DRIVEN AGEING ARTIST SEEKS OTHER DRIVEN AGEING ARTISTS...
I have been thinking a lot about age lately. I keep making art...lots of it. I keep reaching for grants, exhibitions and collections. Lots of them. I have a success rate...which includes some "yes" responses and a lot of "no" responses: the usual.
And my body, in my later sixties, seems to be edging toward various, normal fragilities: painfully creaky joints, a certain tippiness, and, of course, certain memory issues. Nothing unusual nor even alarming there either.
But, I wonder...what will the next few years bring?
NOT MAKING IS NOT AN OPTION.
NOT EXHIBITING IS NOT AN OPTION.
Looking ahead, I am realizing I will need more help in the studio. Not yet...I get by with the help I have from Danielle and Dale, more or less one day a week. They help with administrative, brainstorming and larger builds and shipments. But it is time to think ahead.
I wonder if there are ways that older, driven, ambitious artists can organize to assist and support one another? Could we share studio assistants? Could we share skill sets?
What do you think? Are you a driven, ambitious artist wondering about how you will handle ageing in the studio? If so... let's begin talking. Surely there are a lot of us around this town.
3 comments:
Important conversation!
Struggle is always there...How to survive,do art on a limited income...how to be more active in the art community....Would all be great conversations. Dina O'Sullivan
I have tried on several occasions over the last 15 years to form alliances with other artists without much success. Now, at 70 and with several physical issues, I no longer pursue that. While I try to arrange at least one exhibition every 2 years (it used to be many more), and - of course - I continue to make art, everything else seems more than I can physically handle. Unlike you, I cannot afford to hire an assistant, and my efforts to get a grant that would enable that for even a short term have never born fruit. However, if you are planning to put some kind of discussion group together, I'd be interested in exploring it.
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