Developing Artist Survival Skills

Sunshine polaroid

I’m not sure whether I’ve mentioned this before on the blog but I recently created an inventory spreadsheet in order to keep track of my ready-for-sale art work. I have a lot of stuff kicking around, most of it left over from the last few shows I’ve put together, and some were created specifically to sell on Etsy. I was surprised by how much stuff I have ready to sell, just sitting around gathering dust and taking up room in my apartment when someone could be buying them. It’s hard to sell things when no one knows they’re there, not even me. Some of the work I’d forgotten about completely until I started the inventory. I won’t forget about them again thanks to my spreadsheet. The next step will be to figure out the what/where/how of making them available for sale.

Where did this brilliant yet simple idea come from you might wonder? From a great book every artist should have called, “Artist Survival Skills: How To Make A Living As A Canadian Visual Artist”, written by Chris Tyrell. Admittedly I haven’t read much of it thus far but I’m off to a great start with the inventory. ๐Ÿ™‚