Skip to main content

Community Over Competition

I first encountered the phrase "Community Over Competition" as a hashtag on Instagram. Many of the freelance illustrators, designers, and calligraphers I follow were incorporating it in their feeds to promote others in their field or the idea of sharing knowledge to further the growth potential of the art community in general.

That's right - freelance artists, who rely on their niche customer base, were promoting their direct competition. Why would they risk losing potential clients to other artists?

Because giving nods to those doing quality work, or those just starting out and needing a boost - all goes toward building relationships, establishing a networking base of artists to potentially collaborate with, and knowing what your competition can do sparks your own desire to improve and expand your skills.

Note that Community Over Competition isn't about comparison - you should avoid that dark pit of madness - be inspired by others, aspire to meet or exceed their skills, but never compare your artistic journey to theirs. We're all on different paths and at different stages.

When I decided to do my first modern calligraphy workshop, I had several people ask me why I wanted to share my process and teach people the basic skills to get them started in this trending aspect of illustration / design. Wasn't I creating my own competition? Possibly eliminating sales or commissions because people would know how to do this work themselves?

Sure, you could take it to the extreme and say that may happen. But, as someone who has always enjoyed working on creative teams, (from being a musician and songwriter in folk-rock bands, to a published author working on several co-written projects, like the Retribution Series, co-publisher of the small press, Leap Books, and a screenwriter working on screenplays either co-written or polished by story editors, directors, and producers)...I know I grow as an artist when I'm surrounded by like-minded souls. Ones with greater skill than my own - and ones who I can help rise in the ranks. Ultimately, no two artists will create in the same way, produce the same work, or approach a project with the exact same style...we're all unique and have our own flare.

We'll stand out and be noticed. All of us. On own own merits. We'll be noticed even more if we support each other, rather than pick each other apart and succumb to jealousy.


Living in a small town, far from a larger city, I've been amazed at the keen response to my offered classes. I'm freaking thrilled, actually. And I've discovered some mighty talents tucked away in my little town. They are colleagues, not competitors. I love to talk shop, share information on the latest art trends or supplies, and if I can do that here - in my town - in real life rather than only online - whoa...that's a beautiful thing.

So bring on the classes and questions and let's build a community of artists supporting artists. #communityovercompetition

If you're local and want to sign up for one of my classes - see my Facebook page for event details. It's time to Make. Your. Mark.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Creating is Cheap Therapy

As an author and a library technician working in an elementary school, writing picture books has always been a goal. Illustrating a picture book has been a secret dream, but I hadn't picked up a paint brush or sketchbook in many years. Now and then I'd look through my old sketch books and think, someday I'll get back into art. Willow, our sweet yellow lab. That someday finally happened. One of our dogs, okay, Willow was my favourite of our three crazy labs...lol... passed on due to cancer. I was devastated. My husband and I don't have kids, we're childless by choice, and our dogs are true companion animals / complete members of our family. When Willow died, I needed another outlet in addition to my writing, which for the most part is dark - I write horror, thriller, mystery type stories. I do love my work, but I needed to channel my grief into something different, positive, and bright. We got a new puppy, an English Mastiff, and she became the inspiration ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Adventures in Hand Lettering: The Cafe Set

You can't escape the appeal of hand lettering, in script form or printed letters - there is just a ton of personality and life in this style of illustration. That's right. I used the word "illustration". Because modern hand lettering is more in line with drawing, than the usual image you think of when you imagine someone sitting down to write a letter in flowing script. Each letter is formed individually and connected (or not) to the next in very specific ways. There is the smooth flow look, block letter forms, serifs and non serifs, and of course, "bounce" lettering which has a playful feel. I'm still very much in the learning / trial and error, (and error!) phase with my own hand lettering and I wanted to chronicle my progress in sporadic blog posts in hopes of inspiring others to take up the challenge. Hand lettering and modern calligraphy is trendy at the moment, but was a bit of a lost art. I've often mourned the loss of cursive in el...
Post a Comment
Read more

Calendar Freebee Printables

Ah, January, month of resolutions and new beginnings. How we love to love you in the beginning, but love to hate you by week three. This is when the going gets tough. We want to continue on the path to our goals, but we struggle and stumble, and progress doesn't seem fast enough. Stay true, my friends! Whatever your goals, you can accomplish them. The journey may not be pretty. It may force you to dig deep. You just might have to give up sugar in your coffee...okay, you don't have to go that far...but slow, steady determination and sheer grit can yield vast results. They say it takes approximately 30 days to create a new, healthy habit - this can be anything from healthy eating, increasing your activity level, to learning a new skill, or retraining your brain away from negative self-talk, etc. In hopes of aiding you on your journey, here are a few free printable calendars to get you through those toughest three months. Just right click on each image to download the ...
Post a Comment
Read more