Art and Creativity: What's Your Backup Plan?
Starting last night and lasting a good bit into today, we experienced Steemit being offline or sporadically available due to a DDoS attack.
As I went off and did other things, I got to thinking about those who adopted Steemit early on, and have a large investment in our community. How are they feeling, right now, as they keep looking at a blank "Error 503" page?
Now, you might wonder what that has to do with art and being an artist... but actually it does.
What is YOUR Backup Plan?
You might think you don't need one-- and maybe you sincerely don't. But consider these two real life scenarios:
Victorian era architectural detail
About a year ago, one of our most steady contributors to the gallery-- who has been a fine arts painter for over 40 years-- came in the gallery practically in tears because the entire photographic archive of all her work had been taken during a break-in.
Whereas she certainly had "the memories" of her paintings-- when you consider a body of work spanning 40 years, that's a lot to track.
Elsewhere, another artist we know lost all her work-in-progress and most of her art supplies when a water pipe burst in the floor of the apartment above her... and her studio happened to be below the burst in the ceiling.
As it turned out, her belief that her studio was covered by her tenants' insurance policy was in vain because the insurance company considered it a "home business" and thus not covered. Sure, she could get money for a new couch and carpet, but not for thousands of dollars worth of finished work and supplies.
What is YOUR Backup Plan?
"Windup Bee," from a watercolour by Braden Duncan
It's easy to shrug and say "Ah, but I don't NEED a backup plan-- I can just replace the lost work!" but is that really true?
Do you have savings or an income stream that will support you while you get from "nothing" to a new body of work you can offer to a gallery? Or put on your web site?
Do you CARE about having an archive of your work?
Some artists (especially younger) claim that they don't... and then once they have 10-15+ years of art experience under their belts, start wishing they had recorded their work and ideas.
This post is not here to scare anyone, nor to tell you what to do... but merely as a reminder that if your art truly matters to you, that often means more than just creating and showing it. There are "creative setbacks" in the world that extend beyond merely having your "muse" take a vacation.
So if you DO care, a few Pointers:
Make sure your tenants' and/or homeowner's insurance policy actually covers your art, especially if you work from a home studio.
Yucca flowers
If you depend materially on your art for income, consider asking your insurance person what it would cost to have an addendum for "lost income" on your policy, in case of disaster.
Archive your work-- these days it's easy, with digital cameras. The important thing is to back up regularly, and keep a copy of your archives somewhere other than in your studio. With digital photos, an online vault service like Dropbox can be a good option.
Having a backup plan is not merely for artists-- it can be just as relevant for musicians and writers, so keep that in mind.
Fortunately, last night's Steemit outage was a relatively short-lived blip in the greater scale of things... but it was also a timely reminder to consider the question: "What are you planning to do IF _____?"
Thank you for reading! This post about art and creativity was created as part of the @sndbox initiative.
The Red Dragonfly is an independent alternative art gallery located in Port Townsend, WA; showcasing edgy and unique contemporary art & handmade crafts by local and worldwide artists. All images are our own, unless otherwise credited. Where applicable, artist images used with permission.
Awesome, awesome post! I love having contingency plans, for the unexpected is the only constant in life!
Thank you so much for sharing such a timely and relevant message.😊
Indeed, the unexpected is the only constant!
It's a funny thing-- my experience is that artists tend to be the LEAST likely to have backup plans... and yet they are among the most affected when things go wrong because it's a field where people truly pour their heart and soul into what they are doing.
I interviewed a musician whose apartment was robbed. All laptops, external hard drives -- everything, 7 years of work gone in an instant. Most musicians are struggling, so insurance is not an option, but you words of caution are valid.
Nowadays there is the cloud, but that is also somewhat risky for other reasons...
Good post!!!
Another good example. These days, storage is cheap. ALL that music could have been on a single pocket drive you update monthly and keep at a friend's-- or your parents'-- house. Without insurance, you wouldn't get the hardware back, but at least you'd still have the work to rebuild from.
Yep, in the future I am sure he will do something like that. He had good karma, he had nothing left to lose, so he sent in a video for a UK reality show called Guitar Star, and he ended up winning. So kind of a happy ending.
Good!
Thanks for the fantastic write-up! @reddragonfly
As promissed, some support from @livelifefullest
What you say here is so true and I often get into the mode of thinking that I must back with several copies and keep good documentation and that I'll do later when I have more time. Great reminder!
A very important post! Thank you so much.
I will take it in consideration with my collages. By the way, check it out!