An art vacation

by Carole Epp | Mar 12, 2011 | Uncategorized

Yesturday I had the pleasure of giving a talk at the University of Saskatchewan about my art and practice and the yucky business/marketing stuff that one has to do as an artist. Hopefully I didn’t scare any of the fourth year students. I tried not to get too much into the nitty gritty of all that being an artist encompasses.

It was great fun to chat with some of the audience after, meet a few people super eager to see change and action in the local crafts community, so that’s always a treat. My youthful rebellion against the man and the system still alive and well. (will it ever fade?) And so I return to my studio today inspired again by the community around me.

But a question has been lingering in my mind and tumbling over and over again…I can’t seem to shake it. Someone asked me whether I ever took an art vacation. At first I thought well of course, where ever I travel I try to make seeing local art a priority. But no, she meant a vacation away from art. Hmmm. I answered no. Does that mean I’m some sort of obsessed workaholic? I started to wonder if my priorities were getting skewed. Was I falling prey to that obsessive behavior associated with people who neglected their families and avoided real life for their work? Yeah you don’t have to tell me, I know I over analyze everything and tend to get a bit anxious about things.

So I’ve come to the conclusion that art really just is a different kind of job than most. Which is why sometimes we have such a difficult time explaining to others (non-artists) what exactly our jobs entail. And to me the nature of making work that is based on the human condition and my interaction with the world and topics of contemporary concern or commentary; in the end means that I’m always “on” as an artist. I’m always thinking, digesting, working through a problem. And that’s not just in relation to my sculptural work. My functional line is always on my brain as well. I’m forever searching for inspiration, challenges, new techniques, styles, aesthetics to try and work through.

I guess what it comes down to is that yes I do work ALL the time. No I don’t take a vacation from my art. But why I don’t is because I have a great job, one that is such an integral part of who I am and how I interact with the world that to have a vacation from art would be akin to having a vacation from my right arm. I live and breath my work. I’m obsessed with my work. It is an expression of who I am, so yes, we’re attached at the hip wherever I go. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I think it says alot about the joy and reward of being an artist. We are doing what we truly love, so far as that it doesn’t feel like a job most days because it’s pretty fun. And for those that don’t get how I can’t separate my life and work, well, maybe it’s because you haven’t found a job as rewarding as I have. Art is a calling I guess.

But now if only I could convince those people to also understand that just because I love my job so much more than they do, it doesn’t mean that I should be doing it for free.