I have been trying to persuade myself to "make good use" of all this extra time we like to think we have, because we're in the middle of this situation where most of us are spending more time than ever at home.
A large "Heart Chakra Stone," took many hours to paint
As an artist, that would seem like it were a good thing... because you're right there, with your work space in front of you, and most likely more available time than usual. Assuming, that is, that art is not actually your primary source of income...
So — at least theoretically speaking — art and creativity should be booming, right?
Personally speaking, I must confess that I have not been nearly as creative as I thought I might have. I tend to keep a log of my work (a habit instilled in me by a tax accountant, many years ago) the the reality is that I am spending less time creating less new work than I was a couple of years ago.
The only place I have been spending more time is in marketing and promotion, and sadly that is happening with shrinking effectiveness.
So I'm experiencing a bit of a push-pull dynamic there: On one hand, I love the creative process, on the other hand I end up with this pervasive "who cares?" feeling I find hard to shake.
Some of that is due to the fact that there's a small voice inside that keeps "picking at me" and telling me that my time is really better spent doing something else; something income producing; because who the hell knows where our next source of income is going to come from?
Then I have little internal "philosophical debates" with myself about having sold out to commercialism and no longer "creating for creativity's sake" but I also have to face this small thing called reality.
Creating art and selling it used to help pay the bills — to the tune of about $5,000 a year — and that's dropped off by 75-80%, approximately. So, mercenary and "commercial" as it may sound, doing things creative just isn't much of a viable endeavor as long as we live in an environment where it's touch and go every month whether we can keep both the Internet and the electricity turned on.
Somehow the old stereotype of "starving artists" seems to have transitioned from a philosophical reality to a more functional reality.
Meanwhile, I just received yet another "very kind and polite" note from one of my Patreon supporters, regretting that whereas she loves what I am doing, she "can no longer afford" to be a patron, given current financial uncertainty. It's only $5 a month, but five bucks is five bucks... and it seems like all avenues are slowly drying up.
Makes me ponder whether I should just transfer my "creative time" to this blog... and just leave it at writing about art, rather than creating art for the foreseeable future. At least making a few cents from blog posts feels less futile than making absolutely nothing from the art, itself.
This is not exactly my typical post here, but I just needed to vent a bit and put this out there. Hopefully I'll be able to come back here in an year's time, look at this, and laugh!
Thanks for reading!
Because I am trying to make some semblance of income — a living, even — I now add this footer to all my posts, in the hope that someone, somewhere, might decide to take a further look at my work, and perhaps consider supporting independent art.
Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!
My Alchemy Stones Patreon appeal
Alchemy Stones web site and blog
Thank you for supporting independent art!
2021.01.26 AS-TXT-046/012
Congratulations @alchemystones! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCheck out the last post from @hivebuzz:
They are such beautiful stones! I can see that they have been painted with a lot of love.💚
Letting off steam is always good, letting those overwhelming emotions flow is liberating. Actually i think a lot of people in the world feel this way because of this whole world crisis...It has been a very hard months, the important thing is to be like a river that flows and sometimes even like a chameleon that always changes color depending on the need,i have realized that sometimes when we can not do what we normally do is because we must rest from that maybe to recharge those batteries or to evaluate things inside us...So many things.
The important thing is not to put pressure on ourselves when that happens, live one day at a time, trust that your spirit guides are always with you and that all those things that you feel are stuck today, will not be so tomorrow.
Remember that after the storms there is always a beautiful rainbow. I send many blessings and love from my heart chakra to you 💚
You can also share your beautiful hive posts on twitter.