mcabee's art tips

Here they are!  I posted a few of these on Instagram over the summer and there was a lot of engagement about them.  I figure you deserve the entire list and this may turn into a reference for one of my classes.  

I see a lot of people offering tips and advice to artists.  Some of these people are not working artists and many have no idea what it feels like to deal with the thoughts and feelings an artist may encounter on a daily basis.  If you're new here, I am a working artist and a very productive one.  I've been making artwork professionally for 20 years.  Happy to discuss if you have questions.  

1. Snacks and naps.  You can survive on snacks and naps.  Seriously.  Whatever your situation is, there’s nothing a good nap and a snack can’t fix.

2. Work work work!!!  Get to work.  Now.  This is the sign you’ve been waiting for.  Put the screen down, put your phone in another room and get to work.  Nothing good will happen if you’re not working.

3. Seriously, get to work.  I know you can think of a hundred other things you need to do right now but none of those are as important as you getting to work. Procrastination kills.  Go now.

4. You can make anything you want.  Unless you’re working on an assignment for school or a specific commission that you agreed to, you can literally make anything you want.  Wanting to make it makes it valid.

5. There are no rules.  There are guidelines and rational reasons why certain things should be avoided, but nothing great happens when you follow all the rules.  Rules are boring and so are people who follow them.  We do what we want.

6. You actually are an artist now.  An artist is not some future version of you.  An artist is a person who creates with the intention to communicate.  If that’s you, congratulations, you’re an artist.

7. Be nice.  It’s a small world and artists talk.  Galleries talk. Museums talk.  Everything and everyone is connected.  If you’re a butthole, everyone will know soon.

8. Be grateful.  It may feel like a curse every now and again, but getting to make art is a gift.  You get to play for a living.  You get paid to have fun.  This is, of course, a two parter….

9. Yes, it’s hard.  The hardest thing you’ll ever do is create art.  Physically and mentally this is very difficult work.  If it were easy, everyone would do it and no one would be amazed by it.  This is a reason to be grateful and to get to work.

10. Everything you do will not be great.  Accept that and keep working.  Something you do will be great and even better, it may change some stranger’s life.  This is the noble work of the artist.

11. Be afraid.  Be afraid of not being good enough.  Be afraid of not being able to replicate success.  Be afraid of not drawing, sculpting or painting well.  Be afraid and do it anyway.  Everyone is afraid all the time.

12. Your art is finished when you say it is.  You may turn it out in hours or you may revisit it after years pass.  People like to say art is never finished.  Nonsense.  It’s finished when you say it is.

13. It’s OK to make work to sell.  It’s OK to make work to show in a weird gallery.  It’s OK to make work that you never show to anyone.  You’re an artist and you can do whatever you want.

14. Do not create a design or work of art for someone for free with the promise of “good exposure”.  My dentist never offered a free crown so I’d mention his name.  There’s absolutely no reason for you to work for free.

15. It’s OK to have a full time job that is not art related.  Sometimes we have really good jobs that allow us to buy art supplies and to have the time we need to create.  Do what works for you.  You’re still a real artist.

16. The TV is not your friend.  I realize you probably call it something else now, streaming, Netflix or whatever, but if you want to be a productive artist, you don’t have time for that nonsense.  Turn it off and get to work.

17. Beware of scams.  Scammers love artists.  They’ll email you directly and say they love your work.  I know it felt good that someone liked your work enough to email you, but it’s a scam.  Delete and get back to work.

18. No one is going to knock on your door and offer you a show.  If you want your work out there, you are going to have to put it out there.  Email galleries, enter juried shows, go talk to your local arts center, heck, create your own exhibit.  Just don’t wait on someone else to promote you.

19. Art is not a competition.  Literally no other human can make the exact thing that you can make.  No one can be you.  Work hard, do your best and some days luck will reward you.  (Also a two parter…)

20. Art is absolutely a competition.  There are limited spots in that juried show.  There are limited spaces on that exhibition calendar.  There are limited funds in that grant pool.  If you want them, you better be working hard and doing your best.

21. Your art will be rejected.  A LOT.  You should expect a 90% rejection rate.  Be grateful for the 10%.  Do not confuse yourself with your art.  They didn’t reject YOU.  They rejected your art.

22. Art is magic.  Artists are magicians.  Historically, they were the shamans who could see into the spirit world.  Artists were sought out to guide, advise and console communities.  This is what artists do today.  This is not just a hobby, it is important work that you can contribute as your civic duty.  If you don’t do it, it may not get done.  Get to work!

23. Be kind to yourself.  Do not talk to yourself in a way that you would not speak to someone else.  Negative self-talk will kill your spirit and stop you from working.  Rational criticism is crucial for growth, but it needs to actually be rational.  You do not suck.  Your art is not trash.  You just need to get back to work.  

24. Try something new.  You’re not just a painter or a sculptor or a designer.  You’re an artist.  You can do anything you want.

25. Say yes.  Always say yes to opportunities.  Never done that before?  Say yes.  Not sure you can pull it off?  Say yes.  Scared?  Say yes.  The uncertainty is where you grow.

