I saw a discussion last week on facebook about the best music to study to and wondered what the best music for artists would be. I can’t sit in silence while I’m writing. Quiet worked for me for awhile, but I got bored and started staring at the clock.

Now laugh if you will, but I thrive when there is some on in the background. It’s high energy and there aren’t any lyrics to steal your focus. Plus, after a few hours of listening to dubstep, you begin to feel like a writing robot. Obviously, listening to the dubstep station on Pandora all of the time would drive a person insane.

If you’re looking to paint, write, or sculpt to the beat, I’ve created a list of inspiring music to play while you’re creating.

The lovely music category is filled with positive and upbeat music makers. It works to wake your soul up after your 9 to 5 as, let’s say, an administrative assistant. Ambient music is dubstep, dance music, and trance music. It’s great for when you have to get zoned into a project and work on it for several hours. Heartbreaking music is just that. If you’re making that post-breakup art, there are plenty of sad music makers on that list that will help keep your heart broken while you’re making that perfect painful piece.

Lovely

1. Mumford and Sons
2. The Avett Brothers
3. Mister Heavenly
4. Fruit Bats
5. Foster the People
6. The Polyphonic Spree
7. Wookiefoot
8. Two Door Cinema Club
9. The Shins
10. Portugal. The Man
11. The Eels
12. Nick Freitas
13. Ratatat
14. Maps
15. Noah and The Whale
16. The Greatful Dead
17. The Black Keys
18. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
19. Adele
20. Elephant Revival
21. MGMT
22. Phish
23. My Morning Jacket
24. Ween
25. Radio Moscow
26. Talib Kweli
27. The Workshy
28. President of the United States of America
29. John Wayne and the Pain
30. Beck (Stereopathic soul menure)

Ambient

1. Bassnectar
2. Deadmau5
3. Shpongle
4. STS9
5. Dead Prez
6. Skrillex
7. Rusko
8. Dodge & Fuski
9. Ed Solo
10. Beck (Midnite Vultures)

Heartbreaking

1.  Bon Iver
2. Eliot Smith
3. Fiona Apple
4. Alanis Morisette
5. Kings of Leon
6. Florence + The Machine
7. Amanda Palmer
8. Ray Lemontagne
9. Adele
10. Beck (Sea Changes)

As part of our filling the well series, we’re trying to figure out things to do that will spark inspiration and fuel your creative genius to keep you making and working. Today, we’d like to talk about something that a lot of artists let fall by the wayside. For some reason, creative folks tend to get in the slump of wearing the same clothes for years at a time. It becomes our style. When we’re screwing around in our studios or taking some online classes to finish our pre-reqs, we tend not to give a rats patutee what we put on. So, one morning when we wake up with a closet full of the same ole crap, we wonder why we’re wearing the same t-shirt and jeans every day.

Most college artists don’t have much money, so it’s hard for us to invest in new clothes or other things we deem absolutely unnecessary. We got to thinking about creative and frugal ways to spruce up the college artist wardrobe. Here’s what we came up with:

Ladies

• Make a skirt: Here’s a tutorial from Cute Circuit that shows you how to turn a t-shirt into a tulip skirt with pockets in less than a minute. It’s simple and pretty genius. Plus, it costs roughly zero dollars and zero cents which fits the college artist’s budget perfectly.
• Make a scarf: Scarfs are a fantastic accessories that spruce up a wardrobe. You can make a scarf in a few minutes with a small amount of fabric. Here’s a free tutorial for a cute flower scarf. If you don’t have a machine, you can do this one by hand as well.
• Trade your clothes: Check your area for stores like ReThreads in Milwaukee. Stores like ReThreads buy clothing and will give you more bang for your old t-shirts if you trade them in for something else at their store.

This week, I’m doing an exercise from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I think it’s a helpful one if you’re feeling blocked or even remotely uninspired. I say it’s a helpful exercise, but what I really mean is that it’s hard as all hell. That means it’s working, right?

I guess as a writer, I’ve been told over and again that if you’re going to be a good writer you have to be a good reader. It’s not just that you have to comprehend what you read, you also have to attempt to read everything you come across. I thought this was the inspiration you needed to be able to create. And boy howdy, did it work? You bet!

When I read John Irving, I saw that the world was absurd and wrote to reflect it’s absurdities. When I read Flannery O’Conner, I was inspired to move south to live and write like her. When I read Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris, I was convinced that I too was an older gay memoir writer making my way in France. Well, not really. But I was convinced that my genre was destined to be creative non-fiction. You get the point.

So when I gave creative non fiction a go, I wrote one lovely little story. Then, I was spent. All I really had to write about was my mundane life, much of which included watching TV and reading books. Not the entertaining stuff that’s selling off the shelves at airport bookstores.

