[Woodcarver] Re: Success

[Ivan Whillock Studio]

1. My first goal out of college was to find the "space" in which to create, both physical space and time space.  I knew that if I were not going into commercial art I would not be likely to earn a living by doing my art.  I took a teaching job and immediately blocked out time during each day that would be art time, sometimes early in the morning, more often in the evening.  With the support and blessing of my wife we always found living space with an area set aside for a studio.

2.  My next goal was to explore the field.  Right out of college, I had no particular voice or specialty.  I had done mostly paintings, but I wanted to explore the other mediums as well.  In my first years I experimented with sculpture in various media as well as painting in oil, water color, casein, tempera.  I wasn't concerned with selling, although I sold some, took some commissions, and sent some pieces to various art competitions, regional and state-wide.  Anything I sold was "gravy" because I wasn't depending in art sales for my living.  I was much more interested in developing "original and unique art" than in developing a market.  Art history was full of artists whom I admired but didn't sell very much in their lifetimes, so my expectations in making a living in fine art were low.  In fact, I felt many of the artists who were making money did it by "selling out", finding a "gimmick" and merchandising that, or becoming celebrities and merchandising themselves.  That world didn't appeal to me.

3.  As I was acquiring a body of work, one of my goals was to get it out in front of an audience, not necessarily as a sales tool (although I was happy when sales occurred), but as a way to complete the process, as a creative work always implies an audience.  I showed as often as I could and I felt rewarded when people enjoyed my work.  Appreciation was as great an affirmation as was selling.  

4.  Early on I entered my work in various competitions, from the time I was a junior in college to the early eighties.  I assumed that winning ribbons would bring notice to my art and serve as an affirmation.  Then, after listening to a number of my colleagues, show after show,  fret over a judge's decision, and even talk of creating work that would please a specific judge, I realized that, for myself, I really didn't want to think of art as a competitive sport, with winners and losers.   I thought to myself if Monet and Van Gogh were in the same show, or Michaelangelo and DaVinci, what would be the justice of picking a winner?  I stopped entering competitions and turned down requests to serve as a judge (which were many, and were often coupled with being the "featured artist" in a show).

5.  In 1971 I took a detour.  A customer wanted multiples of carvings and I took that opportunity to start a business in reproducing wood carvings for commercial sales.  I formed a company  and developed a technique of making castings of wood carvings using silicon molds and polyurethane foam.  It was an exciting challenge at first.  To make a long story short, after three years I discovered that that was directly opposite of the lifestyle I wanted.  I was out selling the product, designing and carving the models, and supervising their production.   I looked into the mirror and decided that I was no longer following my life's goal, which was to "be" an artist--not to merely to make money by hook or crook.  I dissolved the factory business, took a part-time teaching job, and set up an art studio, sharing space with the Faribault Art Center.  

6.  By 1984 my own enterprises, commissions, teaching classes, had  expanded to the extent that I needed more space, so I purchased my current building.  As my children joined the business, we mutually set goals that protected my "space" as an artist but developed aspects of the business along the lines of their interests, mostly in marketing: thus we started selling books, tools, and carving supplies.

7.  Now my goals have come full circle: simply to be free to create art. There is much art work I want to do "for its own sake."    I have not thought of quitting, since I feel I'm at the top of my game. However, the only commissions I accept now are those that pique my interest, those that offer a specific challenge.   My kids have taken over the commercial side of the business.  I'm  mostly free to roam around the premises creating art.

Ivan Whillock Studio
122 NE 1st Avenue
Faribault, MN 55021
Visit my website at
 http://www.whillock.com
Visit my Picturetrail album at
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=ivancarve
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