26. Keep it interesting.  Switch up what you do.  Finish a large work and then see how small you can go.  Known for your 3D work?  Make some 2D work.  Got your style down so well you could do it in your sleep?  Make a new style.  You’ll push yourself and force yourself to learn new things.

27. Stop listening to idiots.  If the person criticizing your work isn’t a working artist that you have a great deal of respect for, do not take their advice or criticism.  Smile, say thank you and throw those comments in the mental trash bin.  

28. Write down compliments about your work.  When you overhear someone saying something nice about your work in a gallery, write it down.  When someone tells you they love your work, write it down.  Then read those comments on the darker days.  

29. Work all the time.  Life is short and you’re supposed to be positively contributing to society while you’re breathing.  You’re not positively contributing when you’re watching Netflix or otherwise procrastinating.  Close your laptop, put away your phone and go work.

the first four weeks

Hey.

I started this blog in the years before Instagram as a way of collecting thoughts and images for my own keeping in a digital sketchbook/journal that I could access from any location.  Along the way, I noticed that a couple of people would tune in from time to time to catch up and get a glimpse into what was going on in my life.  Often, that awareness of an "audience" shifted the way I would think about what I would write or post here.  Sometimes the tone would be sharing.  Sometimes it would be more educational.  Most of the time it was just goofy.  Similar to my Instagram posts.

Instagram is a great tool but I find myself often wanting to share more than just a photo and a quick caption.  Usually those types of things go here now.  This one will probably be a good example of that.  

Because I'm silly and I like to make jokes, I will post about things that may not be going great.  A flat tire or a frustration might be an opportunity for a little joke and a reminder that these things happen to everyone.  Instagram is also an easy format for showing how great our lives are.  Beautiful vacation photos and accomplishments are often celebrated by our little digital village.  

I think it's important to keep balance in those areas.  

Thinking back on the first 4 weeks of the semester, I can easily recall the not-so-great things that happened.  The fire on the sculpture deck, the constant feeling of being overworked, and the frustrations from a couple of people come to mind immediately.  Like you, if I'm not careful, the bad things will dominate my memory and I'll forget all of the truly wonderful things that happened as well.  Here's an attempt to give some of those things equal, or even more, time...

I hate how much I love being with good people.  I say that because I am a hermit.  You may have noticed the title of this entire blog?  Few things interest me as much as working alone in my studio and not leaving my house.  But, dang if I don't love being around my people.  It makes me happy and gives me energy in ways I don't even understand.  Freakin' community.  Ugh.  And that's how I found myself in North Charleston with Kennedy at Kevin's art reception.  I guess that needs an explanation.  

In the span of a week in August, Kennedy went from living near campus and being a full-time graduate student with a couple of local jobs to living in Summerville and being a full-time art teacher and a full-time online graduate student.  Her sudden departure meant that Lander was robbed of a whole year of Kennedy.  Lucky for me, I seem to go to Summerville a lot.  My friend Kevin Morrissey was kind enough to have an art exhibition in North Charleston on an open spot in my calendar.  I LOVE Kevin and I also LOVE his artwork so I jumped at the opportunity to take care of all sorts of birds with one stone.  

First, I alerted Kennedy that I'd be in the area and invited her to the reception.  Then I packed the art I needed to deliver to Jana and Dan in Summerville.  I LOVE Jana and Dan.  I drove directly there and delivered the art and got to hug both of them.  I didn't think to get a photo but it was great to see them and Dan and I got to have a late lunch before I drove on down to the reception.  Kennedy met me there and we got to see the show and we got to talk to Kevin for a while.  He's so great.  Luckily, Kevin had the presence of mind to take a photo that he shared with me.

Then, Kennedy and I got to have dinner outside just a short walk away.  It was so fun to catch up and share stories of the absolute ridiculousness of our collective last 4 weeks.  When I did remember to get a photo with her, it was already dark but we found a street light and boom, photo...

Kennedy is so great.  She's such a wonderful human and a caring teacher.  I LOVE her.  She is in a very difficult situation, though, so y'all send some calming, encouraging thoughts towards the lowcountry for her please.

So I saw Kevin, I saw Kennedy, I saw Jana and Dan.  That's a pretty great overnight trip but I still needed to do one selfish thing before going home...

The Ravenel bridge over the Cooper River is an architectural treat but the real treat is the protected pedestrian lane that spans the entire bridge.  I LOVE running across it.  The views of the river, of Mount Pleasant and of downtown Charleston are breathtaking.  Especially when you're running up the incline of the bridge.  That was a runner's joke.  I apologize. 

To make this run happen, I booked a hotel in Mount Pleasant and planned to get up early for the run.  I didn't realize that hordes of middle aged men were doing a walk across the bridge in honor/memory of 9/11 firefighters.  When I started up the incline, it looked like Mount Pleasant was being invaded by a small army of stocky white dudes from Crossfit.  Their platoons took up most of the lane, making it a little dangerous to pass them without getting flattened by a speeding cyclist.  

