In an effort to be more literate, I have been doing some reading. I just finished A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain. I had never read it and only seen the movie. There were several interesting things in it that made me think--the sure sign of good literature. Mark Twain, never one to be shy with his opinions, was vocal in his dislike of organized religion, the English feudal system, and monarchies to name a few things.
In talking about work he stated that those who do "creative" jobs (artists, musicians, architects, etc.) do not need to be paid because their payment is in the creating. Not that they shouldn't necessarily be paid but that they would do the job anyway without payment because of the enjoyment and need to create. I can see that in the lives of my siblings. Susan would create with or without payment and in fact, figuring out how to get paid is the worst part of the process and she would love to live without it if she could. Same goes for Steve. He could no more stop being involved in music than he could stop breathing, weather or not he was being paid. I guess that's the difference between true "artists" and those who like to dabble.
So, here's to the artists in my family and everywhere. Thanks for the beauty!
12 years ago
John and I were just talking about that. How fun it would be to have a job where you made things (created) all day...i.e. made cakes at a bakery, etc. Maybe that is why "we" always have a hard time working "normal" jobs? We need to open a bead store so we can spend all day beading, or a quilt shop so we can sew, or maybe a pastry shop so we can eat them? Sounds good to me!
ReplyDeleteCan we open a store that does beading, quilting, baking and scrapbooking? I think that would be a great store!
ReplyDeleteIt certainly helps when your job is something you would want to be doing even if you weren't getting paid.
Well, if I can weigh in here . . . thanks for lumping me in with the artists in the world -- that's most kind of you. But to those of you who aren't forever trying to get paid for the stuff you create (because that's the only difference between me and any of y'all) just remember that it ain't that great. And the further you get into it, the less you get to follow your whims. Creativity with no strings is probably preferable, and leads to better work. But if you figure out how to open that store we can all work at, I'm in!
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