Launch Your Arts and Crafts Career

Do you have a keen eye for design, or a talent with paint or ceramics? Do you wish that what you've been doing for a hobby could be turned into a profitable career? Do you love creating, arranging, designing, or repairing arts works, jewelry, sculpture, or handicrafted items? Your career is only limited by your imagination and desire. Art & craft schools offer online career training and degree programs that can introduce you to an astounding range of opportunities

Arts and crafts professionals work in studios, galleries, museums, production facilities, restoration and repair shops, or in crafts boutiques. Online art schools offer instruction in the arts & crafts professions, including:

• Fine Arts (ceramics, sculpture, painting, fine jewelry)
• Art Therapy
• Product Design (jewelry, textiles, fashion)
• Visual Communications (photography, sign painting, illustration, print-making)
• Handicrafts (weaving, leather-work, clothing, costume jewelry)
• Art Retailing (galleries, showrooms, boutiques, online stores, museum shops)
• Environmental Design (interior or landscape design and decorating)
• Art Education and Workshops (public schools, community centers, fairs, and conventions)

Working in Arts & Crafts
Artists and crafts persons are often self-employed. According to the The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), some 62 percent of artists call themselves "boss." Most online colleges and universities offer associate's, bachelor's, and master's degree programs in the arts. Many programs allow students to create a portfolio or physical collection of their work to display or show potential gallery hosts and employers.

Some 30,000 fine artists hold jobs, while approximately 8,800 craft artists are employed around the country. For those seeking jobs rather than working as independent arts & crafts professionals, employment is predicted to rise by 16 percent during the 2006-2016 decade.

Of course, your income depends on your talent, your ability to display and market your work, and whether you have steady employment. The BLS reports the 2008 median annual income for crafts workers at $29,080, with top-end earnings of $54,550. Fine artists earned between $20,780 and $83,410, which demonstrates the wide range of potential earnings.

Jewelers hold about 52,000 jobs in the nation. About half of them are self-employed artisans, while 24 percent work in retail stores or in jewelry manufacturing.

Take Classes, Teach Classes
Many artists and makers of handcrafted items take art school classes and then pass on their trade skills to others. Some work in arts & crafts stores, artists' collectives, community centers, and public schools. You can go back to school and earn a teacher's credential online to work in your local school district teaching children or adults to work in sculpture, jewelry, and ceramics.

Many people choose to go on the arts and crafts circuit, visiting trade shows, fairs, and festivals across the United States, building a clientele in handcrafted items or jewelry repair. Some take up new careers after retirement to keep their hands and imagination in work that they love. Others build their own online galleries or sell their works on eBay or on arts-related Websites.

It's a great way to express yourself and get paid for your creativity!