When I first began to accept that it was probably time for me to transition out of my small California town, I prepared myself to leave by the skin of my teeth. It was going to be a logistical mindf*ck, which meant I probably couldn’t afford it.
My life has always presented a familiar hurdle: money.
Case in point: in NYC, you have to prove that your income is 40x the rent in order to even apply for most apartments. I’ll let you just simmer for a moment on who is most likely to have that kind of paper trail.
This isn’t the 1970s anymore. Artists have to fight to get into the spaces we deserve. Whether you’re based on the coast of California, or in one of the most opportunity-rich environments on planet Earth, the Elite are *always* trying to boot you.
This is the journey of the Artist: We settle in a place. We create so much beauty there that the rent goes up. And then it becomes a choose-your-own-adventure: level up, or find the next place that needs you.
Artists should consider where they choose to work/live like they consider whether or not to stay in a relationship. There comes a time when you have to do a little check-in: Is this worth fighting for? Do I feel represented? Do I feel inspired? I’m paying X amount in rent to stay. I’m putting X amount into the community. I’m receiving X back. Does that work for me?
If the numbers/energy output are positive and you love where you live and you love your life, then: Congratulations. You’re an Artist Warrior for your town. This is a great honor and responsibility. The authenticity of your Special Place depends on you — so lock in because it might get rough.
Alternatively, if something starts to feel unbalanced, it may be time to fight Homogeny elsewhere. That one can be a hard call to answer — especially if you value comfort and routine — but some of us are just meant to be migratory and we have to keep moving on.
To get back to the cost of living thing — a few months ago, I was preparing to leave my sun bubble of a town in California for one of the coldest winters on record in Brooklyn, NY. I pictured myself crawling on my hands and knees across the country with nothing but the clothes on my back and an ounce of Big Sur weed, running on PB+J’s and credit card debt. I would slither into a single rented room with no closet and three roommates, and immediately apply for the nearest bartending position with the hope of returning to a financial position where I could rent an art studio.
But that’s not what happened.
Unless you want to buy a wallet, every single Maven design found a home in this world before I left Cayucos. Because of us, I didn’t need to claw my way in to this next era of my creativity. I flew there on Economy PLUS, baby. Exit row all day.
I am endlessly grateful for whoever supports my work in their own way, but today I am giving a special shout out to those of you who consistently support what I create monetarily. Some of you didn’t even use the discount code, which was a baller move that did not go unnoticed.
I hope that every now and again, when you use your Maven bag, you get glimpses of me in my new life doing any of the following things:
- Looking flyyyy as f*ck on the subway (reading in a cute outfit)
- Learning Reiki
- Selling out my first solo show (not happening yet but will happen)
- Doing some kind of crazy installation piece
- Selling a screenplay that I wrote
- Listening to music on a blanket in the park
- Eating delicious food from around the world
- Completing dream collaborations with artists who I respect
- Looking mysterious alone in a jazz club (my hair looks great here)
- Creating in an art studio that I love (with a window)
Because of you, I left my last life grateful, fulfilled, confident, excited, and terrified for my future. Because of the steady income that you afforded me, I was able to defy all odds and become approved for *my own* apartment in the neighborhood that I wanted to live in. So THANK YOU. This migratory Artist Warrior lives to fight another day.
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