As artists, we often suffer through the question of "how do I make art and money?" We all know the stereotypical societal role of the starving artist. It's imperative that we challenge that attitude towards work and art - we artists need to step into the power of all of our KNOWLEDGE and SKILL, know that it is highly valuable (monetarily) and that the world needs it now more than ever.
So often we hear people say "I'm not creative" or "I can't sing/draw/act/play music." We see how government, schools and society as a whole have stifled the arts and creative expression in our kids and therefore adults. The truth is, we are all creative beings - we all create every day. We create words, sentences, interactions with people. We create our lives with our attitudes, beliefs and choices. We improvise almost every part of our lives - we don't plan out and practice every conversation we have (though if you're like me you probably do your fair share of that), most of us don't plan out every choice we are going to make the next day the night before. We are constantly creating, and we are extremely flexible, adaptive, intelligent beings (if we want to be) and we can learn new things, always.
We, as artists and teachers can use these opportunities through the mundanity of life to express more, create more. We can recognize this truth for all people and encourage those who believe they are "non-artists" (impossible) to step into their own expressive intelligence. If we combine this attitude with truly believing that we have something to offer, then we can share our art with the world while we help others realize their creative potential. And, the best part is that people will PAY US TO TEACH THEM! They will pay us lots of money if we are offering a service or product that meets a need in the world.
Make a list of all the things you love doing, all the skills you have, and all the challenges or interesting adventures you have been on and then brainstorm ways you can make money off of those skills that you already have. I think you'll be surprised what you find!
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