Artistic Independence: Escaping Mom's Couch with Diagrams | Elliott Earls

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In this comprehensive how-to video, we delve into the central thesis that "Responsibility = Power. Power = Freedom," providing you with the key insights and practical knowledge needed to unlock your artistic potential and achieve financial independence.
Are you an aspiring artist, designer, or musician who dreams of breaking free from the confines of your current situation? Do you long for the day when you can pursue your creative passions with complete artistic and financial freedom? If so, you've come to the right place!
Join us as we unveil the groundbreaking concept of the "Stacks Method" developed by renowned artist and designer, Elliott Earls. This revolutionary approach to allocating work enables you to build a solid financial foundation, paving the way for the development of artistic freedom like never before. With the Stacks Method, you'll discover how to strike a harmonious balance between your creative pursuits and your financial responsibilities.
Throughout the video, we provide clear and concise diagrams that visually illustrate the principles and strategies discussed. These diagrams act as powerful visual aids, simplifying complex concepts and allowing you to grasp them with ease. By combining informative explanations with visual representations, we ensure that you receive a comprehensive understanding of the Stacks Method and how it can transform your artistic journey.
Unlocking artistic freedom requires a deep understanding of the relationship between responsibility and power. We explore this connection in detail, emphasizing the importance of taking ownership of your financial situation. By embracing responsibility, you gain the power to control your own destiny, paving the way for unparalleled creative liberty.
In addition to providing insights into the Stacks Method, we offer practical tips, strategies, and actionable steps to help you implement these concepts in your own life. Whether you're a beginner just starting out or an experienced artist looking to enhance your financial stability, this video offers valuable guidance that can be tailored to your unique circumstances.
#ArtisticFreedom, #StacksMethod, #FinancialFreedom, #ResponsibilityEqualsPower, #UnlockYourPotential, #CreativeLiberty, #ArtistTips, #DesignStrategies, #MusicianLifestyle, #FinancialStability.
Don't miss out on this transformative journey towards artistic freedom and financial stability. Join us as we uncover the secrets to getting off your mom's couch and unlocking your true creative potential. Hit the play button now and embark on an adventure that will change the way you approach your artistic career forever!
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[@robertlaskey8509]

I like this one, Elliott. I have my own work that I make and sell when I choose to but I have done a lot of work for your colleagues and art museums and architects and designers and that's what I really enjoy paying the bills with. Much in thanks to being accepted to and attending Metal Smithing at Cranbrook. I have a very specific skill set, and I'm doing something different all the time.

[@1325208A]

Can't wait to watch this!

[@TheTroofdotcom]

I've been preaching art and feed me art since I learned about it in undergrad from my drawing professor. You gotta eat AND you gotta make YOUR work in tandem.

[@ggeessttaalltt]

Been waiting for a video on this from you, thanks for elaborating on some stuff you’ve suggested in prior videos. I think the only caveat is sometimes it seems economic viability isn’t so easy to identify until something starts putting food on the table, for instance a lot of musicians never make money until, well… they do. I think the same goes for certain types of visual artists, it’s a lot more clear cut for a graphic designer or CG modeler as opposed to a painter or something. I’d love to see you explore the idea of economic viability more, how to identify and exploit it etc. Maybe an idea for a future video, if you haven’t done a similar one on the topic already.

[@davidwattshere]

I've conned the system, I bought my own couch.

[@StudioPractice1]

NICE!!!!

[@spacemanbill9501]

For a long time I wanted control over everything outside of myself. Until I realized what I really needed and what my subconscious mind wanted, was control over my self. My emotions, my decisions, my thoughts. We all know when something isn’t right, it’s very uncomfortable looking deeper into the problems that plague us. We’ve already heard Peterson talk about order and structure. The way I’m feeling, all I really need is a place to socialize with like minded people in person. We don’t have anywhere like that anymore.

[@SloppyPastrami]

This is a great lesson for everyone to take with them. Thanks for making it.

[@deadtotheworld]

this is actually helping me real time thanks.

[@zachtinsley]

Thank you so much! More videos like this!

[@StudioPractice1]

You got it!

[@MagneticMoustache]

Fantastic video!

