Featured Artist: Dorothy Bocian / IDIOM

This week we welcome Dorothy Bocian to our blog. Dorothy recently taught a workshop for artists in the Portland and Vancouver area. The workshop focused on the business of art and how to apply for grants. I was very impressed by her knowledge of the art world and how to be successful as an artist. Here is what Dorothy had to say about her work as a consultant.

Headshot by Natalie Stultz

Hi. My name is Dorothy Bocian. I'm an arts business consultant with IDIOM and have been deeply immersed in the art world for over 30 years. As a consultant, I offer personalized guidance and support to artists, makers, and creative individuals seeking to develop and implement their professional and creative goals. I also work with creative entities and nonprofit organizations offering organizational tools and business-related strategies to help them achieve their visions and expand their foundations for success. But how did I develop this dual métier?

 After graduating from the University of Washington armed with a degree in art and art history - a stark departure from my previous accounting and business management training - I ironically took a financial management position at the renowned Pilchuck Glass School. Well, as they say, the rest is history. This residential program located in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains north of Seattle, co-founded by Dale Chihuly and John and Annie Hauberg, offered me an opportunity to witness not only the creative process at its finest, but to learn the intricacies of nonprofit management.

At that time, the studio glass movement was gaining momentum and I found myself working in close proximity to some of the foremost artists and creative thinkers of the day. I was also blessed to work with and learn from members of Pilchuck's illustrious board of directors many of whom were prominent business leaders from around the country. This was an education unto itself.

With the studio glass movement exploding, after five years I left the school to work with the individual artists who had emerged from Pilchuck. They were in great demand, but possessed little business acumen. Working with these artists, the galleries, museums, arts organizations, and collectors, I gained a vocabulary, keen understanding, and insight into the business of art and how best to navigate this unique realm from multiple dimensions. I also realized the incredible value of artist residency programs and their importance to the development of the artistic vision.

 Many years later, with a profusion of experience under my belt, I relish my role as arts business consultant, as instigator and facilitator, mentor and coach. I've had the privilege of working with many artists, emerging, mid-career, and professional, as well as nonprofit organizations in their quest toward success.

 Clients include Artist Trust, Portland Winter Light Festival, The Avenue Concept, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Newport Art Museum, Sandywoods Farm Arts & Agricultural Community, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and numerous individual artists. I've curated arts shows and counseled students as Fulbright Program Adviser and Grants and Residencies Coordinator through RISD's Career Center. I hold a certificate in fundraising from Humboldt State University and am the recipient of two major grants from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities for a community-based poetry project I co-developed with a colleague focused on the Six Principles of Nonviolence. In my spare time I enjoy photography, the great outdoors, reading, practicing yoga, and playing my acoustic guitar.

 Helping to define meaning, vision, intent, and ability, and connecting ideas with opportunities is what I look forward to continuing in my work as arts business consultant and through my own personal creative quest.