Mentorships

Welcome to the fourth entry of this blog and sincerest thank you for your patience!

I have never been super good at keeping a journal or blog, but if you come to read this whenever I do write something, I very sincerely appreciate it.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future entries, feel free to leave a comment here or send me a DM to my instagram (@gabrielahandal).

So today's entry is about art mentorships. I know fuckall about any sort of mentorship, but my colleague art friend Kristy Gordon is an art mentor, and art mentorship is part of the art services she offers, besides teaching, writing articles, and making her own work.

Here are the questions I asked and her answers, if you have any more questions, feel free to look at the Online Courses section of her website and her website in general. 
Just her website is really quite helpful in general, providing a super good example of how to present yourself to the world through your website, and how we can branch out as artists.

At the bottom I also added a few other websites that offer mentoring, for kicks.

1. What even is mentoring? 

I see an artist's mentorship as working with a person closely over a period of time where they can advise the mentee on all aspects of your their career.  The mentor can give technical guidance as well as support with the mentee's professional development. One would want this mentor to be someone who has already achieved the things you want to achieve, so they have already leapt the hurdles that one is trying to navigate.

2. How long have you been mentoring? 

I first started mentoring artists through the Portrait Society of America’s Cecilia Beaux Forum’s Mentorship Program in 2015.  Then in 2016 I founded my online art mentoring program and I’ve been working with artist in that platform ever since.

3. What made you want to be an art mentor to begin with?

I really believe in the mentee/mentor relationship since I benefited so much when in 2013 I got selected to be mentored by Alexandra Tyng, through the Portrait Society of America’s Cecilia Beaux Forum’s Mentorship Program.  

I gained so much from that, as well as from the more informal mentors I’ve had over the years – artists who became my friends, who were able to guide me through the critical stages of my journey. From these experiences I wanted to give back. It’s like it came full circle and everyone benefits. I’m able to feel very satisfied and fulfilled as I support budding artists navigate the art world, so I benefit from being able to support them and they benefit from my support.

4. How do you decide in what order to address the issues an artist might have in their career? Is it a standardized specific set of steps or does it depend? What does it depend on? 

I have a general order in mind that makes sense to me, but the structure of the program allows people to design it to fit their needs and to address issues in whatever order they like.  Essentially, there's a wide variety of online videos that people get access to as soon as they sign up.  These videos cover the full range of topics: from developing foundational technical skills, to painting from the imagination, as well as all the art business stuff - like artists’ statement writing, copyright issues, varnishing, framing and shipping considerations; how to get and complete commissions and how to submit to galleries.  So artists choose which videos to watch and when.   
Also once a month we have a group conference call, so I can address any questions people have. This way I also develop the curriculum based on each artists’ current needs, in addition to working on basic stuff, such as regular workshops on writing the artists’ bio, statement and CV, etc.

5. How is the bullet point from your website "receive a steady flow of inspiration to keep you growing towards your technical and artistic career goals" addressed in your program? 

This is addressed in two ways:

First because of the video tutorials people gain access to online, they watch those and gain inspiration to take their work to the next level.   

Second, the monthly accountability that the monthly video critiques and conference calls provide keep artists moving and making consistent progress in their studios.  

Of course, each person gets what they put into it as well.

6. Have you ever received mentorship yourself? 

Yes! I benefited greatly from the mentorship I received from Alexandra Tyng in 2013 through the Portrait Society of America’s Cecilia Beaux Forum’s Mentorship Program, as well as what I would consider to be informal mentorships with very talented and successful artists who became my friends and were available to guide me along the way.

7. What do you recommend to people looking for a mentorship program or mentor? What do you suggest they look for? 

I suggest finding someone who has done the things you want to do, who already knows how to overcome the obstacles you might need to navigate. I would also recommend something to help you stay accountable and make well paced, steady, consistent progress, where there is a set date and time you check in each month, and addresses both your technical concerns and as your professional development questions.

Here are some additional links to other websites offering mentoring for artists:
1. Artist Mentoring with Laureen Marchand
2. Mentorly - This one looks extremely interesting in that it matches people offering mentoring in different fields and people looking to be mentored.
3. Artist Coaching and Mentoring by David Limrite

Thank you very much for reading!
If you have any questions, comments, and blog entry suggestions feel free to leave them in the comment section of this very blog entry or send me a Direct Message to my instagram (@gabrielahandal). 
Have a lovely day and please drink water and don't be a dick to your fellow humans.