Sari says she had to walk away from the business after months of payment problems.
1. Not Sorry Art Podcast episode “State of the Studio” centers on Sari Schreich’s decision to pause the podcast while she reorders her work across Not Sorry Art School, YouTube, and her art practice.
2. Sari Schreich is the host, artist, creator of Not Sorry Art, and teacher behind Not Sorry Art School, which matters because the episode is also a business update from the person running those projects.
3. The episode asks what happens when an artist with a growing online audience has to choose between scale, legal caution, and keeping every commitment at “pretty close to 100%.”
4. Sari says she graduated in 2014 with a fine art degree from a private liberal arts university in the Ozarks and then moved to Austin, Texas, with her husband.
5. She describes about a year and a half of artist block before starting a “one painting a day challenge” on January 1, 2016, beginning with sketches and watercolors and moving into acrylics.
6. Sari lists the jobs that filled the years before the art business grew, including a shoe store, part-time graphic design, freelance engagement photos, and Instacart.
7. She says she had a two-month-old when she started her art account, and that the account shifted from hobby to very part-time business and eventually to full-time work.
8. Sari says she and her husband have worked together formally since December 2020, and that the online art school began about four and a half to five years ago as a natural fit for her teaching interests.
9. She explains that the school started with a 50/50 business partnership and a contract, and that the other side was introduced through a well-vouched-for friend connection.
10. Sari says the partnership later ran into payment problems after a personal issue involving the business partner, and that she had been gently asking for money for more than a year.
11. She says the contract had an end point or reevaluation point, but the ownership structure left her with little power when the situation worsened.
12. Sari says the hardest part was realizing that the business arrangement included trademark issues and that the legal structure was filed under the other party’s name.
13. She says she eventually got the business back and bought it back in April 2024, after many months of not being part of it.
14. Sari says the recovery period included tears, stress, and “really tight shoulder muscles,” but also a reset in which she and her husband started rebuilding.
15. She says a collector buying one of her large disco balls at the end of 2023 helped her invest in film equipment and go deeper into YouTube in January 2024.
16. Sari says the podcast period was also shaped by a book project, two young children, and the time required to write, teach, market, film, edit, and manage multiple channels.
17. The tone is personal, reflective, and cautionary, with long stretches of direct explanation and repeated reminders that she is trying to be careful about what she says.
18. The format is mostly solo monologue, with a rambling, conversational delivery and clear off-ramps for listeners who do not want a 20-minute studio update.
19. People who follow Not Sorry Art, online creative businesses, or contract lessons for artists would likely benefit most.
20. Listeners looking for a tightly structured interview or a topic unrelated to creator business management may skip it.
