Hobbyist vs Artist

What is the different between a hobbyist and an artist? It’s important to know what you are, in order to know how to get where you want to go. If you’re planning to make a living with your craft, you need to hear yourself talk about what you do. If you consistently degrade your work and your efforts, then the possibility of really doing well in your field is significantly diminished.

What makes you an artist? Is it how long you’ve been practicing your craft? Is it a certificate you received from a class? Is it the amount of pieces you’ve sold? Listen to more of my ramblings on this topic in today’s audio podcast just below.

May your day be full of creative explosions!

3 Comments

  • I enjoyed your artist vs hobbyist. I agree completely with your description, and I thank you for articulating it and helping me define myself in a more professional way. I do believe that I am a designer/artist and this is what I am meant to do, but I also feel I will continue to learn the rest of my life (and that excites me) and I feel I should be humble at this point. I do see myself as more of an artist than crafter, absolutely. I am at the point where I have exploded and can not be stopped, i.e., in reference to your statement in the discussion.

    I have tens of tens of items I haven’t listed in my Etsy shop yet, not sure why I haven’t listed them, but I feel that I opened my shop a bit too early. I want to reopen or refresh after I get my signature pieces done and saturate my shop with them so my style is defined and when people see it they will go, “hey, I recognize that”.

  • Thank you for that Laura If it wasn’t for your you tube video’s I would still be setting here very depressed and very sad. I’ve been all a lone for a long time, well just me and my kids but you know they have their own lives to live they don’t wanna hang out with me.

    I worked in a very large Muffler plant I made converters for automobiles I worked there for about 15 years I was a welder, now that was a real challenge, very hot work and very heavy work plus you get burned a lot. But I did it I became a good welder and did my job well. Most of the time I worked 3 12 hour days and 1 10 hour day then 2 8 hour days. yes we always worked on Saturdays. so I was always there never at home with my kids. I worked 3rd shift then i worked 2nd shift then I got days.

    Then after all that I got very sick and been home since about 2006 trying to crawl out of my black hole that I let my self get into. When you leave your job your friends don’t wont anything else to do with you so you just set and do nothing but keep pushing re wind on your minds VCR and thats what I was doing till I watched your video’s. I still have bad days but most of the time I stay in my shop working and thats a good thing.

    I have always been a crafter I guess making just about anything and everything. But I wasn’t doing that anymore it just didn’t interest me anymore. I just want to say Thank you very much for making the video’s I now make jewelry and I have that Etsy shop. I am now designing my own jewelry and it truly feels great to know I did it. No one in my family supported me but you have to just do it take that jump forget about wht anybody else says just do it!

    Thank you Laura
    Pamela

  • Karin

    Hi Laura, I’m Karin. I just listened to your podcast, “Hobbyist vs. Artist,” and it is so inspiring! It’s just what I needed.. a wonderful reminder that how we define ourselves must come from the inside. Thank you!!!