Workaholic, Obsessed, What is It?

On Sunday I published a blog post about obsession and art.  You can read it here.  This grew out of a former friend's comment that she couldn't understand how I could produce so much work even in the grips of severe mental illness.

My response to her was basically that it was a matter of survival.  I could tell how much it affected me when my creative abilities were blocked, either by my illness or something else.  Art is something I MUST do.  I think most artists feel the same way.

Anyway, she called me obsessed.

She's not the first person to say that.  There are many people I know who simply don't understand the mind of an artist, and the lifestyle.  They don't understand why I'm so busy without an actual job.

They can't see that it's not only MAKING the art that keeps me busy, but it's also the selling of it.  It takes time and effort to list art in the shop.  It takes more time than I like to promote it.  It takes time - but time I love - to pack and ship orders.

An art business is like any other small business, really. For it to have any chance of surviving, I really have to go at it almost 24/7.

And if one's business is creative - writing, art making, or any other business involved with making its product rather than just selling it - time to make product is crucial and often neglected because of the business side.

So why am I revisiting this topic so soon?

A friend called me on it and asked why I thought it was a bad thing to be obsessed with making art.

He's right.  

Art is something to be passionate about, to be obsessed with.  It's my soul that is being exposed.  It's my need to express myself somehow.

And of course I want people to buy it.  So it's OK to be obsessed with it, and I'm going to wear that label proudly from now on.

Thanks, Ricky!

later,
lin