The Artists That Leave

by Jaye of Thirteenth Story

I've lived in Boston my entire life, but as I write this entry, I am some 30,000 miles over Georgia on my way to Florida. The plane's cargo area holds my three 60-pound suitcases, full of shorts, tee-shirts, and a tremendous amount of art supplies. I am both terrified and thrilled. This is new. I have never seen a palm tree. I have never seen ocean water that is not dark blue. And I have never been to art school.

This is the first time in my life that I will be able to focus on nothing but art for 24 hours a day; but I am not the first artist to be able to do this. My girlfriend, a professional singer, has made this trip twice before. Anyone going to tour the museums, countryside, and cities far away for the sole purpose of being creatively inspired, has made this trip before. Anyone with a performance or exhibition far from home has made this trip before.

Part of the art-making process includes finding ourselves ready for the next level. It shows in the amount of work and the quality of work we are producing. We can just feel the rut, we can see the weaknesses, we can be pulled to grow now, because that growth is the only thing that will allow us to continue to breathe.

So we pack up our things, kiss our loved ones goodbye, and take off for grand adventure. We follow the poets, the musicians, and the painters before us to the land of something new.

For me, this comes in the form of studio art education. I was accepted into Illustration Academy, and will be spending the next two months learning new techniques and industry methods to be a professional illustrator. Expect to see some new things from me in the autumn, for I expect to making lots of new things from here on out.

My online shops are closed until August, but rest assured, even though I am now among the artists who leave to better their craft, I will be back.