Navigating Instagram & Pricing Your Art

Episode Transcript:

Gisela A. Lazarte  00:00

I think the goal of social media should be to reach a wider audience, that would almost be, it would be really hard to do otherwise. And so you know, more recent times that social media has become such a big part of our lives and connect with people more directly. And then just catch yourself when it's becoming more about social media itself, which it shouldn't be, you know, like the social media is just a tool and a platform for you to expand your reach and your practice. So maybe just try to like things like scheduling, what you might want to post and planning it out a bit, I think I'm really helpful to spend less time on social media.

Isotta Page  00:46

This is art as a podcast for artists, where we brainstorm the future of the art world and the creative industries. Think it's really cool that you mentioned how videoing and kind of documenting your practice really originated from a personal desire to kind of look back on that. And that really shows in terms of how you share on Instagram, in particular, I think your videos and the photos that you share are really awesome and really unique, and really have a great insight into the kind of creative spirit behind your your work. And so I was wondering, how do you feel about sharing both online and offline about your work and like really about the personal side of your practice as well. And if you have any advice for people who are maybe struggling with that at the moment, and maybe feel that, whether it's impostor syndrome, or perfectionism, or just kind of a little bit of distance around sharing, and just showing up and saying to the world, okay, like, I'm here, and I make this and I just, you know, I wanted to put it out there. And just as simple as that. And I know that we compare ourselves likes and with followers and everything, and you know, whether your photos blurry or, you know, whatever it may be, that's the excuse from holding you back, I definitely am guilty of that I didn't post for years. And I've only just gotten back into it. And I just think that the way that you approach it, perhaps also, from your experience in the film, and video industry is just really cool. And I think it's a really awesome inspiration for others.

 Gisela A. Lazarte   02:32

Thank you. Yeah, it was still definitely a learning curve. For me. Even though I have this background, I was always sort of more behind the camera type of person. And also, I think that social media and like Instagram, and even each social media has its own language that it took me a while to figure out I'm still figuring out but it's funny, you mentioned that because I went part of you know that when I started painting again, after that long break, one of the things while I was figuring things out was to create the account that I use now for all my art stuff. And I did it so that I could have like a separate space from my personal to sort of, I wanted to push myself to share more of my work. Before that I wasn't sharing anything, I kept everything very private. Even just a few close friends knew that I paint it. And yeah, just wanted to push it and put it out there. And of course, the more you start doing it and you start receiving, you know, positive feedback, it can be very motivating. But there's a very thin line between being this additional source of motivation to become a sort of a place where you look for validation. And there's just so much that goes on into the algorithm and you know, what works and doesn't work. There's definitely a lot of tips. And you know, other resources on this that are are helpful, for sure. But I feel like in reality, nobody fully knows what works and it's just also depends on your own type of work. And I think that it's more about trying different things out and took me a while to for sure get used to not only recording myself and being in front of the camera, but then putting it out there. But I realized that when I started doing that, regardless of the response I got on social media, you know, because sometimes it's funny how it works like the things that you think are you're most proud of sometimes don't get the response you would hope and then something that maybe you thought like whatever I'm just gonna put it out there though, then, you know, people have, you just feel like I don't know what works and doesn't. But yeah, I think that regardless of what happened, just having that becoming a practice of just and sort of habit of putting more out there. It just It was sort of like a release and it just really helped me at least push my boundaries more and sort of get out of my comfort zone and get more comfortable with my work. And oftentimes, yeah, then I would notice that people would resonate with either the work or the way, you know, the process, I definitely also learned and was inspired by seeing other artists process. And same, you know, sometimes an artist would DM me asking me questions about something they saw on a video. And I think it's just so helpful in creating more of that community, you know, and just learning from each other. And it really can help also make him more accessible and having people who also maybe don't do art, understand it better and connect with it better. So yeah, I think, for sure, I've also been guilty of falling into the trap of comparison and what other people are doing, and are seeing, like, oh, there are so many people who are seem to be doing more and doing better and all these things. And I think that when you, it's just hard but important to try to be very mindful and remembering that I think the goal of social media should be to reach a wider audience, that would almost be, it would be really hard to do otherwise. And totally, you know, more recent times that social media has become such a big part of our lives and connect with people more directly. And then just catch yourself when it's becoming more about social media itself, which it shouldn't be, you know, like the social media is just a tool and a platform for you to expand your reach and your practice. So maybe just try to like things like scheduling, what you might want to post and planning it out a bit, I think are really helpful to spend less time on social media. And just maybe taking breaks, I've definitely taken breaks and try to maybe don't let it go completely. But take a week of social media, or just maybe post and get out from times when I'm realizing that it's getting to me that way. I think that to get past that when you don't really feel comfortable with sharing, which is so to do it. And it just sort of make it into a habit and just start with whatever you're comfortable with, you know, you don't need to share your whole process. Sometimes I record my whole session, but I don't share all of it, there's still parts of it that are very private to me, and that I want to keep that way. But I do share, you know, most of it at this point, but just Yeah, try to maybe find what it is that you feel comfortable sharing, and then take it from there.

Isotta Page  07:33

I'd love to hear also a little bit more about your approach to your art business, and what your goals have been maybe in the past in the recent past and kind of in the near future around developing your professional practice.

Gisela A. Lazarte   07:49

Yeah, I would say that my ultimate goal is to continue expanding my practice so that it is a sustainable long term business right now I have I still have a part time job, I guess technically, I do art part time, and I have a part time job. And really, it's more like I do art full time than I have a part time job. So yeah, I would definitely like to be able to focus exclusively on art. And I do want to keep doing this, or at least my focus has been and it continues being to do it independently, to have more control of my career. But that being said, I do think that there's something really special about being able to experience art in person, there's nothing like it. So I do want to keep pushing my boundaries more into participating more in applying for our residencies and participating in more shows. So far, I've only been in one group show in 2021. That was fun as well, and art, but I definitely wanna start implementing or like, you know, incorporating more of this. Also being able to interact with more artists, I think there's something that has a very positive impact in your work. So I would say that my goal is to continue being independent, but to have more of that in person connections and experiences as well.

