August 10, 2001

There's no shortage of how-to manuals on the business of art. But what about for the lifelong process of being an artist?

The art always comes first: It is easy to lose sight of this when you become embroiled in the demands of business. But without the art there can be no business. Allow nothing to leave your studio before it meets your standards. Your career as an artist is based on the quality of your art, and the quickest way to end a career is to send out work that isn't ready.

Protect your time: Treat all the components of your life -- family, friends, work -- as gifts. It may not be easy, but you will find room for them all. Make sure that the things you give time to are of your own choosing rather than trying to meet someone else's expectations. There is time in your life for everything that you care about, but not for everything that everyone else cares about.

Get a studio: It doesn't have to be glamorous. The basic requirements for an artist's studio are privacy and the freedom to make a mess and leave it there. Working on the dining room table until the kids come home does not cut it. You need to leave your art out so that you can pick up where you left off. You need to be able to see the work fresh the next day. You need the freedom to make mistakes without anyone else seeing them. Otherwise, the work will not grow.

There really is enough to go around: Many people in the art world carry an attitude of scarcity, convinced there aren't enough galleries, opportunities, etc. This only creates more scarcity. The artist who has an attitude of adventure, a belief in the ability to succeed and a willingness to do the work finds triumph after triumph. The artist who comes with the attitude that the work is too hard, that success is almost impossible and that the competition is too steep will find those expectations realized. The universe has given each artist a personally tailored version of success.

Watch out for mid-career bitterness: Taking a passive attitude toward your career can result in bitterness. The art world is fickle, and if you don't make it your business to keep your work out there it will be forgotten in a nanosecond. The truth is you have to be prepared to shepherd your career for your whole life. There is nothing more discouraging than making a half-hearted attempt at this. It gives you the illusion that you tried and failed, when really you never tried at all.

Your life really is your own: Creating art is a search for truth, and viewing art can be a catalyst for profound understanding. Art will always be larger than any social group who claims it. If the thought of participating in the mainstream art world makes your flesh crawl, don't do it. Make your art for the rest of the world, skip the gallery system and show your art on your own terms. Creating or discovering a new place to show is a great way to be involved in your community. Art that is shown at a cafe is participating in the culture, rather than being isolated from it. This adds vitality to the community. (Note that there will be no gallery staff attending to receptions, show announcements, etc. You will have to take responsibility for those things yourself.)

Don't be afraid to make mistakes: You'll make them no matter how carefully you plan. Look at those little errors in judgment as part of the package and cut yourself some slack. Sometimes your mistakes will lead to a better place than the one you had in mind. Jim Pomeroy, a brilliant artist, used to say to his students, "To be an artist you have to make five hundred mistakes, so you might as well get started."

Cay Lang (www.takingtheleap.com/) will lead "Taking the Leap," a free workshop on embarking on an art career, at 1:00 pm on Sunday, July 15, at Expo for the Artist 2001.