[continued from yesterday’s post] …And I don’t necessarily understand it now…but I’m beginning to. My knowledge (which is little) is a smorgasbord. I know a little bit about a lot. I have a lot of different interests. I think the most interesting thing about me is my interpretation of all of these events that have occurred in my life.
H e l e s e T A L K S 
Alfnpdr Padrón What does it mean to be an artist?
I’ve been asking myself this question, in various forms, for most of my life. It’s a question that bears repetition because there are so many possible answers, and my own personal answer sometimes changes. When I first began creating, the question wasn’t clearly formulated and the answer was simple: Joy! As I grew older and awareness of economic realities intruded, the questions became How can I be an artist? and Should I even try?
For a year or two, I chose not to be an artist. Oh, I still dabbled in this and that, but I wasn’t wholly or even halfheartedly invested. It was a dark and boring time.
When I recommitted myself, I felt such a deep sense of relief. I was spending my time the way I was supposed to again. I was focusing on what was important again.
Perhaps that relief, that sense of purpose, is part of what it means to be an artist…