Musing on this briefly, I think the desire to be a "full-time artist" was ultimately rooted in a desire to quit my job. Less, is this a holy grail and more, when do I get to exit the system? So it was like, who can I use as a model for doing that?
But now that I am "full time" in the sense that I no longer require employment or non-artistic work to pay for my lifestyle... yes, it's a uncomfortable term. I don't spend all my time writing. I don't typically live off my writing/writing-related income. There's a whole set of assumptions about what my writing life looks like that is built into the term. Hmmm....
That's such an excellent point--that the aspiration to be a "full-time artist" is about looking for a way to exit the system. That was a main reason why I signed up for a BFA and MFA--I wanted to write as much as possible and that's the only way I could work out to do it. Of course, it bit me in the bum because student loan debt is no joke. My husband says I should have a t-shirt that says, "My biggest regret is my education."
This is all so wonderful to hear and be reminded of. As you mention, we don't talk about the privilege of more energy/more resources/more support enough. I see this in online business all of the time too. Thank you thank you for highlighting this.
Elizabeth Gilbert (who I'm of two minds about, but that's another story) writes in Big Magic "I've seen artists drive themselves broke and crazy because of this insistence that they are not legitimate creators unless they can exclusively live off their creativity." "I've always felt like this is so cruel to your work—to demand a regular paycheck from it, as if creativity were a government job, or a trust fund". I don't love everything in Big Magic, but this particular section gave me pause. She didn't give up her day job(s) until Eat, Pray, Love, which was her fourth book. Even though the first three books apparently did reasonably well, also.
Thank you, as always, for creating this interesting and thought-provoking discussion. I begin to wonder if we can be "full-time" doing anything, given the vast range of activities, chores, jobs,
travel, rest periods, pleasures etc that compete for time in our calendar. I sometimes feel like a "full-time juggler of plates", which--while somewhat accurate--is not really what I'm striving for. I also really appreciate your point about normalizing the well-resourced artists out there. You are right that there should be no shame in it...but it's not something that's discussed, and, thereby, can be stigmatized. All in all, some great points for further consideration. Muchos gratitude for bringing this to light!
This was a juicy read. I appreciate the distinction of our own sets of privileges, whatever form they take, in affording us the time to spend on creative work for as many, or as few, hours in any given day.
Honestly hadn’t given much thought to the 40 hour construct as ‘full time’ but rather to excluding all other passions for the sake of one…which ain’t the way I like to boogie. I suspect that old saying “Jack of all trades, master of none” is ingrained into my psyche with all sorts of negative connotations. Pooh to that!
Musing on this briefly, I think the desire to be a "full-time artist" was ultimately rooted in a desire to quit my job. Less, is this a holy grail and more, when do I get to exit the system? So it was like, who can I use as a model for doing that?
But now that I am "full time" in the sense that I no longer require employment or non-artistic work to pay for my lifestyle... yes, it's a uncomfortable term. I don't spend all my time writing. I don't typically live off my writing/writing-related income. There's a whole set of assumptions about what my writing life looks like that is built into the term. Hmmm....
That's such an excellent point--that the aspiration to be a "full-time artist" is about looking for a way to exit the system. That was a main reason why I signed up for a BFA and MFA--I wanted to write as much as possible and that's the only way I could work out to do it. Of course, it bit me in the bum because student loan debt is no joke. My husband says I should have a t-shirt that says, "My biggest regret is my education."
This is all so wonderful to hear and be reminded of. As you mention, we don't talk about the privilege of more energy/more resources/more support enough. I see this in online business all of the time too. Thank you thank you for highlighting this.
Agreed re online business. A huge part of what has made my online business possible is having a husband who has a much steadier pay cheque than mine.
Elizabeth Gilbert (who I'm of two minds about, but that's another story) writes in Big Magic "I've seen artists drive themselves broke and crazy because of this insistence that they are not legitimate creators unless they can exclusively live off their creativity." "I've always felt like this is so cruel to your work—to demand a regular paycheck from it, as if creativity were a government job, or a trust fund". I don't love everything in Big Magic, but this particular section gave me pause. She didn't give up her day job(s) until Eat, Pray, Love, which was her fourth book. Even though the first three books apparently did reasonably well, also.
Thank you, as always, for creating this interesting and thought-provoking discussion. I begin to wonder if we can be "full-time" doing anything, given the vast range of activities, chores, jobs,
travel, rest periods, pleasures etc that compete for time in our calendar. I sometimes feel like a "full-time juggler of plates", which--while somewhat accurate--is not really what I'm striving for. I also really appreciate your point about normalizing the well-resourced artists out there. You are right that there should be no shame in it...but it's not something that's discussed, and, thereby, can be stigmatized. All in all, some great points for further consideration. Muchos gratitude for bringing this to light!
This was a juicy read. I appreciate the distinction of our own sets of privileges, whatever form they take, in affording us the time to spend on creative work for as many, or as few, hours in any given day.
Honestly hadn’t given much thought to the 40 hour construct as ‘full time’ but rather to excluding all other passions for the sake of one…which ain’t the way I like to boogie. I suspect that old saying “Jack of all trades, master of none” is ingrained into my psyche with all sorts of negative connotations. Pooh to that!