip Hill (ep. 147)

📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/make-them-feel/

🔶 Please join me for THE PEOPLE PLAN 🔶 a planning workshop to identify, establish, and nurture stronger relationships with buyers, collectors, curators, students, gallerists, and more. May 7-9, 2024. https://artbizsuccess.com/peopleplan

⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.

~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~

This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/