I know it's been awhile. My sister surprised me with a visit so I've been playing the (perhaps a little boring) hostess this week. Also performing some very exciting poetry experiments in the meantime. With my internship nearing a close, my upcoming nuptials this summer, and the question of where Ian and I will be after that, the you have to become a grownup monster has been breathing down the back of my neck lately and bashing him with a club doesn't seem to deter him. Sometimes I get very excited thinking about all the possibilities . . . start a fine-art/poetry press? become a working artist/printmaker/writer/etc.? work at a (non-fine-art) press or do something editorial? get a completely unrelated day job that allows time to do am mixture of all those things? . . . but sometimes those possibilites can be daunting. Too many choices, and too many directions. So it's nice to remember that there are many others out there who have faced the same thing.
A great interview with Marcia Zia Priven on decor8 today. I especially loved when she said:
There is no definitive choice. Nothing has to remain the same and you can always change your job, your direction, your life. Really. And trust me, I’ve done it many a time. I’ve had gallery shows of my paintings, been a store owner, a set painter, a set decorator, production designer, a lousy novelist and had a brief job at a photo studio in which I was fired after 2 months.
We have become so career driven that we tend to think our jobs are our life, not just an aspect of them that offers a little padding and security. Sure, it's nice if it can also provide motivation or inspiration, but we still go on when the workday ends and thank God. I suppose artists don't get off so easily because that's not something that ever shuts down, but a little perspective can go a long way.
2 comments:
I TOTALLY agree with you.
Awfpharg. The hardest debate ever.
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