A Tip to Bring Your Art Plans Into Focus

It's still the height of summer here so naturally October feels like a loooong time away. In fact, the end of October is *only three months* away.

This means I've got some serious decision making to do with my Halloween costume. And more importantly, I know that by the time October closes, it'll feel like the holiday season is in full swing and dragging me down the tinsel-laden street.

Have you ever felt surprised and swept up by how fast the holidays got here?  

If yes, I've got a helpful thought for you. In speaking with a few artists recently, I noticed it was helpful for them to think about what they wanted to have done by October. What was calling to them to really get done between now and then, over the course of just three months? 

Thinking of it this way brought things into clear focus. Each artist said they wanted to do very specific things like having a show, making more art, start using their mailing list, and making long overdue website updates. 

So, let's pretend it's the end of October. --Pumpkins are carved. Candy wrappers are finding their way into your sofa cushions.-- And when that last day of October rolls around on the calendar, what would you like to say you accomplished between now and then? 

What's most important to you? What would you like to have done in 3 months?

Let me know in the comments. I'd love to hear what surfaces when you bring your next 3 months into focus.  

Cheers,
Kate

Not Enough Art Inventory?

Imagine what it would look like if a gallerist has just emailed you to schedule a studio visit. You’re excited about the opportunity to connect with them and to show them your work. The prospect of having an exhibition could mean getting press and selling your work. That would feel great to have your work seen by a larger audience, right? 

But if the thought of them actually visiting sends you into a small panic, keep reading.

I’ve noticed that after the elated feeling dissipates, a second, less helpful thought comes up for most artists in this situation: fear. Feeling afraid that you don’t have enough work to show a gallerist can cause you to inadvertently sabotage yourself by pushing off that meeting or finding ways to seriously delay it and then never reschedule it. The same concept holds true for connecting with designers or hosting an open studio, too. It’s easy to be scared to commit to doing those actions or events that would create exhibitions or sales because you’re worried that you don’t have enough art already made.   

The problem is that it feels like you need to have a ton of art made and available in your studio right now, before you reach out to a gallery, interior designer or before you sign up to do an open studio event. In reality, you don’t need a ton of new work before approaching these kinds of studio visits. This is for a few reasons. 

First, you have time on your side. Many galleries do their programming 1-2 years in advance. So if they like your work and want to show it, you’ll likely have time to create more before an exhibition. And they’ll be happy to debut your newest body of work.

Look around your studio and take stock of what you can share with them. I bet you can probably make a little new art before the studio visit or have work-in-progress to show. This paired with the finished pieces and documentation that you have on hand will be enough to have the kind of conversation you need with a gallerist, curator or interior designer to decide if your work is right for them. 

You also may feel like you’re “over” that last body of work that you made that’s kicking around your studio in a box somewhere. You can still feel good about sharing your previous work because while that body of art may be old to you but it’s still very new to your studio visitors. Remind yourself that your work can always be discovered and appreciated, no matter how long ago you made it. 

As an antidote to this feeling, I encourage you to think about how energizing and exciting it felt when you were working on that body of work. That will help you to tap into that feeling and radiate it when you talk about it. 

You don’t need to let that feeling that you don’t have enough art created stop you from reaching out to galleries, designers, submitting proposals or hosting an open studio. You need samples of your body of work and documentation of past work. If all of your newest work is in an exhibition right now, you can share photos of it. 
 
The upshot is that you can set those opportunities in motion without having all the work made in advance of them. I know I’ve felt this way and so have many of my clients. It can be an almost an automatic reaction because we want to show our best and newest work that we’re most excited about. This feeling totally makes sense, right? 

If you’ve ever felt like this, too, say “hello” in the comments to raise your hand in sharing this experience and in intimately understanding the artist’s brain when it comes to feeling like you don’t have enough work.

Cheers,
Kate

Tips to Complete Your Next Art Project

How’s your current project coming along? Are you feeling great about it? Or is it feeling more like a chore? Maybe there’s a dose of dread in there because you know you’ll have to do some difficult or un-fun things to complete it. 

