I get a periodic email from "The e-Myth" organization with mini articles. We talk frequently about the question "Are you an artist or are you running a business?" and this article addresses that.

The good news is you CAN be both!

http://www.e-myth.com/cs/user/print/post/entrepreneurial-artist-to-business-owner

"The e-Myth" by Micheal Gerber is my #1 recommended book for anyone going into business.

Thanks Debi!
This is a good one I was unaware of.. I use a lot of other sites to help me in my business and am always looking for more :0)

I am an artist that runs a business

I am both. My son and I talk about this every once in awhile. He is about to graduate with his Associate's in Digital Media Design. Every quarter the student club hosts a gallery show. The other students goof off before, during, and after. My son makes sure his work is displayed properly, that refreshments are provided and displayed attractively, dresses neatly, speaks to the guests, and helps clean up afterwards. You can't just toss something on the wall and expect your greatness to awe the crowd and entice them to give you buckets of money.

I am both and he will be both. It not just about the art or just about the business.

I'm off to read the article now. Thanks!

I do both. Been running a very successful business (not cake related) with my DH for about 6 years. I love culinary arts though and that is my chosen field for my artistic outlet. I help the business when needed but I work in the culinary field and have for awhile now.

I personally do not care for the e-myth book. I think a lot of it is common sense and it wasn't worth wasting my time to read. My husband like it more than I did. However, I have more of a business mind set then he does.
When I read some parts and said "Well DUH, that was stupid to put in print." He was saying "Wow, that's great advice." Thank goodness he's a lot better now or we wouldn't have made it the first 3 years. Our business has grown by literal leaps since it opened. I'm glad but it's stressful. We just hired on 2 more techs so I guess we must be doing ok. We've also have made a profit every year since we opened which is unheard of.

Anyways, that's now mainly his business. Mine is culinary arts. I worked in restaurants for years to bust my butt in culinary school. Years later and I'm still busting my butt working. I love it though, I truly do. I may hate it some days but I love it when people come in to where I work because they know I'm baking that day.
I'm all about proper - pure- flavors the way God intended them and the way my grandma baked.

So long story short I'm both! However, being an artist just isn't about the art but the art of baking the goods in the first place. It should taste even better on the inside than it looks pretty on the outside.

If you have absolutely no idea what goes on in a business environment, maybe the e-myth book would be a place to start, but mostly it is a patronizing diatribe that assumes the reader is stupid.

And I would say if you are a very good artist, you are most likely not a great business person. It's a left brain~right brain thing. But cake decorating isn't really an art. It is craft. If it is done well, one could call oneself an artisan or a craftsman.

Craft attracts people, but art moves them. Craft takes rehearsed skill. Art takes rehearsed skill but also requires soul. You can always quantify craft, art never. You can create craft without possessing artistry, but you rarely get art without a sufficient level of craft. Art is craft imbued with the intangibleness of genius.

Craft can be duplicated, art cannot. Most cakes I see here are copies of other things, and thus craft, not art. Anyway...

Oh Cr%*!

I was going respond to this thread , till I just read that.

Now I think I will go work on my painting (oil on Canvas) I am an artist.

I'm gonna get out of here before the S#@* hits the fan.....

That was an interesting article, Indydebi. Thanks for sharing.

For those of you have sold your art (whether in cake form or not), have you felt that you had to put some of your creativity on hold?

I have always LOVED to express myself artistically, mostly through pencil drawings and music. I love the process of drawing, shading and erasing until I have a beautiful portrait. I do not own a business, but I have often wondered how a person could make money while satisfying themselves artistically.

To make a livable income, it seems you would have to mass produce a product while neglecting the small details of your design. On the other hand, if you did take the time to create what you deem a masterpiece, would you be able to sell it for enough money to compensate for the time and energy you put into it?

I recently did a bridal shower cake for a friend and she loved it thank goodness but she said something I had not thought of. She is real big into local bands, local art etc. and she told me she wanted me to do it b/c she wanted a local artist she knew to do something great for her. I was like then why are you asking me? lol I never viewed myself as an artist just someone who loves to make cakes. It really made my day that she thought that much of me to do it for her.

