A personal calling
In my days as an emerging artist, I spent a lot of time attending live events and got to know several movers and shakers in some sectors of the record business. On one occasion, I met a musician of the same age range as me. After discussing a range of issues related to our personal tastes in music, he asked me who I was thinking of serving an apprenticeship with.
It had never occurred to me that I should do anything of the sort and I told him so. In his opinion, my attitude was arrogant and wrong. We parted ways in disagreement because of this issue.
I could see that there were many successful artists passing through London that I could have made an effort to approach in search of opportunities to be an intern or apprentice. What I didn’t see, was any musician who was creating the kind of work that I instinctively wanted to make.
When I think about my journey now, I had mentors at various points of my artistic development. They didn’t have to be musicians to inspire me. I was more interested in their creative processes in making work, regardless of the art form.
Perhaps this is the reason why I have several portfolios as an artist nowadays. I guess this was always meant to be the case. Other folks might have had different experiences. It is healthy to focus on staying in one’s own lane.
