Episode 9: Debunking “The Starving Artist” Myth with Ashley Paggi of Ash Cascade Designs
From weather apps to Creative Services at Pottery Barn, Ashley Paggi has had a stunning creative history. As she transitioned to motherhood and navigated the pandemic, she began to redefine her vision for her art career. Ashley shares with us the powerful truth that an artist doesn’t require subscribing to the “starving artist” cliche. As she shares about returning to her work she reveals some key wisdom to help encourage us toward a thriving future and career in art.
Fulfilling Purpose
After a time of reflection in 2020, Ashley shares how she came to realize that she had actually “never loved work before.” How relatable, right?! Even as young people, many of us, regardless of being surrounded by creativity, never even thought that an art school or an art career was even an option. Perhaps our goal was like Ashley’s…financial stability. The two things, art and money, never coincided. Yet after Ashley chose to hone in on her craft, she settled into the world of a surface pattern design career. In this episode, Ashley shares about surface pattern design and how it essentially consists of artwork created preemptively that is then licensed to companies.
She touches on:
-Repeat patterns
-Copyright
-Personal product sales
-Revenue streams: finding what suits
-Leveraging artwork
Ashley discusses several revenue streams that one can have with an art career. Her revenue streams have included licensing, producing her own products to sell direct-to-customer, art education, and affiliating for different courses and products.
The "AH HA" moment
Ultimately, the conversation with Ashley confirms that being a lucrative artist is doable. Artists are no longer required to adhere to luck. You are not chained to the destiny of a “starving artist.” If you're still in a rut and doubtful, it’s time to shift from a scarcity mindset and start seeking out what other people are doing successfully. Looking for people who have similar giftings as your own, can open your mind to what is possible. Find that community and reflect on what you would like to pursue and build.
Furthermore, Ashley reminds us that we don’t know what's out there when we don’t position ourselves to find and build our artistic communities. It can be overwhelming thinking about the opportunities available for artists to make money, but Ashley shares how much education exists to bolster your vision for your career.
It’s Two-fold: Hard Work and Looking Inward
The reality is that to be a thriving artist hard work is a fundamental aspect. It is also important that we educate people outside of our creative world that artists have a great capacity and are required to do hard work to find success. Reminding people in our worlds that we aren’t destined for a scarcity mindset can let everyone understand what it means to be a working artist.
Ashley also stresses the beauty in allowing yourself to be inspired by people who have fine-tuned or carved out a niche. Make your own “special sauce” and define your creative “why”. Then, one step at a time, give your “why” some time and space to breathe.
Community over Competition: A Perspective into the Art Community
If anything represents Ashley’s heartbeat for this episode it would be this: that removing competition and sewing into a community is a true testament to artistic success. We all know how easy it is to pit each other against one another. We all have similar goals and may be doing similar things artistically. So it’s key to keep unhealthy comparisons at bay. Ashley invites us to allow other people’s success to stoke our creative fire… through the art of celebration and championing. When other artists have successes it is simply another point of evidence that working artists have the greatest possibilities to thrive.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
We can be thriving artists and not starving artists! The revenue streams and possibilities for artists are endless. You can license your designs for products such as fabric, children’s clothing, home decor, and outdoor gear, manufacture your own products to sell direct-to-customer, sell your products wholesale, teach online or in-person workshops, and even affiliate for products or courses.
Look for examples of people with similar talents to you and see where they are putting their efforts and what they are doing. Our eyes can be open to all the possibilities when we put ourselves in a room with people who are successful and are doing what we want to be doing.
It’s our responsibility to educate others about what we do as artists so we can slowly build more respect and an understanding of the art industry.
Having a career as a working artist is a lot of work and it requires commitment, but it is possible!
Community over competition is a beautiful thing because when one person celebrates success it can allow us to see what is possible and what opportunities lie ahead for us too.
Ash Cascade is an artist whose bohemian/retro style evokes a polished yet gritty sense of place. Ash draws infinitely upon the adventures she takes with her husband and their two fierce little girls in the Pacific Northwest.
Ash’s designs translate beautifully across many industries with her most passionate being outdoor gear, clothing, stationery, dinnerware, wallpaper, gift wrap, home goods and fabric. She is a designer with Cotton + Steel Fabrics. Her fabric collections are sold internationally in boutique brick and mortar fabric shops as well as online in countless shops.
Ashley is also a mentor and online educator to other artists because she believes in the power of community over competition above all else.
Link to art mindset guide:
General 3 — Ash Cascade Designs
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