But was this a wake up call? Did I say, “Cut it out with all this reading? You need to live!”? Nah. I just switched my “destined” genre to Romance. Can you blame me? Harper Collins is always hiring. That’s job security. And as we all know, writing totally isn’t one of the fastest growing occupations.

Ever since I began studying English and writing, I was always reading a book. I always considered this a good thing. I was snobbishly well read. I thought that if the old advice were true (that reading made you a great writer/painter/musician), if I was having trouble creating, I shouldn’t stop reading. I needed to read MORE.

I increased my reading list by a few books and stepped it up a notch. But still, nothing. Then, a lovely lady gave me The Artist’s Way and things started to fall into place. I was writing more. My creative work was improving. I found out I wanted to write plays and music. I’m on week four and I can’t tell you how great this book was for transforming me from a blocked writer to someone who writes several thousand words a day.

This week’s exercise is the kicker. Cameron asks you, the reader, to give up reading anything and watching any TV for a week. Even though it was only a week, my response was, “Hold it, Nelly. I can’t stop reading. I need to read for work, to Google all of the questions that pop into my head, to see what’s going on with The Family Circus.”

I didn’t defend TV, I know that’s a huge time suck. Even though I only have five channels, I manage to throw hours a week at the tube. Nevertheless, that ones tough too. What do people do when they’re eating dinner?

I finally relented and figured I’d give it a go. I’m having some serious withdrawals, but it’s day two and it’s going pretty well. I got sucked into a few websites today, but I quickly closed out to avoid further lapse.

I fear touching my books, so they’re left laying around the house. I feel like they’re screaming, “Aren’t you going to finish me? I’m an excellent book! I can help you, just read a page or two. It won’t hurt anyone.” See, talking books. Told you I was having withdrawals.

I’m trying to figure out what to do instead of reading and watching TV, do you have any ideas?

Photo: Igor Pallman via Flickr

Whether you’re looking to fill some space on your walls, or to begin investing in art, there’s no better way to start a collection than by buying art from college art students. You can buy from your local university students or you can scout out some emerging artists online. If you’re doing a pros and cons list trying to figure out if you’re going to get one big name piece from a gallery or if you’re going to take the time and effort to discover some student artists, throw these five reasons on your pros list.

1. It’s not as expensive for you: College artists are reasonable. They’re looking to get their work out into the world and their pieces are priced to match that endeavor. Go to a big name gallery. Then, go to a student gallery event where students will sell their art. Compare the price tag on a piece you loved at the first gallery with the ones you love at the student event. You’ll probably be able to get twice as much artwork for the same amount of money.

2. It’s more meaningful for them: If you went to school for art or if you knew anyone who did, you know how difficult it can be to stay focused on your creative goals. Art departments are competitive places. On top of that, most artists have been told that they’ll never really be professional artists. This can lead many to despair over how much money they’re spending on something that’s going to be a mere hobby when they don’t make it. When you invest in student artwork, it can give a student the encouragement they need to allow them to believe in what they’re doing.

3. It’s a learning experience: When you begin to attend university shows, you’ll begin learning about how hard it is for college artists to stay motivated (see number 2). You’ll also learn a lot about the way students in your particular university go about studying art. Odds are, you’ll be able to meet the artists you’re interested in so you can hear about the work from the creator.

4. You’re more likely to be able to get them to commission something just for you: Accomplished artists are usually busy doing their own thing. They want to show the world what they want the world to see. This can make it difficult or expensive if you’ve got something in mind that you would like to have created for you, or custom made for your space.

5. It’s more meaningful for you too: The whole experience of buying art from college students is rewarding. Sure, you get to save some money, but there are more important reasons to buy from emerging artists. The piece of art you buy will be tied to the experience of getting to know your artist, giving them a huge spoonful of “believe in yourself,” and taking that evening stroll to the campus gallery. Every time you see the piece, from the moment you bring it home, there will be memories tied to it.

I’m not saying that you should avoid buying from established artists. If you fall in love with a piece, by all means, get it! Support the arts!

Image: BTM2222 via flickr

One of my college boyfriends was a brilliant sculptor. I’m sure my current boyfriend wouldn’t be thrilled to hear that statement, but he was. I’m not sure that he knew it or if I told him at the time, but he was a genius.

As a preface to this post, I have no idea what he’s up to now. I don’t even know if he’s still creating. But today, for some reason, I got to thinking about his art school experience. It brought up a lot of questions and thoughts about what art school is or should be, so I’d like to share his story. To protect his identity, we’ll just go ahead and call him Tom.

