Doing a lot of in depth reading since I bagged out of the social media “post everything every day” game. I joined a network associated with the Artist/Mother podcast about a month ago, and since then I’ve been trying to sort out a few things: what kind of world runs the art world that everyone aspires to “make it” in; as well as what kind of psychological heritage “artists” in the West have inherited (clue, this ties in with Deresiewicz’s 300+ page diatribe); and the anti-motherhood “feminism” for a career path attitude I was inculcated with in my all-female college experience.
This is what the last leg of my seclusion from the world this pandemic year is ending in – understanding why I am where I am at this time in my life, and trying to figure out a way to be that rejects all the persistent exclusions, allows me to be who I am at heart, and thrive as such without shame. If I can let this all sink in once and for all, I truly hope that I can help others who are in a similar predicament to stand tall and pursue their unique path in the face of all the stupid, petty, small-minded ways of the larger world. There is no reason why one has to participate in certain exclusionary institutions and attitudes to be an artist, and a human being, for that matter. Peer pressure and bullies belong firmly in high school. The rest of us have the duty to evolve.
Odilonvert 
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