05/10/2025
My Artist friend Holly shared this, and it feels true:
Holly says: I looked up “When can one call oneself an artist?” and this is what I found. (I love this so much):
“The subjective experience of creating as an artist is the most important thing in defining yourself as an artist, not whether or not you currently earn money at the tail end of the process. The English artist and sculptor Henry Moore (1898–1986) said: “There’s no retirement for an artist, it’s your way of living so there’s no end to it.”
Unlike a lot of paid professions and employment, most artists (even those making money from their art) do not think “I can’t wait until I turn 65 so I can stop doing this work and retire!”
This is because the creative process is usually energizing, enriching and so much part of their being, that it brings energy and joy to their lives and they cannot envisage a time when they would not be creating.
They are the artist. It is them.”
