Money or passion? Interests or needs?

A few weeks ago, my husband and I had a good morning at an exhibition by students from a local art college. They were from the illustration department, and they put on an enthusiastic ‘show and tell.’

From the exhibits, we saw that much thought, effort, and time had been invested in the project. The themes were topical and the merchandise was relevant, and market-ready.

I kid you not. My husband bought notebooks, postcards with poignant wordings, a puzzle, stickers, key chains, and film/prints. All original works. Inspired by their life’s experiences, and learnings. Hmm. Twenty somethings? How much of life could they have experienced? Enough. To spin convincing stories, in a positive and bubbly style. There were many standouts.

I especially liked the compelling story by one of the student illustrators. He narrated his parents’ sacrifice via film. Their journey from operating a ‘mixed-rice’ shop in Ipoh, closing it down due to losses, moving to KL to look for better opportunities, and now hawking pickles, to support their son’s education. This I thought was so impressive. Unabashedly, he said his parents have a ‘mobile’ pickle store that could evade/avoid local authorities, who conduct checks on not-so-legal/unlicenced businesses. He even asked if we would like to buy a jar of pickles. Sample size😊.

I also liked the combination of digital and traditional media exhibited by another student illustrator. She said her interactive app was intended to help young people/students to not panic. She succinctly portrayed the emotion, and informed how and where to seek assistance through her notebooks and stickers.

We walked away carrying a bag of purchases and optimism in the presence of young local talent. But, yes, but …

The student illustrators’ exhibition was not our first. Briefly, it was held at a smallish mall, near where we live. We go to the mall to have brunch on some weekends. No plugs but one of the cafes in the mall does a mean avocado scramble eggs croissant that I like. Usually, after brunch we walk around to ‘get our food down’ and check out what’s happening. And, that’s how we have fortuitously come across many shows the mall has hosted over the years. There have been exhibitions on fine art and decorative art, models of sustainable cities, Lego creations, as well as collectors markets.

This year alone, we have watched presentations by young musicians. Some so young and little, their musical instruments were bigger than them. My husband said we were probably the only non-family members cheering them on. He might have been right😊.

We’ve also spent a good many hours browsing and admiring the works of many homegrown and foreign talent. From fine art, watercolour, graphite pencil to caricatures and cartoons. These artists manage to realistically capture still life, everyday people, and life in the city and villages. They always leave an impression on us.

In fact, we have two original works of a local painter, Yusof Ghani, on our living room wall. We bought the Siri Tari or Dance Series mix-media on paper in 1996. It was a lot of money for us back then. That said, the paintings still have the same allure it had 20 years ago. The fluid lines and movements are still alive and vibrant. A worthy buy, we think. 

Additionally, there was a wildlife photography exhibition that was memorable. The technical, creative, and artistic abilities stood out even to me who is not an avid or skilled photographer. I’ve never owned a camera in my life. My photo taking experience is confined to my mobile phone. My husband, on the other hand, used to lug around a camera case with a tripod, back in the day. Hmm.

Back to my but …

As my husband and I were walking home after the illustrators’ exhibition, we spoke about the difficulty, uncertainty and inconsistency related to making a living from creative occupations. Like illustrators, musicians and singers, painters, photographers, animators, bakers, hairstylists, fashion designers, video game designers, writers, and wedding planners. Naturally, there are famous and successful people in all these fields as there are many others who are still striving to make it.

This is true. To my husband’s think-out loud question/statement, ‘what if our child wanted to pursue one of these occupations, my instant reaction was, ‘Oh-oh … I’m glad we have an imaginary child.’

He, on the hand, said a timeframe of three or five years should be set. If success (whatever that means) hasn’t been achieved, then it’s time to find a sustainable occupation (whatever that means) particularly if/when the ‘imaginary child’ wants to get married and have a family i.e. real responsibilities.

I understand the premise but what if the ‘imaginary child’ believes he/she will make it in year four or year six. One more year for that big break. So how?