If you ever feel this way, I want to encourage you to make the outcome of your project better. Make it more FUN! 

What if when you finished that next project you felt ridiculously giddy? What would that look like?

It could be your next sculpture, your next series or that website update you’ve been meaning to do. No matter what it is that’s currently on your to-do list, think about how it could feel lighter and more fun to do. 

Ask yourself, what can you do to make your project feel ~AMAZING~ when it’s done? If you’re not sure, think about it. Give it a clear ending that you love so you can celebrate knowing that you’ve done a great job with it. 

I encourage you to do this because I know that if the end goal is exciting to you, it will feel totally worth it to do the project. And it will fuel you in so many ways. 

What’s at stake if you don’t feel great about the completion of your painting, sculpture or gallery letter? 

For starters, if it’s not exciting, you may never complete the project. That great idea will never see the light of day. Your brain will tell yourself, “Why finish it if it doesn't really matter to me if it’s completed?” 

And because having a clear vision for your project means that you’ll be more able to make it through the difficult parts or the super mundane parts because you know the END will be worth it. If you’ve ever written an art grant, you know how this feels. 

So, strengthen your commitment to your project, whatever it may be, by making it more enticing to your brain. You’ll be able to look toward that ending and get excited about it. I call this creating a “giddy vision” because it makes you feel that way. 

What can you do to add a little more giddy to your current art project? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear. 

Cheers,

Kate

What Can Your Collector Afford?

Have you ever said, “They won’t pay that for my art”? I know I’ve thought it about a million times. And most artists I know circle back to that thought a lot. It feels really true, right? Like it’s for sure. But, here’s the thing. 

We don’t know. 

We have now way of truly knowing if someone can or can’t pay the prices we set for our art. This is because we have absolutely NO IDEA of a buyer’s personal finances. Or how important art is to them. It can feel really certain that we do, but in reality, we don’t know. 

Usually when this thought is passing through our minds, filling it with doubt about our prices, it’s self-generated. There may not even be a person standing there in front of you saying they can’t afford a painting of yours. It’s like this statement springs to life and starts hopping around in our brains when we start thinking about selling our work. 

It’s our job as artists and creatives to stay out of our collector’s wallet. We can’t manage their money. Only they can decide if they can afford and want your art. 

Something that can be done to help quiet this nagging thought is to do your homework and make sure that you feel 100% confident in your prices. When you do, you can stand tall in the prices you ask for because you understand why your art is priced the way it is. This is a great tool to hush your brain when it starts to think about your buyer’s financial abilities and budget—which is something you have zero control over.  

If you haven't validated your prices in a while, grab a copy of The Number One Way to Price Your Art here and work through the worksheet. It’s a free guide to know the number one way to confidently price your art to ensure you're making money. 

Let me know your questions and thoughts about this in the comments. I’m curious if you’ve caught yourself thinking “they can’t afford it.”

Cheering you on to make selling your work easier,

Kate

You’re Not Your Best Collector - Stop Pricing Your Art This Way

This week I had a conversation with an immensely creative friend who was feeling a lot of resistance to asking for the amount her work is truly worth. Part of her could see that it was worth raising the price to be in alignment with the market, and part of her was like, no way! 

After talking it through, she had an ah-ha moment. I realized that her ah-ha moment is also a concept that artists often miss when it comes to figuring out how to price their art. This thought keeps your prices below market value which isn’t good for anyone. It’s sneaky. And so subtle that I had to share it in case it’s helpful to you, too.

As an artist, you know how to make a piece of art, whether it’s a painting, a sculpture, a photo or art in some other medium. So when you put prices on your work, they can feel too high because you wouldn't pay that for it. 

The reason you wouldn’t pay that price for it is because you have the skills, expertise and experience to make it yourself. You don’t value the painting, the photograph or the sculpture in the same way that someone else does. This is because you know how to make it yourself. 

Others are willing to pay more for your work than you’re willing to pay because they don't have the skills and knowledge to make the piece of art you just made. They can appreciate your work but they can’t replicate it themselves. In other words...