Well, Tom studied art at a mid grade state school (I’m not making a jab at him, I studied there too) and like I said, he was brilliant. Tom was a bit of a joker and a trouble maker so the professors who loved him, adored him and the professors who didn’t, thought he was a waste of time. Tom was adamant that the college of the arts was a competitive, ass kissing mess. And he wasn’t just talking about the students. No, Tom thought the professors were just as competitive and manipulative as his classmates. He claimed that the professors took credit where none was due and that, in general, they could give a rats patootee whether or not you succeeded. After seeing his work, I wondered if this was a driving force that kept him creating these gorgeous representations of failure, or a deflating one that would eventually lead him to give up his goal of professionally sculpting. In the year that we dated, he finished school and didn’t make another piece.

As I mentioned, I have no idea what Tom is up to now. He could be in Paris, or he could still be in the tool warehouse that he worked in the last time we spoke. He could be creating the capstone of his life’s work or he could be selling his used socks on the internet to perverts. He’s one of the only artists I know that finished art school, was talented, truly genius and should be successful. But, even though I don’t know. I don’t think this is the case… yet.

His main competitor in school was a wealthy young man, loved by all and helped along the way by every professor. He has made a mark on the art world in Minneapolis since graduation. And I may be playing favorites here, but his work is definitely not as profound and well constructed as Tom’s.

I guess this brings me to my questions. Should art school be a competition or a collaboration? Would more artists be successful, or create better art, if it were one or the other? Is competition good for artists at this fragile and fledgling stage?

Here’s where you come in, reader. What do you think? Did you go to a competitive or collaborative school to study art? How do you think we should treat art education at a secondary level?

We love nothing more than finding little inspirational art books. How to Avoid Making Art (or Anything Else You Enjoy) is one of those books that we were grateful to stumble on in a moment of writers block. Julia Cameron, the bestselling and genius author of The Artist’s Way, made this hilarious little comic that illustrates things that many of us do to get in our own way.

Whether you’re a beginning artist, or a tried and true gallery vet, these little pieces of purposefully absurd bad advice will probably resonate with you. We’ve all tried one or more of these approaches to art when we’re creating and we’ve learned that they just don’t work. But oh, if we could have known then what we know now, we’d all be so much better off.

Some of the “advice” that we absolutely loved (personal side notes in parenthesis):

• Tell yourself you can only work in absolute quiet. (I once thought, “Damn you loud air conditioner! I can’t write in these noisy conditions!” How silly.)
• Smoke a lot of dope for inspiration. Forget why it’s called dope. Forget your inspirations. (Wait. What were we talking about?)
• Talk about it so you don’t have to do it. (I didn’t write for a year. It’s all I EVER talked about.)
• Consider the odds against whatever you make ever selling. (This killed a lot of unfinished plays.)
• Scrub your bathroom tiles with a toothbrush instead.
• Tell your most negative sibling your dream and then listen to their reasons why you shouldn’t do it. (This one almost made me give up writing and accompany my brother to law school.)
• Demand that what you do be absolutely original, totally brilliant and never done before.
• Tell yourself your job keeps you from making art and then work overtime just to prove it. (“What, sir? You want me to send you 20 emails tonight? You’ve got it!” Turns to coworkers, “I never have time to write.”)
• Acquire a high maintenance relationship. (Or be a high maintenance girlfriend. I’ve done both.)
• Choose someone who feels their dreams and goals are far more important than yours.
• The minute you have an idea, ask yourself: How much cold hard cash is it worth? (This one scared me away from majoring in creative writing, which would have been one of the best college majors for my chosen career.)

I guess we don’t need to copy down the entire thing. You get the point. We love this little book. It’s a great accompaniment to The Artist’s Way (review to come).

What do you think? Have you ever read anything by Julia Cameron? What’s your favorite art book?

I’m probably the last person to hear about Kickstarter, unless you’ve never heard of it either. In that case, we should move the rocks we’ve been living under right next to each other.

What is it?

Kickstarter is a “crowdfunding” site that matches doners with creative projects by folks just like you and me. You set a fundraising goal for your project and a timeline. If your goal is met, you get the cash to launch your idea. If not, well, better luck next time. Less than half of the projects make their funding goal, so make sure you have a great idea, brainstorm a fantastic reward for your donors and know how to network via the web. There are guidelines about what kind of projects can be posted to the site. That means your all expenses paid adventure to India is out, unless you’re going to take pictures of the effects of global warming on the country’s banana farmers and send them to your donors.

How much does it cost?

It costs absolutely nothing if your project doesn’t get funded. So, there goes that excuse for not giving it a shot. If you do meet your fundraising goal, Kickstarter only takes 5 percent and Amazon takes 3-5 percent for collecting all of your money. Keep this in mind, and include the cost for Kickstarter and Amazon in your fundraising total.

Do I have to pay back the people who fund my project?

