Art blogger Joanne Mattera is always worth reading. Her Monday business post this week is about job loss for artists and it terrific. She makes the cogent point that since most artists have seemingly invisible jobs - many small gigs patched together - when we take a hit in a bad economy it looks different than someone losing a 9-5 40 hour a week job. She also poses a key question: how do artists become more visible as members of the economy. I'm not sure what the answer is but I think artists need to become better advocates for themselves as business people. That means spending time talking about art making as a business not just a passion. It means not being shy about promoting one's work and about talking about the non-studio aspects of that work - and not just to one's friends but in the media, online and to an audience.
On another front - if you're in the Ann Arbor area the A2mechshop has a call for artists interested in a residency. This is a communal shop providing access to tools and technology. Looks pretty nifty.
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