“But you’re a writer, you’re not an artist!”
(insert mildly derisive tone here)
I hear this from people all the time when I tell them that I help run a website called “Skinny Artist”, and then reveal that I am a writer and not a visual artist. To many people (mostly non-artists) it seems almost blasphemous that I would have the audacity to lump myself into this “Artist” category.
After all, writers think of themselves as writers, musicians think of themselves as musicians, and photographers think of themselves as photographers. Even among the so-called visual artists — painters generally think of themselves as painters, illustrators are illustrators, and crafters are. . . well most crafters are just plain crazy 
. My point here is that no matter what we do, none of us really seem to think of ourselves as a true “Artist”.
So what’s the big deal?!
This may seem like a ridiculous topic for a post, but there’s a reason that we didn’t call this site Skinny Writer (although we could have). In the end it just seemed so limited. I mean why would we want to exclude visual artists, composers, photographers, and musicians from our little community? Sure some of the specific gallery sites differ from one art form to the next, but the overall theme of branding and selling yourself as a working artist is essentially the same.
- How do I build an online presence?
- How do I meet and connect to other artists?
- How do I setup an effective website or blog?
- What’s the best place to sell my work online?
- How can I use YouTube to get people to know who I am?
- What can I get my work noticed online?
- How do other artists get through creative droughts?
- How do I use Twitter, Facebook, and gallery forums to build my identity?
- How can I be more productive and get more done as an artist?
- What tools or techniques should I use to display and sell my art?
The more we talked with different kinds of artists, the more we discovered that these questions applied to any type of creative artist whether they are a painter, photographer, musician, or yes, even a writer. Besides, SkinnyCreativeProfessionals.com just didn’t have the same ring to it.
Why are we afraid of the word “Artist”?
Why do we insist on calling ourselves writers, artists, photographers, musicians, etc.. Is it the fact that we are really that intent on defining ourselves, or is it the fact that we are afraid to call ourselves “Artists”?
If you think this is completely ridiculous, take a moment and say the following sentence out loud a few times and see what you feel:
“I am an Artist.”
How does saying this make you feel? Do you feel confident and worthy of this title, or do you hear that little voice inside of you saying “Yeah right, dream on”?
If you’re like most of the artists we’ve talked to, I would guess that you’re probably a lot closer to that second answer than the first. It seems that most of us tend to shy away from the “Artist” tag because we just don’t feel worthy of it. True artists are people like Picasso, Clapton, Leibovitz, Lennon, Hemmingway, and Versace. In comparison, we feel more like wannabe artists. So instead we end up calling ourselves “Creatives” a word that carries far less emotional baggage and responsibility.
This is a shame because in reality we are all “Artists” because we share that indescribable urge to create something that is completely unnecessary from a practical standpoint. It doesn’t matter if we are creating books, pictures, poems, fashion, drawings, or necklaces; something inside of us demands to create and be heard. This is remarkable because we would much rather struggle to pay the rent every month and create our art, than live a comfortable middle-class existence working 9-5 as a corporate drone.
So what’s your point here, writer man?
My point is that we started Skinny Artist to create a community not just for writers or painters or musicians or photographers or crafters or whatever else it is that you do — Instead we wanted a site where all “Artists” could come together, share their ideas, and figure out how we can eventually live our art without all of the ramen noodles or smelly roommates.
In order to do that, however, we need you to become an active member of our community. We need to hear about your successes, your failures, and the lessons you learned along the way. We want you to use the comment section to share your thoughts, ask questions, tell a story, or simply to say hello to your fellow artists.
Keep in mind that none of us are experts here and we’re all just figuring this out as we go along, so please don’t ever be afraid to share your thoughts. I mean I think it’s pretty obvious by now that I don’t have all the answers. In fact, I’m just here to fill the dead-air until enough of you get sick of hearing me talk and start taking over the site.
The choice is yours. . .
Photo courtesy of Mattox
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I felt like a liar when I said it.
Then again, I am not actually creating anything seriously (yet). I do wish to become one. One of many kinds of arts. Writing, painting, photographing, music… Maybe even digital art and film!
I am almost artist-to-be.
Twitter: SkinnyArtist
says:
I think we all feel still like that on some level. For whatever reason, most of us never feel qualified enough to label ourselves an “Artist” (with a capital “A”) because we are always comparing ourselves to someone who is just a little bit better or has perhaps done this for a little bit longer than we have.
Art in its purest form, however, is more of an internal journey. It’s not about comparing yourself to another artist, it’s about comparing yourself to where you were six months ago as an artist. As long as you are making progress, growing as an artist, and working on your art everyday– I believe that you have the right to call yourself an “Artist” and not back down from it. It’s still far easier said than done, I know. . .
Thanks for stopping by, I hope to hear from you again soon!
Because we are creators of something, perhaps many see the label ‘Artist’ to be giving to the creator by others and not self-imposed. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I consider myself an Artist (capital letter included), but just throwing that out there.
I also see artists creating in whatever medium in order to communicate. So when we have “… that indescribable urge to create something that is completely unnecessary…”, I think it IS necessary to say or point out what you’re trying to express. I guess I would maybe replace “unnecessary” with ‘non-functional’. ?
