Artist & Musician: Robin Koorevar; Dallas, Texas

QUESTION: What were your challenges as an artist?

Robin Koorevar: I think the top two challenges were: Is my art good enough?

Ann Rea: Oh, that’s a big one!

Robin Koorevar: But the biggest one was actually, but these are my babies. These are my creations. When I was connecting with you last summer, I’m like, I don’t know if want to let these go. And I think I mentioned that to you on that thread, it was just like, ah. And you said well maybe it’s a hobby then, if you want to keep all your art.

QUESTION: How can you let go of your art?

Ann Rea: When the artist is serving a mission. And like really serving it. The only way they can serve it in this context, is to sell their art.

Robin Koorevar: Right.

Ann Rea: But if they’re not really clear on the value and the service that, the mission they’re serving, it’s harder to let go.

Robin Koorevar: That’s exactly what I was thinking about this week.

Ann Rea: So that’s one point I wanted to make. And then the other thing, that you just wanna might wanna consider. And that the other thing is, can you imagine another business that was, like, trying to hold onto it’s inventory? Like a pie maker?

Robin Koorevar: Right, well, that’s exactly what I was thinking. We don’t hold onto our performances, unless you make a recording. You do a performance for the people, and then everybody leaves the concert hall. I do a yoga class, and everybody leaves the studio. You’re not gonna do yoga for 50 years all the time. You know. Why would I expect to hold onto my art, and every single piece that I make. It doesn’t line up with anything else that I’m doing that way.

Ann Rea: Right.

Robin Koorevar: So it was a great question. And again, I think a lot of it comes down to the service. I was thinking, what’s the difference about holding on or giving away your art, versus holding on or giving away your yoga or music. And it’s about the service component. So when I look at it that way, it’s kinda like, okay well, well if I realize I’m serving through my art, then that takes on a whole different meaning in terms of what I’m doing with it.

Ann rea: You can’t sell your art unless it does serve someone. Unless it does provide value for someone. So, I think that that is where some of the confusion comes in.

QUESTION: Should I have an art clearance sale?

Ann Rea: Clearance sale, bad idea. Giving it away, go ahead, you got yourself a hobby. That’s fine. I’m not, you can do whatever you want. And actually, I encourage students to come to a healthy conclusion. That they either want to sell their art part time, or full time, or leave it as a hobby. That is perfectly respectable and acceptable. And your choice. But where students will suffer, artists will suffer, is they have some confusion. They’re treating it like a hobby, they’re approaching it like a hobby, but they really want to get paid. That’s, that can really hurt a lot of people. A lot of artists.

QUESTION: What do you do with old art?

Ann Rea: What do you do with art that you are probably not gonna sell? It’s stacking up in your studio, and you’re not so sure about. Or maybe you don’t even make that type of art anymore, and you don’t want to. I mean there’s all sorts of reasons why, right?

Robin Koorevar: Right.

Ann Rea: And artists ask this question about what to do with it. And they’ll ask me, well should I sell it? And should I try to sell it at discount? Should I have a, should I give it away?

QUESTION: What if I don’t have room for more art?

Ann Rea: There’s also just, like, the logistical, practical aspect. Making, you know, art is physical. And it takes up space. And so, you only have so much space. And so, what I hear artists talking about is selling it a discount, and I really don’t recommend that.

Robin Koorevar: Right. I’ve had some conversations with friends this week about that. And I really appreciate this part of that from the program in terms of saying this is my bottom line. This is how much this piece cost.

QUESTION: Can you can recycle your art?

Robin Koorevar: I like how some of the people are responding on the thread about also creating over that art. You know, it maybe it’s not something that you realize needs to go out into the world. And you can recycle it or something. I think it’s okay to say

Ann Rea: It’s served it’s purpose.

Robin Koorevar: Maybe it’s served its purpose for my growth. But it doesn’t need to necessarily be sold.

Ann Rea: I’m a big believer in recycling, and moving forward. I think that this idea of permanence, that art is permanent is a real illusion. I like your analogy of teaching yoga, or doing a musical performance. It’s a temporary, it’s a temporary act of service that comes and goes.

QUESTION: Should you give your art away or discount it?