YOU ARE NOT YOUR IDEAL BUYER. 

When pricing art, it’s easy to think about what you’d pay for it but in real life, it’s not a helpful pricing method. This is because you wouldn’t buy your own work because you don’t have to. You have the skills to make it instead. 

Here’s an example to help demonstrate this concept….

You love bread. The ingredients to make bread are simple and you probably have them on hand in your kitchen. You have the Tartine recipe book so you have directions to make an amazing loaf of bread. But every time you’ve tried it, it doesn’t taste or look nearly as good as the loaf you buy from the store. And it’s nowhere near the level of that artisan loaf from the farmers market that tastes amazing. 

So, you’re happy to buy a loaf of bread for double or triple what it costs to make because you don't have the skills or expertise to make the same quality of bread yourself, even if you have all the ingredients. 

The baker on the other hand is less willing to buy bread because the baker knows how to make a great loaf and is always making great loaves every day. The baker is not their own ideal customer. 

Knowing that you are not your ideal buyer can expand your willingness to raise your prices. Especially if you’re an artist who’s always being told that “you should charge more for that.” It may be time to level up to what others, who see the value in your work, are willing to pay for it. 

What do you think? Have you found yourself considering what you’d pay for your own work as a pricing strategy? Let me know in the comments. I’m curious if this thought has influenced your pricing.

Cheers,

Kate

How to Show Art Prices on Your Website Without Looking Cheesy

Are you thinking about selling your work? Want to sell it without looking cheesy or desperate? Afterall, you take your art seriously. You don’t want to feel icky when it comes to selling it.  

Part of the process of selling your work is to clearly communicate the price of your work and in a way that feels good to you. In the Should You Show Prices On Your Art Website? article, I share reasons for putting your prices on your website and how helpful it can be to a buyer.  

If you’re considering adding your prices to your website, figuring out how to do it in a way that looks good can lead to a lot of questions. Starting with, how do I show prices without looking cheesy? 

To help with this, I’m sharing a few strategies you can use to help show your art prices on your website in a way that’s professional and looks good, too.  

Emphasize the Art 

Show a beautiful image of the work. Make the art take up more visual space on your website than the price or text describing it takes up. 

De-emphasize the Price 

The cost or purchase button doesn’t need to overpower the image. If you feel like the price looks too stark, large or loud, there are a few graphic design tricks that you can employ to help downplay the price. 

• Make the price an 80% gray color. This is an old graphic designer’s trick where you make a piece of text that's black and dial down the intensity of the color to be about 80% less black which is a dark-ish but still readable gray. Below is an example of how that looks. See how much lighter and de-emphasized the price looks? 

• Put prices in a smaller font size. Even two font sizes smaller will usually do the trick.

• Link the text to purchase instead of using a button. This isn’t exactly about how to show the price but it is part of setting it up so it looks the way you want. If you don’t like the way buttons look, or you don’t want to set up an official shop, you can link text to direct people to contact you to purchase. 

• Direct people to your gallery. If you have an agreement or a current exhibition with a gallery, talk to the gallery to see if they’re okay with you showing the work on your website. If they are, let viewers know exactly how they can contact the gallery for purchase.

Click on the examples of these four strategies below to see them in better detail.

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Price is an 80% gray color.

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Price is in a smaller font size.

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Link the text to purchase.

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Directs people to your gallery.

• Change the text of the purchase button. Your template’s button may say, “BUY NOW!” but there are usually ways to edit what the buttons say. Google it and find out how to change it in your software to something softer like, “Add to Cart”, “Purchase” or “Take Me Home”. Bonus points if it’s not in all caps.

• Change the color of the purchase button. If your website template requires a button, you may be able to change the color to downplay it. Going from a red button to a black, 80% gray or more neutral colored button will make it much less loud.

• Show thumbnail images and purchase options after clicking on the image. Maybe you have a shop or gallery of your available works where your prices show only when someone clicks on a thumbnail to learn more. That way the price isn’t so up front. 

