How far does your artistic.......

[WIREMAN]

.....balance tilt......we all have to earn a living.....i've seen a few artists pursue their passion totally (making $$$$ from it).....me i make a little from my sculpture and occasional performance, so to make ends meet i've stayed a rodbuster, working with wire and rebar in concrete construction since 1972....
it's a hard tightrope to walk sometimes....i've become a balancing act cat over the years......how's about u???????

[judih]

i do my art without connection to money - that way i can do it or not without outside pressure.
my problem is, though, that my day job takes so much creativity and time that my writing and puppetry take only what's left over.

need some kinda happy medium.

[WIREMAN]

i always feel that by working (a job) for my daily bread it does allow me to create what i wanna create....which is probably the most important mission in my life.....then it's just a matter of making time to create with a clear and open mind....

[mtmynd]

i've talked to some professional artists that have become dulled by doing what sells over and over... worried about not doing it even tho they would like to try other things.

fortunately, most love their gig.

[WIREMAN]

it beats the hell out of a day job cecil......my blod clot problem sure is easier to deal with when i'm wireman sculptor....the rodman mark is battling to hang with the pace.....

[Lightning Rod]

When I was seventeen or so
My father asked me what I wanted to do with my life
I said "I want to be an artist."
He shook his head. He was an artist.

He said, "ok, prepare to be broke and miserable."
He forgot to mention the odd jobs
He was also half right. I'm broke.

But here is the strange axiom:
God takes care of his artists

[Doreen Peri]

Lightning Rod, I doubt greatly that God has had anything to do with it.

.....

Mark.... I have to have a day job, too. I don't have anyone to pay my way and I haven't had much success making a living on poetry. Luckily I chose something that's somewhat artistic.... graphic design for print and web... plus copywriting. But there's a lot more to it than art, these days. All the technical crap. Plus I get tired of sitting in front of the computer. But I'm blessed because at least it has an element of creativity to it ... both the design and the writing.

I know what you mean by the balancing act. Our day jobs take a lot of energy and time and once we're through for the day, there's not always energy left for creating.... even though that's our passion. It is indeed a tightrope.

But I have a plan. I got the shed attached to my house turned into an 8x12 room. That will be my studio. I've decided to become a famous painter.



oh and keep this in mind.... the fact that you keep the spoken word going and music and the wire sculptures and hold down your full-time job, too....well you're doing way better than a lot of us. I worry about your leg, tho. Maybe it's time to talk about a break from that full-time gig of yours.

I'm thinking of disability myself because of my health. It's just an idea but hey, it would free up my time to become a famous painter.

[Lightning Rod]

Lightning Rod, I doubt greatly that God has had anything to do with it.

Oh ye of little faith.

[Doreen Peri]

Yeah, I live in the real world. That means work and pay because I don't have any "gods" in my life to take care of me ......

OMG... here comes a HUGE storm.. tornado warning.. i'm going to hide in the bathroom.

geeezzzzzzzzzz..... it's as dark as night out there and the trees are bending bigtime.... you of big faith say a prayer for those in this storm's path.

[Lightning Rod]

Yeah, I live in the real world. That means work and pay because I don't have any "gods" in my life to take care of me ......

OMG... here comes a HUGE storm.. tornado warning.. i'm going to hide in the bathroom.

geeezzzzzzzzzz..... it's as dark as night out there and the trees are bending bigtime.... you of big faith say a prayer for those in this storm's path.

don't worry, doreen
it's just god announcing his presence
(but I would still get in the bathroom
this is indeed the real world)

[Doreen Peri]

Storm has passed me. Whew! Big one. Many nearby areas still threatened.

And Lightning Rod, you have assured me that was God announcing his presence so I must believe you. And because you're old hat at having God take care of you, I've made a decision.

I will be quitting my job tomorrow and renting out my house. I am going to pack up and come to your doorstep. I hope God is ready for me over there.

See you in a couple of days. I'm not working ever again! Woohoo!!! Thank you so much!

Oh and one more little thing. I'm broke and can't afford transportation. Could you ask God to send me a plane ticket please? Thanks.

[mtmynd]

gawd dang! what a thread...

[Artguy]

Ya ...got a day job...far toomuch ego involved...wish I could slide by without, but alas I have joined the average wage earning society...as I get older my gig demands more and my life gets harder to do....

[WIREMAN]

amazing storm
heading out to check
the damage
a wired man
looking for to jam.........

[Doreen Peri]

35 tornadoes today around here... just heard it on the news... man oh man... Mark did you see the images on the news? One huge tree fell down on a guy's pickup truck in Annandale and smashed it... passenger died, driver's still alive (or the other way around).... this is way unusual weather for here... scary day in dc & vacinity .. all's well on my homefront.... this should be a blog entry i guess but started talking about the storms on this thread so came back to it... lucky here... sky was black at 3pm and wind was way powerful... i have a wooded lot with very large trees.. one huge one.. lucked out.... tomorrow we'll know more about all the damage in various places around here.... did it hit fredrick very hard, mark? you ok?