Comments on: Why Having No Boundaries Is Killing Your Art Career

By: Managing Time and People Boundaries As An Artist - ts, Artists, Artwork

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 13:30:45 +0000

[…] resolution for an artist might be to spend less time on social media. It is also important to set boundaries in terms of time and energy. You should not feel like you have to be available to your customers 24/7. It is okay to set office […]

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By: Marcie Connally

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 15:28:22 +0000

I just can’t figure out how to carve out the time for my portrait/art photography career. I have a wife who has TWO careers, so she’s never home, and we have a son with special needs who literally takes every ounce of energy I have (and requires full attention when we are at home). He’ll be going to school in a couple of weeks, so that gives me about four hours a day to “work”, but……no one else is available to shoot during the middle of the day on a weekday. Essentially, that time could be used for editing, but if I’m not producing images, I’ve got nothing to work on. My work (primarily) needs to be shot either very early in the morning, or the hour or two before the sunset. That leaves the weekends….and of course my family isn’t thrilled with me needing that time for work (because they want to enjoy the weekend too).

I’m just at my wit’s end with feeling like my creativity is being choked; the sense of annoyance I get from family who clearly doesn’t understand or care about the specific needs I have to get work produced; and the sense of judgement I feel from them for wanting to create art that doesn’t necessarily make money (unless it sells), but does provide exposure and great personal fulfillment.

I know my work is very good, and always improving, but sometimes I just feel like I should give up because the mounting frustration I feel at not being able to get what I need creatively just makes things worse. I’m feeling more and more resentful on a daily basis, and I hate myself for it….and then I get angry at myself for accepting that I have no control over the situation.

Suggestions?

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By: Mark Eliot Schwabe

Sat, 28 Jan 2017 14:25:21 +0000

Alyson,

Just got around to reading this.

LOVE THE LINE: “They have no right to poop on your dreams.”

I promise to defend my dreams against these poopers!

Mark

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By: Michelle Sirois-Silver

Sun, 15 Jan 2017 20:26:26 +0000

Alyson, terrific post. Yeah… setting boundaries and saying no have been a challenge for me. One distraction seems to lead into another and before I know it the morning has gone without any work done, sometimes it turns into an entire week, I call it the creep factor. Consistency is another big challenge so this year I’m trying something different — scheduling specific days for specific tasks. Three days a week for studio, two days a week for marketing, adminstrative, and workshop prep. So when someone needs to meet with me (work related, lunch, a visit to a gallery), I schedule it into a marketing day so that I don’t break the studio momentum. I also added a flex day on Saturdays because the reality is that my life can be unpredictable and stuff happens. The past week has been one of those unpredicatable times with two sick family members in the house along with having the main floor of our home painted… and it’s Sunday and I’m playing catch up with adminstrative work and yes I’m feeling some stress because I’m falling behind some of my commitments. But at the same time I know it’ll be alright because I believe that the schedule I made along with some of the systems that are already in place, are giving me something to fall back on so that things are not falling between the cracks. I know this may sound odd, but the schedule & systems are not only helping me to stay focused, but they seem to be giving me permission to say “no” to the non essentials and distractions and help to keep the boundaries intact. It’s a work in progress. 😉

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By: E.LeMaster

Sun, 15 Jan 2017 08:01:54 +0000

Hey, is there any other artists who are juggling toddlers too? Any helpful tips on how to keep an art career going AND be a good mother/wife/house keeper?

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By: Long John Logo

Sun, 15 Jan 2017 01:04:34 +0000

Great post! One of my boundaries is that I need to be left alone to work. Its to easy to get distracted. People think because you work for yourself, you can take off when ever or they can come by whenever. But it takes a lot of time a discipline to be a a professional creative or artist.

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By: Susan Klinger

Sat, 14 Jan 2017 14:54:36 +0000

In reply to Alyson Stanfield.

Alyson, have you ever done a blog post about pricing custom work? I would think many of us could benefit from your take on that.

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By: Liz Stubbs

Sat, 14 Jan 2017 13:28:14 +0000

Love your posts… thank you for sharing your recommended tools and strategies! One HUGE shift I am enjoying this new year relates to protecting my creative morning time. I rise early each day for the hours of me-time in which I walk my pup, jog and write, sketch, and work on my photography series. The shift that is the most surprisingly beneficial (and surprisingly challenging to practice) is I don’t check my email before 10AM. Period. I get easily distracted by replying to emails or spinning off in directions prompted by email. And giving myself a focused morning spent on creative energy, inspiration, action and pondering, I find I am much happier, at ease and energized about the rest of the day feeling I have done my important work to begin the day. And outside of my creative world, nothing yet has suffered by not getting my attention before 10. Thanks again for all you share!

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By: Debra Inman

Fri, 13 Jan 2017 21:08:49 +0000

Thank you, Alyson, for sharing and for creating this space for connection with other artists. The encouragement to set boundaries is grounding me in the personal reality of being an artist (actually a jeweler). I’ve gotten off track from because of all the time I have spent with post-election citizen-self making. That’s been necessary, so fine, but this will be my first year of doing my jewelry making full-time and I have a lot of organizational as well as creative work ahead. I’m very glad to have your guidance and to be part of this conversation and to envision myself being successful and happy doing what I love which is being creative and successful. Thanks again!

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By: Sandra Cutrer

Fri, 13 Jan 2017 13:47:41 +0000

In reply to Alyson Stanfield.

That sounds like a great idea! Thanks so much for sharing your tips and professional advice. God bless, and Happy New Year to you and yours!

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