Why Artists Shouldn’t Just Be Artists

The vision most people have regarding what an artist (or any creative for that matter) does for a living is that we sit working away in the studio alone, isolated for hours on end and that the only thing we need in our life is our art. While this may be an appealing picture for some, it’s not at all an accurate portrayal of how most artists operate and could not be further from the truth. The reality is that creatives need other things to survive, whether that be financially, mentally, physically or emotionally. Whenever someone asks me what I do my answer has always been multi-hyphenated - I’m a draftswoman, professional artist, drawing instructor, craftswoman, home renovator, chicken raiser, gardener and mountain woman. My time is split between working in the studio and working outside - that’s the way I like it. I need to put pen to paper to process the things around me, but don’t feel good being cooped up all day, even if it’s doing something I love. I need to be out in the world doing things and living in other aspects of my life so that I can then return to my work. It’s a beautiful little circle, but it’s just that - a circle. I can’t have one without all of the others.

For the longest time our industry has shamed artists for pursuing things outside of or alongside art. We’re only suppose to either be caught up in a system of academia or gallery representation, both of which are very broken an antiquated systems of making a living. We’re not “suppose” to have things that make us money outside of our art, interests that bring us joy outside of art or things that serve to support that art the way we want to pursue it. There’s a danger of putting art on a cultural pedestal, it means that none of the other things can ever measure up to that idealized vision of what an “artist’s” career should look like, but if there’s anything I’ve learned in my life, it’s that idealized visions aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be.

The most crucial aspect of my studio practice is that my art comes from life. Not the other way around. As a creative you need other things to feed your practice or else your work will become stagnant, self-absorbed and disconnected from the world around you. Live your life, do the things you enjoy, be present in the world around you, find love, pain, joy and sorrow - live and your work will come to you. It’ll come to you almost effortlessly and the ideas won’t feel like a struggle, the process will still be, but your content won’t. I’m a firm believer that the reason so many creatives suffer from burn out is that they spend too much time absorbed in only their work, they don’t take the time to be around the other things that inspire them and challenge them in different aspects of their lives. These other things, whatever they may be, are our fuel, they’re what make us keep going when shit gets bad and drive us to do what we do. If your work is honest and comes from your life and they way you live it, then it will always connect with others and the right people will be able to catch a glimpse of themselves in it. Take a little pride in the fact that your creative work is not your only way of being in this world, get out and do things that sustain or feed into it in different ways - ‘cause at the end of the day they’ll only serve to make not just your work, but your life a hell of a lot more interesting.