Salt of the Earth

Like many artists, I'm critical of my own work.  No matter how hard I struggle and how much I learn, I'll never be as good as I want to be.  The pictures will never look as beautiful as they do in my head.  Driving in to work today, my brain mad a connection between the economic/class struggles and creative struggles.

No matter how hard you work, it never seems like you have enough money.  For each level of financial stability that one attains, there seems to come with it, a new set of obligations and goals.  But many are able to be satisfied with what they have, and get on with the act of living their lives. Maybe they don't care about having a private jet and retiring on a tropical island.  A roof over their head and food in the cupboard will pretty much cover all their needs.

There's the Upper-class/elite artists, producing brilliant work, almost in spite of themselves.  They may still struggle with the creative process, but you'd never know it looking at there work. 

There's the middle-class artists, producing work that's consistently pretty good.  They might not win an Eisner Award, but they've got a fan base and people enjoy their work. They wouldn't mind being Upper-Class, but life is good.

Then there's working class artists.  You constantly feel like you're busting your hump and rarely feel like you're getting ahead.  You fight the good fight day in, day out, and make the best of what you have. I feel like that's where I am right now. I doubt I'll ever be an elite artist, but if I can stay focused on improving, clawing and scratching my way up, talent-wise, maybe I can move into the middle-class.