“3 Secrets To Being A Well-Paid Artist (rather than starving)”

Posted on Oct. 16, 2009 by Baeth in Life Purpose

“July In Paris” 37”x12”x8”  Lit Plexiglass Collages by Susanna Helman
Photo by Bruce Andrews

Susanna Richter-Helman is an artist. Her Life Purpose (from her fingerprints) is “Artist in the Spotlight with Heart.” Her purpose is to move an audience emotionally through the experience of her creative expression.

As you can see from the above image, Susanna is not only an artist, she is a well-trained, experienced, professional and gifted artist. Her work, “July In Paris,” captures perfectly how I felt on my July trip to Paris in 2008. I’m not sure how she did that, but that’s what artists do - spill their emotions on the canvas so we can FEEL ours. This a valuable and necessary part of the human experience that we often place little value on if it can’t be immediately commercialized like an action movie or high fashion. The work of the artist, whether he or she be a painter, flower designer, interior designer, jewelry maker, photographer, actor, dancer, singer, mime, etcetera, is a food that our soul hungers for. Without art, we don’t have a ‘culture,’ we just have existence without color.

The challenge for so many artists is to find a way to give us their soul food without going hungry!

The “starving artist” stereotype, in my experience, is hardly a stereotype. Most artists I know are broke or very close to the edge financially. There are social and psychological reasons for this…… but it doesn’t have to be this way for the majority of artists I’ve met.

They don’t want to be broke but they also don’t want to kill the inspiration that drove them to create in the first place by trying to ‘commercialize’ their creativity. There is a deep fear in artists of ‘losing the muse’ if they pursue a career that feeds their soul AND their bank account.

I’ve identified 3 ’secrets’ that can help an artist find their way from broke to bountiful.

But first, here is Susanna’s experience in her own words:

“It was your first reading of my hands over seven years ago that lead me to the ocean.  I have a lot of water energy (’water energy’ represents emotional sensitivity) in my hands and you suggested being near the water.  We left Colorado to live in Florida by the ocean.  I visit it daily; I love the way the water makes me feel and the inspiration it brings me.

Susanna Richter-Helman

When we moved, I decided to leave behind the art career that required me to produce over 30 paintings a month to be shown by galleries and reps all over the country, but was unfulfilled because I wasn’t making the kind of work I really wanted to make. The conflict was that I would be taking a loss of income if I stopped, but I did it anyway to be true to myself.
Your last reading of my hands, which stated that I have “the professional artist’s line in both hands and that I must make a lot of money selling my art,” left me initially conflicted and stressed.  I always hoped that that was true, but to hear that it actually was true left me momentarily paralyzed. I struggled with it for many months, feeling like I hit a brick wall, kind of the end where you say, “do or die.”  Knowing that I had to make it happen, because it was a fact, kept me going.  It’s amazing how when you are at the edge, every part of your mind and body tries to stop you from moving forward.

When we were at your Life Purpose Spiritual Summit in Vegas, I was busy rushing around working, and all the sudden, I just started crying and couldn’t stop. Mark [Susanna's brother and Baeth's husband] patted my back and said I was having a breakthrough.  I didn’t really understand what that was or meant until I experienced it.  You explained it to me, but until you have one, you can’t understand how it feels to finally grasp what is right in front of you and allow yourself to accept it.

This experience was truly life changing.  As you said, “Your life is a hologram and you are on the stage acting out your destiny.  Bring in your actors through manifestation and create your own destiny.”  There it was in black and white.  All the pieces finally fit together and the bricks fell away from the wall and reformed into a path which was laid out in front of me.  I was not afraid to ask for what I want, to feel I deserved it, to just say “yes” to my destiny.  To be open to opportunities for giving and sharing what I know.

I woke up at 3 a.m. last week, full of ideas and I went to my studio to work.  I felt anxious and started pacing the floor but I knew exactly what it was: another breakthrough. Truly amazing. Knowing this, I went with it. I was excited at the prospect of having this breakthrough because it meant I was changing and moving forward into something much better than where I was.

I now find myself almost instantly manifesting what I want. Really profound, how it works. At this time I have two major contemporary art museum curators following my career for a future show. This has been a dream and goal of mine since I started making art, to have my work shown at the museum level.

I’m thrilled to have this knowledge and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me figure this out, this wonderful, magical gift. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and your kind heart. I love you.”

Susanna’s testimony reveals the 3 secrets to being a well-paid artist. Can you spot them?

#1 DECIDE. You must make the decision, “do or die.” Many people never achieve their full potential because they live in fantasy land without deciding to do whatever is necessary to make their dream a reality. Once an artist DECIDES to stop going hungry, food is on the way!

#2 TRUST THE PROCESS. Once you’ve made the decision, all the emotions, fears and insecurities that you’ve kept at bay will rise to the surface to be felt and released. Being called to the spotlight to express your creativity brings up enormous fears of rejection and ridicule. This is part of the process. Every artist dislikes a mean critic. But being criticized actually means you are out there, DOING IT, rather than fantasizing about it. You may feel anxious, stuck, frustrated. Keep going anyway.

#3 DO THE WORK and PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE. A real painter paints. A real writer writes. Then, the artist SHARES their work with others. Susanna put together a beautiful portfolio with well-crafted cover letters which she then sent to museum curators around the country that she admired. They took notice - not only of her incredible body of work, but her professional presentation style. She is now on their radar.

Susanna’s next gallery show is November 6 through December 2, 2009 at the Butterfield Garage Gallery in St. Augustine, Florida.

“Glow” Exhibition
Inspired by origami paper, minimal modern sculpture and optical painting (Op Art), nationally exhibited artist, Susanna Richter-Helman, departs from her trademark medium of 15 years, acrylic on metal, to explore a new dimension using light, color and depth.

Displayed in a dimly lit room, these glossy, transparent light boxes illuminate the abstracted arrangement of color.  Each piece has a sense depth created by suspending paper and objects between layers of plexiglass.  Many of these items are meaningful memoirs acquired during Susanna’s travels in Europe and the United States.  Even the seemingly insignificant slivers of paper, such as a subway map from New York City, have meaning and purpose in their placement and content. Originally a Colorado native, Susanna currently lives in St. Augustine, FL.

To view more show images, please visit www.susannarichterhelman.com

Please join us for the opening reception
Friday, November 6, 2009 5 p.m.-9 p.m.
Butterfield Garage Art Gallery
www.butterfieldgarage.com
137 King St # C
St Augustine, FL 32084-4325
(904) 825-4577
Susanna Richter-Helman
www.susannarichterhelman.com
(904)-347-8211

And if YOU want to unleash the Life Purpose in YOUR hands, be sure to claim your own hand analysis session with Baeth before the price goes up this fall! http://www.HandAnalyst.com.