tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638547400308702976.post3371233548124064450..comments2023-03-27T02:51:10.685-07:00Comments on ToadstoolsNTreestump: “Starving Artist” cliché or truism?Toadstoolshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09932457517707017681noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6638547400308702976.post-71515450218055966382010-04-20T21:30:01.983-07:002010-04-20T21:30:01.983-07:00About a year ago I decided to take a major gamble ...About a year ago I decided to take a major gamble and leave my somewhat safe box of veterinary technician world for the risky and exciting art world. I am a trained vet tech and worked emergency for several years. It was a hard job emotionally but I was getting paid and I lived a little more comfortably. There are days when I wonder if I did the right thing. And then there are days, such as the ones at FaerieCon that there is no question to be asked. I can go back to the vet world - I have the credentials but I refuse. I've never been happier 'catching creatures' and burning wood. True it's tough especially when it comes to money but there is truth in what we artists do. We document the imagination and intangible feelings that humans rely upon everyday. We should get paid more but we don't and I honestly only care when it comes to paying stupid taxes and irritating bills. And when it comes to selling it I make sure that I'm not selling someone elses heart and soul mixed in with mine. I've seen the etsy stuff that screams Edward and Bella and what not and as cunning as those people are to bank in (even indirectly) on that bandwagon, I feel like they sold out - even if just a little. I believe we as artists create for many a different reasons - after all we are all individuals expressing our versions of the world around us. Unless you have that patron to pay for everything though, you have to have your business skills or at least the smarts to hire someone who has those skills to represent you. And in all honesty, there is market for all kinds of art - you just have to go out and find it. My high school art teacher said my art wasn't really art - but I went out, found my market, and snicker from my work table every so often at my success in doing so. Besides, Brian Froud said he was told something similar...apparently artists everywhere encounter speedbumps - money, supplies, market, venues, public opinion - but we're artists, we may starve but we're never wanting of expression and creation. :DKimberley "Fox" Coffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06769091390912278055noreply@blogger.com