Proactively Planning Your Art Legacy with Heather K. Powers (#143)

Four years ago on a beautiful January day in Colorado, I attended
an art destruction party. Two artists were slowing down in their
production and wanted to ensure that subpar work wasn’t left for
family to deal with. Nor did they want their names associated
with that work. Although I’ve been imploring artists for decades
to get rid of work they think isn’t of the highest quality, it
was still difficult to smash that first pot and tear that first
watercolor.


In this episode of The Art Biz I talk with Heather K. Powers, an
artist and professional organizer. She and I wanted to start a
dialogue about planning for your legacy. It’s a tough
conversation because it means confronting your mortality. This
conversation is especially important for artists, who make things
that take up physical space. How do you categorize those things?
What kind of records need to be kept? And what, if anything,
should be destroyed, reworked, or donated. These are difficult
questions and will vary from artist to artist, but it is such an
important part of planning your art legacy. My conversation with
Heather can help you get started.


First posted: artbizsuccess.com/death-powers-podcast


Highlights




Normalizing conversations about your death and legacy. (2:10)




Heather’s coaching process includes getting more comfortable
talking about death. (6:48)




What do you value in your legacy? How can artists better
prepare their legacy for after death? (10:28)




Finding the value of clutter requires understanding and
compassion. (15:27)




Destroying the artwork that you don’t want to be known for.
(19:19)




Define the value of each level of your work so you can better
process it. (24:55)




Tools and resources to help document your art. (32:32)




This Week’s Action


Your assignment this week is to start thinking about your legacy.
Eventually you will need to prioritize the tasks necessary, but
you can’t do it all at once. Take one of these steps: Sign up for
Artwork Archive, update your inventory, finally recycle that work
you don’t want to show up under your name, have a conversation
with your family about your wishes, or declutter a space.


Mentioned




ArtBizAccelerator.com




Swedish Death Cleaning




Clutter Is Good For You (NY Times)




CERF+: The Artist’s Safety Net




Richard Misrach: Never the Same video on Art21




Artwork Archive




Heather’s website




Heather on Instagram




Related Episodes




The Art Biz ep. 10: Creative Organizing with Heather K.
Powers




The Art Biz ep. 15: Confronting Your Professional Legacy with
David Paul Bayles




The Art Biz ep. 19: The Investing Artist: Art, Real Estate,
and Legacy with Mary Erickson




The Art Biz ep. 31: Building a Legacy Brand and Destination
with Sean VanderVliet




Quotes




“Death is a normal part of life, but the more we put off
thinking or talking about it the more uncomfortable it
becomes.” — Heather K. Powers




“We can take into our own hands what is important to us as a
generation and pass it on to the next generation.” — Heather
K. Powers




“What do you value in your legacy? And what do you perceive
might be of value to others? Those things are often not in
alignment.” — Heather K. Powers




“Start early and keep good records. It doesn’t have to be
that complicated.” — Heather K. Powers




“When we get rid of work one way or another, we make space
for new work to come in.” — Heather K. Powers




About My Guest


With a BFA in Fiber from Savannah College of Art and Design,
Heather Powers has had a productive career as a textile
designer—collaborating on worldwide projects in various
capacities.


In 2010, she launched her design and professional organizing
business. Her work as an organizer places her among artists,
craftspeople, and collectors, which gives her an intimate
understanding of how individuals retain use and live with
material culture.


In 2021, Heather graduated with an MFA in Critical Craft. She
continues to research textile history, weave, and use natural dye
techniques in which her work investigates memory, place, and
identity themes through discarded vintage ephemera and materials.


Please visit her website to find out how she works with her
clients in person and online and follow her on Instagram
@hkpowerstudio.