Mason Currey: Mason Currey: Author of Daily Rituals on Making Art and Making a Living
From Design Better by The Curiosity Department, sponsored by Wix Studio
May 6, 2026 · 27 min · Season 12 · Episode 175
About this episode
Mason Currey discusses his new book on the financial realities of being a creative and the various funding models artists have used throughout history.
This is a preview of a premium episode. To the listen to the full thing, head over to our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/mason-currey At several points in his life, Eli imagined what it would take to become a full-time artist — a photographer or illustrator free from client work. What he didn’t realize was that he already had an example of a different path right in front of him: his father, a practicing physician whose published poetry earned recognition from luminaries like John Ashbery. Mason Currey’s most recent book explores these alternate paths. He’s the author of Daily Rituals, the beloved book that catalogued the working habits of nearly 200 artists, writers, and composers. His new book, Making Art and Making a Living, goes deeper — into the financial realities, the schemes, the compromises, and the surprising strategies that creatives have used to keep their work alive across centuries. What he found is both humbling and strangely reassuring. Virginia Woolf had inherited investments. Kafka had insurance. Chantal Akerman had a cash register she skimmed from. John Cage had Italian game show winnings. And yet, running through all of it is the same question that…
People in this episode
Host: The Curiosity Department
Guest: Mason Currey
Topics covered
- art
- creativity
- financial realities
- working habits
- funding models
Keywords
- Mason Currey
- Daily Rituals
- Making Art and Making a Living
- creatives
- funding models
Sponsors
Wix Studio
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Daily Rituals, Making Art and Making a Living
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