There are plenty of artists making a living by creating art. Let’s define “art” narrowly here: painting, pottery, handmade jewelry, fiber arts, woodworking, sculpture, etc. The basic stuff you’d see at a craft show.

They typically have several outlets for their work, and through the combination, they make their living:

• personal studio space where they create work, which may also have a show space (or a separate show space)
• craft shows, previously all in-person, now some virtual
• Etsy store
• Galleries

Fundamentally, artists love making art. The business side is what they do to support their work.

I’ve realized I’m an artist too. I create courses. I create lots and lots of courses. I put them out in the world in many ways:

• higher education via Harvard Extension
• commercial video courses at LinkedIn Learning, Frontend Masters
• conference talks and workshops

But although I have a “home studio” where I create content, I don’t have a “show space” of any kind. For artists, that’s usually where they start.

Maybe it’s time to fix that.