Something that I have come to recognize about myself is that when I get very hyperfixated on something, and it does not go well for me right away, I give up and move on. I put all my energy into one spot, and the level of disappointment I feel when it inevitably does not take off instantaneously is crushing. This is unhealthy and unhelpful. For example, I made a bunch of jewelry, which cost me a lot of time, effort, and money, because I enjoyed doing it and therefore wanted to monetize it by running a shop on Etsy. I did not get a single sale in the first two weeks (I had no idea what I was doing and how to market…I still don’t). I got really sad about this, packed up my jewelry-making gear, and gave up.
I stopped making jewelry, something I really enjoy doing, because of the disappointment from not being able to make money off of it on the first try. Looking back, this is so foolish. Another example would be my writing and illustrative work. I love writing/illustrating and therefore wanted to monetize it. I published a book that took months of work to complete, and though it did make sales, it did not skyrocket. To me, this felt like failure, even though people who have purchased and read it have had nothing but kind things to say. I was ready to give up on it. But then I recognized the cycle and realized I had to work to stop it.
Because of this, I have shifted gears and am now relaxing, putting a lot less pressure on one particular area and staying creative and joyful about the things I make. I continue to work on marketing for my published book, but I have also been working on a new book that I am writing (My short stories, The Garden and Waldameer, are both sneak peeks into this upcoming book), and short stories that come into my head demanding to be written. Additionally, I have also been working on this space and making little graphics on my iPad with Procreate for them. I have also been making little felt fruits and vegetables!
All of these fun, creative efforts have aided me in becoming more relaxed and excited about what I do. I think it is important for creative people such as myself to realize that even though our work may never be extremely profitable, it does not mean it is devoid of value. Art in and of itself will always be important and hold significance for different individuals, sometimes a lot, other times only oneself. Creative work is something that must come from within and be executed because it is what brings joy and happiness. Because it won’t always bring money.
This being said. One should never give up on the dream of being able to work only at what they love. Because when artists want to make money from their work, I think it is for that reason. The dream is always to be able to make money doing what one loves. If you love it, it doesn’t feel like work. This sometimes takes many attempts and perhaps a lot of time and effort. I think it is still possible, though (but what do I know, I still haven’t made it very far… yet).
To be a creative in a world with fewer than ten percent of careers being in the field of the arts (this includes everything from performing arts to the marketing and sale of art) is a bit tricky to say the least. There are not a lot of opportunities out there. This is something I have been really struggling with since graduating from college this winter…I am now realising how off topic I am…I will wrap this up. All of this is to say: do not put so much of your creative energy into one artistic realm, do not give up on art if attempts at monetization are unsuccessful, and do not surrender the dream of art as a career path, even if the first 1,000 attempts are unsuccessful. 🙂
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