No way, Jose. There’s nothing like free money. And there’s nothing better than free money from people who see your vision and believe in your idea. You get to be your own project manager for your project so you decide what incentives you’re going to give your potential donors.

Do you have any projects you’d like to put on Kickstarter? Have you tried it before? Did it work?

 

 

 

 

 

When we decide to go into the creative field, we really resign ourselves to the possibility of a life filled with struggles, strife and poverty. It’s not that we’re hoping for it, or that we’re a bunch of negative Nancies, it just seems that it’s likely to happen to us at one time or another. For most artists, making money is rarely the goal when you create a piece of art, a work of fiction or even a recipe for a blog post.

But it seems that now more than ever, there are entrepreneurial opportunities for artists that can keep us from having to sell  our work on the streets next to our cardboard box. More and more artists are finding their way, usually via the Internet, into new and exciting fields that didn’t even exist ten to twenty years ago. We’ve seen the graphic design field explode as the use of new technology, like iphones and social media, has grown. Web design has followed a similar path. Here are some creative ways to use your creative degree:

Get a Job With Web Roots

Working in the digital realm can help you gain the skills to promote your personal work and build your brand as an artist.

Take Claudine Hellmuth for example. After art school, Claudine took a course on web development and design. Shortly after, she landed a job as an online designer.

“I now had the skills to use the Internet to my advantage,” she said. “I am so thankful that I left the art world for a little while” (NY Times). Hellmuth credits her experience as an art-techie for her ability to reach clients across the globe.  She now markets her work in an Etsy shop, is partnered with Ranger Industries to make a line of art supplies, and has released two books about her technique. She’s working on her third book and is making a living doing creative work exclusively.

 

Become a Jack of All Trades

This one is along the same lines as the first. If you’re a writer, take a course in design and vice-versa. If you’re really busy, consider taking one or two online classes to learn a new skill. Most of your clients and future employers would love to have a go-to person when they’re creating a brochure, a press release or a new web page. If you can do it all, you’ll have no problem succeeding as a working artist.

 

Freelance

This is a great way to build your portfolio, get a paycheck and hone your craft at the same time. There are several online agencies, such as oDesk and elance, where you can search thousands of open jobs that need to be filled. Whether you’re a designer, illustrator, director, or writer, there are people looking for your talents in the global marketplace.

You can also freelance locally. Just promote yourself and every time you meet someone, let them know what you do. Have business cards with a URL to your website or online portfolio so curious minds can check out your work.

 

What’s the most creative way you’ve seen someone use their art degree? Do you have any tips for becoming an art entrepreneur?

 

 

 

Photo: Igor Pallman via Flickr

Whether you’re looking to fill some space on your walls, or to begin investing in art, there’s no better way to start a collection than by buying art from college art students. You can buy from your local university students or you can scout out some emerging artists online. If you’re doing a pros and cons list trying to figure out if you’re going to get one big name piece from a gallery or if you’re going to take the time and effort to discover some student artists, throw these five reasons on your pros list.

1. It’s not as expensive for you: College artists are reasonable. They’re looking to get their work out into the world and their pieces are priced to match that endeavor. Go to a big name gallery. Then, go to a student gallery event where students will sell their art. Compare the price tag on a piece you loved at the first gallery with the ones you love at the student event. You’ll probably be able to get twice as much artwork for the same amount of money.

2. It’s more meaningful for them: If you went to school for art or if you knew anyone who did, you know how difficult it can be to stay focused on your creative goals. Art departments are competitive places. On top of that, most artists have been told that they’ll never really be professional artists. This can lead many to despair over how much money they’re spending on something that’s going to be a mere hobby when they don’t make it. When you invest in student artwork, it can give a student the encouragement they need to allow them to believe in what they’re doing.

3. It’s a learning experience: When you begin to attend university shows, you’ll begin learning about how hard it is for college artists to stay motivated (see number 2). You’ll also learn a lot about the way students in your particular university go about studying art. Odds are, you’ll be able to meet the artists you’re interested in so you can hear about the work from the creator.

4. You’re more likely to be able to get them to commission something just for you: Accomplished artists are usually busy doing their own thing. They want to show the world what they want the world to see. This can make it difficult or expensive if you’ve got something in mind that you would like to have created for you, or custom made for your space.

5. It’s more meaningful for you too: The whole experience of buying art from college students is rewarding. Sure, you get to save some money, but there are more important reasons to buy from emerging artists. The piece of art you buy will be tied to the experience of getting to know your artist, giving them a huge spoonful of “believe in yourself,” and taking that evening stroll to the campus gallery. Every time you see the piece, from the moment you bring it home, there will be memories tied to it.

I’m not saying that you should avoid buying from established artists. If you fall in love with a piece, by all means, get it! Support the arts!