In all of these appraoches, notice what is more clear and easy to read. Notice what is emphasized or de-emphasized. The goal is to make your art shine. And when it resonates with your viewer, they have what they need when they decide to purchase it. 

As an artist, you’ve got opinions about how something should look. And these aesthetic opinions extend to how your prices are shown, too. Take a look at these examples and find other examples that you like. Then make adjustments to how you show prices for your art on your website. 

Let me know if you find any of these strategies helpful when it comes to showing your prices on your website in the comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts about it! 

Cheers,

Kate

Should You Show Prices On Your Art Website?

Have you wondered if you should show your art prices on your website? For some artists, they make their work and showing prices can feel out of alignment with the conversation they want their work to have. Or maybe showing prices doesn’t feel as relevant as getting the work seen. 

For many of us, there’s a deep-seeded thought that showing our prices will cheapen the work. We’re afraid it might make us look like sell-outs or desperate. No one that I know wants to compromise their creative integrity just to sell some work. And almost everyone I know wants to sell their work to feel valued, recognized, seen and pay the rent along the way.  

Have you decided what’s right for you when it comes to listing your prices on your website? If you’ve ever struggled with that decision, keep reading.

The first step to figure this out is to get clear on your goals. Do you want to sell your art to collectors, designers, shops, art consultants or agents? How much of it do you want to sell? Will you sell directly to patrons or only through galleries? 

If you want to sell your art directly, a key piece in making that happen is making the price known and having a process for buying work. In other words, buyers must know what the price is because it’s part of the shopping process. 

You can ask buyers or collectors to inquire about prices and availability or let them know in the description of a piece what it costs and if it’s for sale. Which is easier for the person shopping? Emailing or calling you to ask if a piece is available and how much it is? Or seeing that information right there so you can decide if buying is really right for you?

I think it’s easier to buy art when I know the price. I hate to bother people with asking if there’s a chance I may not buy it after all. The same feeling is true for shopping at a store. If a piece of clothing isn’t priced, I’m not as likely to buy it because I may not have time to hunt down the price or feel like talking to a store associate. 

Listing your prices reduces the friction of the buying process. It makes it much easier for a potential buyer to know if your work fits into their budget. Asking someone to email or call you for a price is asking them to make an extra effort. And instead of getting them closer to buying your work, you slow down the process by not giving a buyer what they need, when they need it.

Showing prices on your website makes the most sense when...

• You’re not only selling through a gallery

• You’re selling directly to designers, buyers and collectors 

• You’re in the middle of a pandemic where collectors going to galleries and visiting exhibitions is difficult

• You want to make the buying process as easy as possible for those that are serious about buying

“If you’ve got to ask the price, you can’t afford it” is a sentiment that’s been heard often. If a person can afford the art, not showing the price might make them think that it's out of their price range even though it is within their budget. That would be a missed sale. 

There are some instances when showing prices online may not be an exact fit. For example, when it’s a really expensive piece of art, like over $10k. People don’t always want others to know how much they might have spent on a piece when it gets in that territory. So out of respect for your buyer’s privacy, you may not want to list those prices online. 

If it makes you feel like your art is too product-y, showing your prices may not be a fit. Even if you know that it’s helpful to speed up the buying process, if in your gut it doesn’t feel right, don’t show prices. I hope you change your mind but I understand that you may not, or that you may want to sit with the idea of adding prices to your website. If you can bring yourself to show prices in a way that feels good to you, can you let collectors know that prices are readily available via email or something similar? Can you look for ways to make it as easy as possible for someone to purchase your art if they want to?

It also may be a wrench-fit to show prices on your website if you’re selling through a gallery. If this is the case for some or all of your work, have a conversation with your gallerist about what they're comfortable with and about what will support selling the work. You can always show the work on your website, include the price and direct buyers to go through your gallery. Provide contact information if you go this route.  

The upshot here is that if you want to sell your art, even just a little bit, you can help your buyers and yourself by showing your prices on your website. Read the next article that talks about how to show your prices on your website without looking cheesy.  

