Making art, no matter your medium, is tough enough. Throw in the struggle of trying to make rent, and it can quickly feel next to impossible. In her new book, Living and Sustaining a Creative Life: Essays by 40 Working Artists, Sharon Louden asked 40 artists of all ages and varying levels of traditional commercial success to discuss how they've managed to pay the bills while still pursuing their creative passions. What unfolds is a series of stories and and confessions. Teaching, curatorial projects, buying and selling art, making t-shirts, grant writing, and waitressing - no job is too trivial if it allows you the freedom to achieve your artistic goals. And, often, it seems the 'day jobs' often find a way of influencing and blending into the creative process.
On April 8th at The Standard, Hollywood, Sharon will be joined by artists Timothy Nolan and George Stoll for a talk sponsored by Standard Talks and Artillery Magazine. Together they'll discuss just what it takes to live and survive as an artist.
Copies of the book are available here.
