Last week a gallery that sells my jewelry asked me for an artist statement. While I was searching for writing tips, I found several "artist statement generators" which will craft an instant, usually highly entertaining, artist statement. Here are a few links to try:
- Instant Artist Statement
Easy! Just click the orange button on the page to generate a statement. - Artist Statement Generator 2000
Fill in some keywords a la Mad Libs to generate a personalized statement. - Generate Your Artist Biography
Huffington Post recently declared this one "the best artist statement generator" to date. It also requires that you fill in some information about yourself.
Tips for Writing Real Artist Statements
If you have to write a real artist statement, I enjoyed How to Write an Artist Statement by Molly Gordon. I especially liked the fill-in-the-blank prompts such as "When I work with ____, I am reminded that ___." It's surprising how such simple prompts help you think about not only about your finished pieces, but your choices in materials and techniques. Plus, she has some very kind advice tucked in her article. I'll leave you with my favorite quote of hers. Remember this any time you need to talk about your own work: