art business Archives

Changing plans

In Uncategorized by RChrystal / February 14, 2023 / No comments

During the past few weeks, I’ve been working on art-related projects – learning to use a tablet, setting up a shop page on my website (and all the logistics that entails), researching tax law and whether I can/should charge sales tax, submitting writing to contests, and generally making a flailing attempt at becoming An Artist, by which I mean someone who earns money for creative work. (Obviously this isn’t the actual definition of an artist, but it’s generally what one thinks when one hears the term.) My latest venture was to visit the Maker’s Mill in my town, where creative entrepreneurs and hobbyists can pay a membership fee to use any equipment in the building (as long as they’re certified), and there was a lot of equipment. I drooled all over the tour, resisting the urge to touch routers, lathes, sanders, looms, sewing machines, leather crafting tools, jewelry making sets, 3d printers… As soon as I got home, I filled out a volunteer application form in the hopes of getting a discount on the membership fee and making myself a permanent installation in the makerspace.

But some circumstances have changed.

And, at the end of the day, I don’t feel capable of optimistic dreaming, or, speaking more practically, managing the stress of ordinary adult life as well as managing a business, as well as being creative for a living, as well as marketing my art. It’s a lot to handle on a good day, and right now, it’s too much.

So I closed the shop side of my website and logged out of Instagram. I’m starting to throw out applications for regular ol’ 9-5 jobs, and checking for available housing all over my state in case I have to relocate. I’m trying not to entertain the possibility of leaving New Hampshire; the big wide world is too full of options for me to make that decision without a reason to go (i.e. a job first).

Someone I know describes moments like these as turning points – when multiple big changes happen in close succession, usually unsought. Sometimes life turns the corner for you, and it’s all you can do to go with the flow.

(The illustration at the top is of a card I sent to an older lady living alone, which is mostly unrelated to this post, but I felt like it needed to be art-related somehow.)

Fortune favors the wise

In Uncategorized by RChrystal / February 2, 2023 / No comments

I think the trick to being a successful adventurer is more or less the same as it is for being a successful anything – knowing when to walk away. Obviously, it’s a very D&D-inspired piece (I still haven’t actually played proper D&D…), colored with a bit of personal self-doubt: careful not to reach too far, or your lofty aim might be the end of you.

In the few weeks (almost three) since leaving my job at the bookstore, I’ve been working on a few art-related things:

Learning how to do digital art (and develop a style? or not)
Learning all about sales tax, income tax, self-employed tax, small business tax, hobby vs. business, &c
Photographing and editing art pieces to digitize
Setting up my shop page for integration with a print-on-demand platform
Other non-art adult things like adjusting health insurance and filing taxes

I haven’t come across very many artists or professional hobbyists who talk much about the pain in the butt which is learning how to not only make art, but also sell it, and also remain tax compliant. I don’t quite understand why – it’s hugely time-consuming and often confusing. There’s a lot of work that goes into earning income from art (or any kind of self-employed-ish skill), and a lot of passwords that are all jumbled in my head.

Sometimes I think I’m on the wrong track. I don’t want to own a business, or be famous, or (over)think about being spread all over the internet. I just want to stay at home and make recycled paper.