Art Art Art & Money Money Money

Andy Mouse - Keith Haring

The Museum of Modern Art helped raise me.

When I was young, my friends and I would take the F train from Queens to 53rd Street and go hang out at the Museum of Modern Art -or as we called it, "the Museum"--or we’d head all the way up to the the tip of Manhattan to hang out at the Cloisters - where we’d examine the Unicorn tapestries.

It is because I saw the big, soft, rumpled, fabric hamburger -  filed with foam rubber - at a Claus Oldenberg  exhibit at MoMA, ---and that my grandfather was in the fabric biz, that I’m an artist in business.

I seemed perfectly possible to pursue my dreams and make a living.

I’m here to urge you to go into business.

Small biz - micro biz, art biz is what makes capitalism fun! We are the verve meisters.

Go into business - become part of the world of commerce. Figure out how to make some money from your art.

Painting nudes

Us artist have it so good.

In art school, we live in creative hives.

We can follow sparks of imagination to see where they lead, which is always to something else. We can record traffic and make it music, print our own art money like Andy Warhol---invite an audience to the forest for an outdoor, nature symphony - like John Cage --and---we get to take classes where we stare at nudes and draw them. It’s a good life.

...and then we graduate and leave the paradise.

So many of us wonder what we’ll do with our degrees.

• Will we be able to get a job?
•  Make a living?
•  Are we destined to work in restaurants?
•  What will we do?

For people who want to be a doctor, lawyer, accountant, nurse ---it is indeed a good idea to pursue those professions.

For those of us who think putting paint on a canvas is heaven, composing a photo, writing a novel, making a movie or directing a play are the things that make a life meaningful ---don’t be swayed into becoming someone you aren’t don't go for plan B - don’t disrespect your own talents.



  Learn how to write a proposal, write an invoice and reel in the job. It’s exciting to be involved in the mainstream conversation.

As Andy Warhol said, “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art."

©Jennifer Smith 2016 - Artist in the Material World

Go!

There are many meccas. For artists, it’s NYC.

On the strength of a nice, little grant from The National Endowment for the Arts, in the 70’s, I headed to NYC.

I had no job, but I knew a few people. I knew I could land and sleep on someone’s couch for awhile. That was enough. It was a good move. I could take in the art movements from around the world and found my little niche in that world. Thrilling!

The other day, I gave a talk to a bunch of business students at Morehead University - in a lovely, small town in the midst of Kentucky’s rolling hills.

In telling my story, my hope was it would give students courage to follow their heart - not just make rational decisions.

Rational decisions are over-rated. What’s rational to one person may be seen as totally crazy by another.

Say, someone wants to be an opera singer. That person will hear, from people who may never have listened to opera --- and really don’t know what they are talking about ---- that they will never make any money pursuing an opera career.

Don’t listen to them!

Instead, Go to Italy, Go to NYC, go to places where opera is valued.

Sing!

Want my advice to students?

Go! Follow your dreams. Want to work in the tech world - Go to Silicon Valley, or Houston, Boston or Hyerabad in India. Want to dance - Go to NYC. Is there a place you’ve always wanted to live? Go there. You will find work you love because you love the place.

Go to your Mecca. You will be rewarded and enriched.

In Praise of Foolish Decisions

Drawing by Anne Avery Dougans

I'm in favor of foolish decisions. We have this one precious life. Our time to make a mark, to have some fun, to set out on an adventure to make discoveries and to screw things up.

No life is perfect, nothing is guaranteed. It won't be a smooth ride. There will be bumps and crashes. Things will fall apart. Dreams will be dashed, we may not climb the highest mountain.

But we will have stories. We will know some fascinating people. We will be a fascinating person for going after the foolish ---the artistic moment, the vision, the move, the boyfriend, the husband, the babies.

For me, following the muse has lead me into a world of creation. Sometimes I look around the mascot studio where we might be making a rainbow bellied dinosaur, collecting fabric swatches for some imaginary critter and shaping foam for some buff, muscular mascot.

All of the foolish decisions have lead me to my very own little piece of heaven.

©Jennifer Smith 2015

Spreadsheets & Negotiating for Artists

Spreadsheets are sexy!

With a spreadsheet, I can estimate how long each part of the job will take and how much the materials will cost. It's exciting to get to the final number, the bottom line - the great reveal!

At AvantGarb, my little mascot biz, there are many different jobs---designers, pattern drafters, stitchers, sales people, painters, IT people, web gurus, the HR department, the benefit package, accountants. estimators, and oh-my-goodness-this floor-needs-to-be-swept people. At one time or other, all of those people were me. Sometimes, they still are.

When deciding how much to charge attach a cost to each job. Some jobs may be $35/hr, some may have a set $2500 cost, some may be $225/hour, some $75/hour. Even if one person does all of the jobs, attach a cost to each specialty.