My attention quickly turned to the views and just as quickly, I noticed something else.  Downtown Charleston was shining like a diamond under a blue sky.  The river looked a little more gray.  But Mount Pleasant was sort of missing.  I couldn't see it.  Dark clouds suffocated the view of land almost all the way up to the bridge itself.  I was only about a half mile in and I was about to get very wet.  The rain came in a wave and it rained very hard.  The big drops of water stung as they hit skin.  Everyone was trapped in the open.  Some runners and walkers shielded their faces with their hands.  Some tried walking backwards.  I just ran.  (By the way, the weather indicated zero chance of rain moments before this run.  Thanks John!)

When I pass runners, I usually wave or say "good morning".  When the rain came, that turned into odd, knowing looks shared between runners.  The looks and smiles seemed to say, "yes, I know this is stupid and yes, I also kind of love it."  The rain stopped just as I neared the end of my run.  Was it worth it?  Oh, absolutely.  

I'm not the biggest fan of how photos upload on Blogger but after all these years, let's face it, I'm not switching software.  We'll just do these in no particular order.  In the previous post, I mentioned getting to run with my kids.  I LOVE it.  Last weekend I got to run a new paved trail with Violet for 4 miles and it was so awesome.  I know you think it's weird that I love running, but you can still imagine how cool it is to run with your kids.  (I also LOVE Violet.)

I LOVE Jocelyn.  She moved to Asheville, NC and is all busy up there being an adult.  The last time I saw her was almost a year ago when she visited campus and we got to have a coffee.  We tried to work out a quick visit during one of my summer travels, but the map eventually told us the distance and driving time wasn't reasonable and we scrapped those plans.  Then she told me she was visiting home soon and we finally got to hang out and catch up.  Every once in a while Jocelyn needs to be reminded how great she is.  We took care of that and now we can look forward to the next time!

The Ninjas of Kindness are back!  When classes resumed, the Ninjas were back in action.  This is a ridiculous, voluntary thing that my art people do each week and I LOVE them for it.  Even when the mission is to hug strangers, they're into it.  Some of our regulars are Shaina, Katherine, Ana, Colby, Hope, Ashley, Ash, Georgia, H-Dawg and New Brandon.  There are many more who show up too.  If you're near campus on a Thursday morning, join us!

Silly, but this Land Cruiser was parked near where Kennedy and I ate that night.  It was so beautiful.  This is the grandfather to my current FJ and I LOVE it.  If you have one of these that you want to give me, hit me up.

I LOVE giving superpowers to students.  Specifically the kind that plug in and cut wood or weld steel.  My Sculpture 1 students are always so timid and cautious about using a power tool but I get to watch their demeanor change drastically when they realize they can do this.  It's like you can see the moment when they realize that they feel like a total badass.  I LOVE it.  

I guess this is my girl-gang?  Is that offensive?  Well, they wouldn't be offended.  The stress of the first few weeks was heavy and I was ready to shuck it off after my community lecture last Tuesday.  Knowing they'd be up for some fun, I texted the girl-gang to hang out.  Brinana and Katherine were my 3D BFA seniors while Emily was my 3D MFA student.  We trauma-bonded for a few semesters before Brinana graduated and moved into a big-girl job.  Katherine entered the MFA program with Emily and we were able to hang out a few times last year with Brinana.  Now Emily has graduated with her MFA, Brinana has just earned her Masters in Business and Katherine is in her final year of the MFA.  Busy people.  So it was great to have an hour or so together to laugh and talk.  I LOVE them.  

Being back from summer break also allows me to get back into Coffee With McAbee episodes.  I can't find my photo with Hannah but here's mine this week with Jessica.  Both Hannah and Jessica have been my students for ages and both have graduated with their BFAs.  In all that time, we didn't get to do an official episode, even though we hung out a lot.  The Universe fixed all that in these first 4 weeks.  I LOVE Hannah and Jessica.  I also enjoy getting to talk to people over coffee (or frozen Starbucks drinks).  Freakin' community.  Ugh.

In the list of good things, this may be the good-est.  Blue has been making his cross country comeback for a couple of months now.  The secret way he planned this without anyone knowing forced him to get into super-fast 5K shape in a super-short period of time.  A lesser person would not have been able to do this.  Coach has always said that Blue never gives up.  That endurance and perseverance was never so easily visible as now.  

Blue worked very hard to get fit enough to meet the qualifying time for making the team.  Just as he did, two sicknesses took him down and forced him to not run for two weeks.  You lose running fitness in as little as three days and two weeks off at a crucial time was really tough.  As soon as he was well, he was back outside running and training.  

Last night at practice, he ran fast enough to break the qualifying time and he even did that while accidentally running too far.  His coach's reaction to finding out he made it was so great.  What an accomplishment.  I'm so proud of him.  I LOVE him.  

So there.  That's really a lot of good packed into four weeks and that's just the stuff I had photos for.  There's also a ton of kind words, smiles, waves, high fives, hugs, runs, blue skies and dog cuddles that didn't get written about but were none-the-less day making events.  

Y'all are awesome.  I LOVE y'all.