Red Dragonfly Joins the @Sndbox Creative Multimedia Incubator—a RE "Introduceyourself" post

Yesterday, the Red Dragonfly officially became a member of the @sndbox creative multimedia incubator.

This is an exciting Steemit initiative, spearheaded by @voronoi and @hansikhouse, designed to help creativity grow and bloom, both here on Steemit and beyond into our local communities.

You may remember reading about Steem Park, a local initiative in Brooklyn, NY—that was the initial project that gave rise to @sndbox. 

Before going on, I’d also like to give a shoutout to @natureofbeing for formally nominating us for membership. The nomination offer the final “push over the edge” after already having talked to @voronoi about the initiative, several times.

I won’t go into details about the greater mission of @sndbox, instead I encourage you to visit their excellent web site.

The Red Dragonfly, Art and Creativity

On the surface, Red Dragonfly is a small independent art gallery in Washington state. It is owned and operated by @denmarkguy and @cosmictriage, who—in addition to this current project—previously owned and operated an art and fine crafts gallery in Austin, Texas for 15 years. 

The gallery is about more than merely “selling art,” it is also about helping emerging artists succeed, creatively.

The two of us are experienced “on both sides of the counter,” dealing with both the creative and marketing struggles, as well as the business end of art.

Originally, @reddragonfly was “just another social media account” for us, but it quickly became clear that it could become a way to help art and artists, as well as a way for the gallery to raise funds—however insignificant—to help promote our artists in “brick and mortar space” through events and other support.

Being an Artist: Always Challenging

Even with the presence of the Internet, artists historically have depended on either galleries or wealthy “patrons” for support in building their creations and portfolios.

Sure, we can build great web sites and put our stuff on Saatchi, ArtFire, Etsy or eBay but—having done so myself, extensively—we’re suddenly spending 30 hours a week on marketing, social media and web design, and only 10 hours actually creating.

When we joined Steemit, it was partially with the thought “There has to be a better way.”

Steemit is basically a gift economy, or a “pay it forward” system, which presented the possibility of a support system of “artists supporting artists,” in a cooperative fashion.

Traditionally speaking, “Artists’ Cooperatives” are great from the perspective that they allow for a lot of creative freedom… as long as you pay your monthly subscription/membership/rent to be there. And most likely, you’ll have to go “work retail” for at least one day a week—which most artists I’ve met really don’t like.

The greater downside typically revolves around ego-clashes and a lot of petty bickering over details: “Why should I pay as much as she does, when she takes an entire wall, and I only use a small cabinet?” and so forth. 

Giving, and Paying it Forward

With the Steemit format, it becomes possible for artists to post their new work in virtual space AT NO EXPENSE, along with their process, and have fellow artists and art lovers check in and say “Hey! I really dig your work!” and then leave a token of appreciation in the form of an upvote.

Now you might think “What difference will 10 cents here and there make to my world?”

Well, there’s more to it than that.

First of all, you’re building social media exposure for your art—getting the work, and your name, out in front of people. 

Now you might ask “Who’s ever heard of Steemit?”

Well, that’s not the primary point—Google really likes Steemit because it’s ad free, so our posts here rank extremely well in searches. If you truly want to be seen, just remember to put your name somewhere in every post that features your art!

Posting your work on Steemit also affords you live feedback from not only artist peers, but also from the broader public that just happens to find—and like-- your work.

This real-time interactivity also encourages participants to develop more of a “creative practice.”

But let’s get back to the “10 cents” question.

10 cents alone doesn’t make much difference in anyone’s life, that’s true. 

However, building a following of 100 regular visitors who each leave 10 cents (and I’m just using that figure as an example) becomes $10.00. And if you post a daily update, that can turn into $300.00 a month, which is a chunk of change that will buy a lot of art supplies. Or pay your power and internet bill.

Based on almost two decades of running art galleries, the most significant thing that turn many "artists" into STRUGGLING "artists" is the money issue. 

Many of us want to say we don't "care" about money... but it's really hard to get by without it.

Let's face it, we often have part time or full time jobs to earn the money that actually pays the bills so we can create during what more or less amounts to our spare time. In most cases, those who have made the jump and are full-time artists are getting by, “by a whisker,” so either way that $300.00 can be the difference between “starving” and “getting by.”

Here’s a reality check for you:

Of the 40-odd artists we regularly talk to and represent at the Red Dragonfly Gallery, only three are what we could call “full time;” that meaning they substantially earn most of their living from art. Of those three, two are retired and supplement their art income with pension income. 

Like many creative fields, it is “the few” who become stars and rise to the top.

Our ambition is to try to adjust that equation a little bit; to offer at least a little bit of relief and encouragement, by exploring creative ways to make the path easier for the rest of us.

Plans and Projections and “Stuff”

In the short term, we plan to continue publishing “discussion posts” taking on various issues that are part of the day-to-day life of being artistic and creative. 

We’re not afraid to take on some of the “holy cows” and “we just don’t talk about that” topics in the artistic field.

Being well-informed matters!

We encourage dialogue and conversation in the comment section. Because we DO see Steemit as a “gift economy,” we try to upvote all worthy comments, as well as posts by those in our circle. We’re a small fish right now, but that will change, in time!

In the longer run, we hope to develop some regular “challenges” and “contests” and encourage everyone to become involved. Yes, there will be prizes and awards! There might even be cake...

But that’s for a bit further down the road, when we’ve built our own resources a bit more.

We appreciate your attention, and we’re excited to be part of @sndbox!

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.