Where Am I Career-Wise

I keep thinking I need to re-vamp my art career, decide what I want to do. I’ve been putting it off, which I had to do with the move and all the renovations. But I am feeling the need to do something, to again re-write myself and my career. 

Yes, I have been avoiding the subject. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do or what direction I wanted to take. I have been on hold for almost a full year now. Something was changing, but I wasn’t sure what, and I’ve been waiting for some kind of inspiration (which I thought would happen the first of the year. It didn’t because of the ongoing work in the house.)

This morning I decided to take the time and start dissecting who and where I am. I know I want to do writing, photography, and drawing. Wait a minute! There are no changes in what I want to do. So what’s the difference? Why am I feeling I need to re-vamp, to make changes? This IS who I am!

Maybe it isn’t a full change, but an update; a re-freshening to give my art career a boost. Kearsarge Magazine contacted me about advertising and I decided to do it. NH Made has been after me, too, and I wasn’t going to do that this year. Today, with a last chance email received, I am choosing to place that ad, too. I want to re-do my website and give it a fresh, new look and I want to be better about posting new pictures to keep the site alive and new.

When asked what I do for work, I say, “Artist and editor” or “Editor and artist.” But who I am and what I do for work is so much more than that. Artist and editor is too general, especially artist because people often immediately relate artist to painting. An artist can be so much more. 

The most exciting, and perhaps hardest, aspect about my career is that it is not just one focus. Writing is at the foremost with working for the InterTown Record at writing columns, doing the community calendar, and being editor (which I still can’t believe – me, an editor?). I also have three books on which I am working (yeah, I know, a bit crazy) and I want to do better at blogging more consistently. 

Photography is also right up there with the writing. The main focus here is fine art prints, although I occasionally do pictures for the newspaper and I pick up commission work here and there. The latter entails photographing an event for someone, taking pictures for brochures and websites, or doing pet portraits. 

My third focus as an artist is charcoal-pastel drawings. This year I am adding the -pastel although I’ve been putting in a little color for awhile. Now I want to do more color. I haven’t worked on drawings in over a year because of the house/studio issue, but it’s often on my mind. Drawing calls to me. I’m ready to get back to it… as soon as I get the studio cleaned out and set back up. (I had it ready once then a renovation project messed it up again as I have to use the space for storage.)

The walls of my new home are full of my drawings and photographs. They make me feel happy, accomplished. It’s time to take it further. My work has improved and I’m ready for the next step.