Do you show prices on your website? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. 

Cheers,

Kate

Feeling the Sting of Missed Opportunities?

Happy New Year! It may sound odd to wish this after all of the tragic events that have—and are—happening. Yet, I know there are bright spots and silver linings ahead. I don’t know what they are yet but I know they’re out there, waiting for us to find them. So I like to encourage them to happen when I can. And, I think you have what you need to do this, too.  

If you’re looking back on the fall holiday season and it feels like you missed a big opportunity to sell your work, and that there’s nothing you can do about it now, this message is for you. Know that you can look at it differently. 

And, that there IS something you can do about it.

I’ve felt the stings of many missed opportunities in the past. Like when I didn’t make any offers for my work during the busy buying season. And when I didn’t follow up with that important museum person who gave me her card. Sheesh, it’s no fun thinking about the missed opportunities.  

I share this with you because I want you to know that I get it. It can be painful to feel like you didn’t show up like you wanted. Even if there were valid reasons for it. 

After speaking with an artist who felt this way recently, I had an epiphany.  

I realized that right now is the best time to do something about it. Right now is the best time to avoid missing out on sales like that again. How? 

Plan for it. 

One way to plan for it is to take stock of how the fall flew by and where you wished you had taken action. Then create a better plan for yourself right NOW. It’s always better to make notes of the obstacles you ran into right after it happened than trying to remember what went wrong 12 month later. 

It might have been that you wanted to set up a shop on your website or Instagram, or that you wanted to do that pop-up. Or that you just couldn’t get the sales email written. 

If you’re feeling like you missed out on an important opportunity like selling during a busy gift buying season, here are a few steps you can take now, to set you up for success when this kind of opportunity comes around again. 

First ask yourself these questions:

• Did you know what you wanted to do? Did you have a clear goal? If not, what would be the main goal for next time? 

• What were the obstacles or challenges with your goal that you faced? 

• What worked well? 

• What didn’t work well? 

• What would you do differently? 

Then, take that information and craft a plan on your calendar to make it easier for you the next time.  

For example, if a challenge you faced was that you realized that you were up against a shipping deadline and you didn’t get to promote enough to meet your sales goals, when would be a better time to start promotions this year? This might mean that you start emailing your list and posting to social media beginning in mid-November so all of your sales are done by a safe shipping date for gifts of 12/14.

With this new plan in mind, when do you need to have your work finished and photos taken so you can begin promotions in mid-November? Maybe by 11/1? That then means your October calendar needs to have time set aside for making work and documenting it. --see how backing out a plan for next year’s holiday season can be helpful?

And you can plan this all out NOW before the next holiday season gets hectic. You can even apply this to other gift giving holidays like Mother’s day, Valentines Day, Plaidurday, etc...

“I rocked my holiday sales.”

If this was you, it’s still worth a debrief. How did it go? What worked well? What would you do differently? 

Can you take a few notes? It’s sooooo easy to forget what you learned and what to change to improve things when you have to look back on events 12 months in the past. Giving yourself 15 minutes now to review is totally worth the time. 

Whether you felt good about your holiday sales or like there were a lot of missed opportunities, can you map out a quick plan that you know is reasonable, doable and more fun for you? This way you can remove the stress and scramble of the season while still hitting your sales goals.

I invite you to actively encourage good events to happen for you this year by planning ahead a little. Maybe you want to plan out a holiday themed notecard set or you want to learn how to take photos of your work that feel exciting. What’s something you’d like to map out now? Let me know in the comments so I can cheer you on with it!   

Here’s to encouraging a year that includes many bright spots!

- Kate

Is Teaching Online Worth It? You May Be Surprised

As a creative person, you’ve been on my mind a lot lately. I know how much the pandemic is likely turning things upside down. Which may have you feeling not so great about your work, your happiness and how you’re going to make it through to more normal times. It makes total sense that things might feel a little uncertain right now.  

As you may have guessed, I’m an eternal optimist. I know that if I believe in something enough, I can make it happen. What you may not know is that I’m also a survivor.

