Throughout my undergrad education I worked at a motorcycle shop. By the time I was done with school I had made my way into a management position and was thoroughly tired with the whole thing. I desperately wanted out and that became incredibly motivating for my art practice.

A full year before the deadline, I decided to apply for a California Arts Council residency grant. Every morning I got up before work and spent 2 hours in my studio (I'm not a morning person) and every night I worked more, chiseling away at the application. Halfway through the year I got a job as a national dealer rep at a motorcycle importer, slightly more interesting work than before that paid better. About 6 months into that job I heard back from the CAC that I'd won the grant. I quit my day job.It's been about 5 years now.  Since then I have survived through grants, teaching, and the occasional odd job.  The CAC residency led to a teaching job, and I subsequently received a Creative Work Fund grant and a stipend/scholarship to get through grad school.  It hasn't all been glamorous.  I've done some landscaping, sold t-shirts I made, and taken other odd jobs in order to make ends meet when grants and teaching opportunities are slow.

I think there are 2 ways to go for artists - and I have done both.  One is to find a job completely unrelated to your art practice that doesn't interfere mentally and keeps you motivated to make your own work. The other is working jobs related to your practice, at the risk of those jobs replacing your practice.  I enjoy teaching because I learn from it and the work feels satisfying. I'm glad I've done both, but I plan to avoid going back to an unrelated job. Ultimately what sustains me is a faith that it will all work out.  My parents ran their own struggling furniture business until I was 22, so I grew up around financial instability. It's familiar. I take comfort in the fact that I am young(er), healthy, and have a diverse set of skills (developed through art making) that I can fall back on in a worst case scenario.  I also try to keep my goals loose and adjustable, headed in a direction rather than a specific place.  I try not to make my happiness contingent on narrow goals like owning a house, getting a show in a certain gallery, or having a certain job.  Having more broad goals leaves me with a better overall sense of well being.