More on Sacrifice
Structures #62 © 2007 33" x 19"
I received some great comments on my post about sacrifice yesterday. Thanks everyone.
Pam and Daniel both commented as I used to, which is that making such choices for art is not a sacrifice but instead just a choice.
I was a stay at home mom for 9+ years. The new catch word of the day was sequencing. Sure we can have it all, we just can’t have it all at once so we sequence through our lives.
I agree with this, which is why I have no problem spending some years working on my computer science career and building my financial security for the future. I’ve done the undergraduate/graduate school gig, the stay at home mom thing and I’m now doing the hard core corporate career. I know the time will come when I can have the art career I dream of. I can wait. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity in my life to do so many different things.
I’m not shutting the door on anything, but I’ve still made sacrifices by living my life this way.
When I quit my job to stay home with my kids in 1992 the computer industry was hurting. Not long after things really picked up and we had the dot com craze. I missed it. By the time I returned in 2002 the bust had come, and so had 9-11. I missed the late 90s when salaries went through the roof and so when adjusted for inflation I took a pay cut when I returned to the work force.
If I were to add up the lost salary, retirement, health and other benefits that I chose to forgo at that time it would add up to between a half and one million dollars. Call it priorities, sequencing or just plain sacrifice - I lost something in exchange for the amazing opportunity to do something I loved. I in no way regret my choice but the word I use to describe this is sacrifice : a surrender of something for the sake of something else. There was a real measurable price that I paid when I made that choice.
I’m now sacrificing time instead of money so it’s harder to say exactly what it is I’ve traded away to do what I’m doing, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a real cost to the choices I am making.
Pam makes a good point that life isn’t about either/or. I agree and I constantly think about alternatives - but in the end a choice is made on how to use my current resources given that I need and want more things than I have time/money to do/afford. Once a choice is made something is sacrificed. Some day it might also become a reality if enough resources are available in the future. But if there is one thing I am sure of, something else is likely to come along and I will always be making a choice between things I really want to be doing.
This is the 3rd piece in the grouping of three that I will discuss more in my next post. Again this was completed in 2006.
Any guesses as to how these pieces are related?
Detail of Structures #62:
Posted by Lisa in: Being an Artist
Patty Altier said,
July 20, 2007 @ 5:48 am
I don’t know how the pieces are related (maybe the yellow lines?), but now that the tour (Tour de France) is in the south of France, these pieces remind of the narrow roads, the farms and their fields.
Diane Clancy said,
July 20, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
I particularly like the close-up!
I like that you are also fitting in things besides sequencing. You are not waiting until the deck is totally clear to quilt. You are amazing in how much you accomplish.
I now do my paid work (things I enjoy but still take my time from creating) and also do my art work. I think it is great that you are able to have a job with good pay that sets you up well.
You are sequencing but also time sharing at the same time. I have seen people wait to start things until the time is right. You don’t do that - you work now and know you can change priorities at another time. I respect that you do this and I respect that you share your process.
~ Diane Clancy
http://www.dianeclancy.com/blog
jafabrit said,
July 21, 2007 @ 7:00 am
Just wanted to say I have enjoyed your very thoughtful blog entries. You bring up so many questions to ponder.
Lee said,
July 21, 2007 @ 10:13 am
The trouble with the word sacrifice is that it carries a fair amount of baggage. Not to negate the thinking you have done, but when I replace it with choice, or even surrender, I find it easier to think about, personally.
I surrender time with the art for time with the kids. I choose time with the kids over paid work, and accept the financial support of my spouse. It is all a balancing act. Everyone balances different parts of their lives, they simply speak of it more or less emotionally charged terms.
What will you sacrifice for your art? is an emotionally charged question, and makes certain assumptions about how you are living your life. How have you integrated your need to make art with your need to live life/earn a living/care for your family - that is a question I find much easier to contemplate. And answer!
John Morris said,
July 21, 2007 @ 11:46 am
I think I really like that work. Sorry, for not following what you are talking about. Men like eye candy.
cynthia said,
July 21, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
Someone recently asked me what I called myself - ceramic artist, potter or just artist. I stumbled, because what I do for a living (and sanity) is only one part of who I am.
I’m a mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, aunt, cousin, artist, potter, ceramic artist, student, painter, pta member, volunteer etc. etc. etc.
We wear so many hats in our lifetime that have no clear delineating lines or perscribed working hours. Many overlap, recede, disappear only to emerge again at a later date.
Sometimes it’s good to just surrender to the moment and let it be what it is. It sounds like you have a plan and are doing what you need to do right now!
becky nielsen said,
July 22, 2007 @ 6:25 am
Such a provocative dialogue. Having just begun one of Alyson Stanfield’s marketing salons with a couple of other artists, there is good grist here - I am very appreciative of Lisa’s willingness to put things like this out there and to others for their thoughtful and often helpful responses.
You are right to realize that something will always come up! At 62 I would have thought that I would have a lot of time to myself to work on my art - kids grown, semi retired. But a new grandson a couple of years ago, and the choice of having him go to day care full time or caring for him myself a few days a week changed my direction. It is a sacrifice, and one I’m very happy making. For other people it could be an illness in the family, a change in jobs, who knows?
One of the things I recognize is that the things I’ve done and the choices I’ve made become part of my art. For example for years as a physical therapist I’ve drawn little figures for my patients to illustrate their exercises. I find that this practice and my knowledge of body structure gives my portrayal of people in postures and motions a particular style. Seeing the world through the eyes of toddlers and children is always a refreshing exercise.
I found Christine Kane’s suggestion in her blog about “segment intending” very helpful - and for me it is the attending we do to the various elements of our lives that distinguishes sacrifice from prioritizing. I can understand that “sacrifice” has negative connotations for some people - but it is a word that I like.
I really do like this linear subtle work - I didn’t notice until someone pointed it out that the stitching was what was making the color differences - beautiful and moving. How is it that something so abstract affects emotion?
Jane Carlstrom said,
July 23, 2007 @ 6:28 am
Lisa, such a pleasure to read your blog. Interesting art and thought provoking concerns. Some years ago a book with the main premise “You Can Have Anything You Want- but not everything you want.” It was extremely good content. It addressed some of the same ideas you are contemplating. Thanks for reminding me. It is easy to start running around in circles on tangents and loose sight of focus and direction. Am off to put a link to your blog on mine as it will help me to visit you more often. Hugs, Jane
Susie Monday said,
July 23, 2007 @ 7:32 am
Composing a Life by Mary Catherine Bateson is one of my touchstones for this subject — while the author has a few missteps in her telling, this story of 4 interesting and accomplished women and the way their lives unfold is one of those books that had a profound impact on the way I think about my “different lives.”
Melissa Lanitis Gregory said,
July 23, 2007 @ 1:07 pm
This is a great discussion. I agree with Lee; the word “sacrifice” is negatively charged for me. I feel more comfortable with different wording, and the idea of intergrating, instead of separating. It’s not so black and white for me (ie: to work outside the home or not), so it feels more like I’m looking for balance on a daily basis: balancing my family, (we homeschool) and my art: the two most important things.
I just found your blog; this is the first post I have read. You seem extraordinarily focused…and I admire that you are doing all this AND raising your kids. And I like that you brought this up; it has me thinking. But everyone will have their different way of seeing this, whether it’s a “sacrifice” or simply balancing our lives… and whether it’s art or something else…
It’s really just what works for us, isn’t it?