Thanks for sharing indy - I am working at being both. My DD is an artist, and she is a huge help to me on the creative side of the business. It is hard to find the balance sometimes. I am thankful that my client base increases every year - every bit of info I absorb helps me increase the profits for my business.

Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.- Andy Warhol

Many things that were once considered craft, such as quilting, felting, and paper crafts are now being show in galleries and museums. It all depends on the viewer and the art world. And after selling paintings, working in museums and galleries, my view of the art world is a bit different. Art is subjective. What I consider art is completely different than what anyone else considers art. I can't be the one to judge it.

A craft may be an expression of art. Being an artist, is a craft. You must have the ability to craft something to be an artist. The old cliché "Art is in the eye of the beholder" stands true. Whether you're into crafting or you're an artist, you are here to communicate your skills and hopefully someone will appreciate your creations.

I think its fine to take inspiration from other people, but to do it in your own way. I don't know how many times in art school we had to paint like the masters. Its a great way to learn and become more confident in your skills. As you develop as an artist, or a decorator, your style and passion can shine through.

My canvas is a cake.

Cakes can absolutely be works of art, but few are. Most are rendering some other image into sugar. Rendering is a very specific skill, ergo, an act of craftsmanship.
My favorite chef wrote " Feeding people is, by definition, a repetitive act. The only reward is in the perfection." That is the essence of craftsmanship. To be able to consistently produce an excellent product. Art, on the other hand, is more etherial and allusive.

I think everyone would agree that " The Great Gatsby" is a work of art. BUT...much of Fitzgerald's work is pretty mediocre. He was not a great word~craft.

Art is different than craft. The reason so many real " artists" die broke is that the artistic temperament is inconsistent and prone to excess. Neither of those lend themselves particularly well to a real business environment. To call oneself an artist is to call oneself a genius, which is vain at best, and terribly niave at least.

If you want to get serious about business, start with Machiavelli's " The Prince" and Sun Tsu's " The Art of War".

ARTIST (ar'tist) n. 1. a) one who practices an art in which conception and execution are governed by imagination, style, and taste. b) a person skilled in one of the fine arts. c) a craftsman that executes his art with individual style. 2. often their work is judged according to the culture and the attitude placed on art at the time. Although they may earn recognition during their lifetime, they are usually not recognized for their accomplishments until after death. 3. Lives a life of unstable economic means. 4. Many theories have been put forth regarding their creativity, the most common one being that it is inherent, although if not developed and tested will remain dormant. a) They seem to create during moods, often intense, mostly lasting only a short while. 5. They have a feeling of brotherhood with each other that is timeless. 6. Thought to be haphazard, having no sense of order, plan, or direction, yet are known to be perfectionists when it comes to their own work. a) They make decisions on feeling rather than reason. b) Have problems with concentration. 7. They are stereotyped as mentally unbalanced. One artist cut off his ear in a passion of creativity combined with frustration about his art. It has not been determined whether their creativity has anything to do with this. 8. They are sensitive, aware, and alert. 9. They are tolerated by society, which allows them to live in accordance with their own natures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Bauhaus Manifesto



The ultimate aim of all creative activity is a building! The decoration of buildings was once the noblest function of fine arts, and fine arts were indispensable to great architecture. Today they exist in complacent isolation, and can only be rescued by the conscious co-operation and collaboration of all craftsmen. Architects, painters, and sculptors must once again come to know and comprehend the composite character of a building, both as an entity and in terms of its various parts. Then their work will be filled with that true architectonic spirit which, as "salon art", it has lost.

The old art schools were unable to produce this unity; and how, indeed, should they have done so, since art cannot be taught? Schools must return to the workshop. The world of the pattern-designer and applied artist, consisting only of drawing and painting must become once again a world in which things are built. If the young person who rejoices in creative activity now begins his career as in the older days by learning a craft, then the unproductive "artist" will no longer be condemned to inadequate artistry, for his skills will be preserved for the crafts in which he can achieve great things.

