Comments on: Are creative people doomed to scraping out a miserable existance?

By: Barbara Saunders

Barbara Saunders — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 03:48:10 +0000

Actually … I once took a workshop with a career consultant who specializes is something she calls “the creative type.” She said it was her experience that a) many artists/artistic people are not creative; b) the world of the fine arts accommodates the creative type pretty well, but creative types are a minority even there; and (c) creative people outside of the arts can have a really difficult time because many business environments punish divergent (as opposed to convergent) thinking.

By: Dazz

Dazz — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:18:09 +0000

Hi Hugh,
Have been reading through this site- some great words of inspiration and home truths.
I guess i fit the mould of the struggling, emerging artists. I’ve done OK with the world of TV/Film/Theatre but like millions of others have gone bust chasing my dreams.
I’ll be very bold here and ask, if you’re a Producer, if you’d consider me for any upcoming projects. Am happy to send my biog of work and any other relevant stuff. Im not anamateur!
Cheers anyway, and greetings from Australia.
Dazz

By: Cheryl Kling

Cheryl Kling — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:31:07 +0000

If I remember correctly, Michelangelo painted the ceiling because the Pope was his boss. He was basically under house arrest to complete the task. I do believe that despite that he created a masterpiece and despite the Pope he had the last word with symbolic inferences in the painting. Regardless, I’d like to think that artists today have more freedom in chosing their commissions in life. My own success as an artist is rooted in the support I had as a creative child. I was told I could be anything I wanted, to do it well and it would support me. It was true. Also, I’ve never had to lay on my back on a scaffold to paint a ceiling. Long handled rollers in one color is all you’ll get out of me.

By: Carla

Carla — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:21:48 +0000

I think for me, it’s the combination of being “creative” and having very little talent in the areas I’m interested in. If a musical or artistic genius cannot make a living, how can the average creative type? I guess at a certain point, you have to decide if you should follow a dream or work the pay the bills – or spin your wheels burring yourself out to do both. Who can determine if you are good enough to make even a small living from you talents?

By: creativevoyage

creativevoyage — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:41:57 +0000

Can I jump in and suggest Carol Lloyd’s book Creating a Life Worth Living ? which is a great book on making a living while being a creative person and really helped to transform my thinking.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creating-Life-Worth-Living-Filmmakers/dp/0060952431/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231789200&sr=8-1

Also the work of Christine Kane http://www.christinekane.com

I have a ton of stuff to say on this but have noticed that once people are doing what they love they need less money because they need fewer ‘treats’ to get through their horrible jobs.

Part time work ! Its fabulous you get an income and time to do what you want.

By: michael gibbons

michael gibbons — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:36:28 +0000

Oh my freakin’ God I cant believe how many passionate comments Pam i think you found the seed for your next book! BTW who is the sublime artist on YouTube?

By: Mario Sanchez Carrion

Mario Sanchez Carrion — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:43:46 +0000

Hi Pam:

I’m currently reading a book by Johnatan Fields called Career Renegade, that deals precisely with very practical and actionable ways one can turn his/her passion into a business. I haven’t finished it yet, but so far I’m pretty impressed by it, and pleasantly surprised that there are so many ways to monetize our passions.

By: A Fine Artist

A Fine Artist — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:30:40 +0000

Great discussions. However, to compare Michelangelo’s 16th century Sistine Chapel commission with anything going on in the 21st century is to compare apples to oranges. First off, Michelangelo was a successful sculptor and worked–like all atists of his time–on commissions. Retail galleries did not exist and artists worked for patrons. Michelangelo was okay with a patron dictating the theme of a commission because this was the norm in his time. Secondly, he felt uncomfortable painting frescoes because he was, by choice, a sculptor and did not have much recent experience with this medium. (Fresco is a very difficult process–even for fresco experts.) Thirdly, he agreed to do this huge commission because his boss–Pope Julius–had abruply halted his huge and very ambitious sculpture commission to build the pope’s tomb–one commission which Michelangelo was thrilled to have. Michelangelo needed to stay on his patron’s good side to ensure the commission he DID want to work on remained a possibility. After all, the Pope was probably the most powerful patron an artist could have–regardless of the fact the he was a tyrant. I could go on citing major differences but I think you get the point.

Unrelated to the Michelangelo topic, most entries here fail to see that creativity exists outside of fine arts as well. Coming from a fine arts background myself, this realization took me years to acquire. Everywhere I look, I see the work of creative people… now, more than ever. Anything from sleek kitchen appliances to great toys to clever ad campaigns to unusual album covers to beautiful auto designs to Pixar films–to name a few examples–was the brainchild of a creative person or team of creative people. Many people are making a living in the arts. Finally, many fine arts creative people ARE also making a living doing what they love. And, they’re finding creative ways to get their work out there. The myth of the ‘starving artist’ lives only in the minds of people who fail to see the creativity all around them.

By: Lisa Gates

Lisa Gates — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 06:23:55 +0000

Pam, so excellent a question. Or questions. I think you nailed it in your very last paragraph.

Prior to becoming a coach myself, I worked as an actor. Plays, commercials, voiceovers, all of it. I made mediocre money, but it was a very liveable mediocre.

Curiously, I noticed something that flipped my thinking entirely. I had adopted the “herd” poverty perspective–so much so that I didn’t actually see that I was not poor, and that in fact I was making a living. My perspective was in solidarity with my actor friends (without conscious choice, I might add).

So I guess my takeaway here, or giveaway, is to work from within, challenge assumptions and herd thinking, and I can’t help say it, do what you love. What is the point of making gazillions of dollars if it causes us to turn the other cheek on who we are at core?

By: Andy Pels

Andy Pels — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 03:14:15 +0000

Jeez Pam, what have you started?

It’s your next book. :}