Setting Up for Sucess - Creating a Body of Work Part 2

I knew a lady who painted the same beach landscape dozens of times. She was working off a photograph that she had taken while on a trip to coastal Maine. Each painting looked remarkably different; an unsuspecting viewer may not have picked up on that the paintings were from the same source material. Even in the profound uniqueness, the paintings were all part of the same body of work, being tied together by the shared themes, subject, and medium.

A “body of work” has a broad definition because it is a concept that can be approached in many different ways and can result in a number of different outcomes, with the whole point being that the artist is creating a tangible collection. Perhaps the most concrete aspect of a body of work is a shared theme, which could be almost anything from a style and color palette or subject matter, medium, or idea.

There are a number of reasons and benefits to intentionally making a body of work. Earlier in my career, I thought “body of work” was just a pretentious throwaway line that people with big heads and small glasses would say when they wanted to make what they were up to sound important. The validity of that assumption may be true in some instances, but I believe there are true benefits in the venture of building a body of work, even if you call it by another name.

Focus - Makers tend to have their interests piqued constantly. Inspiration comes from everywhere, making the exploration of ideas, mediums, and methods quite enticing. A body of work helps an artist bring focus to their practice. You know what your goal is, and so studio time is blocked off to move that goal forward specifically. This focused goal can be equally as helpful when an artist inevitably hits those creative blocks or lags in motivation. Unsure of what to make or where to get started? Perfect, you already have some parameters to work with while you get started.

Clarify - Finding clarity in our thoughts, feelings, and opinions is a benefit to making art. Artists are making outward expressions that are often reflections of themselves. Creating a body of work rather than a series of unrelated works can help an artist find clarity on top-of-mind matters. When creating a body of work, one is spending dedicated time visiting and revisiting subject matter, sparking understanding and greater clarity.

Development - This dedicated studio time can be the catalyst for skill and style development. Malcolm Gladwell famously talks about how mastery requires 10,000 hours of practice. That kind of time makes me think of the walls of a tattoo shop. Every tattoo shop I have been in has walls smothered in framed flash sheets. Work that the artists make while not tattooing, in preparation for the tattooing. The practice not only gives customers the ability to point at something on the wall and say “I want that,” it also gives the artists time to practice and develop their personal style. I asked a tattoo artist once how long it takes to make a flash sheet. For him, a flash sheet is roughly 20 hours of work from sketches to inking. He had 10 custom flash sheets in his station, meaning he could point directly to at least 200 hours of practice. And that’s only the tip of the mastery iceberg.

Opportunity - Having a body or bodies of work you can point to is incredibly helpful when seeking opportunities to present your work. It’s an important aspect of your artist CV as it is a clear indication of the time you’ve dedicated to the development of your craft. If you have a collection of works that you can point to, it keeps discussions open with places and publications where you are hoping to have your work showcased. I have had personal experience where, for whatever reason, an opportunity didn’t work out, but I was able to point to other images I had created, leading to a new opportunity to work with an establishment.

Engagement - It’s not very often we can name artists who have created only one thing in their careers and have had a sustaining impact. Outside of Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Margaret Mitchell (Gone with the Wind), I can’t summon any examples of artists who have had a cultural impact from just one piece of work. Creating a body of work gives consumers multiple points of entry to engage with your work; more opportunities to connect with you. Isn’t that the whole point of making art - to make a connection with others through the language of your chosen medium? To see and be seen. Creating a body of work is weaving that wide net you want to cast that encourages meaningful engagement with your art.

As we look at the year ahead. With autumn in full swing in the Northern Hemisphere, now is the perfect time to start setting goals and intentions for the year ahead. Set some parameters for the body of work you want to create or build on in the next 12 months. Start sketching some ideas, create a new mood board, take some notes. Do anything but wait idly by for the flow to strike.

My intentions for the year ahead, admittedly, are not yet fully baked. While I do know that writing at least five personal essays is on my list, I’m unclear of what I’d like to accomplish in my visual arts practice.

Let’s meet back here, this time next year, and see what all we accomplished by moving forward with intention.

Write soon,
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