I am not a full time artist, but I am working to that goal. I want to be out of debt and have enough in the bank to carry me at least 6 months before I take that plunge.

I wish you all the best. Use your sells as a guide. Follow your heart. Be true to yourself.

Rick Sidebottom
Metal Artist

Cooper,
I have no advice for you, just my observations. We live in a time where our abilities to change and adapt may be called upon more than any other generations. An art career is about constant change and adapting. The product we design, the problems we solve continually change. The good thing about these times is that the resources for change have never been more available. One good resource might be on about.com there is a young lady there blogging about starting your own jewelry business, easy to find. much of what she has to say relates to any art metals venture. There about as many ways to fail as there are ways to succeed. successful approaches are as varried as the artists. One common thread between those that actually manage to make this a career is passion. The other is sustained effort. luck has nothing to do with it. Brad

Marketing is 50% of the time you need to dedicate to your metal art. Develop a killer portfolio. This is where the time will go before you can really take off with a profession in the arts. Market yourself to your local galleries, develop a great web site, and get the word out.

I can't stress enough the thing about developing a great portfolio. Without having a reference to what you can do, it will be hard to sell anyone else on your art. Just realize that "making" art is only a small part of being a professional artist.

Good luck with your endeavors! Being passionate is the 1st step.

I agree with others about being passionate, and I'll add to that you need to be DISpassionate about the business aspect of it.

Business is business, and you need to be business-like in your dealings with buyers, galleries, etc. This means having contract forms, business cards, letterhead, etc. It alsom means keeping track of your time so you can charge enough, as well as knowing what your overhead is. I recommend engaging the services of an accountant to help you set up your business plan and give you advice about cost accounting and other factors that relate to profitability. It isn't the exciting stuff, but it is the stuff that will make the difference between a profitable business and an expensive hobby.

As you get further and further into this endeavor, you'll come up with more specific questions that you can bounce off the members here and get a wide range of input. Go for it, and best of luck with it!