ARTISTS' PROFESSIONAL TOOLBOX ::
Local Artists' Advice

We polled some local artists of all disciplines to gather their best advice for other artists about how to survive as an artist. Capital letters and exclamation points courtesy of the artist.

Maria Glanz
"Keep learning and challenging yourself, through deeper training or new collaborations or whatever works. Be willing to fail. Know and appreciate your community. Live in this paradox: be as versatile as you can possibly be and nurture a talent that is singularly yours. Be willing to always try something new. And finally, have a full and rich life outside of your work - it's essential and it's fun!"

For the past 20 years, Maria Glanz has made her living as an actor, writer, theatre educator, arts administrator and in myriad other jobs.

Arlie Neskahi
"Number one advice for the beginning and aspiring?

"Get ORGANIZED. Artists are notorious for having loose ends all over the place. Concentrate on developing a habit of scheduling and filing. You have to discipline yourself to do that. Develop a good contacts database.

"Get some business cards!! I still get gigs from people who I gave my business card to years ago ...

"Diversify. I did public speaking, recording and mixing demos for other musicians, and Web site building/management to get me through the lean times between gigs. Most genres and venues are very seasonal, so get to know the hot seasons for your genre and the slow times and prepare for that.

"Having the ability to make some green through other skills was very crucial to my state of mind and sense of accomplishment. Otherwise, you will have to do real junk jobs in-between gigs, and you will have tough times.

"So, get going developing some other marketable job skills, 'cuz as many of us say... We work so that we can PLAY MUSIC!!!"

Arlie Neskahi is well known throughout the Indian Nations for his performance, composition and knowledge of traditional music. In addition, he is an excellent storyteller and lecturer on Native American culture and spirituality and serves on the Seattle Arts Commission.

Bret Fetzer
"If you're trying to make a living from your art, you're living in the wrong country. There are many reasons to make art in the United States - among them, keeping yourself sane - but only a tiny handful of artists in any discipline make a living from their creative efforts. Do art because you enjoy it, enjoy whatever money you might occasionally make from it, and find a day job that isn't too unpleasant. You'll have a happier life than if you constantly struggle to make money from art."

Bret Fetzer estimates he has made around $15,000 in around 20 years of writing plays and short stories.

Kurt Beattie
"Keep your focus on your immediate project. Paint your windows black, concentrate and throw out your TV. Survival for true artists is achievement in making art. Everything else will take care of itself."

Kurt Beattie is the artistic director of ACT Theatre and a long-time Seattle theatre artist.

Tom Skerritt
"... Know yourself, believe in yourself and, as best as possible, know the world around you, then, as Joseph Campbell put it, 'follow your bliss'."

Tom Skerritt is an Emmy-award winning film, television and stage actor/director. He also serves on the Seattle Arts Commission.

Brenda Bell
"Remember that just about everything that happens to you, no matter how crummy or insignificant, can be transformed into something else entirely, through the alchemy of writing. Everything is grist for the mill."

Brenda Bell is a freelance writer, essayist and university teacher of journalism. She is currently a writer-in-residence at Belltown Cottage, an urban literary arts program sponsored by Richard Hugo House.

Laurence Ballard
"My advice to aspiring artists would be to read over and ponder Number 44 of the Tao:

Fame or integrity: which is more important?
Money or happiness: which is more valuable?
Success or failure: which is more destructive?

If you look to others for fulfillment,
you will never truly be fulfilled.
If your happiness depends on money,
you will never be happy with yourself.

Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you."

Laurence Ballard is a professional actor, director and teacher based in Seattle.