Mentoring & Professional Practices

Mentoring is important to any practicing professional artist. Serious Play will seek a full understanding of who are or who has been your greatest influences as an artist?  We want to drill down on this discussion and uncover why and what it is about certain artists’ works that inspire you.  One of the more unusual skills Ivan Barnett has is to be able to wear both an artist’s “hat” as well as a gallery owner’s “hat.”

Barnett is seamlessly able to move between the two areas at a moments notice. That puts him into a rare category of professionals, as it were, as a gallery founder, a creative director for 25 years, and a studio artist.  Barnett also brings the empathy that you need as well as the business skills you seek in all of our conversations.  Finally, Serious Play will help guide you in how to approach a potential mentor.

We’d like to learn about how you engage the outside world as a creative? Do you spend time with other artists? Do you visit your gallery in person from time to time?  Also, do you make it your business to get to other studios and  galleries as a regular practice?  Serious Play would like to learn about the flow of communication that moves back and forth from your gallery and you.  Do you align with their purpose and does it match yours?  Do you feel heard, and most importantly, do you feel supported by the galleries that represent you?  

Your Studio Practice

What does your practice look like and in what forms? Phone, mail, text, etc.?  Serious Play would love to learn what a creative day is like for you.  Do you work alone or do you share your studio?  Do you practice with significant others, etc.?  How do you compartmentalize the business side of your life?  

Measuring an artist’s volume of output of completed works is so very relative.  Many factors are in play, especially mentoring.  That all said, please know in detail what you are producing that will allow us to understand your temperament.