Architects, painters, sculptors, we must all return to crafts! For there is no such thing as "professional art". There is no essential difference between the artist and the craftsman. The artist is an exalted craftsman. By the grace of Heaven and in rare moments of inspiration which transcend the will, art may unconsciously blossom from the labour of his hand, but a base in handicrafts is essential to every artist. It is there that the original source of creativity lies.

Let us therefore create a new guild of craftsmen without the class-distinctions that raise an arrogant barrier between craftsmen and artists! Let us desire, conceive, and create the new building of the future together. It will combine architecture, sculpture, and painting in a single form, and will one day rise towards the heavens from the hands of a million workers as the crystalline symbol of a new and coming faith.

WALTER GROPIUS

I guess I am just different in my opinion. I find that surprising to be honest with you. It's not like we're talking about people who buy store-bought candy pieces and sprinkles and put them on a cake and call it art. We are talking about people who sculpt characters, seashells, animals, etc. out of sugar. They airbrush, paint, blow sugar, etc. Just because the cake is being eaten, doesn't mean it isn't art. Just because the cake won't be here a century from now, does not mean it isn't art. If you go by those standards, then I guess an ice scuplture isn't art either. I guess a dish from Emirel or Ramsey isn't art either. I bet they would beg to differ as well. This whole conversation annoys me and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed in some of your responses.

when I scupt cake, I use my artistic side to do that. Anyone can ice a cake and pipe some borders. What makes it art is designing colors and designs that work well with one another and to be able to visualize a design. Anyone can do it, they just may have different outcomes.

I grew up playing piano and flute and I have a talent for flute (not piano). Most of us took lessons and played the same music. While some people could play the music, others felt the music and made the piece come alive. To me, that's the difference between craft and art.

Well, as a former art student I agree that the act of decorating the cake is a craft. The design part is where the art comes in. When I'm making a stupid white wedding cake with a fabric ribbon on it I'm not thinking that I'm doing anything particularly artistic, but I'm using my knowledge of the craft to execute what someone else wants made. When I have a chance to do something on a display cake that I want to do, that's when it gets artistic. Interestingly, those are the designs that people point out and say that they want, so the freedom to use the craft in an artistic manner does improve the result. I guess it's the difference between execution of the design and creating the design.

BTW: I did not find offense in the opening part where it says that artists are all a little crazy- what's wrong with that? lol

Wiktionary defines the noun 'artist' (Singular: artist; Plural: artists) as follows:

A person who creates art.
A person who creates art as an occupation.
A person who is skilled at some activity.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the older broad meanings of the term "artist,"

A learned person or Master of Arts (now rather obsolete)
One who pursues a practical science, traditionally medicine, astrology, alchemy, chemistry (also obsolete)
A follower of a pursuit in which skill comes by study or practice - the opposite of a theorist
A follower of a manual art, such as a mechanic - partly obsolete
One who makes their craft a fine art
One who cultivates one of the fine arts - traditionally the arts presided over by the muses - now the dominant usage
A definition of Artist from Princeton.edu: creative person (a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination).

History of the term
Although the Greek word "technì" is often mistranslated as "art," it actually implies mastery of any sort of craft. The Latin-derived form of the word is "tecnicus", from which the English words technique, technology, technical are derived.

In Greek culture each of the nine Muses oversaw a different field of human creation:

Calliope (the 'beautiful of speech'): chief of the muses and muse of epic or heroic poetry
Clio (the 'glorious one'): muse of history
Erato (the 'amorous one'): muse of love or erotic poetry, lyrics, and marriage songs
Euterpe (the 'well-pleasing'): muse of music and lyric poetry
Melpomene (the 'chanting one'): muse of tragedy
Polyhymnia or Polymnia (the '[singer] of many hymns'): muse of sacred song, oratory, lyric, singing and rhetoric
Terpsichore (the '[one who] delights in dance'): muse of choral song and dance
Thalia (the 'blossoming one'): muse of comedy and bucolic poetry
Urania (the 'celestial one'): muse of astronomy
No muse was identified with the visual arts of painting and sculpture. In ancient Greece sculptors and painters were held in low regard, somewhere between freemen and slaves, their work regarded as mere manual labour.[1]

The word art is derived from the Latin "ars", which, although literally defined means, "skill method" or "technique", holds a connotation of beauty.

