From: Jack Fulton (jefulton1@home.com)
Date: 07/05/01-09:51:00 PM Z
Joe
I've just come back from a lovely kayak paddle down the Green River of UT.
I did roll over and lose a camera to the water spirits and perhaps ruined a
digital vid-cam but the truth is that Mother Nature is a curative for what
ails one.
I thoroughly enjoyed your frank description of how to leave familiarity and
dive into what is important to one.
Best
Jack Fulton
> Maya Deren was an avant garde film maker in the '40's. Not that obscure of
> a reference, m'lady. ;-)
>
> If I may be so bold as to jump in here. Karen, it is not easy to seperate
> your life from you art. If you work a regular job (depending on the job you
> decide to take), there is usually very little physically, menatlly and
> spiritually left at the end of the day Many of the artists that I know
> around these parts have what can be seen as subsistance employement that
> demands very little from them to keep the wolves at bay in order to be able
> to do their art.
>
> Being somewhat of a believer in Maslow's Pyramid of Self Actualization, one
> can not seperate the need for monetary gain from the ability to produce art.
> One must be able to support one's habits. I think Judy's story is wonderful
> and it is a joy to see someone be successful in her life's ambition.
> Looking back, from my perspective, it was easier to fall out in the '60's,
> '70's and early '80's. Don't you think Judy?
>
> PS you are right about if you unhook. Living sub-poverty levels to support
> a non-main stream artist lifestyle by choice does have it's social stigmas.
> I have a wonderful tape (hope I know where it is now that I'm opening my
> mouth) about going artist full time. I would play it for my students during
> my classroom years. It is a essay about a person who decides to announce to
> the family and friends that he is becoming an artist full time.
> Veeeerrrrryyy Manhattan Jewish, and very working class. The tape begins with
> an older woman's voice almost screeching "YOU WANT TO BE A WHAT????" It is
> hysterical. Now I have to go through boxes of stuff to find it. Why do I
> always make work for myself?
>
> Back to the task at hand. Karen, (switching to administrator mode), if you
> want to live your dream, do it. Sounds too simple right? Yes, it is. You
> need to spend a little time with your check book and find out what your
> needs and necessities are. You would be surprised at how little you will
> actually need money wise if you can drop your overhead. My wife and I did
> something like that a number of years ago. I wanted to spend a year
> photographing the rural Southwest. It took us two or three years of hard
> discipline to pull it off, paying off all debts, selling off our cars and
> the payment books that went with them, replacing the nice cars with a very
> used Jeep Cherokee that was big enough for us to sleep in if things really
> took a nose dive, moved from an expensive flat in a upscale neighborhood to
> an above the store walkup in a not-so-nice area. My wife was an printing
> estimator for one of the largest commercial print houses in the country and
> I was the supervisor of the phot-department. We were doing very well
> financially. We left NY on January 15, 1985 with exactly $6000 in cash,
> three cats and a Jeep full of stuff. We landed in Belen, New Mexico. Lived
> in the cheapest housing we could rent (actually did pretty well, depressed
> agri-area), we lived on $50-60 per week. I would pick up work as a part
> time mechanic to pay for film, chemicals and travel expenses. My wife would
> run the press at the local printshop in town when they had enough work for
> her. That year our total earnings came to about $12,000. At the end of a
> magical year, and it really was, I went out and got back into the
> mainstream. So, it can be done. You need to figure out what it takes to keep
> you going with creature comforts and supplies. You do not, and I mean this,
> do not have to be making tons of money to be successful, you just need to be
> comfortable in your own skin with the decision.
>
> Best of luck.
>
> Joe Portale
> Tucson, AZ
>
>
>>
>> Karen, you don't know what you're asking -- because I could use up all the
>> bandwidth on this list with reply... In fact I have notes for a book (one
>> of several) titled "Landlady of Maya Deren." Anyone know the name? She
>> of the bongo drums and 17 (unaltered) cats?
>>
>
>
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