emerging artist

A younger friend recently asked me if I had any words of advice for negotiating the transition between university and making a living as a creative type. Although flattered, I approached with caution, since it's easy to dish out advice from your armchair while the other person puts it all on the line. I don't want to be responsible for anyone else's life decisions--my own are enough to contend with.

That being said (my favourite expression, the perfect segue from a disclaimer), it got me thinking about that crazy period in your mid-twenties when you're fresh out of school. You have followed this rigid routine for as long as you can remember and then suddenly you're cut loose, floating in space. You are (at least I was) up to your ears in debt and acutely aware of the need to make money, but you are not yet jaded enough to give up on your dreams. It is a scary, exhilarating period that I have just barely left behind.

I can't really offer advice, but I can recount my own experience. I moved to the big city, got a day job that I enjoy well enough, and work like a maniac on the side trying to get my projects off the ground. So far so good.

I suppose there is one key idea in there that could qualify as advice: work like a maniac. Don't just dream--do! It is essential as an artist to never stop producing, no matter how busy you are trying to pay the rent. Productivity is creativity; you need to have something to show for all your talent. If you lose your momentum, it's tough slugging getting it back so keep at it, even if all you can muster is six hours a week.

By the way, if you entertain notions of going on non-working holidays or owning a home any time soon, you may want to choose a different career path. Maybe one day you will be able to have it both ways, but as an emerging artist you still have to prove to the world that you are worthy. Now is the time to get cracking.