Comments on: Is the Artist's Life Selfish?

By: Selfish or Self-driven « Julia Dziuba

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 03:19:09 +0000

[…] point I turned to the art community and Alyson Stanfield lent me her magnificent bullhorn. She posted my question and 62 comments later I had heard from artists in all phases of their life with a great spread of […]

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By: sd

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 15:55:29 +0000

Travis, you don’t mention particularly *why* your wife is unconvinced. Is there a specific concern she has? Meeting household expenses? The length of time income may be below average (or nonexistent)?
Your third-to-last sentence gives a bit of a clue. If your wife is the visual type, could you create a budget that you could show her? Show your expenses as you see them as a full-time sculptor. Pare it down to essentials (mortgage, typical gas & electric bills, etc.). Discuss together how far you could trim spending categories like dining out or hobby expenses — or even trading a favored but gas-guzzling truck for a used economy car if it makes sense to do so. Don’t forget to include savings for big-ticket expenses like retirement/college/car/new furnace; money saved from no longer working as a dental tech (uniforms, lunches out, etc.); and added expenses for your sculpting business (insurance, fees, studio space, etc.).
Then discuss how much you hope/plan to be able to bring in as a full-time sculptor. Think as if you were persuading a bank to loan you money — what is your realistic earning potential? Is it enough to cover expenses?
Or do you need to discuss how long you can/want to go without sculpting income before you or she picks up a different or additional job (even a McJob)?
The key really is addressing what makes your wife uncomfortable about this. I tracked our expenses for months to confirm our budget and found that we were good with my wife’s income and some money-saving strategies we could take on now that I was home more. It’s worked out well for us without any income coming in. But you won’t have a good idea where you’re going if you don’t even have a map.

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By: Travis Apel

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:10:53 +0000

Alyson, perhaps you answered this question in this thread, and I apologize for not reading through all of them. In the next 1-3 years, I want to leave my decent paying job as a dental technician and go full speed on my business as a sculptor. My wife gets paranoid about business risk and does not understand the realm of entrepreneurship. I certainly do. How should I approach her with convincing her that things will be OK. We have aggressively paid off personal debts and that should be enough evidence that we can make it through my transition. Any thoughts? Thanx!!!

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By: Alyson Stanfield

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 06:22:39 +0000

In reply to Suzie.

Suzie: I’m guessing you do some stuff for your household that isn’t necessarily fulfilling for you. Yes? And you are trying to make money in order to contribute to household finances, yes?
Give that husband a big hug!

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By: Suzie

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 09:31:18 +0000

I agree with Ed’s comment – I feel very guilty creating art while my husband goes to work a job that makes him feel unfulfilled. He tells me he wouldn’t have it any other way and he’s very proud of me but it still feels terribly indulgent.

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By: Most Active Posts on the Art Biz Blog in 2012 — Art Biz Blog

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 12:00:08 +0000

[…] Is the Artist’s Life Selfish? – 57 […]

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By: Ashlee

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 20:42:25 +0000

Do what you know will make you happy, if your husband can support you guys alone I don’t see the problem with having a lower paying job if its a path you want to follow… Plus I believe making yourself happy in turn will help resonate positivity within your family.
Hope that helps! Good luck and happy holidays. 🙂

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By: Robert Bean

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 17:03:29 +0000

How is wanting to pursue a career as an artist anymore selfish than any other career? I believe a few others have touched on this point already, but I think it’s one that should really hit home. Just because you are wanting to leave the employ of someone else to pursue setting up your own business as a practicing artist doesn’t make you selfish – it makes you entreprenual (yeah probably didn’t spell that last word right). How is this any different from the insurance salesman that leaves the employ of an insurance company to open his own brokerage (I know this from experience, my father did this)?
Will it work out? Maybe, maybe not. That’s the risk of trying to run your own business. I think the biggest part of the problem for most people who ponder this question is the simple fact that, by pursuing the career of a practicing artist, they might actually enjoy themselves. I think most people equate a job to a necessary, but mostly joyless, part of life. They do it because they have to pay the bills (and please don’t misunderstand me, some people truly love what they do at their job, but, if it was always that way, would the average person switch careers three or four times in their lifetime?) So when your occupation all of the sudden is something you love doing already, I think most people feel guilty about it.
The flip side of this is, can you separate the act of making art from being a career artist? I am currently a self-employed artist. I use my skills as an artist and designer to do everything I can to make my business succeed. But, if something happens that requires me to seek employment from someone else (a medical expense, never showing income growth as an artist, etc.), I will be willing to step away from art as a business. It doesn’t mean I stop making art, it means I no longer strive to make it my sole source of income.
The bottom line is, are you in a situation that allows you to make this leap? Do you have savings or another source of income that will allow you to put every effort into it? If so, put a business plan together, set your goals, and make the transition. Give it every effort to make your art business grow and thrive and be successful.
I’ve never felt that my desire to make a living as an artist is selfish. I’ve always felt that it was risky, brave, and aggressive. The same as trying to open my own insurance brokerage, auto garage, or clothes shop. It’s risky. It may or may not work. But I know I have a skill set that sets me apart from a lot of other people, a skill set that I’ve worked hard to develop and evolve. I think this skill set can be of value to others. All I have to do is figure out how to use that skill set to generate income. That isn’t selfish, that’s living to my potential and capitalizing on what I do well.

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By: Bobi

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:14:14 +0000

excellent…

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By: Ginger Davis Allman

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:41:46 +0000

Both my husband and I work from home, choosing to take the low-cost/low-income route of life. But we’re doing what we want.
The other day my 13yo came to me in tears, angry because she isn’t getting big gifts for Christmas. She said it’s not fair to her and that it really makes her jealous of her “rich” friends.
I reminded her that everything is a trade off. She has parents at home, available 24/7. She has parents who are happy. And that just as we’ve made the choice to be home and frugal…her friends’ parents have made the choice to be “climbing the ladder” and extravagant. And that choice has to do with a set of values that we hold dear. That there is more going on here than being able to buy THINGS. I reminded her that her jealousy is HER problem and is a result of how she chooses to experience the situation.
That being said, I’ve had a lot of time over the years with feeling guilty for doing the things that I want to do. We’re taught that to be responsible and good we should be doing what’s best for others. Mothers always eat the burned toast. Fathers always work long hours and miss their children’s concerts. Choosing to live a different life does mean that we swim against the current. But it doesn’t mean that we’re wrong.

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