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Welcome to Your Art Is A Spell, the podcast that ignites inspiring and transformative conversations about art as a magical practice. I'm your host, Edgar Fabián Frías—a multi-passionate artist, witch, therapist, and proud mutant shape-shifter. My art spells have reached audiences through social media, billboards, and skyscrapers and have even been placed on the surface of the moon! Join us as we explore how reclaiming your unique artistic voice and embracing bold creativity can transform your life and the world around you. Subscribe to the podcast and sign up for our newsletter at www.yourartisaspell.com to stay connected!
welcome your art is a spell and it will
change your life and the world around
you hello and welcome or welcome back to Your
Art is a Spell i'm your host Edgar Fabian Frias
and today I'm about to shatter some myths about
being an artist and making money if you've ever
thought I can't make a living from art or artists
are destined to struggle financially there's only
starving artists well this episode is going to
blow your mind today I'm sharing not just 10
not 20 not even 50 but 60 different ways that
you can make money as an artist that's right
income streams that could potentially transform
your artistic practice into a sustainable career
i want this video to be a resource for you so grab
your notebook take some notes because at least a
few of these ideas are going to spark something
inside of you but before I share the 60 ways that
you can make money as an artist I want to talk
about something really important the mindset
shift that has to happen when you transition
from being an employee to being an artist
i want to emphasize that this list is not meant
to overwhelm you it's meant to inspire you and
help you find the couple of avenues that resonate
most with you as you're trying to make some money
you do not need to do all 60 of these things
that would be physically impossible find the
ones that light you up and focus on them here's
the truth being an artist means you're not just
only creating art that is definitely the fantasy
when I first started wanting to become an artist
I thought I would spend most of my time in the
studio playing around with paints and fabrics but
when you're an artist you're playing multiple
roles yes you're an artist but you're also a
manager a promoter a marketer and a business
owner it's crucial to recognize these different
hats that you'll wear and to know when it makes
sense to either hire someone or to take some time
to invest in yourself and learn about a new field
of study or practice one of the biggest lessons
I've learned early on as a working artist was the
importance of decoupling the connection between
time and money this is essential for two reasons
first as an artist you're no longer working in
the traditional hourly way you might do a lot of
work for free initially and you'll likely have a
lot more time than money when you're beginning
it's important to invest this time into your
practice and your work believing that it will pay
off trust me it will second by becoming an artist
you're opening up yourself to being paid for many
different activities services and products you're
also opening up to making vastly different
amounts of money in ways that could surprise
you i also want to emphasize the learning and
growing component of being an artist yes it's
a lot of work to learn to do so many different
things this constant learning also makes you
capable of doing much more than you might realize
it actually makes you someone who can fit into
a variety of professions and institutional
spaces don't be surprised when institutions
start coming to you wanting to hire you because of
the unique combination of skills you've developed
artists are problem solvers and creative thinkers
and that's so incredibly valuable in today's world
let me share a personal story about this when I
first started working part-time as a therapist and
dedicating the rest of my time to my art practice
I had a conversation with my mom who was really
worried about me for not having a full-time job
and I remember saying to her "Yes mom i could go
to work today and make like $250 maybe $300 today
or alternatively I can use that same day to apply
to a couple of grant exhibition or residency
opportunities that could potentially make me
$20,000 for that same day's work what's wild is
that just a couple of months after me saying this
to my mom I was awarded a 2-year artist residency
in Tulsa Oklahoma with an annual stipend of you
guessed it $20,000 plus housing plus a studio
and transportation was all covered needless
to say my mom learned to believe me after that
experience so without further ado let's get into
the 60 ways that you can make money as an artist
starting today okay the first one we're going to
start with is teaching and education this is a
path a lot of artists take so you could teach
workshops or classes in your artistic medium
either in person or online offering one-on-one
art instruction or coaching for dedicated students
who want personalized attention being a visiting
artist at schools universities or art centers
creating online courses that teach your unique
art techniques or approaches to art and then now
the second category is grants and institutional
funding you can apply to artist residencies
that have stipends that will help you make
money while you focus on your art you can apply
for art grants and fellowships from government
agencies foundations or nonprofits you can help
facilitate community based art projects with grant
funding this is something if you're in Los Angeles
there's a lot of money for this kind of work you
can work as an artist in residence at businesses
hospitals or community organizations and now we're
going to move to traditional art sales so of
course creating and selling your work as an
artist through a gallery that's a big way that
a lot of artists make money selling art directly
through your website or at art fairs creating
commissioned artworks for people who specifically
want something from you selling prints of your
original works at various price points for greater
accessibility and now we're moving to digital and
new media you could create and sell digital art as
NFTs in online marketplaces you can license your
art for commercial use on products or in media
you can create content for places like here like
on YouTube or through podcasts or even on social
media and monetize through ads and sponsorships
putting a little plug if anyone wants to sponsor
an episode of Your Art is a Spell hi I'm here
reach out you can also create art for video
games or apps as a freelancer now with that we
move into design and commercial work you can
design merchandise like t-shirts mugs tote bags
stickers and pins that feature your art you can
illustrate books or create book covers for
publishers or self-publishing authors you can
create album artwork for musicians and bands you
can design logos or branding for businesses that
want to stand out with a unique aesthetic so now
we're going to move to performance and speaking
opportunities so you can do paid performances of
your art whether it's dance spoken word music or
performance art and you could busk on the street
performing music on the street doing something
weird on the street people love to give out money
to folks who are on the street entertaining you
can speak on panels about your art practice i've
definitely been paid many times for doing that
work you can also host artist residencies you
