Art by Cherie A.Bitanga (jarofsalt.com). Photo courtesy of Instagram.
Art by Cherie A.Bitanga (jarofsalt.com). Photo courtesy of Instagram.
Being an artist isn't easy. You have to be self-motivated. You need to hustle. You need to knock on every door until opportunity presents itself. All of this while getting questioned by your doubters; "What is your back-up plan?" or "What else do you do?" The words "starving" and "artist" usually go hand in hand. Erin Lindstrom reminds us that this doesn't have to be the case.
Erin Lindstrom (Courtesy of Twitter)
In her piece " A Letter to Creatives Not Creating", Lindstrom reaches out to artists and creatives doubting their ability to make a living doing what they love. Before you think this may be a wishy-washy love letter, it's not. Lindstrom serves up encouragement to readers, but with a side of tough love. "Maybe you want to go big with your art but the STRUGGLE IS REAL! This shit is hard, and you just can't make a living doing JUST this. Maybe you have a big dream but you're too damn scared to do it (it's ok, you can admit it).Well, darling... you're WRONG."
Art by Cherie A.Bitanga (jarofsalt.com). Photo courtesy of Instagram.
Lindstrom can talk about the struggle, but she knows the struggle. She has been surrounded by it as others doubt themselves. She, herself, has also been face to face with it. "Honestly, my motivation to write this piece was the fact that I needed to hear it myself. I needed to remind myself to just go for it. I needed to remember and to remind others to say no to those who say no to your art."Lindstrom tells readers what many of us know in the back of our minds, but fail to act upon. You have to do the work. Don't treat it like a hobby. See it as a full time job. "Maybe you need a bridge job. Maybe you need to learn about marketing. Maybe you just need to get in the flow. What you definitely need is to figure it out."
Art by Cherie A.Bitanga (jarofsalt.com). Photo courtesy of Instagram.
"You only get one life.ONE. And you get to make up how it goes. You are not a victim of your circumstance.You are not your student loans. You are not another person who put her dream on hold to work in a cubicle." The big question Lindstrom leaves readers with may get you thinking.It may be the very thing that makes you walk to the drawing board to put a plan into action. "You are the writer.You are writing the story of your life right this minute.How do you want your story to end?"
You can check out Lindstrom's piece here and follow her on Twitter here.
