All work and no play - ice sculpture

ammonite (67)in #art • 4 years ago

Being self employed isn't easy. It is all about the hustle, trying to get new jobs while you are busy doing the present one. In my line of work the doing of the work is easy because I've been at it so long and it's actual quite relaxing, it is all the other stuff around it that gives me stress.
The logistics, the emails, the getting paid and the tax nonsense at the end of the year. To be honest if I won the lottery (Very unlikely, as I don't buy a ticket) I would continue doing what I do but I would pay someone to be my manager and I would just do the work I love.

But having everything come together to make a job work out well is very satisfying. It seems impossible while I try to juggle a thousand things to organise it, worrying about all the elements that have to be sorted and it is strange that the sculpture is actually the easy part.

Tenuous link

This hasn't much to do with the sculptures in this post but looking back at these photos I wished all jobs could be like this. One or two phone calls, show up and do my thing and have money just land in the bank. I'm sure any of my self employed readers will know what I mean.

I have an ice job coming up and they have shortened the lead in time and doubled the work. Now it all seems impossible that I can pull it off. Probably I am the only one who can do it and so I will have to stress and hustle with sleepless nights of worry. The sculptures I'm sure are manageable but all the rest is making my head spin.

Easy peasy

This was a cushy job. One block of ice carved in 3 hours outside a bar as a promotion for Corrs Light, I did two of them and got €1000 a pop. The most lucrative jobs I have ever done. No stress, just show up and make the sculpture. The first worked out OK, I liked the profile and the face was even something the drinking punters could relate to. Keep it simple stupid.

The second was not too hot. I tried something and I failed but the audience were still impressed because it was ice. You win some, you lose some. I could blame the crowd because at the first location they were much more friendly and I get off, creatively, on that sort of thing.

So what have I learned? I need less stress in my life. I'm a sculptor and not a good manager. All this extra nonsense I have to do to give me the environment to create is not for me. But, and this is a big butt, maybe all of this is what drives me on to do the best I can, maybe without all this stress I would just do Nothing.

Ps

Thanks for reading. I use Steem to document my work as an ephemeral Sculptor of sand, snow and ice, amongst other things. This will hopefully give it a new life on the Steem blockchain. Below you will find some of my recent posts.