Artist, Craftsman and Businessman....
themink17 sent me an interesting essay written about turning a craft/hobby into a business...
http://www.armourarchive.org/essays/essay__von_teufel_running_an_armoury.shtml
I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I really clicked with what he was saying here about being pulled in different directions by the different aspects of himself as a creator.
So what do I do? I daily try to figure out what weight I should give to the Craftsman, the Artist, and the Businessman.
The Businessman says you never give away so much as a penny. You never make just one of a particular item when you can make 20. All work is billed. You give the minimum that will fulfill the contract and not one iota more. No time should be wasted. The Businessman sticks strictly to the profit/loss formula, and secretly wishes he could do away with the customer because of how "demanding" they are. The Businessman is a prick, and I hate him. He tolerates the Craftman because he needs him, but he hates the Artist.
The Artist is eternally striving for perfection and the lost or hidden technique. He thinks that no surface should be wasted, that only the finest materials should ever be used, and that money should have nothing to do with it. The Artist only ever works on one piece at a time, because to do anything less is to divide ones attention. The Artists "armour" is more of a statement, and he isn't concerned if it actually works or not, what he wants is the piece to speak to the viewer. The Artist despises the Businessman, and thinks the Craftsman is missing the point.
The Craftman is the one who ends up doing most of the work, while the Artist and the Businessman scream at each other. He is happiest when he is watching a technique being applied to a piece, when a piece of good steel is transformed by skill into a piece of armour. He has no real business sense, and no real desire for art. He just wants to make armour. Good armour. Good armour that works. He would never send out a piece that didn't move properly or that gapped, because that would be an insult to himself and his craft.
[...]
So, how do I do that? I try to keep the Businessman happy by doing assembly-line construction, and refusing to take special orders. I keep the Artist happy by making pretty much whatever I want, making it as pretty or as simple as I want, and having no deadlines (because I never put anything up for sale until it's done. Yup, no orders at all. I sell at events exclusively. You either like what I have or you don't. If you do, you better buy it now, because you won't have a chance until you see me again, and who knows what the Artist will have made that time?) I keep the Craftman happy by concentrating on Articulation (the be-all and end-all of the Craft of the Armourer, IMO), and maintaining the basics of the rest of the craft.
I'm in a position (at the moment) where I'd like to be making more money, but I'm surviving, and I really have never been happier in my life. 'Course, who knows what'll happen next month when the Artist finds some new technique, or (heaven forfend) brings up 'gold-depletion gilding' to the Businessman again....
It both amused and resonated.
http://www.armourarchive.org/essays/essay__von_teufel_running_an_armoury.shtml
I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I really clicked with what he was saying here about being pulled in different directions by the different aspects of himself as a creator.
So what do I do? I daily try to figure out what weight I should give to the Craftsman, the Artist, and the Businessman.
The Businessman says you never give away so much as a penny. You never make just one of a particular item when you can make 20. All work is billed. You give the minimum that will fulfill the contract and not one iota more. No time should be wasted. The Businessman sticks strictly to the profit/loss formula, and secretly wishes he could do away with the customer because of how "demanding" they are. The Businessman is a prick, and I hate him. He tolerates the Craftman because he needs him, but he hates the Artist.
The Artist is eternally striving for perfection and the lost or hidden technique. He thinks that no surface should be wasted, that only the finest materials should ever be used, and that money should have nothing to do with it. The Artist only ever works on one piece at a time, because to do anything less is to divide ones attention. The Artists "armour" is more of a statement, and he isn't concerned if it actually works or not, what he wants is the piece to speak to the viewer. The Artist despises the Businessman, and thinks the Craftsman is missing the point.
The Craftman is the one who ends up doing most of the work, while the Artist and the Businessman scream at each other. He is happiest when he is watching a technique being applied to a piece, when a piece of good steel is transformed by skill into a piece of armour. He has no real business sense, and no real desire for art. He just wants to make armour. Good armour. Good armour that works. He would never send out a piece that didn't move properly or that gapped, because that would be an insult to himself and his craft.
[...]
So, how do I do that? I try to keep the Businessman happy by doing assembly-line construction, and refusing to take special orders. I keep the Artist happy by making pretty much whatever I want, making it as pretty or as simple as I want, and having no deadlines (because I never put anything up for sale until it's done. Yup, no orders at all. I sell at events exclusively. You either like what I have or you don't. If you do, you better buy it now, because you won't have a chance until you see me again, and who knows what the Artist will have made that time?) I keep the Craftman happy by concentrating on Articulation (the be-all and end-all of the Craft of the Armourer, IMO), and maintaining the basics of the rest of the craft.
I'm in a position (at the moment) where I'd like to be making more money, but I'm surviving, and I really have never been happier in my life. 'Course, who knows what'll happen next month when the Artist finds some new technique, or (heaven forfend) brings up 'gold-depletion gilding' to the Businessman again....
It both amused and resonated.