I was recently asked a series of questions about being an artist and my work and I found answering them very interesting as they related to something I have been thinking about a lot recently.

I'm going to put the questions I was asked and my replies here on the blog, along with some related ideas, and I hope you find them interesting and they get you thinking abut your own place in the world of art.

The first question:
Why do so many jewelry makers hesitate to call themselves "artists"? Is it that they find the title intimidating? Something that others should call them rather than something they should project on themselves? Something else? Or do you not see this as a problem?

My answer:
I waver with this subject.

Sometimes I call myself an artist, sometimes a designer and sometimes I play up my other roles i.e. teacher, editor or writer. I think lots of people have a problem with it for 3 reasons.

The first is that the stereotypical image of an artist is someone tortured, suffering for their art, over-run with creativity and unable to fit into normal society because their artistic side is so overpowering i.e. not someone like most of us holding down jobs, paying bills and generally getting on with life. I think we forget that it is possible to be an artist and be normal- whatever your definition of normal! So when we are making beautiful pieces of art but are not crazy, drunk or cutting off our ears, we feel we're somehow not a proper artist.

Another reason is that there's no distinct definition of art or an artist. There's no exam, no uniform, no certificate and no way to tell by looking at someone if they are an artist. When there's the eternal debate about what is and isn't art- who wants to call themselves an artist and run the risk of someone asking you to back that up.

It's not as though if you're at a party and say you're a secretary or a fireman you're asked to prove it or the person you tell is going to have an entirely different idea of what those roles are. But say you're an artist and you run the risk of being asked more, having to justify that definition and them not feeling you fit their idea of what an artist is and therefore not really one.

Lastly, when so many of us have to have 'proper' jobs to actually pay the bills when does your 'hobby' become your 'art'?

How much time per week do you have to spend doing your art for it to count? Would a true artist also work behind a checkout? Am I more of an artist now I earn my whole living from beading related work or when I was doing a lot more creating but working full-time in the NHS?

This issue of holding down a proper job and creating part-time doesn't tally with the whole tortured artist thing and also if you're not making your living from something it feels frivolous to define yourself by it.

If someone was a lawyer but fished in his spare time would he describe himself as a lawyer or a fisherman? If the majority of my income comes from my other work in the beading related field and in fact I currently only rarely get to be truly creative, am I really an artist?

With all of that to contend with when it comes to calling yourself an artist is it any wonder so many of us find it easier to day something else and not get into that debate with ourselves or anyone else!

Over to you:
What do you think?
Are you an artist?
When did you step over that line and become an artist?
Were you born one?
Do you call yourself an artist?

I'd love to hear any of your responses, contact me and let me know what you think.

On an artistic note:
I have been keeping a lot of my recent work secret but thought you might like a sneak preview of one thing I am currently working on- more geometry anyone? This will soon be a finished project all beaded and written up- sign up for my newsletter to discover all about it when it's done.