Being an independent or a collaborative artist has always interested me, the idea of people buying my artwork, or owning my own shop or even having my art work displayed in a gallery is a big goal of mine. There are many challenges that may occur being an independent artist such as it can be very expensive from finding a studio to the amount of materials that are needed. Also another big challenge for artists is actually marketing their art work and selling it as the artists world is very crowded and chaotic, therefore new artists are often ignored and forgotten about compared to the artists who have worked their way up and have become well known.
Also another challenge to being an independent artist is that it can be very hard to become recognised. In modern society art has evolved and adapted massively, therefore more styles have been produced and it may be harder to produce art work that hasn’t already been done before, that people haven’t seen. Also being an artists involves harsh critics as some people might not like the style of the art, however some other people may love it.
Another career that interest me is art therapy, I love the idea of combining art with helping people out and it also involves psychology, which I enjoy. Art therapy is a method where people express how they feel through art or something creative, and can help peoples cognitive and sensory motor function. Art therapy can also relieve stress, it may help the clients self esteem, emotional thoughts and many other things.
To become an art therapist you would need professional experience in an area of therapy such as counselling or an area in health care, examples of these would be social work or an experience in nursing. You would also need to be registered with the health and car professions council, to become registered with the council you need to have completed a masters degree in art therapy or art psychotherapy, you will also need a degree in art, however this is not a must, but you would need to have a strong art background.