[@charliebenson392]

Thanks Elliott, this is incredibly insightful and timely for me personally. The 5, 3, 1 tactic never occurred to me. I was working at a well paying tech company doing *mostly* rewarding design work and video editing up until the point where I started to feel really burned out. I could/can feel myself developing carpel tunnel in my wrists and horrible computer posture. I left the company to pursue my own practice, trying to make the jump from digital work to physical work via 3D printing, etc. there’s a plethora of products I *could* make, but somehow committing to mass production on my own marketable products feels more like a trap than part time video editing 😅. Still baffled by the wizardry of making art with no commercial value for a living

[@velDANTe]

first to leave the couch

[@davidwattshere]

I also recommend reading Linchpin, by Seth Godin

[@oxiepidge]

Hi Elliot, the section about the process book was interesting to me - I just finished my first year of a Fine Arts degree at 25. Our grades are based on a process book for each module, with an additional portfolio section for practice-based modules. Although my marks have been high, I've been wrestling with how best to present my work without just considering the generic mark scheme. Last time I was in higher education, studying design and illustration, we would simply present our sketchbooks and research without editing, so the idea of a comprehensive and curated process book was very new to me when I started this degree. It's reassuring to hear there will most likely be a more concrete/direct use for the skills I'm building in producing these documents, as well as the fact that the university I'm attending seems to be organising courses around giving students a good chance at employment. Hope you're well & thanks for the video.

[@StudioPractice1]

Hey 👋. Thanks for taking the time to write. It sounds like a solid curriculum. I think a big component of the whole thing is to benchmark your work. To put your work into actual close physical proximity to excellent work and (not to copy) but to be very honest with yourself about wether it “holds up”. And if it doesn’t strive to look and think about why. Good luck with your studies!

[@6DAMMK9]

As a full time programmer (yes, have no connection to art in career), I agree this as a great career advice. I wanted to make automation, or some big shot in data analysis, but turns out I'm another front end developer coorporation with UI / UX designer (probably I do that also) because it provides economic value. *cough* I does AI art, does heavy studying as Msc degree and even get into tons of "ai art groups" to help people train models, but it only happens when I leave the office.

[@dougpression]

Man I've recently discovered how artistic programming is because of AI. I study music but people always told me to go into computer science and I'm just now making the shift. Everything can be creative it's all about you, the creator!

[@1325208A]

fair

[@lonnyzone7813]

Damn this is good, thank you man ❤

[@StudioPractice1]

❤️

[@mosharv]

Hi Ellliot, can you talk more about getting fired from Elektra Records and how you navigated that experience

[@user-yd5mo5ub4g]

Hey Elliott, I have a bit of an involved question w/r/t self-study of design For context I'm in my late 20's, have financial stability/independence through dumb luck, and have been creatively active (privately) in writing, music, and videography - but never in creating physical art or conceptualizing/realizing designs outside of making random imagery/graphics for videos I'd made from middle school through college. (Creative pursuits had nothing to do with financial independence, just for reference) I have no background in anything that gives me any sort of informed view of aesthetics, and despite that I REALLY want to get better at translating ideas/imagery on to a medium after a fair few "failed" attempts. Every time I try even very simple things just as exercises, it feels like there's this veil between the idea in my head and the medium that my hands are interacting with (in this case a pencil and sketch pad) Usually in the past whenever I've started creative pursuits I've committed to either fully intuit my way through it in the case of my videography where it was all just for fun and learning random things as I needed it, or in the case of music I took a more formal approach working up from well agreed upon fundamental concepts from composers I liked and eventually moved on to shadowing or doing private study with whoever I could. The main thing I'm getting at is that, I don't have the skillz with design and I'm really unsure of how to start approaching this entire thing. I mentioned wanting to get better at sketching/drawing to a friend and they lent me Basics Principles of Design by Maier - in which the curriculum laid out feels like it's really thorough but at the same time presupposes a level of perception and basic ability that I don't have yet (awareness of proportions, angles, depth, light, etc.) I feel like I NEED something to actually physically interface with design before I can gain any meaningful relationship with it. Similar how you can study music for years but until you go to an instrument and listen to and feel what any of it means it's just words, and if you never take that step you're never a musician but rather a scholar. I'm sorry to come out and ask such a basic question, but where do I start with developing the skill sets involved in drawing and sketching? Is it really just as simple as drawing cubes over and over until I become more sensitive to parallel lines, right angles, depth, and so on? Do you have any suggestions for resources about what you see as fundamental to design whether or not it's specific to just drawing? P.S. I also don't want to come across as someone who's just found your videos and arbitrarily asked "how do I draw?" Your early videos on critique, above the couch and below the couch work and how one can pull from the other, teacher's authority flowing from their work, self-transcendence through art, and a bunch of others really shook me up when I first went through them a year or two ago (still have the notebook that I took notes on all of them.) One of your more recent videos actually exposed me to DFW for the first time and got me to check out his writing! I have a LOT of respect for you and your work and don't want this to come across as something off-hand.

[@crcarta]

Elliot, you recommended "Stop Stealing Sheep" in episode 116. I read it. I am not in 2d design, but would really appreciate some more book recommendations. Also if there is another platform where I can donate to ask questions like this, totally open to it. Thanks

[@nskeow]

3:03 is there anywhere we can view this specific work?

[@SPArtist-gi7tl]

Great video. What is your opinion on jobs that aren't art skill based but is a way to make an income while working on my studio (experimental) work? This job gives me a lot of time to read and I believe they would let me go 5 - 3 -1 days a week but I am not building a skill set that is adjacent to the art world.

[@StudioPractice1]

IMHO. 5-3-1 is maybe the most important element aside from developing the financial model of the work that you “care about” (the work that you’re trying to launch.) that work has to be financially viable. Figuring that out = creative freedom

[@thesylphisin]

What is the software you use to make these diagrams?

[@StudioPractice1]

IThoughts HD for osX. They have an iPhone version. Buy it to support the dev.

[@torgo_]

I think there's a piece of the puzzle missing here. A lot of people are unable to network or communicate; unable to carry out a conversation or job interview and appear like a normal human being. Especially in the post-covid world, with so many iPad-kids, many young people don't have the basic entry-level social skills to create an opening, even if they are extremely passionate and talented.

[@connorparsley]

the individuals i've met who have "artistic independence" have always also had vile/misguided morals. what one may see as the ability to "work hard" is usually just the ability to micro-violently debase others as well as themselves on a consistent basis. many of their life choices intentionally position themselves as God. placing oneself above nature/others. using, abusing, leveraging.. in an emotional word: hurting. for what? to be the center of other people's universes for a moment or longer. there is no imagination or bravery or goodness in this map that simply charts out how to become a perfectly fitting cog that seeks to climb itself up the engine in order to have its own motion move the other cogs. it is only a map to control, or in your word: responsibility. you twist this important word away from GOODNESS, which would be responsibility for the well being of yourself and your fellow mankind instead of your self-righteous bloodline and possessions. --- --- --- --- but hey, maybe i'm dead wrong. i'm bitterly speaking from the perspective of someone who can't seem to climb out of the abject horror of my dead end customer service front desk shit job routine with very little time to work on my art that only seems to resonate with myself.

[@XNY_Music]

All great advice, but after pursuing a career in Art for more than 30 year, I can say from experience is that there are too many really talented artists aiming for a slice of a pie that is insufficient to sustain all of them. Professional art buyers rarely invest in unknown artists and uneducated buyers don't know what to buy or how to reach/connect with those artists waiting/striving for opportunities to demonstrate their abilities. Forcing a career to provide an income when either the work is quite not saleable or the attitude of the artist is not hungry enough to compete can derail a career before it even gets off the ground. Get regular employment and spend your spare time researching and refining what you do and build on that.

[@atetraxx]

art in this day and age doesnt have to be final pieces that are sold to buyers. But I agree, funding your passions with regular employment is always good advice. But that will probably, eventually lead into working in the art field you're focusing on. At that point, this advice is valid.

[@XNY_Music]

@@atetraxx Better advice would be to follow an artistic career path that involves going to university and then building on all the leads that you generate there. If that's not an option then my former advice is definitely valid. Without the financial stability that comes from holding down a job, you'll become desperate for money and you'll try and force your art to provide an income. It'll be like planting an apple seed, watering it a bit and then expecting and demanding apples before your tree has had time to mature.

[@user-fd8fe9hk9q]

the two ways to get artistic "independence" are to become a teacher or kiss the ass of the contemporary art market. I consider neither of these very artistically free. Teacher is better tho

[@StudioPractice1]

Those are two ways the third is to actually seek work

[@zacharysearcy]

So you're saying that in order to have freedom you have to work most of the day for seven days a week. Does that not give you pause? Capitalism needs poverty in order to function. Don't you realize that if everyone worked all day for 7 days a week then the creative bottleneck would get worse? The whole point of capitalism is to crown a winner and a loser. There will always be a loser, and under your model the losers break their backs while losing. Of course ya never know if you don't try, but it's not an unfair critique on capitalism that artists, or anyone, should be able make a living wage without working themselves to death. Also, "getting your personal work pop" is overly simplified. There are countless artists whose work would be economically valued if they had access to the social currency and luck that is often times needed in the art world.

