Ep 056: Should You Share Your Creative Process? / by Jackie Sanders

Demystify The Creative Process to Build Lasting Relationships With Collectors

The creative process is yours. But how much of that process do you share with the world? On today’s episode we talk about the many elements of your process that community members and future collectors may find interesting as well as strategies to heighten the experience and build a relationship with your audience.

 
 

Should You Share Your Creative Process?

When thinking about your creative process, there are many decisions you need to make. But when figuring out which parts of your process you choose to share…you get to decide!

This decision comes with several considerations including

  • What you share

  • Who you share your process with

  • Where you share it

  • How you share it

  • And why you are sharing it. Understanding why you want to share elements of your creative process will make many of the other decisions easier!

What does sharing your creative process look like?

What:

What are you going to share? Will it be all parts of your process or only certain ones? When thinking about this you will want to consider that some stages of the process may be easier to share than others because when you really break it down, the creative process has five stages of creativity: 

  • Preparation - gathering inspiration

  • Incubation - absorbing and processing ideas

  • Insight - the moment of clarity, the lightbulb moment

  • Evaluation - feasibility, gather feedback if necessary

  • Elaboration - the art making part itself

Who:

Deciding what you will share with others is a big hurdle, but you will also need to consider who you are sharing information with! This may be in in person or virtually but deciding your audience will greatly help you target your marketing efforts. Your audience can include

  • Collectors and art lovers

  • Visitors to your studio

  • Curators and art professionals

  • Other artists and creatives

  • All of your audience?

Where and How:

The next step is deciding where and how will you share your creative process? In a technology driven world there is a lot of power and opportunity given to business owners and creative entrepreneurs but with this comes an overwhelming number of choices that need to be made. Finding focus in your marketing plan may feel limiting at first but will, down the road, be empowering as you are choosing a direction to consciously move toward. 

When sharing your creative process you can do so through many channels

  • On social media

  • With photos and videos

  • As part of a class you’re teaching

  • On your newsletter and/or blog

  • During in person conversations

  • With curators or collectors inquiring about your work

  • In written materials provided as part of solo exhibition opportunity

  • Etc.

    Share It Forward

Ultimately the choice of what, how, and with whom you share your creative process is up to you! But from my experience, there are many positives to this experience!

Not only do you get better about describing your process and what your art is about but you also get a greater understanding of your creative process in general. Additionally your audience and collectors may even connect with your art and your story better after hearing more about it, ultimately enhancing their experience. 

From a creative community standpoint, explaining parts of your process may also lend clarity to other creatives who may be feeling stuck in their creative cycle! Often when sharing forward, others do the same in return, enriching your experience and teaching you something new too. It is a win-win for everyone!


NEW In-Person Event For Creatives!

Co-Create Sessions At Artspace!

We are so excited to announce the start of monthly Co-Create sessions for working artists in Raleigh and the surrounding area!

Centered around creativity, networking and collaboration these sessions will be open spaces to creative, network, and discuss all things art and art business with fellow working artists! Bring your sketchbook or a work in progress as well as any materials you may need to create during the session.

This event will be in partnership with Artspace and take place the 2nd Saturday of each month (starting in June 2022)

To get more information on this event, subscribe to my weekly newsletter here.

Podcast Music By Corey Claxton:

  • Website: https://www.coreyclaxton.com/

  • Instagram: @thecoreyclaxton

  • Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3gMzkkK


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