Defining Yourself as an Artist by Choosing Your Primary Art Form - Arts & Crafts 101

As a crafter, especially if you want to sell your work, you need to Define yourself as an artist by choosing your primary art form. There are a lot of options, and the choice can be a tricky one.

For some people, choosing what medium or art form to work in is a simple choice. They have always been drawn to a specific art form like painting or sculpting, and they're great at it. Some people have a singular gift like that, and it can make things easier for them. Some of us have skill in all sorts of crafts, so choosing what to do most of our work in can be a bit trickier.

Why would you even want to choose a primary medium to work in? Well, if you want to produce really good work, you need to have experience with the art form and its associated materials. It's good to know a little about a lot of things, but if you intend to make money, you need to get really good at at least one of them. There's nothing to say that you can't integrate other art forms or do different things now and then, but it's a good idea to specialize in something.

Choosing a primary art form also helps to define you as an artist. There's nothing wrong with being a Jack (or Jill) of all trades, but it can help your artistic career if you are known for a particular art form, such as painting or sculpting. When you define yourself as an artist through the use of a primary art form, you can gain recognition and have an easier time marketing your work. Once you have a reputation based on your primary art form, you can then introduce your fans and buyers to other art mediums and styles that you work with.

The best thing to do when choosing your primary art form is to stick with whatever art form you enjoy the most and are the best at. Of course, those two may not be the same thing, but hopefully they are. If they're not, go with the one you're best at, so long as you like doing it. For me, I'm really good at making jewelry, and I love doing it, so that's my primary focus. I'm also good at digital art, so that's my secondary. (Note that your art form and art medium are not the same thing. Jewelry is an art for, but I use a variety of materials. Some art forms and mediums are more closely related though, such as paint and painting.)

Much like picking a target audience for your work, choosing your primary art form can save you time and money. Why buy materials for 10 different kinds of crafts when you're only really good at or really enjoy one or two? Save your money and put your time and effort into the crafts that you love the most and have the most experience with. Of course, knowing what type of art you're going to make will also help you to zero in on your target audience, since certain types of customers will like certain forms of art more than others.

When you're multi-talented, picking a primary art form will also allow you to increase your skill in that area, which is key to making money from your work. The more you do a particular craft, the more you will know about it, and the easier it will become. Try to look at all the crafts you know how to make and all the art forms you're capable of, and narrow it down to one or two to focus on. Your skill and knowledge will expand, and your growing expertise will show in the quality of your work.