I know, we are not having a recession. Well, at least that is what we are constantly being told – and yet it feels ominous out there. Artists and makers often bolster their incomes by doing casual work in the sector, offering workshops and doing markets – but when discretional spending is hit in tight times, these are the first to go. Plus, with the sector also feeling the pinch, there is not a lot of extra work around.
So, how can you be mindful of your spending while still maintaining your creative practice? There are two approaches to this: to block money wasting, and to rethink how and what you need to make.
Tip 1: Standardise
Buying a standard size of anything is invariably cheaper than the bespoke option. While that may not always fit with your creative vision, in times that are tight it may prove the more sound option.
As a potter, you may consider a standard scale to allow more items in a single firing in your kiln. For others, standard frames or canvases are quicker and cheaper for your framer to make, and you can possibly negotiate a discount. Buying off the shelf can sometimes be cheaper than fabricating these. Consistency of framing looks can be appealing to collectors, and is something you can play with in your exhibition design.
You may even be so savvy as to check what the dimensions are for shipping size tiers, and trying to stay within a manageable scale. Bulk buying standard boxes and packaging can also lead to increased savings – or, better still, bottle shops and hardware stores are a great source for standard sized boxes.
Tip 2: Form a ‘mates circle’
Why not create a formal mates circle to share frames, crates, pedestals, disused stretches, tools etc across your individual holdings?
A mates circle is also a great way to buy materials in bulk to unlock discounts and save on shipping. Plus it could be a good way to invest in a standard set of 10 exhibition frames, for example, to share the costs, and equally share access. You end up paying only a fraction of the cost of something you use once in a while.
The other advantage of a mates circle is the option to pool skills – tradies have been doing this for years. Help each other install, transport, stretch, fabricate and photograph the work, rather than paying for someone else to do this.
Collaborating with other artists and trading supplies is another excellent way to save money, especially if you find you have too much of a certain stock of paper, sheet glass or pigment.
Tip 3: Call on big brother
Need pedestals, frames, crates, bubble wrap? Who wants to be paying for these dead items that only end up taking up space after the moment. Reach out to your local gallery and/or our state venues. Given conservation standards, it’s often prohibited for them to reuse bubble wrap and old crates in order to prevent pollutants from entering the gallery, so they get discarded.
Similarly, galleries usually have a great store of pedestals in varying sizes, so rather than making new ones, why not see if you can borrow or rent theirs at a fraction of the cost?
Tip 4: Reuse
Instead of getting rid of works that have gone ‘wrong’, think about how they could be reused. The obvious way is to scrape back a canvas and re-gesso it for fresh use. Hey, you may even decide to use the surface texture and ghost lines in a new series if you choose not to sand back the surface. And, if you’re unsure, then unstretch and roll the ‘unsatisfactory’ painting and reuse the stretcher – they are too expensive to dump in the corner.
Similarly, failed drawings or watercolours can be great for collage. And if you’re an installation artist or sculptor, then start looking at the world with a new lens and consider how you may be able to adapt everyday objects as a resource material. Karla Dickens comes to mind as a highly successful artist working exclusively with material found in reverse garbage stores, while Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan have created room-sized museum installations from recycled cardboard.
And, if you are really pushed to the edge but need to get these emotions out, then maybe this is a great time to revisit your storeroom and archive. Distance can be a great editor of your work, and returning to look over your pieces may result in a new stash of supplies to help you into the next chapter.
Tip 5: Minimise
We all heard of Picasso’s Blue Period (1901-04) – its duration could easily have ridden out a recession. One way to assist in pulling back your material use during tough times is to limit the range with which you work – and hence the need to buy and keep in stock, irrespective of medium. It may even lead to a new series or a breakthrough in your work, which is exciting.
Plus, we are all subject to the ‘shiny object syndrome’ at some point, usually when we are at an impasse in our work – that moment where you keep pursuing the next new technique or material. Now is not the best time to be experimenting as if you had a Rockefeller’s bank account. At worst, these materials can often languish in a cupboard after the initial flurry of excitement, unloved and unused. One upside to this kind of stockpile, however, is perhaps trading them with others in your mates circle.
Tip 6: Mix your own colours
Reading tips online, there is plenty of advice telling your to mix your own pigments. Yes, yes … no – too hard, too messy. A simpler approach, however, is to pull back the spectrum of colours you purchase, channel your early art school days of colour theory and get mixing. This is also a great way to use up the dregs in those well-squeezed tubes. The same goes if you’re a ceramicist who could consider reclaiming and reusing your clay, rather than constantly ordering in to make.
Tip 7: Become a space invader
Reevaluate your workspace. If you rent a studio space, ask the tough question: can I really afford this? Is there somewhere at home where I can relocate my studio? The other consideration is whether you need all the space you have – could you potentially sublet and share your studio space with someone else?
Studios tend to get messy and cluttered with stuff that you rarely touch (but that’s why we love them). Take some time and rationalise your space – clean up those shelves and create space. You may rediscover that you have more materials on hand than you realised, or things to trade, or space to rent.
Read: Navigating depression: 5 essential tips for creative artists
Artists tend to get in the habit of using their favourite tools, but creating your own art tools can be cost-effective. As a jeweller, I make all my emery boards for filing (thanks Bunnings!) and my own jump rings, rather than the face the inconvenience of buying them in. You may find that repurposing household items is another clever way to keep costs down. Artists are great improvisers and innovators, so think outside the box about how you can achieve something.
Tip 9: All hail the hardware store
If you end up going the DIY route, the hardware store will usually have most of the supplies you need for a fraction of the cost. They may not be as refined as the materials at an art supply store, but nobody’s going to see those stretcher bars anyway. Plus, they carry tape, glue, brushes, sanding paper, drill bits and files – again, much more cheaply.
Clamp lights are great to have around too. They’ll come in extra handy when you’re documenting your work. And don’t forget your local $2 or op shop for art supplies and tools.
Tip 10: Love your art supply store … but differently
Many art supply stores have a bin somewhere with damaged/discontinued items. These are gold. Sure, they may not be the most popular colours or sizes, but you can often find great bargains that are really adaptable. Art supply stores also often have individual stretcher bars, which you can mix and match to make whatever dimension canvas you want – again an excellent cheap alternative.
Tip 11: Dumpster dive, well sort of
Think of it as dumpster diving 2.0 – that is Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree as great sources of materials. It’s amazing what you can find going for a song. When I set up my lamp working studio I bought a job lot of equipment and glass rods from a woman retiring her practice – and five years on that stash is still barely dinted. Put in the work and you will be rewarded.
Tip 12: Ramen tastes all right with sriracha
And, as I once read on a tips list and have long embraced, it is amazing how you can glam up a bowl of two-minute noodles. Just because you are living poor, it doesn’t meant that life has to be bland. Remember to add some spice and love around the edges to help you get through.
