Category Archives: Artist Resources

TOP POST: “What Kind Of Art Do You Make?”, Defining Your Discipline

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This Year’s Top Post

by Daric Gill

This is a rebroadcast of the most viewed post taken from my website during this year.

“I hear you’re an artist. What kind of art do you make?”

Depending on the type of work that you make, this could be one of the most awkward introductions you might face. The lines between art fields can get pretty blurry sometimes. More often than not, the person asking is really looking for a term that they know: painter, sculptor, drawer, graphic artist, etc. But what if you do several of them? How do you answer then?

In this entry, I’ll discuss the differences between a few artist classifications. I’ve also designed a set of informative graphics that explains their differences by using funny food analogies. Check out the different classifications. Which one describes you?

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A Guide For Improving Productivity For the Social Artist

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The Positives (& Pitfalls) Of The Social Artist

by Daric Gill

Urban Scrawl OpeningAn artist’s occupation can be full of socialization. Art openings, studio gatherings, or normal artist meet-ups have plenty to offer an artist if they are so inclined. Congregating with other like-minded people can aid in idea making, business propositions, and escape the general studio (or day-job) rut. Most see it as a necessity to stay relevant in the quickly changing world of art. But it can also hold a large base of distraction if one isn’t careful. In this article, I’ll discuss the merits of the social artist as well as the inhibitors that can sometimes lead to more procrastination than a primer.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with simply having a good time with friends. This article is aimed at the artist who is looking to be more social or is interested in getting a little more from their social exuberance.

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“Who’s your inspiration?”: And The Answer You Didn’t Expect

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“Who’s your inspiration?”: My Ballet Of Unlikely Answers

by Daric Gill

The first question an artist is asked upon introduction is, “What type of art do you make?”. This is quickly followed up by, “Who (or what) is your inspiration?”. These are reasonable questions. After all, almost everyone knows what an artist is, but aren’t really sure what an artist does. And certainly, they don’t know where we get our ideas. Shoot… sometimes we don’t even know where they come from ourselves.

From experience I know that what I’m about to say is not the answer they are expecting:

My art and inspirations are interdisciplinary. So, by definition it’s not as easy to define. What then?

There’s always a ballet of rhetoric that I have to employ to maintain brevity but still answer with clarity. The following article offers both a brief explanation of my inspirations as well as a more in-depth description of how I get inspired. And if you’re one of those people who want to know more about your fellow artists, but aren’t sure how to start-up the conversation, hopefully, this can help.

[If you’re looking for Tips For Building Your Creative Tool Belt, click here]

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The Secrets To Finding & Reclaiming Materials

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Finding Those Reclaimed Materials

by Daric Gill

As a person who works with reclaimed materials, I get asked where I find my materials a lot. In fact, I was asked this twice today. Here’s how this question usually goes:

1950 Craftsman table saw“I’ve got this project I was thinking about making…. If you don’t mind me asking, where do you find all of this amazing material?!”

This is a very flattering question and I’m more than happy to share in the ‘reclaimed materials’ movement.

Having said that, I’ve found that there’s actually quite an array of motives and goals behind that question. This post will cover the right questions to ask yourself so that you can be on your way to finding newly reclaimed materials.

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