4/8 — My parents feared that if I was an artist, this would happen..
PART FOUR of prolific, invisible artist, The Mollusc Dimension’s personal reflections on perilous journeys in a thought-provoking 8-part picture book/essay: “Flying Across The Forbidden Ocean — Health Through Creativity”.
I think that my parents’ love of classical music gave them a poor image of artists. There’s a cliched notion of a starving artist in a garret and in Puccini’s opera, La Boheme, artists are depicted as poverty-stricken. (See illustration).
4 a) Fear of Poverty / Financial Destitution:
At the kitchen table, my dad would tell me stories of his memories as a child. With tears, he described someone he knew sticking paper sheets together to make the soles for shoes. At home, he didn’t have a desk at which to study. For the earlier years of her life, my mum’s family lived in one room. Several families shared a bathroom which was down a spooky corridor! I think because of their personal experiences with poverty, my parents were determined to prosper here.
My parents defiantly opposed the devaluation of girls, which they pointed out was commonly seen in this and that Chinese family. As I was socialised as female, their way of showing their love for me was to do their best to ensure I would find a career where I would be financially independent and not depend nor be in thrall to my husband. Ironically, by dissuading me from a) training to be an artist, and b) that it would be possible for me to find success and recognition as an artist, their prediction has been true so far. I don’t feel as though I have the knowledge and training and I don’t feel fulfilled! Yet..! (Thanks Carol Dweck.)
Hearing about composers such as Debussy who struggled with financial poverty while living and achieved fame after their death might be inspiring but it also detracts from living artists who:
a) Express joy, fulfilment and social purpose about their creative work.
b) Earn a living from their art.
4 b) 21 living professional artists I happen to have met in real life (by no means exhaustive!)
Perhaps for many music/ art teachers they will be the only adult contact with the family who is a professional musician/artist. For some time, I have wanted to make a list to signal to young people I teach and their parents about the possibilities for creative work by referring to people I have personally met.
Artists pictured above or directly involved in projects referred to below are marked with an asterisk (*). Artists I have paid for their creative skills are marked with pound sign (£).
An-Ting Chang: Producer, pianist, performer, composer, CEO + AD of CAN (Chinese Arts Now). (Fellow composer in Ping Pong Concert, CAN 2019).*
Chloe Wing: Artist, Paper Cut Installations, Singer-Songwriter. (Met via Wild — see below).
Dan Bramall: Illustrator. (We were on the same Postgraduate degree — He studied Illustration while I chose animation.
Dan Wallis: Creates bespoke guitars. (He played on my 2016 EP “The Flying Coffee Machine”). £
Donald Shek: Artist with architecture background. (Met during CAN 2019).
CN Lester: Published book author, opera singer, composer, trans rights activist. (I’ve performed music at 2 of their Transpose events and been interviewed for a 3rd).*
Felix Macintosh: Recording engineer, sound producer, bassist. (She recorded my recent album “Welcome to The Mollusc Dimension”). £
Jacob V Joyce: Artist, workshop-leader, musician. (I bought their posters for my studio wall, their calendar is in my teaching room, we’ve played at the same gig and I’ve attended their show).
Jo Jackson: Sound editor, recording engineer (did sound for music event I performed at last year).
Kai Fi’ain: Film director, camera-person, carpenter. (I composed the music for “Escape From the Law of Octaves”. *£
Nicola T Chang: Composer/sound designer for film, TV, theatre, trailers, games documentaries and various media (Directed Ping Pong Concert, CAN 2019).*
Paul Harris: Composer and educator who wrote the series, “Improve your Sight-Reading”. (I’ve heard him lecture and own a lot of his books as do my students). £
Raphaël Neal: Director, photographer. (Filmed me for CN Lester’s Barbican “Transpose”, edited for me).*£
Sarah McIntyre: Illustrator. (I met her at an AOI conference years back)
Dr Sally Cathcart & Sharon Mark-Teggart: Entrepreneurs who set up their own innovative music education company, The Curious Piano Teachers (I’m a member! Discovered at the Music and Drama Education Expo, London)£
Scott Baylis: Trumpeter/ keyboardist with band, Ibibio Sound Machine, jazz pianist.
Shaven Raven Designs: Multi-faceted graphic designer and bespoke object-maker. (Designed the cover and lettering for my album. Takes photos including for the Stratford & East London Festival).*£
Sophia Shek: Film producer and film editor.
The Sound Mechanic: Recording engineer (recorded and mastered numerous items for me in including “Missing Parts”, 2016 and “Escape from the Law of Octaves”).*£
Wild: Composer, singer-songwriter, guitarist and educator. (Played on my album, we’ve gigged together extensively. Met via CN Lester — see above).*£
Have you heard of any of these people?
a) One doesn’t have to be world-famous/ a “household name” (whatever that means) to serve the community, be part of the creative industry, and be an artist.
b) This list is A VERY SMALL PROPORTION of the artists I know. (Sorry if you’re not on here. It’s not personal! It includes one-off/brief encounters at conferences and longer creative collaborations / interactions from c. 2004–2018.
c) In addition to these, I have encountered many many many artists, both in person and online, especially from the time I started using Instagram. I would love to add to this celebrative “living document” with resources/ energy.
4 c) My parents were worried that I “spent too much time on art”
My parents were alarmed about the amount of time I would spend on art as a teenager.. They thought that I “lost myself” in art and that if I took it up for higher education, I would be “totally out of control”.
After she experienced my A-level years, my mum realised that studying for GCSEs was arguably much tougher due to the number of different subjects. At A-Level, I had time to do my Art coursework, see my friends and emerged with three As and a B. (Art, Music, English, French).
As explored above, the time I spent on art for self-expression and to communicate with the world was well worth it, because it was time spent discovering who I was and how to connect with people. It also kept me alive. We live in a world where disposable items can be bought and discarded. People who make things remind us of the value of spending time to craft something, and of our creative potential as humans.
Next:
Part 5. How would a degree in a creative subject help my child to find work?
There are 8 parts to this picture book/essay:
- Part 1. Flying Across the Forbidden Ocean — An East-Asian Artist’s fight for health through creativity
- Part 2. I’m mostly self-taught as an artist and here’s why
- Part 3. Art saved my life and keeps me alive — Mental Health Through Creativity
- Part 4. My parents feared that if I was an artist, this would happen..
- Part 5. How would a degree in a creative subject help my child to find work?
- Part 6. Society needs artists, musicians, storytellers and teachers as much as doctors and lawyers
- Part 7. Could “ Tiger Mums” be.. a bit Victorian?
- Part 8. If this is a creative destination, what happens next?
If you enjoyed my work, there are a few ways you could show your support and I would really appreciate it!
