'Every Dark Cloud' Shadowbox 12x10" brooches: sterling silver, graphite,
colored pencil, mica; photograph, wood, plastic; Kathleen Faulkner
Sometimes I wonder if we'll make it. Mother has cancer, we are losing whole species everyday and there's a lot of fear and hate out there.
Struggle, strife.. everyone I know is struggling. The artists really have it tough. You can't eat art. There is no barter system to pay for health insurance or the electric bill. Some days it seems overwhelming.
It is a time when one has to decide on priorities. There's a fork in the road. One path is smoother, easier, the other path may not go all the way through and the terrain is steep and rocky. The smooth path has it's downfalls, though. Younger is better, college degrees help, and, of course, a stable partner.. still, it's not a given. The rough path really asks nothing except to be true to oneself. Older can be better, degrees don't matter but passion is a must. The rough path has absolutely no guarantees and it's steep terrain is dangerous. It is a precarious yet intensely inspiring path, if you make it.
My silver lining is called freedom: the independence and the joy in doing what I do. I'm not talking about Apple Pie here. This isn't an American Dream, far from it. I have chosen the steep and rocky path and it's hard and I get worried and wonder if I'll end up falling off the cliff but, I wouldn't have it any other way. On my death bed I will not be filled with regret.
Digital photo; Kathleen Faulkner
'I am interested in art as a means of living a life; not as a means of making a living' Robert Henri