Ann Rea: If you want to sell your art, and you then turn around and give it away, or offer it at a discount, well you’ve just devalued your art. And you’ve been incredibly disrespectful to not only the people who’ve paid you full price, but even the people you’ve asked to pay you full price.

Robin Koorevar: Right.

Ann Rea: Think about it from that perspective, too.

Robin Koorevar: Right, uh huh.

Ann Rea: I like to destroy it. That’s fun to me.

QUESTION: Why do you destroy some art?

Ann Rea: For me it’s a way to let go.

Robin Koorevar: Right.

Ann Rea: There is only one painting that is a small watercolor, that I won’t ever sell. And it’s because it’s the first, literally the first painting I did after an absence from making any art whatsoever for over a decade. And I knew when I painted that painting, that I would return to art. Like, I had a complete epiphany that I would return to art. So it’s, for me it’s just an important symbol that marks a milestone in my life. But otherwise, everything else is for sale.

QUESTION: Can you create a photo archive?

Ann Rea: The other option would be, like, if you’re really, if you need physical space for your art, but you just don’t have room to store it, you could always photograph it. You could always have that photo, you know, that archive of photos.

QUESTION: Are you editing your body of work?

Ann Rea: If you can kind of look at it that way, as this was an investment of my research and development, in honing my ideas. Then you can maybe see the value in the edited product, or the edited piece that you finally perform or sell, or just, you know, if you’ve kind of like switched the way you view it, I think it could be helpful.

QUESTION: Can you just let go of lesser work?

Ann Rea: If your, if your current body of work is most representative of where you are now, do you really want to go digging in the garage or the basement of the stuff that has been so improved upon since? I don’t think so.

QUESTION: Why are you discounting your art?

Ann Rea: Why are you discounting? Is it because you fear your, because you’re not really sure of your pricing? Is it because you fear that you really don’t know the value of what you offer? Because if you’re coming from fear, or ignorance, and ignorance will ignite fear, then you’re not gonna make informed choices. And you’re gonna, very easily, injure your reputation and just your sense of self confidence.

QUESTION: What have been your biggest takeaways?

Robin Koorevar: One of the biggest ones is just the power of intention. So much of the work that I’ve done up to course four, has been about understanding your blocks, and figuring out how to move through those with positive intentional decision making, on a daily basis. So, I’ve seen that this week has been kind of a mind blower for that. I’ve had something happen almost every day where I thought about it, and came to fruition. So that manifesting idea is huge.

Ann Rea: Mm hmm.

Robin Koorevar: And a big engine for any artistic enterprise. So I’d say that’s one of the biggest ones. And then, I think the other one goes back to what you were saying about fear. That there’s just, there’s nothing to be afraid of. The negative thinking, perhaps. You know, or the drifting, which we read about in “Napoleon Hill.” But other than that, there’s really nothing to be fearful of, you know. Take it out there, see what happens. Engage. It’s been a great community to meet people, and hear other people’s journeys, and hear how many things are similar. All the videos that I’ve watched, and you hear something that resonates in each story. So, just having that much broader sense of community. The music world is very competitive.

Ann Rea: Yes.

Robin Koorevar: And we don’t often have a chance for mentorship. People don’t talk shop. They don’t trade secrets. So this has been a fantastic way to broaden my world view as an artist. And just really feel like I’m part of a bigger whole, and have a place in it.

QUESTION: Should other artists apply?

Robin Koorevar: Why are you waiting? Go for it! I mean just that there’s no, there’s no right or wrong. So, you make a choice, you decide if you want to for it or not. Try it, see how it goes. I love the flexibility you’re offering, you know. One way or another might work for your prototype project, it might end up going full scale sales, it might end up being a hobby. But there’s no right or wrong. So commit to yourself in the process, and see what happens.

Ann Rea: Right.

QUESTION: Is MAKING Art Making MONEY worth it?

Robin Koorevar: This is well-worth your time and money. So, it’s an investment, not only in your art, but very much more so in yourself. I mean, everybody that I’ve talked to feels like they’ve just unpeeled so many layers. You know, you can go do therapy for years, not that you’re offering therapy. But it peels back all the layers. And it helps you get to the essence of what you’re doing on the planet, and how to be in that in a creative way.

MAKING Art Making MONEY

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