Just food for thought. Just found your cool website; looking forward to more! Thanks Drew!
Twitter: SkinnyArtist
says:
Hi Tracy! First of all let me apologize for not responding to your comment sooner. From the date on it, it seems to coincide with the great Skinny website meltdown of 2010. . . Not that that’s really an excuse, but for whatever reason it seems to have gotten lost in the great database migration. . .
I think you’re right that one of the roles of the artist is to communicate that which is universal in us all but so difficult to describe. Whether our tools are words, pictures, or colors/shapes we are constantly trying to build that bridge between the conscious world and that which lies hidden within all of us.
Looking back, you’re right that “unnecessary” was probably a poor choice of words. I was attempting to describe the general public’s perception of art as a “luxury” or non-essential item — to the artist, of course, it is not only necessary, but completely unavoidable.
Thanks again Tracy for sharing your thoughts with us and now that I know where to find you, I’m looking forward to reading more from you on your own site.
All the best
I admit that I always feel weird calling myself an artist. I am one by all meanings of the word. But I tend to dumb it down and become specific by saying I’m a cartoonist.
Then again, I’m one to always compare myself to the next person. I know I shouldn’t do it, but I almost can’t help it.
At the moment I’m more of a hobbyist more than anything since I’m still a student. I’ve tried doing a little commission work on the side, but balancing animation work with commissions is a harder task than I believed it was. My focus now is just on the school side of things while drawing sparingly for myself in whatever free time I might have.
Twitter: SkinnyArtist
says:
I think we all feel a little weird telling people that we are artists, writers, photographers, or whatever because 99% of the people out there have no idea what that really means. . .
If you think about it, virtually everything the general public knows about artists and writers comes from television or movies. This means that visual artists generally come off as a cross between a counter-culture hippies and raving lunatics, and writers are generally either alcoholic manic-depressives or pot-smoking slackers who are living in their mother’s basement.
Sure these are just stereotypes, but it’s an image that seems to be firmly stuck in the public’s consciousness. So when someone asks us what we do, we either become defensive and apologetic, or we simply try to avoid the whole situation by never leaving our house in the first place.
Since you’re in school in the moment, you have the luxury of working on your art and being an undercover artist while still being able to tell people you’re a college student, which everyone including parents love to hear. It’s the best of both worlds if you really think about it. Just remember that if you don’t have a job lined up by the time you graduate, start applying to graduate schools. . . . just kidding (kind of)
Personally I like to tell people that I am a sculptor, even though I also consider myself a photographer and, at times, an amateur writer. I do this not because I am afraid of being an artist but because when I’m trapped in a small-talk situation I like to direct the conversation to something a little more bearable. I simply got sick of the same conversation over and over –
Random person making small talk: “What do you do?”
Me: “I’m an artist.”
Random person: “Oh, what do you paint?”
I’ve lost track of the number of times this has happened. Since I don’t even know the first thing about painting having not done it since kindergarten, I tend to get very annoyed with this response. It makes me feel defensive of what I do and who I am when somebody I don’t even know has already formulated an idea of me from a simple two-sentence conversation.
Personally I love the reaction I get when I say that I am a sculptor. Most people don’t have an immediate response. I watch them pause and think about how to ask their next question. I imagine when they think of “artist” they immediately think of the go-to generic version of an artist in their head (a painter, usually Picasso or maybe a cartoon image of a man with a beret and a palette). When they hear “sculptor” they probably don’t have an immediate image in their head so they are forced to think about the conversation or let it die. And in my experience I get much more interesting questions in response to the term “sculptor” than to the term “artist” – usually something along the lines of “What medium to you work in?”
But, then again, sometimes they assume that sculptor means potter and they start to ask me about my kiln. At least they are in the same neighborhood of art. I think that the term “artist” is too broad of a description in most situations. Think of the word “professional”. A professional can be any number of types of professions, but when you hear somebody say “this is a building full of young professionals,” it’s more than likely you will conjure up the image of business suits and early bed times. In my opinion, if you are trying to describe yourself during a conversation, especially in a networking situation, it’s better to be specific. Even within artistic mediums there is need to be specific. I once had a coworker do a whole song and dance about a large-scale metal garden sculpture she wanted to commission from me until I finally had to stop her to let her know that the polymer clay miniatures I created were a far cry from the type of work she was interested in.
Twitter: SkinnyArtist
says:
First of all, I have to agree with you on hating the whole “What do you do?” question. I think you’re right when you say that people seem to have a lot of preconceived ideas as to what an “artist” or a “writer” is, or at least should be.
Not to mention the fact that, unless we’re on a first date and trying to impress the other person with our superior listening skills, we are usually having this conversation pretty much on auto-pilot anyway. It’s just kind of the script we follow to fill up the awkward silence after we run out of things to say about the weather. Usually you can tell is someone is really interested in “what you do” or if they are simply going through the motions. If they are really interested, I’ll usually go into more detail, otherwise I’ll give them the standard “I’m a writer” reply and wait for the inevitable “Oh that’s interesting. I have a friend who. . . “