I just finished totting up the cost of materials for a Silver Arts Award project. When the total - which was trimmed as lean as I could possibly get it - only just broke into three figures, my mind was cast back to a comment from a partner some while back about an establishment that branded itself as accessible and charged £40 for paintbrushes. I’ve worked with professional artists going on 20 years and in all that time we have never been able to justify spending the kinds of amounts that are specified by some specialist providers. For many, it simply doesn’t feel possible.
These days £40 doesn’t cover a big food shop - hasn’t for a long while - so balancing budgets between daily essentials and art supplies or activities means that sacrifices have to be made. Does this mean that lack of funds lead to a compromise in the quality of output or delivery? Absolutely not.
Having freelanced on and off for decades, my golden rule, next to “necessity is the mother of invention”, is “if you want something doing, do it yourself.”
With cost at the centre of everything, myself and my colleagues are always going back and forth on ways to be resourceful and remain innovative. We’re never afraid to get stuck in and track down everything we need on a budget and through the years, we’ve accumulated a number of go-to places when equipping ourselves for delivery. So for this blog I decided to list them as a kind of “unofficial guide” to getting stuff for your project:
Charity Shops - I once moonlighted as a prop buyer for a local theatre. My local charity shop dressed half the set. It’s the first place on most lists.
The Works - Wandering into The Works when scouting for supplies, was a revelation. Its inventory might not be as consistent as other high street stores, but £3 canvases, £2 pads and £5 paints are a steal!
The Range - Myself and many informal educators have raided the arts and crafts sections here. Larger branches offer a great selection of supplies that range from more expensive high-end equipment to cheaper options that are perfect for educational projects.
Amazon is your friend! - With so much available so cheap, some artists I know have produced entire films with materials bought here. But make sure you check the size and scale of some items before you commit. I’ve ended up more than once with miniature versions of things that I thought were much bigger without realising.
Local Markets - If you’re lucky enough to live near a market, these can be an ideal placed to find cheap hardware, bamboo canes and fabrics. They usually have amazing food too - so why not treat yourself? The local market costumed my first ever Youth Theatre production and was very successful in doing so. We got great reviews!
Creating art doesn’t need to be expensive - with these tips and a little creativity there’s no limit to what you can achieve!