Creating Opportunities for Your Art Career: Meg Black (#21)

Artist Meg Black doesn’t wait for things to happen, she makes them
happen. She has recently installed a major commission in the new
edition of the town hall in Topsfield, MA, and is here to tell us
all about the process from vision to reality. Meg shares with us
how she got involved in the project, the research that went into
it, and the hurdles she had to overcome in able to get it done both
perfectly and on schedule. She now is a local celebrity due to her
talent, and care for the community.

 


Meg’s commissioned pieces are wins for the community, as they
employ local vendors, and simultaneously showcase the beauty and
romance of Topsfield.


 


In this interview, you will hear Meg talk about:


 




The pivotal experience 20 years back where Meg was
commissioned to do a painting for the Topsfield town library.




The story behind the special preserved and protected road
that was recommended by locals to Meg as a great subject to
paint. Meg called upon her “galaxy of artists” and decided to
leave some of the windy road landscape to the viewer’s
imagination.




How Meg’s idea of the Topsfield Town Hall addition project
presented a challenge with no patron and no donor, and how
she enlisted the perfect patron for this project.




The “10 Million Dollar” problem of the town hall project, and
the feeling that Meg had of not wanting the beauty of the
piece to become tainted by community politics.




The homework Meg did to fully understand and articulate the
process of tax exemption when writing a letter to her
potential donor.




The interesting release schedule Meg activated for her
installation, which kept the town aware of the work but not
completely in the know about who the donor was.




Meg’s dedication to seeing that the entirety of this project
was kept local, including the printer, photographer, and the
framer.




How the sales of the prints are divided up both in labor and
earnings.




Why networking on LinkedIn is important for any artist
looking for the next commercial opportunity.




What we can expect next from Meg, and a peek into the new
commission she is very excited about.




 


 


Resources:


ArtBizSuccess.com


Meg Black


 


Quotes:




“I was afraid someone else would beat me to making the art.
That’s what did it and got myself out there.” - Meg




“We need to speak the language of lay people, especially when
we ask them for big sums of money.” - Meg




“When you find a donor for your artwork, the entity has to
take care of that work and agree to take it on.” - Alyson




“I probably put about 500 hours for that painting. I was
waking up at 3:30am every day.” - Meg




“Everything was in town.” - Meg




 


 


 


*** This episode is brought to you by the Art Biz Inner Circle.
This is a group of unapologetically ambitious artists that my
team and I work with for a year. We help our members with goals,
mindset, business strategies, and focus. See
ArtBizInnerCircle.com ***