It’s all about connections.

Connecting to the art and with people. Journal entry 02

So I was doing my morning pages this week and just when I’d got to the point of not knowing what to write next, something interesting happened. As I urged myself to do one more page, these thoughts rolled into my head- it’s all about connection. And not just one connection but multiple. It was a lightbulb moment that this is the missing piece to my art practice. Let me start from the beginning…

You see, I was pondering over my other businesses, I have two. My ceramics and a floral stying one. Both are successful and I sell work through websites, have an engaged audience and I love what I do. I love flowers and creating beauty. It’s my biggest drive- to create beautiful things, be it a garden, a piece of art, even my home. I’m deeply connected to the process and I document it everyday. I share my thoughts and passions, and what I’ve been doing- with likeminded people on instagram. There are at least three connections there, the one with my love of the flowers, my audiences shared love of flowers and then the connection back to me as the creator of the images and words. It occurred to me that what they buy from me is more about the relationship I have with them than the actual piece of work. It’s something that’s relatable in some way and brings that sense of connection between individuals. The link between my work and engaged people are the stories and passion I share about what drives and inspires me- nature, gardens and rustic homes. This is the missing link from my art practice.

I’d got good at showing up with ‘look at my painting’ and ‘here’s another painting’ and ‘this is me painting’ but I’ve been missing the integral part- Why I paint, my connection to my work, my loves and inspirations. Missing these things means I have no connection to people that would love my art. I have the attention of other artists, which is still great as artists buy from artists. However, I want to reach more people with interests the same as mine. So I need to show up by sharing my connections to my paintings and showing my personality. I already know this will work as I’ve done it already with my other businesses.

I’m sharing this now in case it might help you too. I want to start by talking about my connection to my art and what drives it. It’s not just a love of painting, I’m interested in so many things and these are the things that make my work have personality. For example- I love my garden, quirky interiors, I love walking and seeing the seasons shift and I love vintage stuff. Now if I can get these out there in front of people with the same interests- I’d of made my first connection. The only way to do this is to share these things on my channels- instagram and journals along with my art. It’s going to take a while I think for the algorithm to get the hang of what I’m doing so I’m not expecting instant success with this. I’m going to start with a higher ratio of my interests to art and see how that goes. I’m still keeping it clear I’m an artist but I want to bring in that other level of interest. I’ll keep you updated with how this goes.

Studio news this week- I started three new works in oil, they are soaking wet and I’ve stalled slightly as I now have to reorganise my space. I’m pondering over painting some watercolours whilst the oils dry.

Going down to a small base level income is a rollercoaster of emotions. There have been moments of panic when I’ve thought- just quickly make some mugs or go and do a workshop. But I’m holding my nerve right now, it’s interesting seeing where my mind goes and I feel lucky to have a tiny income from some hairdressing where I spend only an hour a week, so it gives me lots of time for my art practice. Limiting my earnings has got me thinking more about my art on a business level and I’m sure it would of taken me longer to realise I needed to do more than post art pics, if I wasn’t suddenly needing to really make this work!

See you next week.

Emma x