Do You Have SAS?
September 18th, 2013 by Morna
Do you have SAS? I don’t. “What is SAS?” you ask. It’s what I call Starving Artist Syndrome, and you don’t have to believe it. In fact, one of the clients I’ve worked with over the years said to me a while back that she realized that she didn’t have to buy into that mindset. A light bulb moment! Right on!
The starving artist mentality is totally in your head. I’m sure you see successful artists all around you. What is it that they have that you don’t? I’m sure your work is just as good, and I’m sure you work just as hard. The problem is that on some level you buy into that romantic, Bohemian notion that artists should be starving. This doesn’t serve you and it doesn’t serve anyone else. No one ever said that you don’t deserve to earn a decent income doing what you love.
So how do you escape SAS? Here are some tips:
- Realize that being poor, or “starving,” doesn’t mean your art is better. I’d even say that if you can’t take care of yourself, your art is not as good as it could be. You have distractions keeping that belief and “starving artist” lifestyle alive.
- Try to figure out why you really have those beliefs. Journal your thoughts about money and people, even artists, who have money. If they are negative, ask yourself, “Is this really true?”
- Start today to approach your art as a business. Yes, you are the CEO of a business, your art business. Start to make your decisions from that place. When you are 100% responsible for what is in your life, you can make changes. Have you heard about the Law of Attraction? It says you bring about what you think about. Bring about a successful art business.
- Work to build your confidence in your money mindset, just as you build your confidence in your art. It will happen and you will leave SAS behind.
If you have dealt with your mindset about being an artist, please share your struggles and successes with us below.
Quilteveryday said:
I find this attitude to be especially true among women. We tend to undervalue our quilting and art, and feel that we must give it away. Or think of it as “home made” and not lofty enough to be considered valuable. I know most quilters and artists have a very hard time pricing their work (me included). I believe that a lot of quilters do not sell their quilts because it would cost too much. When you factor in the materials, plus the time, let alone the expertise necessary, they are very valuable, and should be. Thoughts?
Laura Estes said:
Enjoyong the series.I can credit the family I grew up in for giving me a good sense of value of my art/craft. My mother raised the best truck garden in 3 countys, people traveled miles past other farmers to get her produce. My father was the go to bookkeeper/tax preparer in the state. CPA’s and coorporate leaders sought his advice on tax and accounting laws. We kids were taught to value our time and the product of our time. Placing value on the product was easy. Value of time (classes and lectures) has been harder. The advise I received in a teaching work shop to provide students with a folder filled with information for the class, product info and providing a unique name tag for each, pleased the students. I have found that providing a handout in lectures, something tangible helped me feel the attendees where getting their moneys worth. These small tools helped me bring pricing into a reasonable range for students while making them profitable for me.
Morna said:
Quilteveryday, Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I do think artists have such a hard time with pricing. Comes down to valuing yourself to ask for more. That mindset shift doesn’t happen overnight. We’ve all got money stories in our heads. And looking for where that person who will value your work hangs out. If someone doesn’t get compensated fairly, then they need to evaluate whether making quilts to share vs making quilts to sell is the right choice.
Morna said:
Laura, Thanks for your contribution here. Sounds like you got some good money stories growing up. Your point of the buyer perceiving the value is good, and that’s what your tools are doing.