Okay, you want to be an artist- now what?
by Msity Beauchamp on 12/29/2008 9:17:38 AM
With the last blog we eliminated people who were pursuing art for the wrong reasons and hopefully liberated them to go after the dreams that are meaningful to them, instead of knuckling under to pressure. Now, let's talk to those of you who are still left, and who want to be known as "artists".
There are many steps toward pursuing art as an "artist", whether you are looking to make money from art or simply be very good at it. (Usually those who are very good at art eventually make some money from it, even if that is not their primary goal.) Today, the first thing I want to bring up is making art.
Making art is vital to your success as an artist. It sounds like I am stating the obvious, but many people need to hear this: "You have to make art!"
Consider this scenario: A person goes to her creative space, ( the kitchen table) bright and early with intent to paint. She pulls out her palette, oil paints, brushes, support, etc. and looks at them. She decides that she cannot possbly work with the disarray in her paintbox, so she starts to sort through the tubes. She discards some, makes a mental note to order replacements, and arranges them neatly.
Next, our artist begins to think about a subject. She happens to be an intuitive painter who paints subjects from memory or from imagination, so she begins to sketch out some ideas. Nothing seems particularly inspiring, and then the phone rings. It is her sister who has to go to work and has two kids with 100 degree temperatures. The kids have been to the doctor yesterday, and they have medicine- they just aren't well enough to go to school yet. The sister has already missed three days of work this month, and wants to know if our artist can possibly watch the kids from 9 until 5- she can bring them over and will pick them up promptly at 5:30. Our artist agrees- after all, her sister has a "real job" and she can't afford to put it in jeopardy.
Our artist quickly puts away the oils, and instead pulls out some colored pencils, thinking that oils are not safe forsmall children to be exposed to. She is contemplating some drawing ideas when the doorbell rings. Our artist spends the next eight hours juggling babysitting duties, dinner preparations, laundry and phone calls from family and friends, including three from the anxious sister checking on the kids. Her sister, true to her word, arrives promptly at 5:30, gushing with appreciation. Our exhausted artist was glad to have helped, but as she glances over at the colored pencils lying forlornly on the table, she realizes she has sacrificed yet another day getting nothing accomplished that brings her closer toward her goal of being an artist.
How many of us can identify with this scenario? Certainly, we would never want to turn away our sister's children in a moment of need, but we need to balance our familial, social, and current career obligations with our need to fulfill our creative desires. Next time, I will discuss how even this day could have gone better, and start to address some thoughts to help get us on the right track to being serious about our art.
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Thanks for taking the time to write this blog. Professional women who work at home have way too many things to do and things that distract.
I can understand why sisters kids sometimes need taking care of... those things don't happen every day fortunately.
Lori