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Making Your Life as an Artist
from back cover:
"Artists are the most talented, hard-working people I know. So why are they perennially exhausted, broke, and overwhelmed?"
Based on 20 years as a working artist and a decade of work with artists locally and nationally, Making Your Life as an Artist looks at why artists' lives are so punishing, and how we can build balanced, sustainable lives.
This book is available as a free download (no strings attached) at artistsu.org
Andrew Simonet is a choreographer, writer, and founder of Artist U, a grassroots planning and professional development program for artists. He co-directed Headlong Dance Theater from 1993 to 2013.
"Artists are the most talented, hard-working people I know. So why are they perennially exhausted, broke, and overwhelmed?"
Based on 20 years as a working artist and a decade of work with artists locally and nationally, Making Your Life as an Artist looks at why artists' lives are so punishing, and how we can build balanced, sustainable lives.
This book is available as a free download (no strings attached) at artistsu.org
Andrew Simonet is a choreographer, writer, and founder of Artist U, a grassroots planning and professional development program for artists. He co-directed Headlong Dance Theater from 1993 to 2013.
- GenresArtNonfiction
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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200 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 21, 2014
This little book (and it is very diminutive in size) was a real eye openener for me as an artist already well-underway with my life and career. Andrew draws some great scenarios to help clarify how we can connect with other artists, funders, and audience members more easily and more realistically. He shows how easy it is for us to forget to speak in inclusive terms, but offers concrete help on changing that. Most of all, he talks about time management, a huge issue for most artists, in ways that are actionable. I really think this book applies to anyone wanting to do their own "thing", whether that is to actually write that book you've been dreaming about, or get your music career going in a very out-of-the-box way.
A bonus: the typsetting is particularly wonderful and it the book is laid out page to page in a very graphically appealing way. You could download the ebook for free at artistu, but I think paying the meager $15 or so is great to help support this wonderful group.
A bonus: the typsetting is particularly wonderful and it the book is laid out page to page in a very graphically appealing way. You could download the ebook for free at artistu, but I think paying the meager $15 or so is great to help support this wonderful group.
August 26, 2019
I cannot recommend this book enough to ANY kind of artist.
March 7, 2018
These fabulous self-help books are a valuable addition to the library of any creative struggling, as we all do, to build a life that is balanced, productive, and sustainable.
Making Your Life as an Artist covers all the important ground such as Planning, Mission, Money and Time. But don’t be fooled by the apparent simplicity of the book.
In just under 200 pages of succint, sparsely-filled, and handsomely-designed pages, Simonet’s writing is capable of subtly changing how you view your creative persona and therefore the way you need to interact with the world.
“...procrastination is a rational response to an unrealistic to-do list.”
Now a writer, from 1993 to 2013, Andrew Simonet was a founding co-director and choreographer of Headlong, a collaborative dance theater in Philadelphia, which also toured across the US.
Consequently his writing is anchored in the hard-won wisdom of experience, and in case you doubt it, he sprinkles the book with pithy personal anecdotes to illustrate his points.
While many of the topics he covers are essential but hardly new territory, Simonet isn’t afraid to step into less safe waters.
In the chapter titled Our Punishing Lives, as well as exploring perennial topics such as perfectionism, workaholism, starving artist syndrome, Simonet dives into less-talked about ones such as the misplaced competitiveness that leads us to resent the success of other artists, and the destructive nature of our hunger for recognition.
Equally at home tackling the more obvious topics or the less-discussed ones, Simonet's frank, matter-of-fact yet empathetic delivery somehow makes his insight hit home hard.
"I used to think of perfectionism as rigor: I’m being tough on myself; I’m going to expect the maximum. Now, I see perfectionism as vanity: the rules don’t apply to me; I’m not human like everyone else; I can do the impossible; I can be perfect.”
Whether he is demystifying how to talk about what you do to someone who has never met an artist before, writing your artist statement or calculating your hourly rate, Simonet manages to cover really important questions with astonishing insight and depth yet without ever rambling or using a word more than he needs to. This ability to reduce concepts to their essentials means he excels at taking really daunting tasks and breaking them down for us into a series of totally doable steps.
Simonet’s book is empowering in a way that will give you not a few ‘aha' moments as you recognise how much being an artist pervades the way you behave in other areas, and the remarkably positive origins of the negative traits we often develop as artists.
I defy you not to recognise yourself in at least some of the scenarios that he paints.
This review originally appeared in full here.
Making Your Life as an Artist covers all the important ground such as Planning, Mission, Money and Time. But don’t be fooled by the apparent simplicity of the book.
In just under 200 pages of succint, sparsely-filled, and handsomely-designed pages, Simonet’s writing is capable of subtly changing how you view your creative persona and therefore the way you need to interact with the world.
“...procrastination is a rational response to an unrealistic to-do list.”
Now a writer, from 1993 to 2013, Andrew Simonet was a founding co-director and choreographer of Headlong, a collaborative dance theater in Philadelphia, which also toured across the US.
Consequently his writing is anchored in the hard-won wisdom of experience, and in case you doubt it, he sprinkles the book with pithy personal anecdotes to illustrate his points.
While many of the topics he covers are essential but hardly new territory, Simonet isn’t afraid to step into less safe waters.
In the chapter titled Our Punishing Lives, as well as exploring perennial topics such as perfectionism, workaholism, starving artist syndrome, Simonet dives into less-talked about ones such as the misplaced competitiveness that leads us to resent the success of other artists, and the destructive nature of our hunger for recognition.
Equally at home tackling the more obvious topics or the less-discussed ones, Simonet's frank, matter-of-fact yet empathetic delivery somehow makes his insight hit home hard.
