The world needs artists and creatives. Unfortunately, being needed doesn’t often easily translate into financial stability. The struggle is real for so many incredibly talented artists and creatives and so we think it’s important to hear from creatives who have made it work – there is so much to learn from the folks we’ve featured below.

Lori Katz

I have earned a living as a working studio artist my entire adult life. 46 years!

I think of myself as the owner of a small-business first, an artist/creative second. Building my business to the point where I earn a comfortable living took years and an enormous effort, and still takes an enormous effort. There are so many steps and things to attend to beyond simply making art. And all of those steps need to continue if I want my business to remain successful. Read more>>

Daniel Chavez Jr.

I am very fortunate to be able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. The pay is more modest than higher paying careers, but I am able to find joy in what I do everyday.

During my University years, I volunteered a lot as a performer and lended a hand wherever I could. The exec producer of the local community theatre was a very good friend of mine so I was able to be a part of a lot of the planning and conversations that were had that gave me the knowledge and experience that a classroom didn’t teach me. Read more>>

Desiree Jordan

By the time I finished college, I realized that “it takes money to make money,” meaning… I would need to work for someone else (to pay my bills) WHILE I pursued my creative work in my free time (singing, writing music, and performing), UNTIL I made it to the ‘sweet spot.’ Read more>>

James Seffens

In addition to being a self-taught artist and craftsman I received on the job training in the studio of Nicolas Cortes, an older sculptor. Early in my career my focus was to build up my tool collection, and build up my skills by taking on challenges, and experimenting with materials. The sculpture that we produced in the Cortes Studio was primary destined for the display market. Contracted projects were always on deadline and budget for our corporate clients. Materials and skills involved were widely varied, build a tree out of feathers one day, sculpt, mold, and cast life-size animals the next. As the display market changed, we branched out by developing craft collections. After my mentor’s passing, I continued to diversify and built for interior designers, the theatre, and for fine artists. Read more>>

Paul Cosentino

I started leading jazz bands when I was in high school. People asked us to play at house parties, church picnics, community festivals etc. Bands always need a leader- collectives really don’t work. And I was always somehow the de-facto leader. In college, I wanted to major in music but my parents didn’t go for that, so I majored in business and minored in music which actually worked out pretty well in end. Read more>>

Amelie Trimpl

When I moved to NYC as a photographer, I expanded into brand direction and eventually founded BUNT, my creative agency focused on visual identity, storytelling, and inclusive design.
Early on, I took on part-time work while building my portfolio and finding aligned clients. A major turning point was launching BUNT with a visual performance centered on meaningful partnerships, this helped define my niche and attract brands that shared my values. Read more>>

Dewayne Taplin Jr

I have definitely been able to make a full-time living from my creative and entertainment life and I am still aiming towards the “Full-Time” being more of a success.
The journey has been a long one and started around the age of 19. While in Highschool, living in Waldorf MD, my parents ended up getting a divorce. That was a toll on me for sure. As a young African-American boy I got mixed up in some wrong decisions that could have gotten me in the wrong place. Read more>>

ELIZABETH Kirk

My ability to earn a full-time living as an artist is due largely to my ability to take what my father created to the next level. My father and his late brother became artists who set themselves apart by working in high karat gold and quality stone. My journey started by simply wanting to be closer to my hero and the want to see him grow the business as it enabled our family to be available at all times. At the age of 17 I took over the business side and started making calls and looking at marketing, something my father never thought was necessary. Soon enough I was picking up skills to help with production and the creativity started to flow. Read more>>

Anna

Making a living from dance work is not what it used to be, and the financial landscape of this career is still rapidly evolving. A dancer in a major city used to be able to work for a few part-time companies (or one full-time company, if you were lucky) and make enough to get by. This was the world my teachers and professors taught me about and trained me for. The dance world had already been changing at that point, but by the time I graduated college it was an entirely different beast. Read more>>