What are 'The Artist's 6 Stages of Initiation'?

The Artist's 6 Stages of Initiation describe the developmental journey of a working artist. These stages progress from the initial creative spark, through intense learning and self-discovery, to finding joy in one's work, connecting with an audience, and finally, sharing accumulated knowledge with emerging artists.

How do these stages relate to entrepreneurship for artists?

The article posits that artists are inherently entrepreneurs, but instead of traditional business stages, they experience 'Initiation.' This reframes the entrepreneurial journey to focus on the unique aspects of artistic development, craft mastery, and community building within the art world.

What is the importance of Stage Five: 'Finding Your People'?

Stage Five emphasizes that building an art career is a marathon, not a sprint, requiring patience and time. It signifies the crucial period when an artist connects with their audience and community, highlighting the importance of persistence in establishing one's presence in the art world.

What is the ultimate stage in an artist's initiation journey?

The ultimate stage is Stage Six: 'Sharing Your Knowledge.' At this point, the artist has gained significant experience and understanding, allowing them to mentor younger artists and pass on the lessons learned through their own dedicated work and journey.

The Artist's 6 Stages of Initiation: A Journey to Mastery

In business school, they talk about The 6 Stages of Entrepreneurship. But in art school, they don’t even use the word entrepreneur.

They should.

Stage initiation artist

Artists are entrepreneurs. That’s the truth. And it’s the difference between the old economy and the new.

But artists have always been entrepreneurs; they’ve had to be. Though instead of The 6 Stages of Entrepreneurship, I believe that working artists experience The 6 Stages of Initiation.

Stage One is that moment the spark is lit. You just know you want to do this one thing, all the time and do it really well. You want to make stuff.

The Second Stage is when you want to know everything, because you’re suddenly aware of how much you don’t know. Every time you look at your work it’s glaringly obvious to you. You’ve got nothing but questions.

So at Stage Three, you learn. You learn everything you can about your craft, about your practice, about your ideas, about your voice, about your self.

And then that spark comes back again, and suddenly you can’t be stopped. You connect with your work and it’s a pleasure like no other. Ah! Stage Four.

And then they come. Your people. You’ve been waiting impatiently since the start. But you forget; building an art career is a marathon, darling. It’s not a sprint. It takes time to get to Stage Five.

And then you find yourself one day looking into the eyes of a young artist, all lit up from that heady initial spark. She’ll be asking you questions about everything, because she wants to know it all right now. You’ve arrived at Stage Six, sharing your knowledge.

Now you understand that everything has its time. And that in the art business, sometimes lessons must be learned the old fashioned way; you’ve got to work for them.

These are the Artist’s Six Stages of Initiation.

Enjoy your journey!

Frequently Asked Questions

1 What are 'The Artist's 6 Stages of Initiation'?: The Artist's 6 Stages of Initiation describe the developmental journey of a working artist. These stages progress from the initial creative spark, through intense learning and self-discovery, to finding joy in one's work, connecting with an audience, and finally, sharing accumulated knowledge with emerging artists.
2 How do these stages relate to entrepreneurship for artists?: The article posits that artists are inherently entrepreneurs, but instead of traditional business stages, they experience 'Initiation.' This reframes the entrepreneurial journey to focus on the unique aspects of artistic development, craft mastery, and community building within the art world.
3 What is the importance of Stage Five: 'Finding Your People'?: Stage Five emphasizes that building an art career is a marathon, not a sprint, requiring patience and time. It signifies the crucial period when an artist connects with their audience and community, highlighting the importance of persistence in establishing one's presence in the art world.
4 What is the ultimate stage in an artist's initiation journey?: The ultimate stage is Stage Six: 'Sharing Your Knowledge.' At this point, the artist has gained significant experience and understanding, allowing them to mentor younger artists and pass on the lessons learned through their own dedicated work and journey.

The Artist's 6 Stages of Initiation: A Journey to Mastery

See Your Art Career with Fresh Eyes

Frequently Asked Questions