Maybe it's the Winter or maybe just the fact that we live in the country, but the isolation of working alone all the time has gotten to me.
The best solution for this that I came up with has been to look for part time work. I used to have a really good situation up until a couple of years ago-I worked two days a week in an art studio just filled with people. We all got along pretty well until it was decided that I was a redundancy (as the British like to say) and I was let go-"We'll call you when we need you again"...yep, I'm glad I didn't hold my breath.
Anyhow, since then I've worked for a small company for a while which was ok, but didn't include socialization that I was looking for.
Choices up here are somewhat limited (I live in NW New Jersey-exactly 75 miles from Manhattan-it's actually somewhat rural up here). There are the occasional jobs that do sound good, but most of them pay about a dollar above the minimum wage, require you to lift 60 pounds or more, have reliable transportation (read, we use your car for a company vehicle), and want you to work weekends. Don't think so. I saw a full time position the other day that required all of the above and paid $7.35 per hour-can you actually live on that? Maybe I'm a spoiled jerk, but that wage was good about thirty years ago. Today? You've gotta be kidding.
They weren't kidding.
Anyhow, I'm looking for a part time job-if you have any leads, let me know.
Making art is truly solitary-I can't say as I've ever worked well in a group or as a collaborator. This solitude is both necessary and mind altering. After working a full day in the studio, it can be daunting to go and have interchange with folks-I feel as though I've got to check myself when leaving the studio so as not to forget that I'm no longer alone. You can get a bad reputation quickly in a small town-when going to get some groceries, you can't talk to yourself (ok, this may be to try and work out the intricacies of a piece of artwork) or stop to sketch stuff out on a pc of scrap-say, the back of a box of Corn Flakes -this does not fly well with the general public. You could wear a t-shirt proclaiming yerself to be a creative type, but that'll just get you closer to being lumped in with the rest of the people who are considered "off."
Have faith: the village idiot is still alive and well. He is called "artist."
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Several years ago at BMAC you advised me to keep a part time job. I was feeling burned out on working at the newspaper and yearned to be a full time studio artist. I was also working only nights with few people around. Recently, I switched to a afternoon shift and had to start working full time again. At first I wanted to run, but lately have come to enjoy being there again, surprised at how much I missed the interaction. I wish it could be part time again - so I could have the best of both worlds. Full time is making my studio time suffer. But for now that is how it needs to be. Good luck finding something that pays a decent wage...that you enjoy as well. I think I finally get what you were advising.
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