We Should Come Here More Often
- At September 20, 2018
- By Amber
- In Studio Journal
- 0
We Should Come Here More Often
Imagine a garden soaked in light drizzle, the trees and shrubs radiate green as they bask in the moisture but the colour is muted by the mist that hangs in the air. Every leaf and blade of grass is spattered with tiny droplets of water. There is a soft hush all around from white noise of the light rain and the sound dampening fog. The grey is comfortable on your eyes and ears. You breathe it in and remind yourself to come here more often.
Thriving with Fellow Artists
- At August 20, 2018
- By Amber
- In Studio Journal
- 0
Back in May I became part of Thrive Mastermind. Thrive is a group that provides community, accountability and support to female artists. We meet monthly in Victoria and talk about what we are working on, what we have learnt, our achievements and share any useful resources we may have discovered over the month. There are also online discussion forums, podcasts and tutorials to help with every aspect of being an artist. Studio work can be lonely, it has been so good to meet and talk with other women artists about the highs and lows of a creative life. It has encouraged me to set goals for myself and think about all aspects of my art making practise. I would recommend the Podcast – you can listen to them here: Thrive Podcast
Balance
- At November 21, 2015
- By Amber
- In Studio Journal
- 0
I know I am not alone in my quest for balance between making art and having a paying job. Since moving to Canada in 2010 I have tried various set ups – seasonal work, temp jobs, random craigslist employment. None of these situations were ideal, usually because I let the paid work take over or they meant working weekends which meant no time with my family.
I was lucky enough to spend a year being supported by my husband which I have started to think of as the gap year I missed in my 20s. Whilst we can get by on his wage it made me feel uncomfortable not to be contributing to the household income. It didn’t seem fair to put all of the wage earning pressure on him. I weighed up my options. I considered if I could make a living just from selling my art – whilst I love the idea of that it just wasn’t realistic for me. I am just beginning and I really want to allow myself time to experiment and keep moving forward with the dreamscape ideas without worrying “will it sell?”. Lewis Hyde’s book ‘The Gift’ was particularly helpful in setting out reasons for separating your art making from market forces. I know that is a whole other debate.
In any event my full time work has come to an end and I have regular part time work now for 3 days per week at a job I enjoy, leaving the rest of my time for art and life. I am really happy with this arrangement – yes it will slow me down in the studio but I think it will be a good balance for me. Studio life can also be isolated, so being out in the world amongst people who don’t respond to every conversation with a meow might also not be a bad thing.