Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hello, My name is Sandra Clark. And welcome to build your creative business, a Siris for artists and makers in build your creative business, Siri's I break down everything that you're going to need for your creative artistic business into four modules. And in each of those modules are lessons. Let's go over what we're going to be doing. The first thing we're gonna do is write an effective artist, bile. Then we're gonna update your artist's statement, revise your CV or your artist resume, and then we're gonna talk about the money. We're gonna talk about pricing your art, taking into consideration income goals that you have for yourself and your business. We're also going to talk about wholesale and retail markets in the next module. We're going to move online and talk about markets that you can explore there as well a selling in boutiques, a museum, shops and also how to expand your product, your art into a service. Or if you have a service how to expand into creating a product, then we're gonna wrap it all up by assembling your cohesive brand. We're gonna polish your marketing plan and talk about continued learning in this first lesson artist bio. We're going to create a really impressive bio that will impress art directors and curators with your creative story. Artists need tools on one of the most important tools is an artist bio. An artist. Bio or biography is important information about you, the artists rather than the artwork. An artist needs a bile for call for submissions to art galleries and events, writing a proposal toe art directors and curators. XYZ and music producers. Interviews for media blocks, television podcasts, which are really important right now. And magazines. You'll also need one for public relations and marketing catalogs and portfolios and for your art music theater, an artist, residency grant proposals and, of course, your website. Who is this course? Four new artists who have never written their story in a bio. It's for emerging artists who have some experience, but they'd like some help writing an impressive bile. And it's also for established artists wanting to refresh their bio and see what's new out there. The definition of artists in the framework of this class includes fine art, visual art, painters, illustrators, photographers, graphic designers, coloring book artists, writers, animators, musicians, Potter's fashion, knitting Crow Shea, where wearable art actors and so many more genres building your portfolio correctly will result in a polished professional appeal that will propel your creative business in the right direction. In this course about artist bio, we're gonna talk about the technical criteria you'll need, what art directors and curators expect to read in your bio, our education shows and exhibitions, any extraordinary achievements. And we'll talk about what I mean by that. In the course and examples of artist bio, many artists dread having to write their creative story. They fear they don't have enough experience to impress curate er's and art directors. Sometimes they might have too much experience and get bogged down with making decisions on what to put in their story. I love the challenge of tackling words, experience and story to create fascinating collateral supporting my artwork in my brand. An artist bio is an essential marketing tool that moves your creative business forward. Your bio has the power to create positive buzz that will result in more sales that keep you in the freelance art career that you love. If you have any questions at all about this course, you can email me, Sandra at Sandra clark dot c A. Or you can join the private Facebook group facebook dot com slash groups slash build your creative business. I look forward to seeing you in the course.
2. Technical Criteria: there are a couple of technical criteria points that remain art industry standards, saying that it's still okay to occasionally break the rules when it makes sense to do so. The length of an artist bio is generally between 105 100 words. However, if the curators art director provides you with submission guidelines, follow them to the letter. An artist bio was always written in the third person. At first it'll feel a little strange to write your own bio that way, but you will get used to it and even begin to look at your art and accomplishment through new eyes. This is your artistic story, so include a great photograph of yourself. Half the picture reflect your creative medium. If you're a classical musician, have your picture taken. Plane your instrument if unit include beautiful yarn in your photography. A simple clear head shot works beautifully, too. Addiction is the choice of words that you use to write your bile. You might be tempted to get your thoughts sores and dress up your bile with $10 words to impress an art director. Don't do that. Use language that you would use in a face to face conversation with the curator or art director. Be riel and be yourself
3. Art Directors + Curators Expectations: What do art directors and curators expect to read in your artist bio? Your bio is about you. The artist include your name and name of your studio. If you do have a name of the studio if you don't have a studio name, just don't include it. Where were you born and how it influenced you as an artist? Where do you live now and how influenced you as an artist, your art education or any other education workshops, classes that have a direct influence on your current art? You're showings, exhibitions and boutiques, artistic philosophy and insights. Who influenced you as an artist? Awards honors distinctions and nomination should be included in your bio and any experience that is art related. The big question that your bio answers is why? Why do you make art? Make a list of all the answers to why you make art. Keeping in mind the list at the beginning of this lesson from the list. Pull out all the gems that will impress the reader of your bio
4. Education: if you went to art school or attended poetry workshops led by Leonard Cohen or took acting classes from Lee Strasbourg, you would obviously include that in your artist bio. But what if you're like a lot of artists and you didn't go to art school? But you might have taken relevant workshops, training e courses or distance learning that are still considered art, education, skill, Share creative life, You? To me, coursera are some of my favorite remote education platforms. MoMA also has an excellent library of courses you can take online. Coursera partners with top universities around the world offer free courses online for anyone to take. I encourage you to spend some time on skill, share creative like you know me and Corsairs website and visit them often for art and business courses that will move your art career forward and you can include them in your artist bio. Here are some to consider with their websites. Also, start listening to some podcasts. There are thousands of podcasts, boat art and art business, and new ones are born every day for the most updated podcasts. Google your specific interest
5. Exhibits: choosing which exhibits and boutiques to include in your bio depends on who is reading it. You will have a standard bio for your website or brochure, but you should also tweak your bio if it doesn't quite fit some galleries or events. For example, if your watercolor portfolio ranges from babies to adult nudes and you're submitting to Parents magazine, your bile will include your baby and Children. Information. See the adult nudes for a different audience if you have one or no exhibits, but you do have something coming up in the future than include that information. If you don't have any exhibits and don't have anything coming up, then get creative. Think of anyplace that you've shown your art. Have you participated in craft shows or festivals? Contests or fairs shown at the library? Did a demonstration right about those experiences? Art galleries have beautiful boutique shops that sell artists work. If your heart has been featured in an art gallery shop, add that information to your artist bio. If you're new to the art world and don't have any experience, then start making a list where you can display your art Before you know it, you'll have a huge list of exhibits and boutiques to choose from for your bio
6. Acheivements: This is a Superfund part of your artist bio. It might be a little is one sentence, but it could have a huge impact, and it might not be the extraordinary achievements you're thinking about. This is where you get to mention that you participated in four triathlons or organized 25 people to knit or crochet 1000 hats for premature babies. Or you lived on a boat once owned by Bobby Kennedy. Or you want a contest making a marshmallow tower. Or you helped your 98 year old grandmother rebuild a snowmobile or you are the eldest of 17 Children. The extraordinary achievement or event should fit the bio. For example, Steve celebrated his 40th birthday by skydiving in Maui. Unfortunately, he veered off course, landing in the middle of a wedding party, breaking the maid of honor's arm. The good news is Steve and the maid of honor got married in Maui 10 months later. She shares his love of pottery and helped steep open his first studio last August. Everyone has a story that can be added to a bio. If it fits, use it. If it doesn't fit, save it. You'll likely use the extraordinary achievement in your art career. At some point, it could be a great subject for a guest law, post or podcast where you can mention your art business. You don't have to add an extraordinary achievement for the sake of adding it to your bio, but if it fits, use it. It could be the story in your bile that gets you in the gallery or a graphic design contract.