 Isotta Page  09:11

Yeah, it's really important to be able to balance both offline and online. Exactly. So I wanted to ask your opinion around pricing, and maybe any tips you could share for people who are struggling to set a price on work or on a body of work and with your experience in other creative industries, you could share some some thinking around setting prices and kind of formalizing that element.

Gisela A. Lazarte   09:43

Yeah, I would say that in that aspect. There's nothing as similar you know, similar to a really aren't comparable and with video film, but I would say that, in my experience, what is most important is having uniformity, and to be very clear and sort of Yeah, just having consistency within your prices. For instance, with painting at least, I think that what also done a ton of research, and there's also a few resources on this online, but a method of having a base rate per square inch has been Yeah, it's basically the method I use. And to get to that base rate, I think, is really just maybe research and look into what other artists are pricing their work for. I know that not all artists share their prices, but there's a lot who do on their websites, and you know, just go from all different ranges, like more established artists, emerging artists, people that are also sort of at your same level on you know, their career. And just make sure that that rate, whatever last numbers you get are, are something that you feel comfortable with, and that you feel that does, you know, make sense for your work. And I think being able to have it like that, first of all, it simplifies that for you. And you don't have to like be racking your brain every single time, , figuring out that, that sort of formula for you. And then it also makes it very simple and clear for the public to be able to understand, okay, maybe it's a matter of size, that this is more expensive than this. And instead of having maybe people who aren't there with you like, it's really hard to explain the reasoning behind, for instance, having two paintings the same size, but different prices, as opposed to maybe just having it by size like that. And, again, making sure that whatever that range is, is something that does make sense both for you and with the market. And again, if you're able to do our consultancies, then also they can help you just make sure are confirming that your prices are a line, and they seem to make sense, or that if you need to work on that as well.

 Isotta Page  11:52

I think it's also really good advice to set time aside to do research and to think about it in advance when you're calm, and to be able to not be asked for the price, when you haven't thought about it, and then just like say a number and then end up reading it and realizing, you know, maybe that doesn't even cover your materials or you know, whatever it is, it's, it's really important to set yourself up for that. And to just say, like, Oh, I'll think about it, if someone wants it, or, you know, maybe no one's going to be even interested, you know, so I'll think about it later. But like, just having that professionalism, just with yourself as well. And like giving yourself that respect of understanding that your time is valuable, and your work is valuable. And that's important. It's just really important advice to, to remember always.

 Gisela A. Lazarte   12:43

Absolutely, yeah, I think that for sure. From the very beginning, once you are, start to put your work out there, either if it is with shows, or online, just making sure that you know, even if you're not showing your prices, but you know them very well and so that no matter what happens if for instance, I'm not I don't like talking about prices, but having you know already set them and also having them on my website just makes it a lot easier for me than just being able to people can see you there. So I don't have to deal with it myself. And that way, you know, yeah, and

 Isotta Page  13:15

it takes the emotion out of it as well. And you're just able to send that in an email or as you know, print out or whatever. It's, it's a really good tip. So one of the major goals of this podcast is around artists brainstorming the future of the art industry. So I was wondering, what kind of art world do you want to be existing in? And what are you hoping to see more of that's happening already for what are you excited about? That's coming up,

Gisela A. Lazarte  13:44

I want to say that I want to live in an art world that is more open and inclusive, where artists from all sorts of backgrounds are thriving, either independently, or if it's through gallery representation, I want to see more female artists and minorities being represented for sure. But that either way that artists can have more control over their careers. And also, I want to see more of a collaborative relationship between artists ourselves, where we share more about our experiences like this, and we talk more about the things that we've learned, which I think is still something that we need to work on. And to continue building a stronger community really, where, you know, we help also to mystify the art world and this sort of like, general perspective that is still out there. And I still think is, you know, a big way of the way people see the art world and just make it more accessible for everybody. I think ultimately, that will just be beneficial for both the industry and artists all around.

 Isotta Page  14:50

Yeah. And I think it's, it's been amazing how mostly because of COVID We've all had to embrace technology and how much that has allowed new elections to be built and foster so much more transparency and accessibility to resources and information. And so I just wanted to thank you for being so open today with all of your expertise and your experiences. It's been really amazing to hear all about your work.

Gisela A. Lazarte   15:19

Yeah. Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me. I really think that we need a lot more podcasts like this, and people just willing to share their experiences and just put it all out there and just building bridges. And I would just add, then, I guess, yeah, so I was mentioning that I work on bodies of work, and I release collections a few times a year. My most recent one is titled transcending matter, and it's available on my website for anybody who wants to check it out my website www.galazarte.com and my email is hello@galazarte.com . And then you can also find more my process and just a bit more of an insight into my practice and my studio on Instagram, instagram.com/laz__arte

 Isotta Page  16:17

Thank you for listening to art is a podcast for artists. Please leave art is a podcast for artists a rating and review on Apple podcasts. It really helps others find us. Also I would love it if you took a moment to reflect on who in your life might also benefit from listening to this podcast. When you do please share artists a podcast for artists with them, so we can continue to grow the show organically and brainstorm the future of the art world together. You can also support the work I do by subscribing wherever you listen, and by donating to the podcast. The link to do so is in the episode description. Okay, that's it for now. Thanks so much and see you next Wednesday.