What If You Didn't Have to Follow the Rules?

There’s this idea in the art world that if you want to make it, you’ve got to play by a certain set of rules. Stick to one medium. Get into the right school. Find a gallery that “fits.” Sell enough work to get noticed. Make the kind of art that collectors already want.

But… What if that’s all just noise?

What if your path doesn’t look like any of that?

What if your biggest strength is actually in the parts of you that don’t fit?

When the System Doesn’t Work for You

I’ve heard so many artists say the same thing:

"I went to art school, I got the degree, and I left with a pile of debt and no clue how to make money as an artist."

It’s one of the biggest gaps in traditional art education. You learn technique. Maybe some theory. But no one teaches you how to navigate the real-world side of being an artist, how to market your work, price it, get it seen, build community, or manage your energy while you do all of it.

And after graduation, you’re on your own.

So artists do what we’ve always done. We gather in backyards with mimosas. We form critique groups and support circles. We find our people. And we create our own systems.

Making Space for What’s Real

You don’t have to be one thing.

You can be a painter and a sculptor and a photographer and a curator and a community builder. You can change directions. You can create art that doesn’t sell. You can make something today and cut it into pieces tomorrow.

You’re allowed to follow your own rhythm.

That’s what makes your art yours.

So when people say you should stay in your lane? Or that you’ll never make it if you don’t pick one style and stick to it?

Forget that.

Because what really matters is this:

• Do you feel free in your process? 
• Do you feel seen in your community? 
• Do you feel proud of the work you're creating?
  

Owning the Full Story

There’s power in showing up as you are, especially when it’s not polished. Especially when it’s raw and real and still in process.

Whether that’s:

• Putting your body in your work when you’ve spent years hiding it, 
• Letting yourself be drawn, photographed, and seen—completely, 
• Or organizing a whole exhibition that exists only because you decided it should...
   

That kind of visibility shifts things.

It’s not about performance. It’s about presence.

It’s saying, “This is who I am. And this is what I create. And I’m not waiting for anyone to tell me it’s good enough.”

Redefining Success as an Artist

So many artists get caught up chasing someone else’s version of success. Getting into the “right” gallery. Selling out a show. Landing a big-name collector.

But those things don’t mean anything if you’re not connected to your work or yourself.

Here’s what success can look like instead:

• Feeling joy when you pick up the brush again after a hard season. 
• Creating from a place of honesty, even if no one else understands it yet. 
• Building community around your art and watching it ripple out into others’ lives. 
• Letting yourself be supported—not just financially, but emotionally and spiritually.
  
  

And yeah, money matters. But it’s not the whole picture.

Sometimes the most fulfilling projects are the ones that don’t bring in income—but bring in connection, healing, visibility, and momentum.

You Don’t Need Permission

There are people who will try to tell you what your art “should” look like.

What it needs to be to be valuable. What makes it legitimate. What makes it “good.”

But you don’t need their permission.

You are not here to perform or conform. You’re here to create.

And there’s space for you—even if you haven’t found it yet.

Even if the gallery world feels closed off.
Even if your path looks wildly different from the one you imagined.
Even if you’re still figuring out how to believe in yourself.

Here’s What I Want You to Know

You don’t have to wait to be discovered.

• You don’t need to be chosen.
  
• You get to choose yourself.
  
  

You get to build your own empire. Your own rhythm. Your own community.

There are people out there right now who are waiting for art like yours. They just haven’t seen it yet.

So keep showing up.
Keep creating.
Keep claiming your place.

Because you’re not just building a career. You’re building a legacy.

🎧 Want to hear how artist Kristine Schomaker built a thriving, rule-breaking community?
Listen to Episode 8: Building Artist Communities with Kristine Schomaker here

✨ Stay bold, stay aligned, and keep creating your empire—your way.