Keeping an archive of your artwork is hell for an artist! Creative people are often not very good at organizing space and maintaining clear collections, where it is desirable to sign each work, put it in the right place, take a picture, process it on a computer, put it on some website or on social networks. We must also remember to write down all the data about the work – on what it is drawn, what materials, the size of the work and other features. When you drew it. And sign with your name! After all, years later, it is not a fact that you will recognize your work 🙂 I had it.
What to do? I will share my experience of how I came up with the idea of simply and effectively storing my work so that they are all sorted by type and date, available to me, and also posted on my website and in online galleries. Of course, I didn’t start maintaining my archive from the very beginning of my artistic activity, so the most difficult thing was to bring all previous works in full order, which I still do. But the point is simple – you need to understand what a maximum of 9 types of work you create (better than 7, but not more than 9!). And come up with storage locations for these jobs.
I keep everything at home, as my studio is located in the same place where I live. I decided that …
I keep all works on paper from A5 to A3 in the bedside table, putting them in folders by size and date;
I keep digital art in the clouds and on a computer in a folder, sorting by year;
I keep all the work on canvas, cardboard and panels throughout the apartment on the walls and in the cabinets, each in detail I sign.
As a result, the process of organizing my work is as follows: I completed the work, I sign it (date and authorship), if the dimensions are not clear, then I take a measurement and record it at work. Then I photograph with good light several times (if this is a picture, then I make several plans – up to 5 photos). Immediately upload photos to the cloud, until I forgot what was happening. While the photos are loading, I put the work in place in the desired folder or shelf. If the picture needs to be dried, then I put it on the refrigerator or on the cabinet (the teddy bear helps). On the same day I try to post all the data about work on the Internet (on the site and in the gallery). Only such a principle helps me not to confuse anything.
It is important to have an online representation of your artwork so that people can enjoy your work (and buy work), and the main thing for you is that you will see your entire archive in good design. Putting the work on the Internet, it is important to describe them in detail, and even better for each work make an artist statement with a description of the intent, idea and your vision. I don’t always have time to describe each art, but I try to write articles on my works in order to analyze myself what happened and reflect on issues of art.
What should not be done under any circumstances:
scatter scraps of paper with work throughout the apartment in the hope of “someday later” to take it all apart; this does not happen 🙂
to think that it makes no sense to put a date and your signature on the work, because you remember when and what you did; then you will forget everything 🙂
make illegible notes at work, thinking that you will later understand what this means; you will not understand 🙂
do the work “on the table” and not put it on the Internet due to the fact that your drawings and paintings are not good enough; then you will regret that your early work was confused and you have nothing to compare yourself with 🙂
Tell us how you keep your creations.
See you soon!
