Episodes
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...
Published 04/04/24
Host: Alyson B. Stanfield
In this episode of The Art Biz I talk with Lori Sokoluk and Susan Purney Mark, who met in my coaching group many years ago and started a collaboration during the pandemic.
When I teach about collaboration, I’m usually talking about an exhibition or event. Lori and Susan took it to the next level and collaborated on the artwork itself—resulting in a two-person exhibition that recently closed.
I wanted to know what the artmaking process was like when you’re...
Published 03/28/24
Host: Alyson B. Stanfield
Your list is something unique to you and your career. No one has this same list. No one makes art like you do; no one knows the same people as you do; and no one has the exact vision that you have. Nobody! Your list is almost worthless to anyone else, yet it’s invaluable to you.
It is the primary tool you use to share your art with the world. It’s your #1 marketing asset, but worthless if you’re not using it.
The definition of a mailing list isn’t as clear cut as...
Published 03/21/24
Host: Alyson Stanfield, Art Biz Success
My guest is Janice Mason Steeves, author of Bloom: On Becoming An Artist Later in Life. Which, as I say in our interview, is “a lovely mix of insights from a questionnaire, gentle guidance from someone who teaches and leads artist workshops all over the world, and wisdom from academics, professionals, and spiritual advisors.”
Janice has been in my orbit for a long time and I have been dying to talk with her about this book, the seeds of which she...
Published 03/14/24
I believe in the power of daily affirmations. I first used them a number of years ago to increase my income and it worked. I increased my income 40% that year. And while I am not now as dedicated to reciting them daily, I know should be! I attribute the majority of my success back then to these affirmations.
What possessed me to stop? 🤷♀️ I do not believe that reciting affirmations alone will move the needle. You must have the commitment to your goals in the first place and take appropriate...
Published 03/07/24
If you’re like a lot of the artist-clients that I work with at Art Biz Success, you would love someone to help you with social media. Or your website. Or maybe anything else to help lighten the load.
Having any kind of help sounds like a dream. It may seem like an impossible dream. You might be looking for someone like my guest for this episode of The Art Biz: Hallie Edlund, a virtual assistant for artists.
We discuss how she started doing this work and how she helps artists with social...
Published 02/29/24
In this episode, I have something a little different for you.
I want to share a tool I found a number of years ago that helps me in life and in my business. And it’s helped many of my clients.
It’s a life map, of sorts, called Human Design.
Jahje Ives is an artist and a Human Design coach and guide. While I have worked with Human Design guides in the past, Jahje is the first artist I have met in this realm.
I wanted her insights as to how knowing your Human Design could help with your art...
Published 02/15/24
Two things are clear when it comes to pricing your art.
1️⃣ It’s a struggle for most artists.
2️⃣ There’s a good chance that your prices are too low.
There are 5 reasons to raise your prices:
🔸 You’ve done the math and realized you aren’t paying yourself.
🔸 Your pricing has become uneven over time.
🔸 The cost of your materials has increased.
🔸 You can’t keep up with the demand for your art.
🔸 You start selling through galleries.
I cover all of these in this episode and then tell...
Published 02/08/24
I like to say that your art isn’t complete until someone else experiences it. Until you’re standing in front of it and talking about it with people who are interested.
In real life. Digital-only viewing doesn’t count.
Every person who sees your work brings themselves and their background to your work—adding new layers of meaning to your original intention.
My guest for this episode is Susan Abbott, and she recognizes the importance of getting her work out of the studio and in front of...
Published 02/01/24
So many artists are down on their galleries and considering leaving them.
There are absolutely many reasons not to stick with your gallery, but that’s a different episode.
I wanted to share the story of an artist who is thrilled with her gallery.
My guest for this episode is Evita Tezeno—an artist who has grand ambitions for herself. Not content with the status quo, Evita aims for recognition by prestigious honors like the Guggenheim Fellowship and the MacArthur Fellowship, the so called...
Published 01/18/24
Your artist website is your portfolio these days. It’s usually the first place people go to get a full picture of you and your art. They might initially find you on Instagram and scroll through the images there, but when their interest is piqued and they want to know more, they’ll click that almighty link in your bio.
Your website is the 1 piece of virtual real estate that you have 100% control over. You select what people see and define how they will navigate the experience.
Are you...
Published 01/04/24
This episode isn’t for artists who want to dabble and keep art as a hobby. I so respect your desire to enter and exit the studio whenever you feel like it, but this isn’t for you.
This isn’t even for artists who want to set up a side hustle of selling art here and there to make some extra cash. Again, I respect the fact that you want or need to do that, but what I share here isn’t for you.
This is for anyone who is serious about building and living the life of an artist.
This episode is...
Published 12/21/23
My guest for this episode of The Art Biz is Kamal X.
