Tools to Shape Up Your Art Business with Jennifer Printz (#79)

As much as every artist would love to focus only on the making, there is an equally important and opposite side of the artist brain that needs to be accessed — the organization side. It takes creativity and organization to successfully run an art business, and my guest today has learned how to embrace both.

Not only is Jennifer Printz a practicing artist with an enviable record of exhibitions, but she's also an assistant professor at Florida International University in Miami. She has two full-time jobs. I've watched Jennifer whip her business into shape by getting organized and creating reliable systems.

In this episode, I talk with her about how she compartmentalizes her two jobs. We also discuss the planning process she uses, the digital and paper tools she relies on to stay organized, and why writing by hand is critical for her and her students.

Highlights

• Jennifer Printz reflects on the wide variety of her artwork and her work as a professor. (2:02)

• The importance of modeling art for Jennifer’s students and the lessons they are learning as a result. (5:53)

• Practical tips for separating your day job from your art business. (8:40)

• The value of taking time for an artist’s day, connecting with artists virtually, and creating physical space for your creativity. (11:33)

• Taking your art business beyond the plateau to the next level with coaching and positive feedback. (16:50)

• Planning out a quarter at a time to free up your mental space for creativity. (22:30)

• Day-to-day systems that will help you get and stay organized and productive. (27:21)

• Jennifer’s process around keeping an updated inventory of her pieces. (33:42)

• Strategic organization of all the moving parts of an exhibition. (38:29)

• Playing into your personality strengths to maximize your art business systems. (42:35)

• What is the first step to take when your systems are breaking down? (45:04)

• A look inside the works that are currently holding Jennifer’s studio attention. (47:12)

Mentioned

• Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner

• Cynthia Morris

• Artwork Archive

• Chana Orloff

• IS Projects in Fort Lauderdale

• JenniferPrintz

• Jennifer Printz on Instagram

Resources

• Full show notes including photos and listener comments

• How to Price Your Art

• Art Career Success System

• Art Biz Success Community

• Intro and outro music by Wildermiss

Quotes

• “When I hit a certain level of success I felt the need to get a more objective viewpoint to help me move to a new level of success.” — Jennifer Printz

• “If we’re always doing what we’ve always done and the results are what we always got, then it’s time to reevaluate.” — Jennifer Printz

• “It made sense to shift to a new system so I could put more effort into my creative practice.” — Jennifer Printz

• “In order to build strong relationships, in order to have a successful exhibition, I need to access other parts of me and not let the part of me that’s against organization get in the way.” — Jennifer Printz

 

About My Guest

Jennifer Printz unifies photography and drawing to make poetic works that reflect the unseen structures of the universe. In 2004 she was awarded a Puffin Foundation Grant, followed by a Dendo Fellowship in 2016. She has participated in regular residencies in the US, at the Frans Masereel Centre/Flemish Center for the Graphic Arts in Kasterlee, Belgium, St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, Valletta, Malta, and La Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France.

Jennifer is also an educator, teaching a wide range of two-dimensional media at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as courses on public art and professional practices. Currently, she is on the faculty of Florida International University in Miami.

First posted: https://artbizsuccess.com/biz-tools-printz-podcast

Let’s do this together: https://artbizsuccess.com/community

Music by https://wildermiss.com