Every creative person I know has certain things in common. We crave feedback. We want our work to be seen and we desperately want to know what our work says to the viewer. At the same time, creative people hate criticism. To be fair, everybody hates criticism. Constructive or not, criticism isn’t nearly as much fun […]
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Rewind to the Great Recession of 2008. Galleries closed. Art dealers moved on. Curators chased other professions. Karen Jilly, a mid-career artist who unlocks beauty in deceptively ordinary, forgotten cityscapes, suddenly found herself without key trappings of the art business. She was also faced with the immediate need to care for two aging parents. “I
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Wayne Brungard is a self-taught metal artist and experienced fabricator. He creates bold custom art that defines space. However Wayne’s journey to becoming a sculptor, from turning his craft into art, took over 40 years and it’s not been an easy path. Having focused, for the majority of those 40 years, on commissioned work, moving
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I travelled the world, only to find myself back where I began 7 years ago. It’s been 7 years since that day someone made the offhand remark, “Don’t you wish you could sell it all and move to the south of France?” My ears perked up. I love the south of France! But half an
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Say what you will about young people today. this generation makes my heart sing for the future of the planet. Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with hundreds of university art students all over the world. I happen to think that this generation will save the world. But they suffer. We cripple them
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One of the first questions I ask aspiring artists is, “What is it that you want?” Invariably the answer has to do with wealth and fame. Heroes named include Damian Hirst and Andy Warhol. And then I sigh, collect myself, and try to explain that when your focus is on wealth and fame you are getting your validation
I imagine that you’ve heard of the boxer named Mohammad Ali. When he passed away, the whole world mourned. But Crista, you’re probably asking, what does a boxer have to do with art? A lot, actually. Because there’s a lesson here that speaks to all of us who strive for greatness in what we do.
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So you’ve taken the jump and chosen to be an artist. Now what? Where’s the fabulous gallery opening in New York City? Where are the international collectors to lavish praise and money on you? Where’s the gallery to take care of all those pesky marketing tasks and details? Instead, you battle rejection. You wonder
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As artists, we challenge ourselves because that’s how we find The Muse. The Muse doesn’t just sit around waiting for us. We have to get to work to find her. Sometimes that means opening ourselves up to new experiences and learning from others. That’s why last week I hosted The Working Artist 5-Day Challenge in
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Every artist’s journey tells a story. And every story has an antagonist. The story of your artist’s journey is no different. The antagonist is the adversary, the opponent. It’s what comes between the hero and her desire. Consider your own journey, where you are right now. Can you identify an antagonist in your story? Yes, it
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