Marketing 101. What problem do you solve? As a business owner you hear that question everywhere. Any course you take, any marketing conference you attend, any business book you read they tell you to think about what problem you solve for people and use that as your mission statement, tag line and sales pitch. I really struggled with this. Often left feeling like these business experts just don't understand artists or businesses that sell hand made goods. My art doesn't solve a problem! Then it hit me - my art doesn't solve a problem! And that's just fine with me because my art is so much more!
People don't buy art because they're looking for a solution to something, they buy art because it makes them feel something. It's emotional. Like a life experience that excites you, connecting with a piece of art releases the same chemicals in your brain that make you feel love. A University of London study showed that when a person looks at a piece of art that they see as beautiful, there is an instantaneous release of dopamine, a chemical that is linked to feelings of love, into the brain. It also reduces the stress hormone cortisol while increasing endorphins making you feel more relaxed.
One study found that a single hour in a museum changed the way people thought and felt. The subjects of the study exhibited improved critical thinking skills, increased empathy for how people lived in the past, and improved tolerance for people different from themselves.
So if making you relax, fall in love and feel emotion is solving a problem then I'm here for it but you know what, creating sentimental and meaningful art for YOU has enriched my own soul so maybe we're just on this journey together helping each other out. Connection. Community. Empathy. Engagement. That's really what art does.
“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.” — Pablo Picasso
