Being an Artist - It Takes a "Special" Person...

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I was talking to my mother on the phone the other day and I was listing off the things I had done all week: Networking to attract sponsors; Landing an interview with the owner of Paul Mitchell; Transcribing interviews and editing photos for American Hair to be submitted to the Library of Congress; Sending out book proposals...blah, blah, blah, blah...Mom said, "You are so disciplined. Not everyone can do what you do." I said, "Well if you needed to eat, you would." She said, "I wouldn't be able to do it. I would have to get a job. It takes a special person to do what you do." I know she was giving me a compliment but I chuckled at that word — "special" and said, "Do you mean crazy? Or maybe irrational?" Most people wouldn't work 70 hours a week without a paycheck unless they were "special." 

In my mind I feel like I don't have any other choice. I just wake up everyday and keep working towards my dream. I love my work and I'm grateful that I'm able to do it. But there have been many days when I've considered quitting, and right when I decide to walk away, something happens — a contract for an exhibit, a grant award, a call from ABC. These things never seem to happen when all is going well and I have money in the bank, it's usually after I've meagerly spent the majority of my savings and I'm leaning on the ropes crying "uncle." That's when the phone rings. 

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I'm not alone. I don't know any artist who doesn't ride this financial and emotional rollercoaster. It's so relentless that I didn't start saving for my retirement until I was 40 years old. I kept waiting for things to calm down, to gain more stability, only to realize that it would never come. That's not to say that I won't make money being an artist, but it comes in spurts and then nothing will happen for months (in some cases I've waited a year between payments). It's just the way it is. Once I started accepting that, life got easier. 

Any artists/writers out there who want to share their thoughts? I'd love to hear your stories.

~Candacy

 

Posted on August 21, 2013 and filed under Producing Projects.