During the Middle Ages the word artist already existed in some countries such as Italy, but the meaning was something resembling craftsman, while the word artesan was still unknown. An artist was someone able to do a work better than others, so the skilled excellency was underlined, rather than the activity field. In this period some "artisanal" products (such as textiles) were much more precious and expensive than paintings or sculptures.

The first division into major and minor arts dates back to Leon Battista Alberti's works (De re aedificatoria, De statua, De pictura), focusing the importance of intellectual skills of the artist rather than the manual skills (even if in other forms of art there was a project behind).[2]

With the Academies in Europe (second half of XVI century) the gap between fine and applied arts was definitely set.

Many contemporary definitions of "artist" and "art" are highly contingent on culture, resisting aesthetic prescription, in much the same way that the features constituting beauty and the beautiful, cannot be standardized easily without corruption into kitsch.

[edit] The present day concept of an 'artist'
Artist is a descriptive term applied to a person who engages in an activity deemed to be an art. An artist also may be defined unofficially, as, "a person who expresses themselves through a medium". The word also is used in a qualitative sense of, a person creative in, innovative in, or adept at, an artistic practice.

Most often, the term describes those who create within a context of the fine arts or 'high culture', activities such as drawing, painting, sculpture, acting, dancing, writing, filmmaking, photography, and musicpeople who use imagination, talent, or skill to create works that may be judged to have an aesthetic value. Art historians and critics define artists as those who produce art within a recognized or recognizable discipline. Contrasting terms for highly-skilled workers in media in the applied arts or decorative arts include artisan, craftsman, and specialized terms such as potter, goldsmith or glassblower. Fine arts artists such as painters succeeded in the Renaissance in raising their status, formerly similar to these workers, to a decisively higher level, but in the 20th century the distinction became rather less relevant[citation needed].

The term may be also used loosely or metaphorically to denote highly skilled people in any non-"art" activities, as well law, medicine, mechanics, or mathematics, for example.

Often, discussions on the subject focus on the differences among "artist" and "technician", "entertainer" and "artisan," "fine art" and "applied art," or what constitutes art and what does not. The French word artiste (which in French, simply means "artist") has been imported into the English language where it means a performer (frequently in Music Hall or Vaudeville). Use of the word "artiste" can also be a pejorative term.[3]

The English word 'artist' has thus, a narrower range of meanings than the word 'artiste' in French.

Okay - anyone can look up definitions. If I wanted to know a definition, I'd go to Webster's Dictionary.

I do cakes. I love to sculpt. I love to write. I love to be creative. But am I am freakin' artist? Nah, I'm creative. I am a problem solver. And for the time being, it just so happens that I am creative and a problem solver when it comes to cake.

Art moves people. Artists put themselves into their work. They share their soul and deepest feelings with the world. Art touches people in an unexplainable matter. When I look at a true piece of art, I see part of that artist's hopes, dream and fear. Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Warhol - their art has continued to move people in such a way that I doubt any cake ever will. And that's fine.

And here's the thing. I have always felt that if you are truly an artist/musician/writer/whatever, then you don't need someone else to validate it. If you are getting all huffy and puffy about not being called an artist, but you aren't - or maybe you just need to move away from labels.

Does it really matter if one classifies it as a craft or an art? This is one of those subjects that can be debated all day long with differing opinions. As long as you enjoy what you do and put out a good product for your client, call it whatever your preference. I don't think my clients care one way or another if it is a craft or an art, as long as it is quality work and tastes good.

Mcc- that's what I say. If it looks and tastes good you can call it/yourself whatever you want. I'll just eat it thank you very much. lol