Skip to main content

. . .

For me, there is no harmony in the concept that a person should "do what you love," in regards to a job.  Of course, I do want to do what I love, and I want to help provide for my family.  But I've found that I have a hard time acquiring this balance, when what I love and what I do is art.  

This video changed the way I feel about my art.  Or rather, it put me back on track of things I have always known about myself, and had forgotten in recent years.  It is hard to be in a world where people judge you by how much you make.  I find that, as an artist, people judge me by what I charge.  I guess that gives some validity to whether I'm worthwhile at my craft if I can prove that other people agree enough to pay me for it. When I don't charge people for my work they are more dismissive; when I worry about what people think, I sometimes end up with things that I don't love.  And I know I don't charge enough, but I really want art - especially something like a portrait of someone's own children, to be something that is accessible to everyone.  But I'm getting to a point where there just is no way for my heart and my artistic integrity to work with this system.  What am I going to do?  I think I'm going to quit.

I will never quit being an artist, and as much as I've tried to break up with my camera, I can't.  Not even when it's dirty or misbehaving.  It's partly because I have children, and I love taking pictures of them.  They're precious, you know?

Someone accused me at the beginning of the year of needing my knitting designs to be artful.  As in, poor me, I had to have some originality and point.  I had to laugh, and I wanted to scream.  I guess that's why I have one or two patterns every couple of months, whereas she's well paid.  

Anyway.  I'm not done being an artist because, well, I am an artist.  I've finally figured out that it doesn't have to be for anyone else.      

  113 in 2013:  sun flare
IMG_3259

Comments

  1. And there you hit the nail on the head -- "it doesn't have to be for someone else." It should be for you and make YOU happy.

    I get SOOO mad at people who tell kids getting an education to just DO what you love. I love sitting around eating the proverbial bonbons and watching Brit tv -- but is that going to put food on the table. NO. We're ending up with hoards of children choosing paths with no visible means of support (except for the very cream of the crop) and society won't be able to support them all.

    Ah well...I'll stop ranting. I'm just glad that you'll still do what you love to do, even if it's only for you. And us ... 'cause you'll still show us, right??? ;-D

    ReplyDelete
  2. My husband wanted to become a composer but knew he couldn't depend on the income so he is an accountant. Now that he's retired I hope he will finally be able to compose. I'm glad you love what you do and recognize that you are truly an artist. Sometimes admitting that you are an artist is the first step to success.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Perfect words, Karen! You have arrived ;>)
    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awesome post! I couldn't agree more.
    I bet when work and hobby stop being one in the same your own voice and the beauty in what ever you do will be even better. ((hugs))

    ReplyDelete
  5. My job is my job and I love it, but I wouldn't do it for free. At least, not 36 hours/week or more. I do it because we need the income and benefits.

    My crafting I do for free, because I love it, and I want no constraints on it. I don't have much time to do it, so I would be very unhappy with a deadline. If I make something and someone likes it, and I want to sell it to them, that's a serendipity.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love reading your comments! Please be sure to LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS (if it isn't included in your profile) so that I may respond to you. Thank you!

Popular posts from this blog

reasons I knit

I haven't posted a lot of knitting on here in the last few years.  Not much to say about it but I still knit.   I knit because I love to create. I knit because I love sweaters. I knit because I grew up with a mom who is artistic beyond the acknowledgement she receives, and it's in my blood to do something creative. I knit because I love the good things God grows, like sheep and wool and muskox and cotton. I knit because I love colors. I knit because my boys wear what I knit. I knit because I like the rhythm. I knit because it has a beginning and an end, and they are achievable.  I knit because when my hands are busy, my mouth slows down, and it gives my brain a chance to make better decisions. I knit because I'm really, really good at it, and it's one of the few things that others acknowledge, and we all need that. I knit because I love to knit. I'm working on a colorful shawl in alpaca. 

modular knitting

On the plus side, modular knitting gives one interesting options for colorwork and color blocking.  Sometimes the dye process can give the yarn its own commentary, like this changing of scales. However, there are often many more ends to weave in.  This one is not too bad, but there's at least four ends on every row - 14 rows.  Still, interesting to try something new! Details on my Ravelry page , if you are interested!!  Have you tried modular knitting?  Thumbs up or down??

getting through winter

As classes of all sorts get scheduled, rescheduled and postponed due to weather, and with the short days with less light, I often find January and February to be a forced pause.  Years like this convince me that I should get good at reading rain gauges and keeping track of the temperature.  It seems like we've had an usual amount of snow.  That should be good for our snow pack and seasonal runoff to fill creeks, lakes, basins, but we'll see what the spring brings.  In the meantime, I have been trying to tick off indoor chores and projects, and working on garden things.   We have started a handful of seedlings:  basil, foxgloves, verbascum, lavender, rosemary, onions and something new to us, naranjilla .  We have varying levels of success.  The naranjilla did take a long time to germinate; I think we used 11 seeds, and we currently have five seedlings, some a couple weeks older than others!  We're still 12-14 weeks out from planting and I really had my hands full last year -