Artist’s Daybook: Thursday
Day 4 in a series of five
A record of my daily practice
I find time in the edges of the day. My son is waking up, having breakfast, and I run downstairs to pack a piece for shipping. I leave early for my coffee date with friends to get the package into the mail for Monday delivery. On the drive, I listen to Allyson Stanfield’s latest podcast about the business side of art.
This is a regular coffee date with two local artists. Over the two hours, we cover: sales, marketing, art materials and techniques, shipping, what inspires us, gallery shows, designing studio spaces, art retreats and classes, and much more. I’m thankful for my in-person art connections and the times we get out of our studios to meet in person.
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Speaking of connections, I meet another artist at the local art association because he has three boxes of old books he’s passing onto me for my collage art! This is why I tell people to not spend money on buying old books for collage. Once you put it out there that you’re looking for them, you’ll find that friends and family are happy to clean out their shelves and send materials to you.
Home for lunch and then back into the car. I did this to myself- scheduling all these driving appointments for the same day.
Rhode Island isn’t a big state, and I’ll practically drive across it by the time the day is done. I’m headed to a Providence gallery to drop off three pieces they’ll be showing for the next few months. The gallery has a solo show up for a local artist who mixes collage with painting and walls of art from other artists (that must be where my pieces will go). I bring my consignment form I created with Artwork Archive and make sure that’s signed before I leave the pieces.
One more stop, picking up eyeglasses, and then back home to the computer. There are emails to answer and I register for some online webinars on publishing being held for alumnx of Vermont Collage of Fine Art. They’ll be recorded, which is probably the only way I’ll watch them. 8:00 pm is the start of the bedtime routine!
One email exchange involves my state sales tax. Every time I think I’ve wrapped my head around how to handle the financial side of my business, I find instead that I’ve messed things up. And nothing is a quick fix, and it sends me into high-stress mode as I try to not make my mistakes worse as I fix them. Are there small businesses that successfully manage their finances? I’m learning, but too often I’m learning as I correct errors, which is not how I want to work. I preorder Hannah Cole’s Taxes for Humans book to go along with my membership in her Sunlight Tax bootcamp. It’s not being released until November, but it will be worth the wait.
I unload my boxes of books onto the front porch and quickly dig into them. There’s a lot of dust and some with mildew, so I won’t bring them into the studio. I’ll rip them down this afternoon. As long as the wind doesn’t pick up!
Since we were talking about art studios this morning, I bounce between Pinterest, Google, and the public library to request all the books I can find about artist studio spaces. All of them are checked out, which must mean there are lots of us looking for inspiration for our creative spaces. I have a Pinterest board where I save, several times a week, images of storage ideas, lighting, and window placement. I find an article about the strengths and weaknesses of different types of flooring options in studios. Do I have reason to read this right now? No, but it’s so easy to get distracted by the things we wish to have.
A bulleted list of the blog topics:
Packing and shipping artwork for Monday delivery
Attending a regular coffee meeting with two local artists to discuss sales, marketing, techniques, and more
Receiving donated books from another artist for collage materials
Driving across Rhode Island for multiple appointments in one day
Dropping off three pieces at a Providence gallery for exhibition
Managing administrative tasks like emails and webinar registrations
Struggling with state sales tax and business finances
Researching artist studio spaces through Pinterest, Google, and library books
Getting distracted by aspirational studio design ideas despite having no immediate need