Art Blox {pictured above} available for purchase on Etsy
Each day my creative spirit comes alive when I put on my apron and pull out my mixed media supplies. My fingertips tingle and my heart beats just a little faster.
I love that I get to set my own schedule and spend most of my days doing things that I don’t even consider work. But, it can also get lonely.
When I worked as a social worker providing family therapy to adolescents and their families, I worked with a group of {mostly} amazing people. We were able to share each others’ successes, commiserate over lunch, and bounce ideas off of each other. Now that I work {mostly} alone from the studio in my home, I don’t have that sense of community. I can’t walk around the corner to grab coffee with my coworker or pop into my coworker’s office to share a quick joke.
I’ve had to find other ways to build a community, and I’ve learned a lot about building relationships online and offline. If you struggle with finding a creative community, consider implementing some of the ideas below.
1. Attend an art retreat. There are plenty of amazing art retreats that take place around the country {and world} that you can attend to make long-lasting relationships while you build your art skills. This is one of my goals for next year!
2. Take a local craft class. Get out of your comfort zone and take a beginners knitting, jewelry, or painting class. Get to know some of the women in the class and ask them to meet for coffee afterwards.
3. Host a monthly get-together. If you love to scrapbook, try to find 5 to 10 other women in your area who also enjoy scrapbooking, and invite them over once a month to scrapbook. Each woman can bring a project in progress to work on, and you could take turns bringing snacks and refreshments.
4. Find a creative mentor. This can be someone local that you can meet for drinks get advice or someone you meet on the internet. You can talk on Skype, exchange emails, and stay connected through social media platforms.
5. Respond to comments on your blog. When someone leaves a thoughtful comment on your blog, go out of your way to connect with that person.
6. Leave comments on other blogs. Find 5 to 10 blogs written by other creative entrepreneurs that you would like to get to know and leave thoughtful comments on those blogs on a regular basis. Those artists will start to recognize you—and will be more open to starting a relationship with you.
7. Participate in forums. Pick an online forum populated by other artists and start engaging. Answer questions that other artists have in an authentic way and start to ask some questions of your own.
8. Get involved with social media. Check out Twitter and Facebook, open accounts, and start interacting with other artists and crafters.
9. Interview other artists and crafters for your blog. A great way to find mentors and friends in the creative community is to interview them and promote their work on your blog.
It’s important to surround yourself with positive people who will support your creative ventures and allow you to be yourself. Remember when you’re reaching out to make connections that relationships go two ways. You must be willing to put in the work that it takes to maintain them.
Do you have other ideas on ways that you can build a creative community? Leave your ideas in the comments below.
I absolutely LOVEEE this piece April. I was talking about this same thing with my boyfriend last night: about how much I loved my job, but that it felt kindda lonely sometimes, but not so much lately + it’s all because of the community I’m learning to build + care for around. It all started when I began my blog + my osmosis or some snow ball effect I feel I’m more connected to people: talking to fellow artists + contributing on other blogs + writing comments + attending webinars + etc. But it’s not only online connections. My online connections have inspired me to get more involved in my local community giving craft classes + doing private consultations for emerging artists + attending local art shows to support artists in my home town. It’s magical what happens when relationships start to build. I truly believe these relationships are our bateries + our life line. WE NEED them in order to be creative + inspired + happy! Right?
Thanks Mayi! Blogging can do wonders to build a creative community. It gives you so many opportunities to interact with other bloggers in your niche and with your readers. I love that your online connections have inspired you to get more involved in your local community! That’s awesome.
Great suggestions here. I understand that “lonely” feeling and often miss the collaboration, energy, and relationships of my last job which was teaching. And while my young daughter warms my heart, adult conversations and interactions are still important. Thanks for these suggestions. Some of these are “new” to me –I think I might give them a try 😉
Thanks for stopping by Angela! I’m glad some of these suggestions inspire you 🙂
I can get so wrapped up in my work that I realize I haven’t interacted with anyone all day, and I’ve come to realize that I have to put more emphasis on relationships. I’ve been prioritizing this lately, and it’s really shifted things for me–in a very good way 🙂