Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The Business of Art

Believe me, the last thing I ever wanted to be was a business person. I just had no interest in it whatsoever, and naively believed that it had nothing at all to do with my life. This was many years ago, of course. There were many, many things I didn't know at that time; so many that I didn't even know what I didn't know, if you follow me. When I thought of being an artist, I was sadly ignorant of what that would entail.

In the meantime, a lot of life happened, prompting me to put my artistic career on the back burner (actually, it wasn't even near the stove) for quite a long time. Eventually, I began to make art again, and at this point some practical concerns had begun to enter my head. Such as: what do I do with the art I'm making? If I want people to see it, and preferably even to purchase it, how do I accomplish this?

To make a very long story short, this was where I came right smack up against the "business" thing. I had to face the ugly truth that in order to be an artist, I also had to learn how to be a business person (unless I knew someone who would handle that for me- no such luck). This was a pretty revolting revelation, considering the fact that I had no business training of any kind, and had not even taken a typing class. I had no idea where to start.

So began the slow and painful process in which I drag myself, kicking and screaming, through each little tiny step on the way to learning how to conduct the business of art. I am not very far along with this endeavor, but I am beginning to make progress.

I have been trying to design a business card for some time now, but have never really been satisfied with any of my designs. Now that I have several different people waiting for me to send the cards I promised them, time's up. So I just stayed up late last night and said, "Whatever I come up with, that's it." So, for what it's worth, this is it.



Now, how do I get it to print on those little cards?

4 comments:

  1. I use OvernightPrints.com. You can upload your image until you have it sized correctly for your cards. They did a nice job on mine. I even ordered postcards. They have a special now where you can buy 250 cards and get 250 free...promo code HOTBCDEAL...may be more cards than you want at this time, but thought I would share.

    One of the blogs I regularly follow is R. Garriott. In May he did a series about how to do art business cards. Here's a link to one of those posts (http://rgarriott.blogspot.com/2009/05/basic-art-marketing-tools-art-business.html), but check out his post titles for more information on the topic during the month of May. He's on Scuttlebutt too. He mentioned, as did other posters, where they have their cards printed.

    Hope this helps. Email me if you have more questions.

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  2. Hey Sharmon,
    Thanks for stopping by my blog! Wow! I love your work! Your business card is awesome!
    No more puppies for me! I have one Boston Terror named Otis! He's three dogs in one...lol!

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  3. Hi Sharmon...dive on in ... the business side is simply another word for the sharing side...you have beauty to share...and we are so fortunate to see what you post here.
    Your business card design is lovely. They too evolve...no need to keep the same one for long if you desire to change it.

    I, like Kathleen, have had good experience with Overnight prints for cards and postcards...always SO dang exciting when they arrive!!

    Also do you subscribe to Alyson Stanfield's artcoach blog...she's the real deal. I don't have the link in front of me but email me if you want...or just google her name. Her weekly ezine always gives and 'assignment' for your art business and her book "I'd Rather Be in the Studio" is a treaure trove.
    hugs
    d

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  4. Thanks, guys! All of your help is greatly appreciated.

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Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. I'm happy to reply here, but may not always have time for individual emails.