Kamal recently released his book, Black Astronaut, which is a collection of photographs he started after the murder of George Floyd. It was, as you recall, the height of Covid and like many, Kamal was hesitant to travel and be in crowds.
But, as he said, he knew he had to risk it all because the moment was bigger than him.
In our conversation, you’ll hear about how and why Kamal learned photography and how he approaches his subjects on...
Published 12/14/23
Carol MacConnell has built a strong business foundation over her long art career. I was particularly interested in talking with her about how she works with interior designers.
You’ll hear us discuss:
Carol’s income streams, 30% of which comes from working with interior designers and the vast majority through open studio events. How she, as an artist who is legally deaf, navigates conversations. How she segments and uses her list of 2,000 interior designers and 2,000 other subscribers....
Published 11/30/23
As we learned when diagramming sentences in 4th grade, verbs are where the action is. No verb, no action.
The first iteration of my newsletter for artists back in 2002 included a specific art business action at the end of each issue.
My book, I’d Rather Be in the Studio, is broken down into 16 “actions” rather than chapters.
I’m all about action, but am no longer interested in it in the form of obsessive hyper-productivity. I’ll leave that to the bro motivators out there. Action at all...
Published 11/16/23
In this episode I talk with David Sandum who was driven to take up art personally and then professionally after being hospitalized with depression in 2001.
His journey through depression led him to the works of Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch—finding solace and a deep connection with their expression of raw emotions.
We discuss how art continues to be a lifeline in his struggle with depression and his memoir, I’ll Run Till the Sun Goes Down: A Memoir About Depression & Discovering...
Published 11/09/23
In this episode of The Art Biz I talk with Nanci Hersh about an exhibition she organized with 25 artists from multiple states and countries.
The show used the central theme of tears to explore empathy, compassion, and understanding within a sacred space—a metaphorical chapel. She says, as artists “we are so fortunate that we can use our art to make sense of life experiences.”
Nanci and I discuss:
The ripple effect of art when it impacts the artist first. The training she received to...
Published 10/26/23
Dare you have a sale of your art?
I acknowledge that having a sale of original work might be unpalatable. It feels as if you are cheapening the work you put so much effort into. I get it.
In just the last episode of The Art Biz (#166), I talked with Bri Larson about the mindset around raising prices and why it was important to do so.
In this episode of The Art Biz I discuss the psychology and process around having a sale of your art or any products that you might sell. Products such as...
Published 10/19/23
In this episode, Bri Larson and I talk about her decision to raise her prices and how she overcame the mindset that her art needed to be affordable.
We also discuss:
The value of her artist community—how they have supported her growth as an artist and her journey into motherhood. How she has been able to maintain a studio practice with a baby, including how she structures her days around the baby’s schedule. What kind of work she would give to a studio assistant and how she’ll know when to...
Published 10/12/23
There’s no neat way to explain what success is because it’s different for every artist. I hope this episode is the start of an ongoing conversation on the subject.
💡HIGHLIGHTS
Success for artists might include income (sales), exhibitions, leadership roles, achievements, collections, and studio production. A few of the diverse stories of success from artist-guests of The Art Biz. The importance of aligning the goals for your art and expectations of yourself with how you want your life to...
Published 10/05/23
Sally Hirst was born to teach.
Fortunately, she was also born an artist.
Like most of us, she adapted to the new reality that she was faced with at the beginning of the pandemic. Well, actually, she did more than adapt. She thrived. She took the challenge head on and has been thriving ever since.
Sally and I discuss what her income sources looked like before Covid and look like now. Specifically, we talk about her teaching:
The teaching platform she uses and why she chose it The skills...
Published 09/28/23
This episode is a remix of episode 36 from 2019. It is such an inspiring interview that I wanted more people to hear it.
Adele Sypesteyn has been making a living from her art for four decades. Listen in as she takes us through her journey of selling her art, from the traditional process of applying to galleries to a more strategic approach that involved teaching herself about business and pivoting in the face of economic downturns. Adele also shares how she transitioned from galleries to the...
Published 09/14/23
Lately, I’ve been diving into money on The Art Biz. As much as I do NOT want to talk about money, I know it’s necessary. I also know it’s more necessary for some artists to make money from their work than for others.
If you’re lucky enough to have outside support for your art business—even if it’s from a day job—count your blessings. Because the pressure on the work is real when you don’t have that extra source of income, which is why I will continue to bring up the topic of money.
Let’s...
Published 09/07/23
In this episode, I’m doing something different and sharing my money odyssey from an interview with Parker Stevenson of The Bottom Line podcast by Evolved Finance.
I reveal:
How my dad taught me to balance my checkbook (and how it was quite different from my mother’s suggestion). How I learned to ask for money by collecting money for charities as a little girl. That I set the curve in my accounting classes at the University of Wyoming. How I gamed the system to get cash because I knew the...
Published 08/30/23