I’ve always found a way to support myself no matter what. I’ve taken jobs that weren’t ideal (hello cleaning toilets), lived in spaces that weren’t ideal (ahh, the under-the-stairs years) and had to make decisions that weren’t ideal (no restaurant sushi for a year). I’ve learned a ton. Including the fact that I always have options. 

I know you have options, too. And as you work to sell what you do, whether it’s art or services, I know firsthand that selling a workshop or course can be another great way for you to make money. It can allow you to have more tools to help you survive this unprecedented time. 

Not sure about it? I thought you might be skeptical so I’m sharing some numbers to answer the question:

How much can I make teaching online? 

There are a lot of variables to pricing an online workshop. This is something that I work on a lot with my clients. So here, I’m sharing the numbers for a very basic, approachable 1-2 hour workshop that someone who is new to doing them might put together. 

If you sell your workshop training for $40 per person, here’s what that brings in:

• 25 people purchase at $40 each = $1,000

• 50 people purchase at $40 each = $2,000

• 100 people purchase at $40 each = $4,000

You can see that the income from this starts to add up very quickly. I bet you know 25 people right now who would buy a $40 workshop from you. Yes there are costs to creating a workshop like your supplies and time so those amounts have to be covered before you start to break even. But with these numbers you can see that can happen pretty quickly. 

And this is just the start. This example is for a starter workshop but you can charge more for this same kind of workshop once you learn the value it brings to your students and as your skills build. You can sell the same basic workshop for $100, more than double my example, as your belief and confidence in your offer grows, which it naturally will.

This is what it looks like when you sell it it at that price:

• 25 people purchase at $100 each = $2,500

• 50 people purchase at $100 each = $5,000

• 100 people purchase at $100 each = $10,000

This is because each time you run the online workshop or training, you improve it. Maybe you add something that’s especially helpful for your students or that gets them to their finish line faster or maybe you learn how to teach a technique in a new way that’s so much easier than how people have learned it in the past. Perhaps with all of the experience you have in your topic, you know how to help your students avoid common mistakes and pitfalls and you incorporate that. 

Little improvements like these add up to a stellar class that will make your students loyal fans who happily share how awesome your class is with others. You can evolve your price and raise it over time as you validate it’s worth. And as you improve it over time, you’ll have students who are getting amazing results which is so energizing to a creative person. It makes it worth the effort. 

So, what do you think? Would you love to be able to earn more money like this? Would teaching what you already know online in a workshop, course or masterclass feel like it might help to get you through to times that feel more like business as usual? 

If so, post a note in the comments letting me know if $40 sounds like the perfect starting point for your online workshop offering. And if not, what sounds like a better fit?

Cheers,

Kate

How to Have the Right Supplies for Teaching Online Art & Maker Classes?

If you’ve been thinking about adding teaching online to your creative revenue streams, I’m with you. It’s a smart way to adjust to the current times. It’s also a great way to have a lot of fun helping people learn and expand their creative horizons at a time when just about everyone needs a healthy escape from the monotony of regular life.

Even though teaching online is a great idea, there is one very real obstacle. 

What I want to teach online requires specialty tools and materials that people don’t have on hand. 

It’s the kind of thought that can make you want to toss the whole idea out the window, right? One more hurdle to getting money in the door. Sheesh! 

Luckily, I hate when creative people feel stifled about their earning potential so I started thinking about it. I want all artists, makers and solopreneurs to see the possibilities and find creative solutions for selling their work in a way that feels amazing to them. Could there be a way around this?

I’m happy to report yes! There are several very doable approaches that work for artists who usually use specialty tools and materials in their workshops. The solution starts with design. 

In order to teach what you know online, you get to design the class just like you do when you’re in person. There are always high-end and low-end materials and tools that help to shape what you teach in a class. These are things like better or lesser paints and brushes, expensive wool or budget acrylic yarn, real silver wire or a spool of mixed metal wire, etc. Materials and tools are always a factor in any class you create. 

