The Setup

I remember stepping onto the grassy knolls at summers end in 1997. The "mall" , a vast strip of grass that lined a water fountain and ended at the library with a turtle (we so affectionately called Testudo), was so foreign to me.

I started off as a Zoology major. I know...so funny right!?!? I've always been an excellent student.  I didn't  always "get" it, but I was one that would study hard to make up for what I didn't "get". As a result, I was exempt from taking the entry level math, English, and foreign language courses. However, when I (a previous National Honors Society student) started to have problems with the weed out science courses, I decided that I better get going with my passion instead of something that may make me tons of money. I'd rather be happy!  I wasn't failing, but really close to it. As a matter of fact, I had to take a few classes over, and that was after studying hard! 

I switched my major in my sophomore year. It was possibly one of the most freeing decisions that I have made in my life. Classes were created especially for me! They weren't really, but it sure felt like it! My classes were 3 hours long, but were on my own turf. I didn't have to tax my brain with lectures that had the potential to be interesting if it wasn't for my extremely short attention span. I was able to move about, learning via a hands on process instead of spoken word. As a result, I was on the Dean's list far more that I was not. I was holding my own, and loving the creative individual I was growing to become. 

I graduated in the Winter of 2001 (a semester late). I was excited and fearful all at the same time. My collegiate experience prepared me to become an independent individual of society, but not a successful artist.  It cultivated the skills that were already existing, but did not show me how to apply those skills after graduation. It was like the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is knowing a particular thing, and wisdom is the carrying out of that thing. I left knowing that if I wanted to become a productive member of society, I needed to obtain a job. I have a mother that passed down her wonderful administrative skills to me, and that was the type of job that I got. There I was, out in the world believing that as an artist you starve or work menial jobs until you get your big break. It was sobering! It was sad! And it was so wrong!

It wasn't until years later did I get the revelation that most Colleges and Universities (some that specialize in the arts included) don't prepare you for the "after". Now don't get me wrong, UMCP was an amazing school. I had some amazing professors that helped me to blossom in tremendous ways. I just wish that at the time there was a class or two (maybe even a whole semester) that taught about the important things artists need to know for the "after". It would have been nice to know how to prepare pieces to be considered for gallery representation; or preparing an artist statement or resume with little to no experience and just a student portfolio on hand. You know, all of the things that could make or break an artist. It happens all too often...more often than not!

So there I was years later stuck in the "I need to focus on working" mentality, and pushing what I knew to do aside. I was so afraid that I wasn't going to be able to provide for myself that I did whatever I needed to do to make ends meet, which often didn't include anything that had to do with art. At the end of the day I was too exhausted from my many jobs to even think about anything dealing with art. I didn't create for years. In fact, so many years went by without me creating that I started to think that I wasn't a creative mind anymore. It took me what seemed like forever to come up with a concept to even get out. I was in a lull! It felt like death warmed over!

Years after I landed a job at the University of the Arts. I was surrounded by creatives, which sparked my creativity. Most of the co-workers that I worked with were artists themselves. It was what I needed to get me back into the flow of things. I was creating mixed medium pieces again. It was exhilarating to say the least. I was now in my mid to later twenties and still unaware of how to write an artist resume or statement. But all of that didn't matter at that time because at least I was creating again. 

After leaving UArts, I worked for a local marketing and advertising agency called Brown Partners. It was there where I learned that a business owner needed to have a passion for their craft. It meant staying up late and getting up early. It meant networking with people you didn't necessarily agree with. I learned great lessons! It was here where I was pushed to really pursue my passion. 

I accepted a position as a Project Manager over a phenomenal program (The Big Pitch) that connected high school students with Philadelphia Advertising agencies. I was able to work from home, which afforded me the opportunity to focus a little more attention on my art. I started to make jewelry and sell it in consignment shops. I started to paint more regularly. I started to go to events that centered around the creative mind. 

The grant for the program ended, and so did my job. It wasn't an all together a bad thing. For the first time since starting to work at the age of 13, I found myself on unemployment. I used the time wisely. I went to school for massage therapy, and started Exo31 Art, LLC. I was still very much afraid, but was more sure than I had ever been. 

It's been close to three years since the program has ended, and more than two since I have been off of unemployment. I am a massage therapist and work odd jobs to make ends meet (all of which is lucrative one week and maybe not so much the next). 

I have learned to step out on faith for this journey.  The pressing forward doesn't always look so promising, but I have made a conscious choice not to go backwards. I am now bombarded on a daily basis with creative ideas...none that I take credit for coming up with on my own. 

It's an unnerving place to be, but a good place. It's a place where I can not only encourage myself, but others too. It gives me an opportunity to do research on how to better my craft and pass that information on to others. It gives me the chance to become a better brand of myself...a more sure brand of me!

Victories and defeats lace my journey. I now understand it is all par for the course, and I'm only on the front nine! The back nine is sure to be phenomenal!

Your Thoughts:

Do you feel as though your post-secondary education has taught you to be sufficient in your craft?

Until next time...