Rich & Poor

As an artist, I understand the concept of rich and poor quite well and in most cases, more than most.  I grew up in a rural trailer park.  We (as a family) had very little. I learned to forage in the forest and to survive on shellfish from the Chesapeake & Potomac.  I remember rationing Halloween candy to make it last all year and  getting expired/discarded make-up from from friends as a teen.  I knew I was poor at a very young age and I did not care much until I was an adolescent - when everything is a crisis. But, in the end it just made me strong, independent, and resourceful.


Art in America is a career that is rarely lucrative or approved by most parents.  The choice to become an artist is most often a choice of poverty for the majority of your career, unless you choose to supplement your income with a "real" job or vocation.  I don't know how many times I heard from college professors and local business owners the comment: "Oh you are a Theatre/Art major? And would you like fries with that?" Of course that was always accompanied by the condescending grin.
No one, with any good financial sense, will take the path of a career artist. Indeed, I chose to jump in on the "Dot com" era of the 90's after college.  In fact, I used all of my creative talents to work my way up to the position of senior software engineer and senior web consultant for the State Dept.  Yep, I was a living, breathing, high functioning, & well regarded engineer for upper levels of our government.  But that could never last...after all, I am an artist and I was only 'acting' as an engineer.

It all changed on September 11, 2001. I retreated to the safety of my mountain.  It took a while to get my head together after that but eventually I figured out that I need to be true to my self and just be the artist that I was meant to be.  It was difficult to go from a six figure salary to no figures but I have adjusted and am happier now than I have ever been.

So, the point I am making is that I have been financially rich but felt quite poor mentally and emotionally.  I choose to be spiritually rich and hopefully someday my mantra will resonate with the world...Support Living Artists - the dead ones don't need it.