Happy 10th anniversary SEA! The SEA conference is coming right up and if you have never attended you need to! Come learn more about how to turn your artistic passion into a living from other successful artists. What The Conference Offers In addition to keynote presentations, topic specific sessions...

Success is a common theme in my writing.  Of course, there are many types of success: landing a job, performing well, creating a great composition, mastering a technique, getting noticed, going viral, attracting web traffic, moving audiences.  Yet some artists accomplish many of these things, but...

It seems that every time I am interviewed by someone who is interested in my work, the question always comes up: “Well, do you still play the clarinet? What do you do as an artist?” For some time now, I have been scratching my head and thinking to myself, “What is it that I am saying...

As some of you may be aware, The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship just hired PR CHICAGO to help up get the word out about The Institute. On Thursday December 17th, 2009, between 6:30 and 6:50 pm, our first official press release was picked up on news feeds thanks to PR Newswire, a distribution...

OK… so I changed my mind. I am allowed to right?  I spent almost a year with interns  building The ETA Resource Center for you. I thought given how much time and money it cost me to build — almost $4000.00, a true labor of love– that it was worth the price of admission. Admission...

When you engage in the act of creating something new, if that thing develops roots and begins to take hold, you will find a mix of public reactions. You will likely hear lots of support from friends, family, colleagues, peers, well-wishers and others. Simultaneously, you will likely encounter sour pusses,...

One of the many tricky things about being a starving artist, is that so many of one’s basic needs are not met. When basic needs are not attended to, our sense of balance becomes out of whack. As our balance is off, most of us are not able to operate at our potential or achieve any sense of sustainable...

Uncle Eddie is drinking a little too much and grandma can’t hear. The kids tore the hinges off my office door and another took a crap behind my daughter’s playhouse. Yea! It’s Thanksgiving time! That time of year that many of us cling to the possibility that this time…it will be magical (and...

Money. Money. Money. We simply can’t live with out it, and we wouldn’t want to either. Money is simply in every fiber and fabric of our lives. It is that basic and deep to us as human beings. It’s something we need to survive. Think about the things that only money can buy—a better education...

In September of 2010 The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship™ will open its doors at 3020 N Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. Our two year finishing program, will teach artists how to make a living from their artistry. To learn more about IAE check out our website. Applications for early enrollment are now...

I wanna ride a race horse to see how fast she’ll go I want an easy winner to WIN, Place AND Show The metaphor’s familiar our dreams not too dissimilar Work smart, live loud feel the ground- come unwound Be real, smile high, spring up, twitter, fly Feet first, squarely planted on the ground Were...

Recently re-reading Lisa Canning’s wonderful piece “Innovating through Artistry” I am reminded of a surprising challenge we face in promoting the value of art and artists. We work hard to demonstrate our value in a world that is hard skilled, bottom line, and ROI driven. We take the challenge...

One of the challenges each of us faces when we contemplate the development of our ideas into a product or service, is just exactly “how do we generate interest from others in what each of us finds important”? How do we know if what we see, believe, feel and think will “take root in...

The other day, in a bad mood, I went for a walk and asked the universe for a sign. I didn’t really have a particular sign in mind. I didn’t even have a question in mind that I needed an answer for. I just needed to know that there was something bigger than myself at work in the world that...

Bite-Size Arts Ensemble Member, Dharmesh Bhagat, built this blue bike out of balloons for me. Isn’t it cute? What does your blue bike look like? Do you know? And what does it mean to build a blue bike anyway? To me, the journey of learning how to take the pain in your heart and transform it into...

What the world needs more than ever is to discover who we are. Do you know who you are? Still holding your one-way ticket there? Big hearts come from Art. YOUR IMAGINATION won’t dream small. Wear your art on your sleeve with me. Let me see you soar into the person you most want to become. Today...

What kind of artistic life in the future will you live? What does the rest of this year, 2010 and beyond hold for you? Can you describe it to me? Do you see yourself becoming more involved in the creation of your artistry, do you see greater connectivity to others, what about the twisty- misty road...

In my experience, few things in life are more enjoyable than the act of making music. Music is fun!  How wonderful it is that we use the verb “play” to describe this endeavor! Yet for too many musicians, the activity pursued when singing or touching their instrument couldn’t be further from play....

In September of 2010 The Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship will open at 3020 N Lincoln Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. As an independent but collaborative effort with Jim Hart’s Austin Conservatory of Professional Arts, IAE will be devoted to the development of the artist as entrepreneur. Lead by...

While there are lots of ways to feel like your batteries are super charged in life, I think the only one that really works is following your heart. Unlike your camera, computer, watch, or the clock you own that needs batteries to run, you are self-empowered and come with a life long battery included. You...