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Hello everyone,
Welcome to my website and first blog ever! Wow, I never thought I would become a blogger but here we are and what a journey to get here. What better subject to write about than "Becoming a 21st Century Artist”.
Where to begin? My first memory of ever creating art was back in Kindergarten. My beautiful mother bought me a set of acrylic paints, air dry clay and Disney characters molds. There in my tiny but mighty island of Puerto Rico I got my first taste of creation and I have been hooked ever since. Like many artist who have struggled before I can tell you that at times it has been very challenging not to give up and throw away a lifetime of hard work. So the first words of advice I would give is to have a solid foundation. Surround yourself with family and/or friends that support your dreams/ goals/ vision and talent. Every other person or relationship that distracts you or takes away energy from achieving your dreams must go. The hardest truth to face is that everyone that starts with you in your path will not make it by your side throughout your journey and that can be hard to accept or deal with but it is necessary for your growth.
Another thing I learned about "Becoming a 21st Century Artist", once you discover what art is and you decide that you are going to have a career as a professional artist you must learn to face another truth. The reality is that it takes some serious sacrifice, many hours invested on developing your craft AND now the 21st century artist must also market (and in many cases) sale their art work. This means that you will never have a “normal life” but who cares! If you ask me normal is overrated. While people are out partying you are at home creating. While they are spending their hard earned cash on superficial things you are spending it on art materials. While they are sleeping in you are researching/ learning new techniques. While they are dinning out you are going to art show, museums, and art fairs (an opportunityto networkand meetother artist). While people are dating, falling in love, starting a family and buying a house ( this I have to say has been a big challenge for me) as a female artist you might also struggle.
When it comes to relationships and finding that person that understands the way you think or how much you are whiling to sacrifice to simply be who you feel you are where created to be, it is not impossible but as an artist and a woman trying to make a name for yourself it can be an up hill battle. When it comes to family some female artist do not want to have an ordinary life, become a house wife and embark in motherhood. There are female artist who do decide to become mothers. It may be challenging finding a balance in being “good mothers” by society’s standards and having enough time to create and not sacrifice their gift/ talent. When it comes to buying a house as an artist you might be struggling to simply find a job or several jobs to juggle in order to make ends meet. If we go by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – self actualization, in other words “creating” is at the top of the pyramid as a human’s last need. As an artist I can tell you that at times this can be very mentally and emotionally conflicting. When all you can think of is creating and wanting they world to enjoy your art but at the same time you live in a big overpopulated city where there are many artist who want the exact same thing and a lot of people in the art world who are in power, who know this and want to make a buck off of these new emerging artist. As a new artist trying to navigate through the art world, it can be a frustrating place. It could take a few years to be able to invest (with no guarantees) your very hard earned cash to show and/ or sale your work. This of course can only happen when you are no longer in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – physiological and safety need which is part of the human basic survival need.
If you have made it all the way to the end of this blog, as you can see being a 21st Century artist can at times be heartbreaking. One lesson I learned is to enjoy the journey. It is not a race, there is no ending and always be grateful for the struggle for that is where you will find your growth. If you are an artist, no matter if you are a painter, sculptor, actor, comedian, singer, musician, model or part of any of the other creative field and you are still standing and every day showing up for your dream and living your truth; I salute you and wish you well in your future endeavors!
Much love,
Nicole Marie
@nicolemarieart80