We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Morgan Dingman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Morgan below.
Hi Morgan, thanks for joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
I ask myself, every time I find myself in a lull, if I would be happier with a “regular job”. I find that when ideas are coming to me freely, I feel on top of the world. I’m high on it, riding a painting out for days. However, when I feel in a rut and there are no ideas left, I catastrophize quickly. Suddenly, there’s pressure in my chest and my mind is reeling with “Maybe, I was never meant to be an artist!”, “My new work is a dull reflection of my old expression of self!”, “What I am working on is a waste!” And finally “I wonder if I would do better with a regular job?”
In these times, I have found that an easy remedy for the spiraling fears is to pick apart what you need from these thoughts. The fears may have valuable information for you to consider, but the fearful thought as a whole is untrue (I would not be happier at a regular job!) For example, what could you benefit from having a regular job? For me, I would enjoy having a routine and schedule I stick to regularly (which I struggle with, having ADHD and Borderline Personality Disorder), I would benefit from social interaction (I’m alone in the studio most times), regular paycheck (this can be hard to rely on when working in the arts), etc. Consider the ways you could benefit from having this fearful thought come true, and write them down.
Then, once I know what I am looking for from a “regular job”, now I know what I need to change in my own practice. I am craving routine, social interaction, and monetary stability. What ways can I make those things happen?
I schedule my studio time in a calendar that holds all of my other to-do lists, that way I know exactly how much time I can dedicate to my work. I can even schedule studio time in public if I am really craving community. There are periods where I work in my sketchbook, practicing foundational drawing and brainstorming concepts for future projects at coffee shops.
Needing a stable income is a beast of its own, I have found that creating products of my work that are affordable for many different demographics has helped immensely. I have stickers, postcards, & magnets for my younger demographic that are spending their money on education and building their life, usually being unable to afford large work. I have giclée prints for those who are a bit more established in their homes/lives and can spend more on larger and higher quality pieces. My originals and commissions are at a price that is suitable for my collectors and audience right now. As the demand goes up for my work, so will the prices of my originals.
Finally, when I am in a lull and contemplating the validity of my worth as an artist, I have realized I’m am probably forcing myself to create. I am putting pressure on myself to create something moving, original, and impactful! I am forcing myself through a period I’m not meant to be in right now.
I go through phases: currently being in the middle of and working on a project, seeing it through until completion, realizing I have nothing to work on, feeling lost for a long time as I force myself to come up with the next project, catastrophizing about how I have no idea what I want to do at all, surrendering to the need to just create so I practice fundamentals (read books, watch videos, follow classes, etc.), until an idea hits me! I refine a few project details, and just like that, I’m in the middle of a new project. And the cycle repeats. A bit of a freak out is to be expected.
You don’t need a “regular job”. You just have listen to what you need from those thoughts and make it happen along side your endeavor to create.
(Short answer: No, I wouldn’t be happier with a “regular job”.)
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?
My name is Morgan Dingman, I am the owner and artist behind Rarity Grey. I began my professional career, almost five years ago now, in New Orleans, Louisiana. I have always expressed myself intensely! Throughout the years I have found drawing, painting, and writing what was going on in my life/head acts as an outlet. My raw reality on canvas can range from chaotic and ugly, to elegant and structured, to the clean/tight brushstrokes that I learned while studying at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts when I was a teenager, living in Michigan. The relatability of each expression has drawn in an audience of all backgrounds, races, religious beliefs, etc.,(individuals moved to tears) many of whom I would not expect to appreciate my work being as dark as it is. Painting and writing together has developed into each piece having a back story, creating an experience for my audience to move through and feel with me. I never entirely know what the finished work is going to be until the work finally feels right in my gut.
I didn’t think I could be a professional artist! (I still don’t some days!) In the beginning, I had approached a gallery in the local mall where I live, to see if they would hang my work, and they did! I couldn’t believe it! I made a few sales and soon after that, my father suggested that I sell in New Orleans. It’s a huge art hub and has community full of creatives, the tourists and travelers are rotating out every weekend; it’s perfect. I went for it! With my father’s help and advice, I purchased the things I needed for a small set up and have upgraded and expanded ever since, now hanging in 3 galleries and working on many new opportunities. My father is now my photographer and reproductions manager, also providing his skills to numerous artists along the Gulf Coast.
My work includes original artwork and prints. There are many different sizes and shapes of my work including stickers, postcards, magnets, canvas and paper prints, and I am currently launching a T-shirt line to offer wearable and usable products in the future (blankets, notebooks, phone cases, etc.) I am open to discussing commission ideas, for those who like my style and want to create something together!
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My goal is always connection. I am aware of how dark my work is visually, which can read as stand-off-ish. However, when you read the backstory of what was prompting the work, there’s a moment when the viewer realizes that they have been there before too. I strive to be able to tap into the large web of interconnected experiences that make us, us. I want to linger in moments that can’t be extended in real life, I want to feel the way beauty made me feel last week, I want to recall how memory feels, and how “other” a moment has become when warped by time. I want to share, visually, my experiences and continue to enjoy watching others relate to the endeavor.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
If you can’t afford to support an artist by purchasing work, share their work. Share it everywhere. Share their story! Share their locations of display, share pieces that touch you even if you don’t know why, take friends to see your favorite artist, I don’t care how you decide to do it, just do it!
Imagine, you liked a piece of artwork, and you tell your friends!
What this means for the artist: the friends and groups you associate with (that you have things in common with) may also really like that work. That means an artist who had an interaction with 1 person, suddenly has 3-5 more eyes on their work because you shared it!
Now, if that sharing of information keeps going, there is suddenly a very large audience following an artist. That artist, now, has a much higher likelihood of finding their collectors, and it is all because you shared their work!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://raritygrey.com
- Instagram: rarity.grey
Image Credits
Rarity Grey