As artists struggling to get "noticed" in this world, chances are most of us hold down a "day job". You know, something that pays the bills, leaves us unfulfilled when we're at work, and constantly keeps us checking the clock for when we can go home and do the work we really want. To pay the bills, I work as a custom picture framer here in Portland Oregon. For the most part it's glorified retail, but it does keep my creative side in shape by working with color and design day in and day out. I'm pretty laid back when it comes to most of my clients, but sometimes people just rub me the wrong way.

It happened the other day working alone in a store normally staffed with three colleagues. I'm scrambling around the shop, fielding questions and doing work for five people at once. A little flustered to begin with, needless to say. An older pair of women come in, and at first it seemed all they wanted was a piece of glass for a 10x12 pre-matted Northwest Indian design. An easy request by any standards. I ask if there is anything else I can do for these ladies, and the greying wilted one pulls out a cardboard portfolio filled with crappy abstract prints that she made. She asks me for advice and pricing on one in particular that she wanted to frame for an upcoming show. I noticed the nice deckled/torn edge to all her prints. I begin to tell her that what I like to do for prints like these is to float the piece onto a blank mat color that will show the deckled edge and speak to the method used to create the image in question. Apparently I spoke too soon, and her companion (who I will refer to as pretentious bitch from here on out) says and I quote, "She wasn't askng you. You're just the framer and I'm the "artist". Needless to say, I offered less than exemplary customer service after that comment. Not only did it piss me off royally (I mean I'm a college educated artist here, give me some f'ing credit), it also reminded me of the two kinds of artists living in this world.

There are those who are artists, craftsman, true creators who have realized early in their development that they will contribute to the art world, but that doesn't make them anything special. I think of my favorite sculpture teacher from community college. His philosophy was to think of all the great contributions made to the "art world" as a large pile of bricks. As artists we will be lucky to throw a few onto the pile and build up the collective that is "art". However, we also aren't fooling ourselves. We probably won't be the next Warhol, Miller, or Picasso, and, more than likely, most of our artwork probably won't be worth anything until after our deaths. Until history can catch up and categorize your "contribution to the art world". Some might see that as morbid, but hey, that's reality deal with it. We do every day, it doesn't keep us from creating new work. It doesn't make us whole up and cry into our pillows...it only strengthens our resolve to get better and constantly raise the bar for ourselves. You can be inspired by others work, but to compare yourselves to anyones work but your own only serves as a depressing prospect. Yes, these people are your competition if you aspire to make your living as an artist, but you should be blazing your own trail and eff all the rest!!

For the most part, a good majority of the artists on this site fit into this first definition of what it is to be an artist. We're probably too busy creating work to wander around pretentiously, egotistically throwing around the word "artist". However, there is a portion of people who use this title as a status symbol. All of a sudden, because you are an "Artist" you have elevated yourself above the level of the vast stinking masses. Just listen when a person tells you they're an artist. You can here it dripping from their tongues...

"Oh I'm an ARTIST"(to be read here as..."I'm something special because I can call myself a word that will feed my ego while constantly showing off the same artwork I created like 5 years ago") So it was with great annoyance that I helped the old grey wilty woman, and her pretentious bitch friend. Here is a person who's retired, took a couple watercolor classes from her local community rec center, and now has shows at small galleries because she knows the owners of said gallery. Here she is tossing around the word "Artist" like I should bow at her feet and be filled with wonder at her creative capacity...My only response to that is, "Eff that!!" You want to have a discussion, you want to be open about what you do and what I do and find some commonality? Fine, just don't think that because you call yourself an "Artist" suddenly your hot shit in my book. I live in a town where you throw a freakin' rock and you hit an artist.

Don't get me wrong, be confident in your ability to create art that you are proud of. Too often, the only thing that seperates a real talented artist from an "Artist" is the ability of the "Artist" to sell themselves and their work (no matter how crappy their artwork maybe). That is something we all need to learn if we ever want some sort of accolades from our peers. But please, check your ego at the f'ing door. Are you a craftsman, an artist, a dreamer...a person who keeps working for the love of the work. Or are you an "Artist" a self-righteous prick whose ego walks in the door minutes before you open it. Are you here to fulfill a constant personal love, or do you want nothing more than a symbol of status to brighten your dreary hum-drum existence? Please keep working, keep dreaming, but please don't be an "Artist"...rather... be an artist, and leave it at that.

Thanks for reading dev's