What is essential for your students to learn during your class so they complete it with a new project or technique under their belt? Take that answer and address it in how you plan your training. 

Are the tools and materials you came up with not ideal but they’ll do the job? For example, jeweler’s pliers are so much better than regular pliers because they’re rounded and don’t leave marks on the metal but they both do the same job of bending metal. Decide if that kind of “making do” would work for your workshop.

If it won’t, consider making kits for your students. 

Kits

Creating kits for your students can be a great way to help them have exactly what they need, and what you need to teach them properly. Here are ways you can incorporate kits into your online workshop.

• Create a kit with everything they need that you put together and mail it to them. 

• Deliver kits to their porch for local students. 

• Loan tools to your students that they return after class. 

• Create an online kit that can be ordered from a local art store or Amazon where they have a lists feature.

• DIY Kits: Tell students the ideal materials and where to get them online along with a list of what they can make do with that they probably have at home.

Once you create a kit, the neat part is that it’s another thing you can sell to bring in income. Many people don’t want to take the time to figure out where to get supplies so they’ll happily order the right ones from you when they sign up for the class. And, you can sell additional kits to your students if they want to make more of whatever you’re teaching which is a fun option.

Take Action

Here’s where you get scrappy. It may take a few tries to come up with an answer that actually works so plan to get creative. Let me know in the comments: What could you teach if you used the kit idea? 

Here’s to your selling what you make online!

Cheers,

Kate

Make Money Without Selling Art

You’re on week seven of shelter-in-place and all of your art shows and in-person events have been cancelled. This means a regular opportunity for selling what you make is gone. 

We now know that varying degrees of this social distancing thing is going to be around for a while. And as a result of all of this, you’re starting to feel the heat of missed sales. And you’re wondering what to do. 

Instead of going into a full panic about it all, can you find something else to sell that’s not your art? Maybe a workshop on a technique you use or project you know how to make? 

Why Teaching What You Already Know Works

Teaching what you know works so well right now because everyone is at home and starting to get a serious case of cabin fever. They’ve mowed through all the good stuff on Netflix and YouTube. They’ve binged the news at unhealthy levels. And they’re tired of everyday looking the same. They need a break. 

Maybe something like this could help you bring extra money in the door? Let’s look at what things you need to make it happen. 

In teaching online, here are the basics you need to have in place to make it work: 

• A skill or project you can teach others

• Willingness to learn to teach others online 

• A computer with a camera connected to the internet

• A way for people to pay you

• Enthusiasm for your work

You don’t need a certification or a degree. You likely have everything you need to make it work. Just think, you could be someone’s lifeline to stress relieving creativity and community by teaching what you know. 

Here’s How to Teach Online:

1. Decide on what you want to teach

   This can be a project like how to paint what the corona virus looks like under a microscope. Or a set of techniques like the basics of how to best use each kind of clay carving tool. Maybe you have a few secret tips you can share for doing something faster or easier. 

2.  Decide on a day and time for your workshop 

   What time of day might work best for your audience? Lunch time? Evenings? Weekends? Make sure you have time to prepare and promote it. 

3. Decide how you’ll present your lesson

   This might be that you do a Facebook Live video, a Google Hangout, a Skype video call, a Zoom video call or another method that works well for you. Also decide if you want to sell a live workshop or a pre-recorded workshop. If it’s pre-recorded, you’ll need to pick a platform to share it from. 

4. Decide on a method of payment

   This could be that they send you their registration fee by PayPal, Venmo, Square, Stripe, ApplePay, check or even cash. You get to pick what payment method works best for you and your students. 

5. Plan what you’ll teach

   Decide how long your class will be and exactly what you want to show your students. Ask yourself, when they leave your workshop, what will they have learned? Include the answer to this in your invitations. Practice your presentation so you know how long it actually takes and so you don’t run over the planned amount of time.

6. Invite people

   Send an email to the people you’d like to invite to register. Make social media posts inviting people. Ask your friends to share the post. Do a lot of promoting of your workshop.

