Artists tend to ride the same storm in different boats – but the metaphor has merit.
Artist is a broad term. It covers a wide range of creative endeavors. Writers, painters, sculptors, singers, actors, knitters, and on and on. Lots and lots of creative professionals are artists.
Ironically, professional artist is a career often look upon as “unusual.” It’s not a normal way to be. Artists don’t tend to work for a specific “boss” in a cubicle in an office 9-5.
If your art doesn’t create product – such as singing and acting – you have an even more complicated challenge. Lots of people can sing and act – but doing so professionally takes a tremendous amount of work, concentration, and focus.
A lot of people will talk about being “in the same boat” to describe shared experiences. This got repeated frequently during the height of the pandemic.
But the truth is that few of us share a boat. Depending on what we do, where we are, the people we associate with, and lots of other factors – there are lots of different boats.
This is not a denial of the shared experience. But a reframing to help recognize differences that will impact practice and approach.
The storm we weather is the same.
But like any storm, there are hot spots, eyes, and other unique elements. There are also segments where it rains in one spot but snows in another, where it is greater or lesser – and thus impacting us differently in that way, too.
But knowing we navigate the same storm helps us to help one another.
The same storm is bucking the normal
This particular storm is borne of choosing to not follow a normal path. Professional artists don’t usually follow the crowd. They stand apart from what society expects of people – and that can be a pretty massive weather system.
In the United States, for example, most people are expected to work 40 hours a week in some sort of office setting and treat the arts as a hobby. There’s been, from what I have seen, a pretty heavy deemphasis on the arts in schools for the last 30 years or so. This means choosing to pursue arts as a career is increasingly suspect.
Maybe it’s always been that way. But that’s not important. What’s important is recognizing that when you choose something not “the norm” you enter into a storm.
Still not following me? I know that since choosing to write full time, I’ve met skepticism on the parts of friends (mostly well-meaning, but still there from some), questions from family about my savings and retirement capabilities, and when asked what I do for a living receiving funny looks when I say “writer.” My choice raises questions among other people.
That’s the storm. I am weathering the rains and winds of concern, displeasure, and cynicism about my decision to pursue my art. Why am I not accepting my lot as an educated American and giving 40+ hours of my week to some corporate entity or other?
This constant deluge can be exhausting after a while. Hence – the same storm shared by myself, as well as other creatives and artists.
The various meanings of different boats
The “boats” we are on in this storm differ for all sorts of reasons.
These include what we do. The challenges a writer faces differ in many ways from the challenges of painters, sculptors, actors, chefs, etc.
Differences include where we come from. Americans, Canadians, and Europeans face different challenges than Chinese, North Korean, and Russian creatives face.
The differences include socioeconomic status. Some people are born on yachts with others are born on rafts. Materials used to build these differ as much as any other factors.
Literally or metaphorically, the “boats” we take to sail the seas of creativity are all subjected to the effects of the same storm. But this is why we are not “all in the same boat.”
Recognizing this, however, we gain the option to help one another. If my larger, more stable boat has room for someone else, I can help them off their rickety, barely seaworthy vessel. Or we can tie together multiple rafts and create a stronger flotilla.
The point, when all is said and done, is that even with all our differences, we can work together to ride out the similar storms we face.
Stepping away from the metaphor
Many situations can and will impact our life choices. Deciding to pursue an artistic career as a creative tends, however, to have lots of unique “storm” challenges.
For example – a writer who has an agent and a major publishing house putting their books out into the world has a very different support system from an independent, self-published author. The marketing mechanism is very different, as are the means for editing, formatting, sales, and more.
Returning to the metaphor – similar, but different boats. The storm, however, is the same – getting brand recognition and earning a living from the arts.
Also, along the line of the storm – marketing challenges exist for both the traditionally published and self-published authors. But for one it might be a gentle rain while the other faces a torrential downpour.
“Making it” in the creative world takes a lot of different forms. For every Pablo Picasso, there are hundreds of great artists with far less name recognition. Similarly, for every NK Jemisin, there are many excellent writers less recognizable. The same can be applied to actors, singers, chefs, and all other creatives you can imagine.
Still, we can “make it” without attaining those levels of name recognition. I don’t know the name of the actress who plays “Flo” in the Progressive Insurance commercials – but she’s made it as an actress. Even as a commercial spokesperson she’s become an iconic character.
I would love to achieve the success of great sci-fi and fantasy writers most people can readily name. But more than that, I desire to simply earn my living from my creative art.
Different Boats – Same Storm
Artists tend to ride the same storm in different boats – but the metaphor has merit when you deconstruct it.
Recognizing and acknowledging our individual, unique, but similar challenges helps us work with them. When you know you’re not alone – and others are weathering the same storm – there is comfort to be found. If they can do it – I can do it.
The pursuit of the creative arts is a worthwhile challenge. Conditions of the “storm” and the “boats” we ride it out in are constantly changing. But we have the power to choose many aspects of how those changes will look and ultimately impact us.
None of us are alone in this. And we are all worthy and deserving of success, prosperity, abundance, and joy. Keep at it.
Thank you for being part of my ongoing journey, for joining me, and for inspiring me and my craft.
This is the one-hundred and fifteenth article exploring the ongoing creative process. Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
Feel free to explore the rest of the website. Also, visit Awareness for Everyone to check out my weekly podcasts.
Enjoying the website and my endeavors? I’d be grateful if you would consider becoming a patron through my Patreon.
You can subscribe to my newsletter. Fill in the info and click the submit button to the right and receive your free eBook.
Follow me here!
You must be logged in to post a comment.