Put together a spreadsheet to get a sense for the real cost and extent of the project. Attached is a sample spread sheet that AvantGarb uses. It's for making mascots ---yours will certainly be different labor titles and headings --- this is merely a sample.

It's simple, yet it gives us a handle on costs and time. A spread sheet is for the business's information. It is not a document to share with clients.



When negotiating, it's good to have what you propose in writing. People hear what they want to hear. Put it in writing.

We put together a pretty specific proposal when we're going after a mascot job. We have a description of each part, fabric choices, a bit about mascot engineering, some photos of relevant mascot, a select list of clients and projects.

We have a separate costs page where everything is listed. 

We list all the parts of the mascot - head, body, mascot clothing, etc and put one cost for those items. It's not a menu. We don't separate cost for materials and labor. That might or might not work for everyone.

There is also a heading for Additional/Optional item. Something the client might want, but hasn't thought of.

I always use a spreadsheet to keep me based in reality.

You may have clients that want a fabulous production with fabulous clothes, a mural in their restaurant, a commissioned installation. Give them a cost. You may be surprised to learn how much wiggle room there is in the client's budget.

Under-pricing creative work is too expensive for the artist and practically guarantees tension between the artist/designer and the client. 

Why are spreadsheets sexy? 

They let you know what your work is worth, and with a good number in hand, the relationship with the client might be as much fun as dancing the waltz of the booga-loo.
 
xo Jennifer - An Artist in the Material World

©Jennifer Smith 2015

Flirting is Marketing / Marketing is Flirting

Putting on the lipstick & the heels!

When I start complaining to my, sometimes exasperated, staff that we will have no work after we finish whatever mascot we are working on....

....and we will be absolutely out of money,
.....nobody will ever want a mascot again
......we are finished, kaput, done
.......and we will have to auction everything off for a mere pittance

They all roll their eyes and get back to what ever they were doing. They have heard my sad refrain before.

Then someone says, "Start flirting!"

Heels and lipstick

There was a woman who worked for me many, many years ago. She, too, had heard my sad refrain one time too many. She finally said, "Put on your heels and bring in some work!" I did. That's when I realized, marketing is like flirting. 

If I've worn some sensible shoes to work, I take them off and put on my emergency, cowgirl boots w/ heels, put some color on my lips and get down to the business flirting ---really marketing, but aren't both pretty much the same?

In marketing you want to:

• Attract clients.
• Present your best self for the business.
• Inspire trust and be trustworthy
• Put forth a proposal
• Work on the relationship
• Close the deal

Kinda like flirting.

The Mascot Studio - Favorite photos - Artists in the Material World

Some mascot makers at AvantGarb Mascots - Kristin, Megan and Anne and the Loudmouth Fish

Laura shows off her muscles!

I bought a "Boss Lady" tee shirt & it inspired a whole outfit - complete w/ my aunt's pearls and a fake, turquoise Rolex

Mike is wearing shades made for a tiger  - as well as a stylish tee.

Mike wearing Floyd the Monster's back legs - w/ Peter, out male mannequin

Anne w/ and awfully nice tail

Dave with Tivo inner structures

A very small part of the Mascot Wall of Fame

The wall of lost mascot parts - a moose tail - moose don't really have tails, a hand w/ too many fingers, a penguin crotch, a too short jaguar tail.....

Art Biz & Hiring

When first started AvantGarb (we're a custom, mascot making company),  I was the only employee. I did everything, designed, made the mascots, shipped them, did the marketing ---everything.

Quickly, I realized I was going to have to hire people. Just as employees have a learning curve at a new job, I had a learning curve as a boss. I'm still learning.

Hiring people is a puzzle. In a an arty biz like mine, creative decisions and problem solving are constant. Intuitive, improvisational communication is the lifeblood of the business.

We make mascots, which are like costumes and also like really, really big props. There is a huge amount of something I call, "non-specific engineering" that goes into them. We're engineering with foam, zippers and quick release buckles. It's a type of construction that requires whims of imagination and flights of fancy. 

Those with the most experience may not be the best ones for the job. 

Yup, it's true. We can teach someone to sew ---after all, sewing machines are really just power tools, and power tools are fun! It's hard to teach someone to take courageous, creative leaps
 - creative leaps and courage are so much harder than learning to sew.

When I started hiring people, I was interested in experience in making costumes and education. My hiring requirements have evolved over time. Education is nice, but I also want to know that there is something behind the education---like the habit of work. 
I hire from a wide range of sources. Currently we have some puppet/performance art people, theater prop people, a philosophy major who really understands interior, mascot structures, a cosplay person, a fashion person ---who always wears great clothes, a 2D artist who has a real knack for mascot shoes and accessories (in mascotdom, tails are accessories) and a former bartender who is totally charming on the phone and online, and understands quickbooks and social media.

It is a magical group. I look forward to working with them every day