Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained... ?

 

        This past year has brought so many changes in to my life; the destruction of my life as I knew it from the house flood, the subsequent emotional losses, and the riptide drain of every iota of savings I had managed to put aside in order to finance the multiple moves, attempts to salvage, and a list a mile long of unforseen associated financial burden. In the past twelve months, I have worked an almost unbelievable number of seasonal jobs in order to pay my main cost of living: rent.

 

        While my previous employment record, experiences, education, and enthusiasm should enable me to gain access to jobs other than seasonal, this past year, while physically exhausting to an hereto unimaginable extreme, at the end of each day, and I was able to invest it in to my artwork. In fact, this year has been my most artistically productive (non-academic) year to date, despite the ever present, soul crushing need to earn money for rent, and by whatever means necessary.

 

         And yet, what if I were able to take all energy I spent pushing carts, hauling equipment, boxing groceries, and other such comparable tasks and I were able to funnel it directly in to my art production instead? Or perhaps if I didn't always feel so helpless, incapacitated by the crushing strain of being fully aware of my inability to pay my rent each month? Or even if I hadn't pawned my household away and sold so many of my art supplies (like my paints) in order to glean the last $150 from the kindness and empathy of my artist neighbors, buying my art supplies to help me avoid eviction?  I honestly have no idea what the answers to these questions are because it's actually never yet happened.

       

       My baseline rent which must be paid monthly is exactly $778. If you donate to help me pay my rent for the month of February, I can absolutely guarantee that my time will be spent in the creation of new works. I have so many ideas to get down on paper that I feel like I'm starting to go crazy with the rush of it all...and this mental whirlwind only gains momentum in force and intensity with each passing day.

       

        I am absolutely desperate for time that I might use, free of financial worry, guilt, or long hours of unrelated work, in order to bring my ideas to life. With a donation of any amount, you are choosing to give the priceless gift of time to a very passionate and committed artist, and I cannot thank you enough. One month of time could mean producing an entire body of new works and any number of positive improvements for my art career. For example, completing a series of new works mean an increased ability to secure gallery shows; the last full body of my work which survived my house flood dates from 2012, and is right on the cusp of acceptable as works considered professionally current. This is only one of the outcomes made possible by your donation.

 

Raising the money to pay my rent for a month doesn't mean I will spend the month without work, it just means that you have afforded me the time to work on something meaningful.

 

Thank you.