Letters to the Editor
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The elite artiste...
When I was younger (in my teens and twenties) I viewed the world as having two kinds of people--true artists and mindless drones. Since I considered myself an artist (theatre is my passion), I felt a great divide between myself and those I worked with at various jobs that I did to put food on the table.
But over the years through working the "joe" jobs and becoming a parent, that divide has disappeared, and I've learned to respect those so-called drones. I've realized that most healthy, happy people have a passion unrelated to the way they earn a living. One guy loves baseball, and coaches a couple of Little League teams every year. Another works as a volunteer fireman and teaches teens how to do the same. A woman sings in a church choir, and they just put out a CD. The list goes on and on.
Nowadays, my husband manages to support our family in a big house with his tech job, and also writes musicals for the non-profit children's theatre company that I direct. He works very hard at writing the musicals, snatching time on the train on the way to the office and late into the evening at home. His stuff is really good, and maybe someday he'll make a living at it. But even if he doesn't, he's still really happy. That's because it's about making the art, participating in the artistic life--not about making money off of it.
In Bali and in certain other Asian cultures, everyone is expected to be an artist. Children are trained to dance the traditional dances, sing the traditional songs, learn woodcarving techniques, etc. When they grow up, adults are expected to both participate in the arts and earn a living some other way.
So follow your bliss, LW, but you don't have to quit your day job just yet! (And don't be such a snob about those drones; some of them might have great sound equipment for you to borrow. . .)