Make Friends
Or networking for artist.
I don’t like the word ‘networking’, I prefer ‘making friends.’
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My friend Jen Gubicza, is an artist, writer and runs an amazing Faux Taxidermy business called Zooguu , where she makes every single art piece by hand. And she’s one of the most connected people I know who hates networking.
Instead she makes friends.
She shows up with full presence and bubbling energy and gets really interested in other people. You can witness this for yourself if you ever join an
live.
Jen and I became friends by celebrating each other’s tastes and work. Oh and I should say that Jen lives on the other side of the world from me. So this friendship was built over time, quite unintentionally.
A like or comment on instagram or facebook, a positive mention to a third party, and constructive feedback in a critique group became the common ground for this friendship.
Not business cards or elevator pitches. And yet my ‘network’ is greatly expanded through this friendships.
So what am I saying?
Go be friends with
More importantly, be a friend like
, it’s more fun than networking.
TEN MINUTE ARTIST PROMPT
Celebrate each other’s success
Tell someone what you like about their work, share your work so someone can do the same for you. Make a drawing of you and your creative friends.
Share your drawing in notes and tag Ten Minute Artist: Daily Creative Joy
What are your networking secrets?
Friends, share their ‘networking ‘secrets in the comment section below and if you found this prompt valuable, why not pass it along to an artist friend, peer, or student who might appreciate these insights too?
PS: I would love to invite your enrolment into this month’s Ten Minute Artist: 5-Day Creative Challenge , This month’s theme is ‘Raising Standards’
If you would like to support my work you can:
buy my books, get a subscription to this newsletter, shop at my moms stationery shop, or try Typeshare for free : I use Typeshare like as a Cabin in the Woods, a quite place to write short pieces that I can schedule across social media like Threads, X, LinkedIn and Bluesky. Try it for free with my link
Love this post, Adam! I agree wholeheartedly. It's so much more fun to make friends than to "network." Thank you to Jen for putting it so beautifully and you for sharing it with us.
This! The writers I met in my 2020 debut group (all online at first) are still getting me through this turbulent journey that is publishing.