How should artists best prepare for their journey when the path isn't clear?

The article advises artists to spend their energy wisely, prioritizing their art over accumulating material possessions. It emphasizes that creativity, ideas, and relationships are valuable currencies, suggesting focus on building an audience and making connections.

What are the most important "currencies" for an artist, beyond money?

Beyond financial currency, the article highlights creativity and ideas as extremely valuable, noting that everything originates from an idea. Relationships are also presented as a crucial currency, especially in the new economy, encouraging artists to invest in building their audience and connections.

How can an artist manage their emotional energy to support their creativity?

Artists are encouraged to release emotional drains such as drama and shame, as these deplete creativity. Instead, the advice is to feed creativity with beauty and ideas, and to work simply to maintain the freedom necessary for artistic production.

What does it mean to "travel light" on the artist's journey?

"Traveling light" means minimizing material possessions and simplifying one's lifestyle. This approach provides priceless freedom, allowing artists to dedicate their time, money, and energy to their artistic work rather than supporting excessive 'stuff'.

The Artist's Journey: Prepare with Wise Spending & Simple Living

How do you prepare for the artist’s journey if you don’t know where you’re going?

Spend wisely.

When I was selling other people’s art and not making my own art, I filled that empty space inside myself with stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. I had a big house, crammed up to the attic with collections, books, clothes… stuff.

Oh sure, it was beautiful stuff. And I loved my stuff. But my money, space and time was spent accumulating and supporting stuff.

And when you support other stuff, you aren’t supporting your stuff. Art.

Everything is energy. Energy is everything; intention, money and time included.

Spend yours wisely.

And remember that though money is a currency, it’s not the only currency.

Creativity is a currency even more valuable than money. Ideas are important, they have value. Look around, everything you see began as an idea. Not as money.

Artists strive for a wealth of ideas and abundance of creativity.

Relationships are another valuable form of currency, especially in this new economy. Spend your energy on building your audience, making connections, and giving of yourself generously.

Consider how you spend emotional energy too. Drama and shame will drain your creativity. Release them because they really don’t serve you. Endeavor instead to feed your creativity with beauty and ideas.

And money?

Independent filmmaker Alain Robbe-Grillet, who directed Last Year at Marienbad, spent decades making the films he wanted to make. When asked how he was able to make such artistic works in a commercial field, he said that he always kept his budget to a strict minimum.

He worked simply so that he could work.

I love that so much I’m going to say it again: work simply so you can simply work.

Your lifestyle is your choice. Your possessions don’t define you. More isn’t better.

My advice is to travel light on this artist’s journey, because the freedom it will afford you will be priceless.