PORTFOLIO EDITS

As part of my mentorship at Scunthorpe Studio School, I got loads of amazing advice regarding how to successfully navigate the art world. My mentor, although very experience and well established, doesn’t specialise in illustration, so his advice in this area specifically, was slightly limited. However, he very kindly set me up a meeting with Jess from Inkling Agency, a fully female run illustration agency with strong connections in Sheffield (a city I have strongly considered moving to after a little more travelling)!

Some of you may know that I’ve actually been represented by two different agencies in the past and it was unfortunately a really disappointing experience with little to no opportunities as a result… I let Jess from Inkling know this and asked her to give me guidance on how to sift out legitimate agencies and attract legitimate clients, and it was incredibly helpful!

Her main piece of advice was to refine my portfolio massively. The main page for example, limiting it to stand-outs only, as commissioner's are time poor, and they won't scroll. She also mentioned, commissioners will very often use a photo rather than illustration, as it’s quicker and cheaper, so I need to make my work stand out and show clients how it can be used, for example making mockups with typography in situ.

I’m yet to make mockups, as this requires a little more time and thought regarding who I want to target, however I did make the website edits and feel with this more seamless and simple layout, I’ll appear more professional to potential new clients.

GOODBYE STUDIO SCHOOL, HELLO NEW OPPORTUNITIES

So on Wednesday I had my last day at Scunthorpe Studio School, a 6 month opportunity with artist mentorship, and although it was an incredible experience and provided me with a structured routine that has been so beneficial, I was getting pretty sick of the same drive up and down the country every week, and I’m excited to put everything I’ve learnt into practice in the real world and hopefully land myself some paid opportunities!

Towards the end of the experience, we took part in a few interviews and podcasts, mostly created with the intention of advertising the opportunity to future applicants and cohorts, but also to just reflect on what we gained, so as those clips come out I’ll be sharing more of my perspective on the experience, but overall I couldn’t be happier with what I learnt and how it aided my growth as an artist re-entering my practice following a challenging episode of neurodivgent burnout.

Going right back to the beginning of the process, one of the very first tasks we did with our mentor, was writing an artist manifesto, something I’ve never considered before, and I can’t emphasise enough how beneficial this practice was for me. It’s something I regularly went back to (and I imagine will continuously go back to) in order to check-in with myself and to ask myself the question, does what I’m doing align with what I want? And I’d strongly encourage other artists to consider doing it too. Below is my artist manifesto:

Have fun.

Be present, go at your own pace.

Be boundaried.

Make work you care about.

Make money, but don’t burnout or sell-out.

Travel, explore, learn, and enlighten.

Take risks - Breath, and believe it will always work out.

Do what you can, not what you should.

I’ve been on a journey of re-establishing what being an artist means to me, and as you can probably tell, my values are largely centered around protecting my mental health, that’s my number one priority. I want to connect with people and learn, but also I want to make money from my art, and to do that without burning out or selling out, means making work that a truly care about.

Since starting the studio school, I’ve gotten a lot better at truly leaning into and embracing myself specifically as an artist, rather than an unemployed person that occasionally draws… My confidence and self worth has grown so much and believe with this will soon invite more well paid and exciting projects!

EXHIBITIONS OVER THE YEARS

I’ve exhibited my work in a variety of different contexts over the years, and following exhibiting my largest piece of work at fountain arts for the last month, I’m feeling quite reflective.

Generally, I’ve found exhibitions tend to be catered more towards artists using traditional techniques like painting and sculpture, as so as a digital illustrator, applying to exhibitions and gallery opportunities isn’t at the top of my agenda. Despite this, I recognise them as a greatly beneficial way of marketing myself especially if there’s an opening night or an opportunity to engage with other artists, curators or potential clients!

During my studio opportunity and mentorship programme at Scunthorpe Studio School, we visited different galleries and engaged in conversation with quite a few curators to learn more about how different opportunities can be beneficial for artists outside of just marketing, and so going forward, I’d love to find gallery opportunities that can work for me, ideally working directly with curators on a paid solo opportunity!

Despite seeming pretty extroverted, and recognising how beneficial these kind of networking opportunities can be for my artistic career, I actually find socialising at artist talks unfortunately quite exhausting and I generally have to take a few days of rest after busy interactive days. As I’ve learnt more about my ADHD and masking, I’m slowly coming to understand how to best approach these kind of situations in a less damaging way, and hopefully it will only become something I get stronger and stronger at as grow my creative connections.