The "Business" of Art: The Alchemy Stones Patreon Page is now LIVE!

As artists and creatives, I believe we all dream of being able to — sooner or later — support ourselves through our creativity. There's a certain "validation" in that, even if it's just a part-time income.

It's easy to take the "Moral High Road" and make statements like "I don't care about the money!" and that's perhaps true, but at the same time that doesn't preclude the fact that there is something validating about people in your audience being moved enough that they are willing to pay for your work.

A quite large pale stone with a 'peacock' mandala design. I rarely find smooth pale stones this size

Alchemy Stones now has a Patreon Account!

As a way to supplement my creative efforts, I have built a page for Alchemy Stones on Patreon.

If you're not familiar with it, Patreon is a "crowdfunding" venue for artists and creatives where you can gradually build a base of "sponsors" who agree to commit to a small monthly patronage of your creative efforts... usually in exchange for various freebies and gifts.

The underlying idea is that perhaps you really like the work of an artist, but you can't actually afford a piece of their work, but you can afford to contribute a few dollars a month to their creative efforts.

For example, the Alchemy Stones Patreon campaign has six sponsorship "tiers," starting at just $1.00 a month. I wanted to make it so that the three lowest tiers ($1, $3 and $5) basically are less than a large latte at your local coffee house. In essence, "are you willing to buy a cup of coffee for an aspiring artist?"

There are actually SIX sponsorship tiers:

• Subscriber — $1.00/month
• Supporter — $3.00/month
• Contributor — $5.00/month
• Benefactor — $10.00/month
• Patron — $25.00/month
• Philanthropist — $50.00/month

There are various kinds of benefits, gifts and other goodies with each level of support... but you'll have to actually visit the page to find out what they are!

Creative (Financial) Options for Artists

First, I want to make it absolutely clear that my creating a Patreon page is not a "downvote" for Steemit!

Steemit and Patreon are actually complementary venues that can both become sources of passive income.

Steemit is, for example, one creative way for an artist to derive a little bit of passive income. Mind you, for most of us, it's just a few symbolic cents earned as "rewards" for sharing our work in a blog-like setting... however, the way I look at it is that you can actually fill a bucket with water just by setting it under a dripping faucet... you just have to be patient!

Some of us have have personal web sites that are "monetized" with advertising and perhaps amazon.com affiliate product links. A few people might jump to the (false) conclusion that this is greed, but I can assure you that most artists are still "starving," even after the few dollars they collect for these things. I certainly am!

Patreon is just another form of "creative passive income" for artists, aside from just selling their work outright.

Painted, but before the finish coat. They are not nearly as bright and brilliant without the finish!

"Begging for Money? No, not Really...

I have had a few friends comment that these various forms of "passive income generation" amount to little more than "begging for money."

Well, actually... I "beg" to differ!

Patreon actually represents a type of voluntary reciprocal exchange. I'm not just asking people to give me money, I am offering benefits, products and services in exchange for a subscription to get these.

Let's say someone does a $10 sponsorship. The idea is not just "gimme ten bucks!" but that there is an exchange. In a sense, it's like subscribing to a magazine or a service... something for something.

Anyway, I am hopeful that this will become an additional "leg" in creating the part time income that will allow me to focus more time on developing Alchemy Stones.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

2019.05.22 AS-TXT-012
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