"I used to think of perfectionism as rigor: I’m being tough on myself; I’m going to expect the maximum. Now, I see perfectionism as vanity: the rules don’t apply to me; I’m not human like everyone else; I can do the impossible; I can be perfect.”
Whether he is demystifying how to talk about what you do to someone who has never met an artist before, writing your artist statement or calculating your hourly rate, Simonet manages to cover really important questions with astonishing insight and depth yet without ever rambling or using a word more than he needs to. This ability to reduce concepts to their essentials means he excels at taking really daunting tasks and breaking them down for us into a series of totally doable steps.
Simonet’s book is empowering in a way that will give you not a few ‘aha' moments as you recognise how much being an artist pervades the way you behave in other areas, and the remarkably positive origins of the negative traits we often develop as artists.
I defy you not to recognise yourself in at least some of the scenarios that he paints.
This review originally appeared in full here.
September 3, 2021
“The success of other artists is good for me!” This is a mantra that one of my acting teachers drilled into us students throughout our time in class together. Well, I finally read the book with which that quote is from and it was wonderful! This book celebrates the work we do as artists. It encourages one to work sustainability and in a healthy manner. It inspires one to dream big and actually plan a way to achieve that.
Simonet’s book is extremely accessible. It is not dense, yet, of the few statements that are on each page, almost all of them pack a punch. There was a lot of underlining and circling being done by me when reading this.
I enjoyed this book as a high school senior soon to be off to drama school next fall. While I think this book is best for those who are out of school and actually in the world doing their own artist thing, I still found myself taking a lot of the ideas and striving to apply them into the classrooms that I am in. It also was a nice read because it highlights a shift in perspective of what my career would look like following school. Not all artists have to be broke, working CONSTANTLY in unsatisfactory jobs while never taking a break, and always settling for less. That doesn’t need to be that case. That should not be a rite of passage. Sometimes we have to think about artist culture as a whole. There is something in the book about how when we ask the world for what we need that shifts expectations of artists. If a company can always find an artist to work 40 hours a week for 2 weeks for always $500 they will only do that. But if every artist offered that job asked for what they deserve and what is enough to live off of the company will then allow more of their budget to go to that. And if they don’t, there are other jobs out there. Simonet says it way better than I can but the basic moral is sometimes our choices in the artist life impact the big picture and artists to come.
Simonet’s book is extremely accessible. It is not dense, yet, of the few statements that are on each page, almost all of them pack a punch. There was a lot of underlining and circling being done by me when reading this.
I enjoyed this book as a high school senior soon to be off to drama school next fall. While I think this book is best for those who are out of school and actually in the world doing their own artist thing, I still found myself taking a lot of the ideas and striving to apply them into the classrooms that I am in. It also was a nice read because it highlights a shift in perspective of what my career would look like following school. Not all artists have to be broke, working CONSTANTLY in unsatisfactory jobs while never taking a break, and always settling for less. That doesn’t need to be that case. That should not be a rite of passage. Sometimes we have to think about artist culture as a whole. There is something in the book about how when we ask the world for what we need that shifts expectations of artists. If a company can always find an artist to work 40 hours a week for 2 weeks for always $500 they will only do that. But if every artist offered that job asked for what they deserve and what is enough to live off of the company will then allow more of their budget to go to that. And if they don’t, there are other jobs out there. Simonet says it way better than I can but the basic moral is sometimes our choices in the artist life impact the big picture and artists to come.
September 16, 2019
I’ve read so many articles about this topic, but they are usually full of platitudes with no actionable steps.
This book is like having an artist mentor telling you the honest things you need to hear. The workbook actually takes you through the thought process of planning and really thinking about where you want to go.
Highly recommended.
This book is like having an artist mentor telling you the honest things you need to hear. The workbook actually takes you through the thought process of planning and really thinking about where you want to go.
Highly recommended.
May 14, 2024
A unique meditation that explicates the implications of making artistry a viable, life-long passion—instead of an occasional hobby (at best) or a formative effort (at worst)—and which serves as a lighthouse’s beacon for the lost and/or losing amidst a dreadful storm that is the demise of artistic integrity at the hands of late-stage capitalism’s vice-like choke-hold.
January 16, 2022
For me, this book was worth the price alone just for the section on goal setting (personal vs professional vs artistic). If I have a BFA or MFA, maybe I'd already have that knowledge, but I don't, and it really clicked for me.
The book is a quick read, but an inspiring one.
The book is a quick read, but an inspiring one.
December 19, 2023
So smart and concise; the advice it offers about time management and building a sustainable life apply to everyone, but definitely need to be heard by folks trying to build a creative life. I loved it and will keep referring to it.
September 22, 2017
Brilliant. Such good advice.
August 5, 2019
Good tips!
October 24, 2021
A very good easy reading book that opened my eye as an artist to different things that will surly help me during my artistic journey.
Read
November 20, 2021This book has a lot of helpful advice— I’m hoping to find someone to do the artist statement exercise with me.
October 11, 2020
Easy read, small book. Said some things I need to work on and think about. Now for starting the workbook, which will be much more challenging!
February 8, 2019
I loved this book! There's so great advice & wisdom for artists!!
My art instructor emailed this to me! And I'm so glad she did!
This book teaches artists that we have to be balanced, driven, and above all, committed to being artists and creators!
My art instructor emailed this to me! And I'm so glad she did!
This book teaches artists that we have to be balanced, driven, and above all, committed to being artists and creators!
September 27, 2014
Indispensable!
February 3, 2016
Great read! Showed realistic principles and strategies to living a life of artistic expression and creativity.
August 30, 2016
I haven't had any time to put it in practice but, you know, seems legit
April 5, 2020
Great exercises for any artists or creatives that are thinking about the big picture questions related to their lives. Has an accompanying workbook as well.
July 11, 2016
A free ebook - worth reading!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews