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Art is not a luxury, it’s a privilege

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Jul 21, 2016

*sigh*.

As I sit here in my bed, I am trying my best to share my thoughts on paper about what ART is… But the words won’t come.

I recently spoke to my beautiful mother about how the world NEEDS art. And when I say art, I mean photographs, music, television shows, films, paintings, books, sculptures, street art, theatre performances…The list goes on and on!  There’s a whole whack of art forms out there, and new ones being created every day. Heck I just read an article earlier on VIRUS art, which is to create a virus into the form of glass sculptures! Whhhhat?!?!  Weird but pretty damn cool. I think it’s safe to say that there is a SERIOUS amount of art out there in the world today, for everyone to enjoy!

But ‘art’ is not a term we can define lightly. It’s actually something that is so difficult to put into words, simply because it can evoke so many different feelings. Happiness, anger, sadness, gentleness, fear, peace. When we experience art, we also have the privilege to experience raw emotions and an inner connection to our deepest being. What an incredible thing.

hair-art-photography-pretty-hippie-bohemian-dress

Getting back to the story of my mother. I mentioned how much we truly need art as a society to grow and flourish, and just survive in our day-to-day routines. Whether we are the creators or the consumers, art makes the world go ’round. But in terms of global survival, she brought up a debate:

“Art is a luxury that not everyone is able to or WANTS to afford.

I cringed.

Fine. You can’t eat art. You can’t build homes with it. You can’t bathe in it– well, you probably could but let’s keep on track here. She said that art is a luxury and this is why many people just aren’t paying for it these days. It’s too easy to stream music for free. It’s too easy to ask an artist to perform in exchange for ‘exposure’ because that’s become a norm in today’s culture. YUCK!! Now let me be clear here, my mama bear is my number 1 supporter! It’s not that she’s AGAINST artists making money, it’s just a valid point that she brought to light in our conversation.

But to be 100% honest, it really bothered me.

Why is our society considering art to be a luxury today? Why is the term ‘starving artist’ being thrown around left, right and centre, as if it’s OK and quite seemingly NORMAL if an artist is broke? Nope. Nooo way. This is not ok in my books. Somewhere along the lines, people stopped attributing value to art, and we are due for a HUGE shift in perspective.

photography, indie-art-pretty-dress-girl-flower-wedding

Every month, I pour my heart and soul into my writings, my blog, my social media, at live shows, in my photographs and on my videos. I work 14 hour days, 7 days a week trying to reach as many people as possible, to give inspiration through my own art forms: music, videos, writings & visual media.

I do this because of course, I love it. But I ALSO do it because I care for the good of humanity. I have been given a gift that I’m meant to share to as many people as possible. To inspire, to motivate, to uplift, and to allow people to simply FEEL. Always a work in progress, but this is something that I feel I am called to do in this world – this is my purpose, and I am sooo grateful for the opportunity.

But, I can’t help but ask the question: Should my work be undervalued, just because some consider what I’m doing to be fun or leisurely or easy?

Lemme tell ya. It’s not easy. Rewarding: yes. Easy, HELL no!  But that’s ok. I accept this calling with my two open arms and a smiling grateful heart. I love what I do, and if I can bring the message out to the world that I simply cannot survive off of a few dollars from spotify streaming, I hope the world will listen. Not just for my sake
 But for the sake of ALL artists, ALL over the world. I am definitely not the only musician out there with this problem. There are A LOT of us! So let me be a voice.

boho-hair-dress-pretty-flower-crown-indie-artist-musician

I am proud of my work. I get to share my thoughts and values while putting my art into the universe. I get to be praised, criticized, loved, challenged and rejected all on a daily basis, from people all over the world. I get to be vulnerable, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But going back to what I said….It’s not easy. Not even close.

