I have somehow found myself surrounded by “starving artist” types.
At nearly 30 years old I have more people in my life who are unemployed (or only semi-employed) than I did when I was fresh out of high school.
In the mean time, I work a part time job, write freelance and own my own business. Oh yeah, and I have a 1 year old.
It may go without saying, but I am finding it hard to relate to these people.
My schedule makes it hard for me to carve out time for a social life and for the most part these friends just don’t understand. And why would they as they have no responsibilities themselves.
Where is the drive?
How can these people sit around and complain that they are broke or that they need this or that to “make it.”
I try to get these same people a little bit of paying work and what do I hear…”I’m to busy with blah blah blah”…non-paying projects are a great way to gain experience and fill up your portfolio, but 10 years is a long time.
Wake up – no one is going to just up and start paying you for work that you have been doing for free.
as someone who has spent a considerable amount of the last year unemployed ive come to appreciate the "starving artist". due to the lack of availability of real work i find myself still needing to fill the void and be some kind of productive therefore being more creative. while i cant say that anything ive done is any good, it served its purpose and gone from "weird idea in my head" to a physical reality either recorded written or stored away digitally somewhere.
ReplyDeletethe prospect of pavement pounding and endless phone calls only to face rejection has become less and less apealing as i can satisfy the need to feel productive from the confines of my home.
but thats when the starving part really hits home. theres only so much ramen noodles and hot dogs one can eat.
lately ive taken to the gimme a day to go away strategy. persistently calling a company until they get so sick of hearing from me in the opes theyll give me a days work (and pay) to stop bothering them. so far its been unsuccessful but i dont think they realise how much unproductive time i have.
or maybe ill just sleep alot and not finish my latest weird idea......
you should define what you want to do, and where you'd like to do it. your environment has an affect on the thoughts you have, just as you affect it. you have to evaluate everything according to context. me, heh... i should be mid-level but i moved to a country where english isn't the native language... i may not be able to bullshit my way through things, but in the midst of the unknown (for, if we want to advance in life, it is unknown), you must trust your inner self and your own curiosity. then you can begin to narrow down what you are doing, and who for. really, there's so much to consider, right? getting interviews is easy.. you can actually just design a really nice resume and portfolio to drop off... at the interview, that is where you will learn. you learn from other people. no one can tell you what works unless they are in the industry in the same location that you are in.
ReplyDeleteif you are an artist, look at other contemporary artists and see what is working for them. there are things they are doing that makes them successful, but you must be ready to see them. and... by law of karma, in giving, you will receive; it is guaranteed as all things must be balanced.