We recently connected with Jorg Dubin and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jorg, thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

The creative life is not an easy path. I have been a full time working artist for almost 50 years. One of the things I pass on to the younger generation is to learn as many skill sets as possible. The more you know beyond your first love, (painting, sculpture etc), the less you will have to work at a “real” job to support your creative endeavors. I have been fortunate to have developed a wide range of skills that have allowed me to lead a creative life as a full time working artist. Does that mean it has all been focused on painting? Absolutely not. To this day I still take on projects that are creative but I only do them to pay the bills. They still require me to use my creative skills and I am thankful to have developed many over the decades that have allowed me to stay free from the “other” job market.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started my creative life at a very young age. By the time I was 15 I was very involved in the resurgence of the craft movement in the early 70’s. I was doing street fairs and started to make a modest living as a ceramist. Over the many years as I grew as an artist I found that I was drawn to painting and sculpture. In the 80’s I had a small design business with another artist and we worked on high end residential projects building one off furniture and doing patination work and faux painting. This was a great learning time for myself and many of the materials and skills found their way into my art making process. I have also been fortunate to work in the movie industry as an art director, production designer and set and prop builder for O Entertainment. Again, more learning that applies to my creative output. With all the experiences I have had, one of the things I can offer to designers, architects and all creatives are my personal skills sets as well as a deep bench of resource people who I often collaborate with. I have been able to solve problems and take on projects that others may not attempt. My experience and abilities allow me to understand my clients needs and vision and to work with budgets when realistic. I am very proud of the fact that I am able to get up every day and work on creative projects. Learn all you can. Use your mind and your hands to apply yourself to all kinds of creative endeavors and most of all, enjoy the life you have.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

We live in a very divisive time and with Covid and it’s aftermath, the creative world has become an even a greater challenge to participate in. It has been said the societies will be judged by how they treat their creatives. As a society in 2023 I believe we are far from getting an A plus in that regard. Brick and mortar galleries have closed. The one’s that remain are very selective about who they will represent. Artists are finding other avenues to show their work which is great however it reflects poorly on us as a modern society in the very wealthy country. So what can we do? One of the big things communities can do is get involved with their local governing bodies to support their art communities by helping to create arts districts where artists can afford and thrive in. Artists are often the ones who find a neighborhood that they can afford to live and work in and then that “hood” becomes hip and cool and the next thing you know the creatives are driven out by gentrification. Creatives are the soul of every community and if the community ignores their needs then what is left becomes very “beige” and boring and ultimately stagnate.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

NFT’s! Well, I’m and old school artist however am always open to new ideas and methods of creating and supporting one’s self. However NFT’s are not one of those in my opinion. Feels like a Ponzi scheme to in many ways. Perhaps I am not knowledgeable enough to to fully understand the value but frankly I really don’t care to know as I find them to be B.S. and worthless. Some day if I live long enough perhaps I will be proven wrong…….maybe!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jorgdubin.com
• Instagram: @jorg.dubin