The beautiful thing about being an artist today is, although there is a stigma of ‘starving artists’ being the norm, there are many wonderful souls out there that DO attribute great value to art. These people buy our music, our photography, our canvas prints, our theatre tickets all at a fair price, and with the utmost thanks. I swear I can sometimes even SEE the hearts flying outta their eyeballs. Fans be like ????????????. It’s sooo WONDERFUL!!! It makes my heart sing. Donations are also becoming more and more popular for content creators who previously worked only off the love of their hearts. Now, with services like Patreon and Kickstarter, fans are able to support their favourite artists directly, and for us artists, it feels like a light is coming through the darkness in the tunnel!  Wahoo! Party time! ????

Annnyway….Next time you think about art, please don’t dismiss it as just a mere luxury. It’s more than that. We artists pour our hearts, souls and whole lives in our art, and we do it for the greater good of the world. We create to provide healing and connection amongst each other, and just as YOU need us, we need you. We need your support, your love and your generosity to keep us creating.

That is all. 🙂

THANK YOU for reading, and stay lovely my beautiful friends !

xoxox

-Jess

PS. For you, the wonderful human who read this entire post and made it this far, please let me share my OWN art with you. I’d like to give you a FREE Unreleased MP3 that you can find here. It’s simple, it’s cute. Just a little somethin’ somethin’ for you, cause you’re THAT AWESOME. I hope you love it just as much as I am honoured to be able to share it with you.

PPS. If you are interested to support my music & art, please visit THIS PAGE where you can find links to donate directly to my tip jar, or choose to support my videos every month with $1 on Patreon. Every single dollar helps – it really does. If I was fortunate enough to have 2000 people every month supporting me with $1, I would be able to become a (modest) full time musician & blogger, and share more of my thoughts & art on a weekly basis. That is the ultimate dream!!! Please help me to get there by showing me some $1 luuuhve. ????

PPPS. This blog posts’ art was provided by an incredible photographer here in London, Ontario Avan Patel. Thank you Avan for sharing your beautiful work with the world, and also thanks for letting me be a part of it!

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  1. So well said, my dear friend! You’re amazing, and I’m so happy to see you shining so bright! Love love loooooove you! xxxxxx

  2. Jeff Webb says:

    I could not live without art. Music, TV, films, etc etc and I never stream for free. My belief is that the ones who create the art should be given the rewards and recognition they deserve. So I pay 🙂 I have immense admiration and respect for those who create art in all its forms and I will continue to pay for it. And as I’ve said before keep doing what you do.

  3. Josh wiliams says:

    I don’t remember where I heard it or from whom, but I always remembered this little saying:

    “If you walk by a musician on the street and something they’re playing/singing makes you pause and listen, even if it’s just a few seconds, you better put some money in their jar”

    It doesn’t matter if it is music, dancing or a photograph, if something someone else created causes you to go “whoa”, reflect or simply brings a bit of joy to your life it is valuable. And maybe one instance of art won’t make a huge impact on a person, but a constant stream a tiny acts can add up to a big difference. That’s why it is both important to fill our worlds with all sorts of different art and to appreciate what it took to bring it into this world.

    Could not agree more with this post 🙂

    • Jessica Allossery says:

      I love that quote, it’s sooo true. Thanks for your input Josh, and remember that YOUR art in photos holds so much value too 🙂

  4. I totally feel and understand the entirety of your message here! At least to the best that I can. Being a creative soul, there is a lot of ourselves as well as time spent on the things we do. Art does take SO MANY forms and in this day and age, digital is a medium that just makes everything so easy to access and created. Some forms of art takes years to even reach a certain level that today’s standards would call art.

    No one appreciates the talent, time and emotional toll it takes to create something with your own hands. Whether its musicians, writers, film makers or artists, its hard to have the general public attach the value in $ to what we create. But I am here!

    • Jessica Allossery says:

      It’s magic! Simple.. art is magic 🙂 Thank you for your contributions and your support in my art and this article!!!

SO WE CAN BE BESTIES!  😂

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