Life within an Artists Colony (like Steemit)

I haven’t done much art shopping since I lived in Bali almost 20 years ago. But then I haven’t lived within a culture of artistry since either.

I’ve lived in some great places, like NYC, Maui, San Francisco, etc. But this is a culture where creating art (whether with a brush and paint or with the land itself) is considered a normal part of life in general, not just something you’re doing. There is more an assumption that someone is relating to life as an artist than there is that they are not, since most are, whether they would label it that way or not.

In the Pic

This is a picture of a desk. Now somewhere else this might look decidedly more rectangular, with a sold color of wood. But here an artist has made the desk and decided to use pieces of bamboo and coconut shell to create a beautiful, textured surface.

I’m still deciding if I’m actually going to buy it, since beautiful or not, I like my desks to have drawers. But I know someone will.

You see the other special thing about this place is that there is also an actively buying public supporting these artists. Painters can afford to spend their lives perfecting the craft of their painting, because they have public support by way of art buyers.

Et Tu, Steemit?

(Actually, the connotation of the allusion there is way off, but anyway....)

If you think about it, isn’t that exactly what we’re trying to create here on Steemit?

I mean, we don’t get paid by buyers, but we do get paid by upvotes from patron readers with SP.

And we hope to get to a point where we can be fully supported by our writing here. We hope to find this is a place where we can spend our days advancing our craft and growing our audience as we do.

To Invest Oneself in the Platform or Not

@tarazkp posted earlier about those who regularly powerup because they are invested in the future of the platform and those who don’t powerup, and I commented how it was such an easy decision for me.

Offline in Taos culture and online in Steemit culture, I’m looking for the same thing: a place where I get to express myself as the artist sculpting a life that is art, and finds those eager to experience and appreciate that. Perhaps even someone supported by the practice of her art.

If you’re like most people, you aren’t experiencing that off Steemit anymore than I was just a couple weeks ago, which makes this even more of a uniquely valueable experience for you.

This is a great place to be, and we are lucky to have found each other here. I may not generally come right out and say it, but I want you to know that I appreciate you. I appreciate your writing, your reading and your very presence. Thank you for being a part of my Steemit community.

We are doing something important in the world here. Carry on.