"Art" as a "Job"

Some say you should "do what you love" . . . find it, and do that.

Others say, keep your hobby as a hobby, so you can keep loving it.

What do you think?
Do you do something creative?
Do you do it for money?
Is it your primary source of money?
Do you have a "real" job?

Tell me your story. I'll be back, and tell you mine, if you want.

I almost never program for fun anymore...

I acted & wrote as a job and was fine with it... when I cooked as a job it ruined it for me. Cooking is relaxation for me though, not so much art, may be why.

I play music a lot for a hobby and I don't think I'd want to do it for money, it'd take the spontaneity out of it for me.
I also knit for fun, and have some ideas about knitting for money, but it would be pin money as to actually get a reasonable "skilled work" rate per hour for anything knitted would price the goods out of the market. My attitude is that when I've run out of things I want to knit for myself and family or friends, I'll want to go on knitting so I might as well get paid for doing something I enjoy.

Or have more children to knit for. :D

I wanna ROCK. [/twisted sister]

Seriously, though, I'm gonna make music. I don't care if I'm selling out stadiums or playing a three-string broken acoustic on the street corner for nickels. I'm gonna make music.

I'm GORGEOUS for a living!

I fuck with people's heads for fun. Does that count?

xoxoxoBruce wrote:

Or have more children to knit for. :D

:eek: :3_eyes: :greenface
Nope. No children. No thank you. No way. Na-ah. Negative. Definitely not. Currently working my way through a drawerfull of socks for my ma, interpersed with a few pairs for me.

wolf wrote:

I fuck with people's heads for fun. Does that count?

Of course it does, dear.

There is a massively big difference between making a living as an artist, and making a living in a creative field. I don't make much money as an artist, but I do it because I love it. I make a fairly decent living as a professional musician, which is a very, very different thing.

Being a pro in a creative field means getting to work with people who are at the top of their game, all the time. For something like a recording session, it's like heroin. Once you've done it, you can't go back to being the one skilled guy playing with 3 hobby players. But you only get to do it if you're also at the top of your game, and being paid to be in the same room with those guys, doing what you do.

Maybe it would be different in a less collaborative creative field.

Speaking of which, I just got a call to play a record in August in one of the vibey-est rooms in LA - el dorado studios. I'm stoked!

(who says "stoked" any more? Seriously! I'm a nerd.)

wolf wrote:

I fuck with people's heads for fun. Does that count?

Only difference is you get paid so it isn't so creative anymore.

smoothmoniker wrote:

Speaking of which, I just got a call to play a record in August in one of the vibey-est rooms in LA - el dorado studios. I'm stoked!

(who says "stoked" any more? Seriously! I'm a nerd.)

I loved the studio picture 18 gazillion dollars in hardware and the computer sits on a 3 dollar table. :cool:

Griff wrote:

I loved the studio picture 18 gazillion dollars in hardware and the computer sits on a 3 dollar table. :cool:

I loved the studio pictures too.

oh my gosh. What style it has! It's glowy warm and begging to be loved if design and architecture could be.

It even has a little sleeping room. The cement painted in warm jewel tones of red and green. A small bed and a red leather couch. How cool is that:)

I am happy for you smoothmomiker. What a place to relax and play. ( or work) It's not harsh cold or sterile...that is very cool!

Flint wrote:

Others say, keep your hobby as a hobby, so you can keep loving it.

Trust me: nothing ruins the fun of a hobby like making it into a profession. I started to turn my photography into a business, but then found myself no longer using it as a creative outlet because I associated it with work. Since I was going it on my own, I was allowed to be as creative as I wanted to in my business, but it still had the same effect. After some product shoots, some advertisement work, and a dozen or so weddings and events, I gave it up so I could have my hobby back and get back to using the camera not for the mighty dollar, but to get thoughts and ideas out of my head.

Should anyone be in need of a small studio strobe set with stands, I'm willing to sell. :p

smoothmoniker wrote:

There is a massively big difference between making a living as an artist, and making a living in a creative field. I don't make much money as an artist, but I do it because I love it. I make a fairly decent living as a professional musician, which is a very, very different thing.

Being a pro in a creative field means getting to work with people who are at the top of their game, all the time. For something like a recording session, it's like heroin. Once you've done it, you can't go back to being the one skilled guy playing with 3 hobby players. But you only get to do it if you're also at the top of your game, and being paid to be in the same room with those guys, doing what you do.

Maybe it would be different in a less collaborative creative field.

Speaking of which, I just got a call to play a record in August in one of the vibey-est rooms in LA - el dorado studios. I'm stoked!

(who says "stoked" any more? Seriously! I'm a nerd.)

My problem when I was acting professionally was that I was usually the only trained actor and was being told to "pull back". It was very frustrating and not fulfilling at all.

Im with, rkzenrage,
Once i was called by local radio station to waylay a gig to sit in with a traveling Pink Floyd copy band from Canada (Clear Light or something) so, I took night off to play at civic center to cover sax parts... Their manager got miffed cuz I didn't know "Money" note \per note... which pissed me off becuz i didn't play clone music; But could play 5/4, 7/8, or any rhythmic combination in between,... with melodic semblance. I told them the original sax solo was ok... but sucked and rambled.
(i didn't play on that song, ... and I didn't get paid for that song either)

My wife is a classical pianist; accompanyist and teacher. She can enjoy it because she makes a little money but doesn't try to make a living out of it. I do the stressful making-a-living part. She doesn't take all the jobs that come her way; if she doesn't like the music she won't take the job. I'd rather have it this way then both of us caught up in money making.