6 year plan

I just wanted to say to Arthur that his candid response to the 6-year plan query was really refreshing. It woke me up out of my grad school coma. When I sit alone and really give it some thought my plans are not much different. I'd like to own a house, have a yard, animals and maybe some foster kids. But when you put a bunch of artists together in a room things become a bit diluted, at least they do for me. I start thinking about my own experiences and those of my friends and the next thing I know I am alternately praising and defaming the "art world" depending upon which memory I conjure up. I agree with Anne in that I am not in this for fame and fortune and that I would be happy to pay my bills as a retoucher, teacher, graphic designer, wedding photographer, etc. I am not above any job and would gladly return to bartending in a heartbeat if it would afford me the time to make my work. i just want a little bit of autonomy and the freedom to continue living my life pretty much the same way i have been up to this point. I'm happy. I don't feel that i am suffuring, I feel that i am damn lucky to have a room to go into to make things every day and people around me to talk to about it. The degree is a step towards teaching and I guess some sort of legitimization of my choices, but really i just wanted the time and the space to work and people to share that with. there are lots of ways to make money and i don't neccessarily see art as the best way, but i do see it as a possibility. as much of a possibility as any other choice i suppose. i think the main problem with the group discussions is that we all already know the choices that lie ahead in our futures and are trying to enjoy this suspended reality period before we have to confront them. beyond that i know that most of us are just looking for grant money, residencies, and other cash and opportunities. maybe the class should focus more on finding resources rather than theorizing on how we define ourselves as artists?