My Real Job Is Being An Artist

"A book about the art business and how to prepare for success as a fine artist. de Wal offers practical advice on how to make the most of limited time, energy and resources to land that perfect day job--as an artist!"--Back cover.

For readers of Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling, and #Girlboss, a hilarious—yet heartfelt—guide to growing up and taking your place in the world by the popular comedian and author of the highly praised Agorafabulous! While the practical aspects of new adulthood can be nerve-wracking—dating, job-hunting, money-managing—the most important task of all is figuring out who you are and where you fit in the world. Author and comedian Sara Benincasa, now in her mid-thirties, had an absolutely harrowing early twenties and now, on the other side, she has a LOT of hard-earned wisdom and common sense to share. Real Artists Have Day Jobs includes 52 witty, provocative essays on how to live like a real adult—especially for those who have chosen a slightly more offbeat path to get there. Chock full of information and advice, Sara’s warm, smart, empathetic, and quirky voice is relatable to everyone from twenty-somethings and recent college grads to anyone a bit older who’s still trying to figure things out. While Sara doesn’t have all of life’s answers, this indispensable book has more than its share! Essays include: How to Read a Book Real Artists Have Day Jobs The Power of Being a Dork Put Your Clutter in Purgatory Ask for Exactly What You Want Elect Your Own Executive Board Equal parts entertaining and educational, Real Artists Have Day Jobs is a life-changing book for strivers and misunderstood creatives everywhere.

Jeff Goins dismantles the myth that being creative is a hindrance to success by revealing how an artistic temperament is a competitive advantage in the marketplace.? The myth of the starving artist has dominated our culture, seeping into the minds of creative people and stifling their pursuits. The truth is that the world's most successful artists did not starve. In fact, they capitalized on the power of their creative strength. In Real Artists Don't Starve, bestselling author and creativity expert Jeff Goins debunks the myth of the starving artist by unveiling the ideas that created it and replacing them with 14 rules for artists to thrive, including: Steal from your influences (don't wait for inspiration) Collaborate with others (working alone is a surefire way to starve) Take strategic risks (instead of reckless ones) Make money in order to make more art (it's not selling out) Apprentice under a master (a "lone genius" can never reach full potential) From graphic designers and writers to artists and business professionals, creatives already know that no one is born an artist. Goins' revolutionary rules celebrate the process of becoming an artist, a person who utilizes the imagination in fundamental ways. He reminds creatives that business and art are not mutually exclusive pursuits. Real Artists Don't Starve explores the tension every creative person and organization faces in an effort to blend the inspired life with a practical path to success. Being creative isn't a disadvantage for success, it is a powerful tool to be harnessed.

Being a creative with a job-to-pay-the-bills is not easy. Between the lack of consideration from society in general, the ever-growing costs of living, and the demands of adulthood, it is more and more difficult to find time and energy to create.Have you ever been super excited for a project, only to lose all motivation before you finished? Have you felt so tired that you could not bring yourself to do anything artistic? Have you felt so down on yourself about not doing anything that you started to doubt you had any talents in the first place?I know these feelings, because I've had them too! I am a writer, and all along my career I've tried to find a good balance so that I could keep writing while earning a living. It was a difficult battle. I've had day jobs in several different industries, from science to theatre. I've been so burned out at times that I didn't write for months. I've felt so low about my writing that I didn't perform well in my job. I've had so little free time that I neglected my relationships and my mental health.Thankfully, these years of struggle have taught me a lot, and I decided that I should share that knowledge and experience with other artists. This is why I have decided to write this book, The Part-Time Artist.In my book, I talk about my experience and all the lessons I've learned on my path to becoming a writer. I strongly believe that these lessons can be valuable to all of you. It doesn't matter if you are a writer like me, or a painter, or an actor, or a musician, or a designer, or any other type of artists. I know we all face the same struggles!When you get a copy of the book, here are some of the things you'll get: * An easy way to build productive habits to do more art on a daily basis* The common myth about the tortured artist, and why you don't have to be one* A step-by-step guide to build a business plan for your artistic career* The best way to set goals for your creativity* A strategy to make your day job work with your art (instead of the other way around!)* And much more!Not only that, but you will also benefit from several resources and useful tools, such as a weekly planner, a budget tool, a business spreadsheet and a FREE workbook

A stunning and timely creative call-to-arms combining four extraordinary written pieces by Neil Gaiman illustrated with the striking four-color artwork of Chris Riddell. “The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.”—Neil Gaiman Drawn from Gaiman’s trove of published speeches, poems, and creative manifestos, Art Matters is an embodiment of this remarkable multi-media artist’s vision—an exploration of how reading, imagining, and creating can transform the world and our lives. Art Matters bring together four of Gaiman’s most beloved writings on creativity and artistry: “Credo,” his remarkably concise and relevant manifesto on free expression, first delivered in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings “Make Good Art,” his famous 2012 commencement address delivered at the Philadelphia University of the Arts “Making a Chair,” a poem about the joys of creating something, even when words won’t come “On Libraries,” an impassioned argument for libraries that illuminates their importance to our future and celebrates how they foster readers and daydreamers Featuring original illustrations by Gaiman’s longtime illustrator, Chris Riddell, Art Matters is a stirring testament to the freedom of ideas that inspires us to make art in the face of adversity, and dares us to choose to be bold.

"A fun-filled art activity book that will encourage kids to express themselves while teaching them about key artistic styles and a selection of pioneering artists from history"--

No one has failed to notice that the current generation of youth is deeply--some would say totally--involved with digital media. Professors Howard Gardner and Katie Davis name today's young people The App Generation, and in this spellbinding book they explore what it means to be "app-dependent" versus "app-enabled" and how life for this generation differs from life before the digital era. Gardner and Davis are concerned with three vital areas of adolescent life: identity, intimacy, and imagination. Through innovative research, including interviews of young people, focus groups of those who work with them, and a unique comparison of youthful artistic productions before and after the digital revolution, the authors uncover the drawbacks of apps: they may foreclose a sense of identity, encourage superficial relations with others, and stunt creative imagination. On the other hand, the benefits of apps are equally striking: they can promote a strong sense of identity, allow deep relationships, and stimulate creativity. The challenge is to venture beyond the ways that apps are designed to be used, Gardner and Davis conclude, and they suggest how the power of apps can be a springboard to greater creativity and higher aspirations.

From bestselling writer David Graeber—“a master of opening up thought and stimulating debate” (Slate)—a powerful argument against the rise of meaningless, unfulfilling jobs…and their consequences. Does your job make a meaningful contribution to the world? In the spring of 2013, David Graeber asked this question in a playful, provocative essay titled “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs.” It went viral. After one million online views in seventeen different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer. There are hordes of people—HR consultants, communication coordinators, telemarketing researchers, corporate lawyers—whose jobs are useless, and, tragically, they know it. These people are caught in bullshit jobs. Graeber explores one of society’s most vexing and deeply felt concerns, indicting among other villains a particular strain of finance capitalism that betrays ideals shared by thinkers ranging from Keynes to Lincoln. “Clever and charismatic” (The New Yorker), Bullshit Jobs gives individuals, corporations, and societies permission to undergo a shift in values, placing creative and caring work at the center of our culture. This book is for everyone who wants to turn their vocation back into an avocation and “a thought-provoking examination of our working lives” (Financial Times).