7. Send a thank you

   Thank students for taking that class with you. Let them know you appreciate the support and the community.

The key here is to create something that feels great for you to teach. And that your students will love. 

As an artist you’ve got SO many amazing skills. You know your materials and you know your craft. And you know how to put both of them to use to make really cool things that bring you and others joy. So maybe teaching online can work for you! 

Take Action

If teaching online sounds like it might be a fit for you, post in the comments to let me know what one or two topics sound interesting for you to teach. 

Cheers,

Kate

Not Making Right Now? A Trick to Jump Start Things

How are you doing this week? Are you starting to feel pulled to make art again? Or to make more art? 

I feel like my tendency to become frozen and take no action during stressful times is coming to an end. In part due to scheduling some making time with friends over a Zoom call. Creating in a group setting always helps to jump start my maker brain. 

I’m also regularly moving my mind from thinking about what I don’t have and what I can’t do right now to more helpful thoughts. Instead, I’m focusing on what I can do. 

When I ask myself that, I always have an answer that’s more than what I need. It’s great because I shift my approach around whatever I’m doing at that moment. Whether it’s making art or cooking dinner, thinking about what I can do lightens my mindset, and removes pressure to do something with nothing. It makes everything feel easier, lighter and less burdened. 

This is in part because it promotes a happier approach versus bringing all the negative thoughts that our brain sends at us when we’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

Want to try it out? 

First, what’s something that you’re thinking you don’t have or can’t do right now?

Now that you’ve got that one thing in mind, ask yourself this question:

What CAN I do with regard to this? 

It might take a moment to get to something you can do that feels good to you so keep going past your first answer. Dig a little more and see what you can think of that feels like a better, more positive thought. One that supports you instead of draining you. 

A recent thought I had was that I only had black, white and pink paint and that I couldn't get other colors for a while. I thought this would crush the project I was working on. 

But after asking what can I do that’s more helpful than moping about what I can’t do, I found a lot of other viable possibilities like I can paint with watercolors where I have a full palette of colors instead of acrylics where I have only three colors. And I can harness the variety of colors from magazines and other paper ephemera - and that idea was even more exciting than my original project! 

Easily, in a matter of moments, my brain shifted to a more positive and even enthusiastic state of being. 

Give the above thought process a try and let me know in the comments what you discovered that you CAN do. I can't wait to hear what comes up for you!

With much gratitude,

Kate

Wings Are a Constraint That Make it Possible to Fly

This quote is great because it gets at the essence of how working within constraints can be very positive. 

“Wings are a constraint that make it possible to fly.” - Robert Bringhurst

I’ve never thought of it as a constraint to have wings. Have you? I’ve always thought of it as a positive thing that allows more freedom. That’s why we have a whole host of mythological beasts with wings on them, right? To us, we tend to see having wings as a superpower. 

But here, this creative, Robert Bringhurst, is saying that wings are a constraint, a limitation. I found this really fascinating. It points out the contradiction in my usual response that constraints normally bring negative results, not positive ones.

Wings are an unchangeable condition that happen as a result of a set of evolutionary constraints that we usually view as a sign of freedom. In other words, we view it as a positive outcome. 

I mention this because it’s our thought about wings that decides if they mean freedom or not. 

What if we took the same view of our current shelter-in-place situation? What if we were all unfurling our “wings” (aka: the results of working within our current constraints) and seeing them as our superpowers? What if we found we could do all kinds of amazing, badassery as a result of living through the limitations of this COVID-19 time? 

Could there be some silver linings to the coronavirus situation? 

After reading this quote, I see how wings are a constraint of sorts. Albeit a really cool one. 

What feels like a negative constraint right now that might have an interesting or even positive outcome for you? 

Similar to the constraints of wings that make it possible to fly, can you find a way to see how some of the actions you’re taking right now, might have positive results? 

This thought process is a helpful exercise to stay positive in your work, even if you're currently feeling squeezed by the situation. I’m curious what you think about this. Let me know your thoughts on this  in the comments.

Cheers,

Kate