Art may not always pay the bills, but neither does misery. Try doing what you love instead. I’ll admit, it’s easier said than done in a society that emphasizes material wealth over genuine happiness and just about anything, honestly.
One of my favorite sayings is “start where you are.” It’s synonymous with other quotes such as “bloom where you’re planted,” etc. All this means is that to get where you’re going, start with what you have.
Courtesy of: Design Milk Digest
Start broke. Start excited. Start experimental. Start at your mother’s house. Start with your friends. Start with memories. Start with what you love.
Cause that’s what it’s all about, am I right? Doing what you love with who you love is key. You’ve probably heard the “6 degrees of separation” theory which claims that you’re only 6 people away from getting where you want to go.
So, let’s say I want to publish a book. My best friend’s a writer. Her older sister is in this writers group. In the group, there’s a guy who’s published a book. This guy has an agent that’s looking for clients. I send the agent my manuscript. I become one of her clients, and she’s worked with, say, the Feminist Press. The publishers at the Feminist Press read over my novel and decide to give me a book deal.
That’s 6, right? My friend, her sister, her sister’s writing partner, his agent, the feminist press, and the publishers who give me the deal.
Life isn’t always so clean cut, but I think the point of this allegory is to make connections. This doesn’t mean go to your favorite author’s book signing and shoving a copy of your manuscript in their face. This means starting with where you are.
Let your friends know what you’re on. Have an art concept that you’re developing? A fire beat that you just made? A poem that you just wrote?
Let people know because you are a very important and talented artist. You’re gonna make herstory, babe.