DO IT FOR THE JOY, JOY, JOY !
How does an artist tell someone when they became an artist? I have recently decided that we are all artists when we are born, some of us pursue it at different times in different ways in our lives, sometimes its all your life, sometimes it is never a part of your life, but it is in there if you look.
I have never tried to support myself or get a degree and wonder sometimes if that kept me from developing a "style". Maybe it did, but it also kept me from getting in a rut, to comfortable with what I was making and afraid to let go of a “good” thing. It has let me explore different mediums and different styles. For me art is the exploration of new ways of making. I consider myself mostly a ceramist, but my paintings have been very popular, will they cross over into one someday, who knows. The important part of being an artist for me is to do something artistic every day even if its just putting on lipstick!
My favorite work is what comes from my soul. Not much planning, mostly feelings and play.
That is the joy!