can create a space for other artists to focus
on their own craft and now we're moving on to
writing and publishing you can write or publish
books about your artistic techniques your journey
your history your process you can create coloring
books or activity books based on your art style
you can write articles for magazines or online
publications you can self-publish art books
featuring collections of your work and moving
on to subscription and membership models you can
start a Patreon or a similar platform for ongoing
support from your community you can run an art
subscription box service with monthly deliveries
of your art or supplies you can host a membership
website with exclusive tutorials behind-the-scenes
content and build community that way too and now
we're moving on to crowdfunding and community
support you can crowdfund for specific art
projects through platforms like Kickstarter
GoFundMe or similar platforms you can host virtual
gallery tours of your art with suggested donations
you can organize community art events with
tickets that you sell or participation fees
for artists if you're providing the space and
maybe curatorial support and now we're moving
on to art services you can offer photography
services for other artists or for people's events
you can offer documentation for exhibitions
for galleries for artists you can work as an
art curator at a gallery in a business or for a
special exhibition you can offer art consultation
for collectors or interior designers looking to
purchase art or you can support emerging artists
who are wanting to become more established so then
we're moving on to specialized artistic services
you can create custom murals for homes businesses
or public spaces you can offer art experiences for
people or for groups you can create custom tattoo
designs for clients or for tattoo artists or shops
you can design fabric patterns for commercial use
for fashion houses or for in home decoration and
now we're moving on to magical and spiritual
art you can create a tarot or an oracle deck
you can offer magical art rituals or ceremonies as
special events you can create custom altar pieces
or magical tools you can create energy infused
artworks that have a specific intention or spell
in them you can create artistic divination
tools or systems that are unique to your own
practice to support other people you can design
personalized astrology artwork for people you
can make art that's inspired by the tarot now
we're moving to production and direction you
can do art direction for films for music videos or
photo shoots you can work as a concept artist for
films video games or even television and now we're
moving on to collaborations and cross promotions
you can collaborate with brands to create limited
edition products that feature your art you can
co-create with other artists to develop unique
offerings that combine your skills you can
partner with musicians or performers to create
live art experiences with ticket sales you can
create artwork for special causes that is funded
by nonprofits that focus on these causes okay and
here are some like random additional ideas of how
to make money as an artist you can host artbased
team building workshops for businesses and
corporations i've actually done this it is quite
lucrative you can create exclusive artwork for
luxury brands or VIP clients you can create guided
art visualizations or meditative experiences with
your artwork you can develop artbased games or
interactive experiences that highlight your art
you can publish digitally a comic book a zine
something that you offer as an ebook and sell it
through your communities okay I think that was 60
let me know if there's any other ideas that you
have about how artists can make money so here
are some closing thoughts going through this list
I'm sure you might feel overwhelmed or wonder how
to choose where to start remember this list
is meant to inspire you not pressure you my
advice is to begin with what excites you the most
what feels most aligned with your current work or
what requires the least amount of additional
skills to implement pick just two or three
at the most to focus on at first remember that
building multiple income streams is often the
key to having a sustainable art practice you might
find that different approaches work better during
different parts of the year during different
seasons or phases in your own career but I want
to share an important caveat here part of being a
dealmaker as an artist is learning that contracts
are a conversation let me know if you want me to
make a whole podcast episode about contracts cuz
I'd love to talk more about them but I feel like
when I first started working with contracts they
seemed like a fixed document but they're not
they are the beginning they're the entry point
to a conversation with you and the person that you
are working with or the entity or the business or
nonprofit that you're working with and it's a way
to start talking about the work that you're about
to embark on together please do not be afraid to
ask for changes make sure that you are protecting
yourself and that you also are protecting your
intellectual property and that you feel good about
the way you are being treated in exchange for
your work i learned this the hard way there was
a project I was super excited about early on in
my career it seemed prestigious and like a really
great opportunity but the contract that they sent
me had terms in it that did not protect my work
and did not compensate me fairly when I asked
for changes they were very resistant and acted
like I should just be grateful for receiving the
opportunity i was so eager to take the opportunity
that I almost signed it anyway but something
just did not feel right i ultimately let the
opportunity go which was painful and difficult
at the time but I learned over time it's better
to let go of a project or a contract where it
either doesn't feel good or the other people
don't want to budge than to continue to go deeper
into relationship with someone who doesn't value
or understand your needs trust me on this one the
right opportunities will come along where people
will respect your boundaries and your needs as
a professional the beauty of being an artist
is that the possibilities are literally endless
your creative skills can translate into so many
different forms of value that people are willing
to pay for and here's one last thought sometimes
the most lucrative opportunities come from the
most unexpected places or from a combination of
these different approaches or ideas stay open stay
curious and most importantly continue to develop
your own unique artistic voice that's ultimately
what will draw people to your work and will also
set you apart from all the other artists working
out there next week we'll be talking with Eva
Aguila who is an incredible multimedia artist the
founder of the Coaxial Arts Foundation in downtown
Los Angeles and also the next artist to be given
a solo exhibition at the Vincent Price Art Museum
in East LA until then remember that your art is a
spell and it will change your life and the world
around you thank you for listening to Your Art
is a Spell if you've enjoyed this episode please
rate review and share it with other creative
souls who might benefit if you're on YouTube I
invite you to leave a comment subscribe and share
it with a friend this season I will be picking one
lucky person to receive a free 30 minute tarot
reading with me from those who leave me a review
on Apple Podcast or Spotify until next time keep
creating and casting your magic into the world