Art Biz Checklist
Art Business Guide by Amelia Davis
Overview & Purpose
The intention of this is to provide a checklist of things for you that have helped me grow as an artist, as well as my business.
Checklist
Soul centered intention
Finding your style and mastering it
Creating a shop online
Consistency and continuous growth
Pushing your edge
Soul Centered Intention
I believe strongly that the root of the place our art is created from, impacts our success and confidence as artists. Setting an intention with our art creates an energetic connection with our dreams and desires, the art becomes a physical manifestation of the soul. As you’ve probably heard me say before, I think true art comes from the heart. The greatest master of intention is, low and behold, the heart (or soul). The heart is the bridge from the spirit world into our bodies. Have you ever thought about what actually drives the heart to pump, year after year, after year? Something greater than the body is definitely working behind the scenes, pumping that heart. (Yes I’m getting deep and ethereal, but I believe we must have balance with the seen and unseen). If you’re not in touch with your heart and body, I recommend starting that pilgrimage. I believe it to be a true part of my success as an artist.
Finding Your Style and Mastering it
I can’t tell you how many different styles of art I’ve tried throughout my 26 years. I’ve painted, I’ve drawn, I’ve made music, I’ve written books (unpublished). I always loved doing all of it, but I never quite felt like a “true” artist. Meaning, I never felt quite connected fully to the art I was creating. I was kinda just experimenting with it all for fun. I love creating. I learned to crochet when I was 10 and didn’t pick it back up until I was about 22. When I was 18, fresh out of high school, my dream was to have my own clothing store. However, I was deeply disgusted by studying business while simultaneously working at a big business retail store and realizing that the business was not really about fashion, but exploiting people for money. So I abandoned that dream. It wasn’t until I was 24 that I started making crochet clothes and something clicked. The heart was completely there and there’s no other modalities I’d rather practice than crochet currently, so I am now in the phase of mastering the craft I love the most. The best part too is, it’s in my lineage. I was born for this. So if it takes awhile to find your groove, don’t worry. It took me over 15 years.
Creating a Shop Online
If you haven’t put your art out there already, you should! Sure, you might not get a sale, but you’ll never know if you don’t try. If you procrastinate putting yourself out there, you’re going to miss out on great opportunities to be seen and to grow. The first shop I used was Etsy. It personally wasn’t my favorite. My business name wouldn’t fit on the profile username, as well as that they charge just to have listings, so I often paid them when I wasn’t even making money. The other free shop I currently use is Depop. You can post clothes and other things there. These sites do take a cut when you make a sale and it is usually less than 10%. Depop doesn’t charge you to post items, yay! But my biggest upgrade has been having my OWN website! It’s not free, it’s an investment, but if you mean business, this could be a great option for establishing yourself.
Consistency and Continuous Growth
Even if you haven’t done the things I mentioned before- this one is key at all moments as an artist. Being consistent and growth seeking will put you on a nice path of momentum. That could show up in many different ways, but you cannot go wrong with growth. Grow at all costs!!! I think consistency can be a very hard one if we are the type of artist who likes to get in our own head. If you hear the voice that says “why would you make that” or “eh maybe not today” - question that voice and know that the choice you make is imperative for your success. Choose to believe in yourself and keep going! If you need someone to cheer you on you can always reach out to me. I also offer artist coaching if you’d like to dive deeper into any of this.
Continuing to Push Your Edge
Edges are so uncomfortable, and that’s exactly why you need to pursue them. Have you ever heard the quote “life starts outside of your comfort zone”? Well that includes your art. It’s easy to plateau in art and kinda just like.. make the same thing… over and over again, but maybe in like, a different color? Have you ever done that? I know I have. It got boring real fast. So get uncomfortable and push your edges. It’s okay if it’s ugly! Express something new that scares you! Whatever it is, push that edge. You’ll find out that once you push it, it wasn’t really an actual edge, it was just YOUR edge. There’s miles to explore beyond your edges. Are you up for the adventure?
Thank you for reaching :) DM for 1:1 coaching if you feel like you’d like more help from me in these areas of your art! Take care!