On Being An Artist

"Employee of the Month" plaque
at work.
"It must be so much fun to be an artist!"

Yes, some days it most certainly is, but other days it's lonely and frustrating just sitting working on projects for hours and hours without human contact. Mostly, it's strange being an artist. Ten hours can go by in the blink of an eye. Some days, when my son is visiting his father, I work all day and sometimes most of the night on as little as four hours of sleep. I try and avoid such habits though cause it seems out of place with the rest of the world and bringing a bit of normalcy to my strange life is a refreshing, welcoming thing.

When I was faced with the opportunity to take a part time day job at a local hotel last year, I jumped on it. It offered me time away from my studio, extra security, and a chance to be with people during the day, which I desperately needed. It would bring a sense of normalcy to an odd way of living.

Last week marked my first year anniversary working for the local hotel and I took a moment to take a quick snapshot of my little accomplishment I earned there recently. For many reasons I'm quite proud of this little accolade.

My day job and my art go hand in hand now. They feed and inspire each other in strange ways. I'm glad for both and I was really glad to stumble upon this article online. It seemed to show up just when I was having trouble explaining to people why I enjoy cleaning the lobby of the hotel. I was glad to read that many other artists who have come before me also found inspiration in keeping their mundane day jobs too.

Like I said, being an artist is strange.