7. Example: Google is a great place to see thousands of examples of artist bios. But not all of those bios will impress art directors and curators. Here is an example of an artist bio that includes the technical criteria of being between 105 100 words. It's written in the third party. It's what directors and curators is expect to read in your bile. It has art, education, exhibits and shows. An extraordinary achievements here is the artist profile. This is not the artist bio. This is just some information about an artist. Her name's Emily Ford, and she always loved watercolor paintings. She attended the University of Portland in Oregon, A majored in English. She left school early because she was offered a job teaching English in South Korea for a year. Emily ended up staying in Seoul for five years. During those five years, Emily met and married a fellow English teacher for Montreal, Canada. They moved to Montreal and had twins. Emily found her watercolor paints while impacting She tripped over the box. When the twins were four years old, Emily signed them up for preschool art classes. When the twins started first grade, Emily was offered an art teaching job at the same community center where the twins took art . Emily, her husband and Children moved to Portland to help out Emily's aging parents. Emily's husband started marketing business from their home while Emily volunteered at the twin school and took the odd art and marketing class online and at community centers that led to her taking watercolor painting classes, Emily started working part time teaching art to Children and teens at the community center . When the twins were in the seventh grade, Emily had built up ah, large number of watercolor paintings. She even started painting ceramics and taught herself how to make repeating surface pattern designs that she could design her own fabrics on spoon flour. Emily sold some of her watercolor and brush lettering greeting cards at the schools, are and craft sale and made a few tea towels for her friends and on spoon flour designed fabric. Emily wants to start an art business, and she needs to write an artist bio. Emily wants to ask the local art collective studio if she conjoined an exhibit. Her watercolor painting, ceramics, repeat pattern design fabrics, brushed letter in greeting cards and tea towels. She's worried that she's got too many art modalities and she'll appear unorganized. Emily decides to approach the art collective studio with her watercolor paintings. First, they had brush lettering greeting cards. In the next few months, Emily decides to write one artist bio, focusing on water colors and the second bio focusing on repeat surface pattern designs for licensing. Here's the artist bio that Emily wrote for the art collective studio. Emily Ford literally fell into watercolor landscapes when she returned from teaching English in Seoul, South Korea. She tripped over unpacked boxes, releasing the paintings she created while overseas. Born in Portland, Emily has painted landscapes of both the Pacific Ocean sunrises and sunsets. After who years teaching art for the Montreal community Children's Our Programs, Emily picked up her paintbrushes once more and created a large body of artwork. Since 2014 the Museum of Modern Art in New York City offered remote art classes that helped further Emily's art education. Emily's latest project is a series of Oregon landscapes where she added the playfulness off her twin daughters and Montreal born husband William. Still teaching Children are Emily has plans to add adult art classes tour schedule in the new semester, much less clumsy. Now Emily keeps her watercolor landscapes and frames ready for their new walls, and she includes a website telephone number and her email address. Emily's bio is 150 words. There's a nice picture of Emily painting her family on the beach. She didn't use absolutely everything that she wrote in her profile. She only lied, used information that would be relevant for the curator at the art studio. Emily made interesting points that the curator will want to learn more about, such as Emily's experience in Seoul and Montreal. And the curator will likely want to see Emily's paintings of sunrises over the Pacific Ocean from South Korea and sunsets over the same ocean from Oregon. MoMA offering remote art classes is a super interesting fact that few know about. Emily opened with a giggle about her tripping over boxes containing her paintings and referred to her past clumsiness. In her closing. She included her contact Information website, which will have great photographs of Emily's framed paintings on walls and perhaps a one minute behind the scene video of Emily painting and further talking about her story start writing your artist bile by writing a detailed profile about yourself, why you make art, your education experience and something interesting, like Emily did about tripping over the boxes. Know who the reader will be so that you can use relevant information from your profile. Keep your words between 105 100. Use a good photograph of yourself and tweak your artist bio based on who the readers are and what you know the bio to communicate.
Sandra Clarke, artist • educator • maker • craftivist
