There is much discussion
about the meagre incomes that we earn in the arts sector. Whether you are a
musician, performer or manager, it is often difficult to scrape together a
decent annual income. A couple of years ago I was speaking with a friend and
mentor about this and conveying my frustration at just how challenging it was. Not
just the money, but managing how I think as someone who stands with a foot in
each camp; the creative maker and the manager/producer.
 |
| Dale Williams, a painter |
In response she calming
stated...‘Well I guess it is challenging when you decide to live a creative
life.’
In that moment my mind
exploded with the realization that that is exactly what I was doing…choosing to
live a creative life. You might be reading this and smacking your forehead with
a doh! But so often when we are in the thick of projects, management, media and
people, it is difficult to have the space and luxury to enjoy and acknowledge
what is going on and how amazing it truly is. The forest for the trees
scenario.
In a world that often diminishes
the importance of creative thought and expression, it can be difficult to stay
steadfast in your resolve to…Just do it! It’s what you do. Now can we just get
on with it ….
My work connects me to some
of the most extraordinarily humble and astoundingly talented people I have ever
met. I have the privilege of hearing their stories, seeing their work and
having them open up to talk about the inspiration behind what they make whether
it be film, paintings, sculpture, books or music. They invite me into their
worlds that are full of beauty, pain and narrative. What an immense privilege!
I have not been long home
from a week on Flinders Island where I spent a great deal of time – one on one
– with 9 artists working in film, textiles, oil, water colour, photography,
sculpture, jewelry, pastel and ceramic.
This was the 2nd trip and
was focused on spending time to hear from the artists what they wanted to do
with their medium, where they wanted to go and how we could collectively pull
together a group show for the end of the year.
 |
| Jaga Lipska, a painter/photographer who played an impromptu Moonlight Sonata and made me cry.x |
Luckily Rachel Dallas, one of
the 9 – an assemblage artist who makes work from litter and debris found on the
beaches, lent me her car and I got to look around the island. This meant that I
was late for most meetings because the views were so spectacular that I kept
stopping to take a photo or just breathe it in.
I will be writing about each
artist soon, but every encounter, every conversation left me knowing and
feeling more about these individuals who have chosen to live in a beautiful and
isolated place. To live partly subsistent, sustainably, isolated; but within a
strong community who accept difference, who support each other but allow space
for individuals to be different, unique…creative.
 |
| Judy Jacques, a F.I. artist/performer |
On leaving the homes of each
artist I would use the drive and walk along an empty beach to contemplate what
had just transpired; the story, the art, the feeling. I had been fed with
sumptuous food (mutton bird, samphire, wallaby), watered with home brew stout,
wine or tank water and invited into the personal and private world of
extraordinary people.
 |
| Jon Hizzard, painter & collector |
And then I am returning home;
to Hobart. A brief flight in a small plane, a 2 hour drive South on a busy
highway and I am in a city of 200 000+ people. How surreal? Just hours before I
was on an island surrounded by stunning empty beaches and reefs, with a
population of around 600 who all know each other.
 |
| Rachel Dallas, assemblage artist on Cave Beach |
So how do you calculate the
value of such experiences and interactions? You can’t!
But what you can do is never
assume, take time and pause to feel them, to hear them and to be open to the
idea of anything.
For in the smallest moments we can experience the best there is; the
sweetest, the most succulent and the richest.
No comments:
Post a Comment