TheatreArtLife: Freelancers and artists speak a language that can be considered speaking in code because most “normal” or conventional people wouldn’t get it. Why? Because those with a more conventional lifestyle rely on schedules, systems, regularity, and predictability. I very much believe that there is no right or wrong in living an unconventional or conventional lifestyle. The most important question to ask oneself would be “What works for me?”
6 comments:
I love art and the way it allows me to throw everything I have into it. “Freelancers and artists speak a language that can be considered speaking in code because most ‘normal’ or conventional people wouldn’t get it.” I’ve had many times when I talk about what gives me inspiration and how the details in things like video games and music can help change the way I look at the world. Often times I get blank looks of confusion. Or people nodding and saying “mhmm” trying to understand why I am ranting about how the atmospheric elements of a small indie video game helped to shape my understanding of a relationship or an idea. Some things give me the feeling that I should start making things, just right then and there. I love what this article had to say, and yet I think that it is only intelligible by other artists. Remember to never feel regret for trying something new, to journey outside of comfort, and to never be the smartest person in the room.
This is an amazing article. The life of an artist isn’t for everyone. I ask myself all the time if the life I’m striving for and if the life that my education will provide me is for me. Right now, I can say that it is. I have found that I am one that is okay with not living in the same place and taking risks but honestly I don’t know. I think knowing this will come with knowing myself more. This article also touched on the point that everyone life as an artist is different you might be an artist but not the type to move across the world alone for a job; and that is okay. I always think it is interesting but slightly frustrating when my family doesn’t understand why I want to live life as an artist. But I think that there is a line in this article that sums up very nicely why I do what I do and why everyone does what they do. Its because people “do what their hearts dictate are remarkable.” For me that is the arts but for my family that was all more stable lives and that’s what their hearts dictated was remarkable
I took a gap year before coming to Carnegie Mellon and after finishing my internship with a small theatre company, I started working freelance first as a sound engineer, then as a lighting electrician as well. My work as an overhire carpenter this summer was also scheduled at the most a week or two earlier. I have had a taste of the gig economy and not even a very big taste. When I was working in my gap year, I did not have to worry about money, given that I was living and eating with my parents at the time, so working these jobs was not my livelihood. I could feel, even in my privileged situation, the stress that can come from not finding a gig, or not getting hired for a gig you could have been, or sometimes having to juggle a couple of different gigs when you overcommitted. Nevertheless, I am fully prepared to work with that struggle, if it means working in this field that I love. Even then, I met some of the most wonderful people, and worked on some really fulfilling work, and before I try to settle down into a more permanent job, I'm ready to relive that high.
This article perfectly described the way your life could really be given freedom if you choose a more loose, freelance career path. I think that as a student, the idea of working as a freelance artist can feel a little daunting and unreal, but, as the article quotes, "Unpredictability is not for everyone, but it is never boring. Ever. New faces and creative gigs keep your brain active and your spirit alive". I think that this is a really great way of looking at a job or at work. If you can find a way to keep doing what you love, and keep that action as a constant while changing the environment in which you do that work, your job would never be the same one over and over again. As I look more into career choices throughout school, I think that this is something that I will definitely try to keep in mind in order to not be "bored" with the jobs that I choose to do.
Freelancing's unpredictable nature is one of the things that people tend to gravitate towards about it, but for some types of freelance - art especially - the unpredictability comes with some other perks, too. You can dictate, in some ways, your own schedule. Wether or not you take a job is up to you, so you can shape your own experiences and career path a lot more easily than in other professions. There's also many types of design-based freelance (rather than technical production-based freelance) that can let you work from home, making you in charge of your own schedules while at the same time keeping you accountable for the work you do or don't do.
Freelancing appeals to me not because of the unsure future or the creative scheduling that it can cause, but because it allows you to explore what you love and really dive into something headfirst. Freelance is also the only ways most of my dream professions can work - from costuming to comic art to storyboarding, it's very rare to have a solid job at least right off the bat. Freelance is the only option, and while unpredictability isn't my favorite it's something I can live with for the creative freedom and fulfillment the work will give me.
I found this a really fascinating article because I think it acknowledged the truth that it is highly possible to have a career that moves independently and allows for an incredible amount of freedom, but it means that you are fully responsible for how much you do and how much you grow. Each job that you approach or that comes your direction is completely in your purview to accept or decline, and there is significant weight to that. I, personally, find the idea of freelance work to be really exciting. One of the reasons that I knew working in theatre was what would make me happy is I thrive in the balance between unpredictable and stable. I think that another great point this article made is that you have to know yourself and your work ethic, and be really honest about whether or not this is a choice that you can make and handle.
Post a Comment