[@gickygackers]

it's either that or become a roofer and work 7 days a week. gotta work. takes work to wipe your own ass, and nobody bats an eye. don't be so focused on working 'less'. Lots of work to write your critique.

[@zacharysearcy]

@@gickygackers 🤡

[@StudioPractice1]

I *am saying that in order to have (creative) freedom (in *most cases) your going to have to work your ass off. Having said that, many artists (including me) find working on their own work extremely rewarding. And although it’s become a cliche - working on one’s own creative practice is not the same kind of “work.” Creative (and financial) freedom isn’t going to fall out of a tree. “Laying flat” isn’t going to work out very well regarding the capacity to put food on the table off one’s work. I’m not sure what your point is beyond “capitalism” is exploitative. There are CLEAR problems with capitalism. I’m simply trying to keep it real (tell the truth as I understand it) regarding the dynamic that I’ve seen work to provide emerging artist and designers with creative freedom. Have I seen a few people “take it easy”, refuse to engage the “system” and be able to provide for themselves off of their work? No. I haven’t. I’m just trying to describe reality as I have come to understand it in an attempt to help. Now if you wanna opt out and “lay flat,” have fun with that.

[@zacharysearcy]

@@StudioPractice1 Of course. I adore my studio practice, and I agree that using the word "work" becomes a bit brackish in that context. But making it "pop" in the art world is it's own weather system, and this would require an entirely different video. My point feels validated even within the examples and language you use. You are only oscillating between two extremes which to me is runoff from the hustle culture that capitalism instills in us. It's either working your ass off or "laying flat". All I suggested was a fair living wage for a fair amount of labor and you presented some false reality of freedom falling from a tree. As if people are unaware that anybody has to "do" things. There is no spectrum. There are no shades of grey. If by "keeping it real" you mean telling us the system is unfair, dangerous, and broken then yea cool I agree. But again, even if everyone follows your advice, then still only a small group will win the game. It's how it's designed. You're just banging the drum for the people that already hold power in the system. Gatekeepers will love it because it validates working artists thinking a breadcrumb is some kind of trophy.

[@StudioPractice1]

Your point about a false dichotomy is well warranted. I largely agree. In order to be relatively transparent about my agenda I’ll state that I’m an unabashed advocate of “work.” (I’m not sure if that’s the exact same thing as grind culture, but for the sake of argument, let’s say it is the same.) I believe that both physical and intellectual “hard work” is good for the soul and psyche. I’m aware of many of the criticisms of this ethos, and I disagree with most of them. Your comment about false binaries is appropriate here: early in my career when riding a metro north train 2 hours a day to my job at Elektra Records, I could feel myself dying inside on the train each evening. I stopped doing that. The wrong kind of work will literally and figuratively kill you. You raise the issue of the ideological/political agenda that lies behind the promotion of grind culture. There’s an ideological/political agenda behind lying flat as well. The question to my mind becomes, what is the best path to personal agency and power? We probably disagree about this. I’ll simplify my position: culture is war and a site of ideological struggle. Engage the system on its own terms in order to gain personal power. Challenging “Work” is a necessary prerequisite for positive mental and spiritual health. The human psyche is a “problem solving machine.” In a vacuum the psyche will construct “problems.” To some degree humans can determine the kinds of problems they contended with in life (not exclusively and NOT in all circumstances). However, if the intellect is busy attempting to solve challenging constructive problems, it won’t fabricate bullshit. (End of diatribe). I don’t think for a moment that most people would agree with this belief system, but I could give a shit. Most people rot on the couch staring into their screens, eating processed food and think the goal in life is to avoid all of pain and discomfort. Most “modern” humans live in the hedonic treadmill. I don’t. The right kinds of work = good.

[@spacemanbill9501]

“Late stage capitalism” sounds like a boogie man invented by people desperately trying to critique a system that they don’t fit into. A lot of times when people use this phrase, I question if it’s society they should be analyzing, or themselves. There’s good reason to critique the consequences of capitalism, but it’s tasteless to do so in a bubble. The message is not for Eli, but for all the young socialists out there.

[@StudioPractice1]

There's no opting out of the system... might as well try to beat it at its own game.

[@spacemanbill9501]

@@StudioPractice1 we have to destroy the ring haha

[@r4x2]

“Late capitalism” was first used as “Spätkapitalismus”, in 1902 by Werner Sombart, who later became a Nazi. It’s just a mindless term picked up by leftist puppets for use to add to the robot script of outdated propaganda they unconsciously keep alive.