Today and yesterday I was helping out friend and fellow blogger Jen (Red Parka) by staffing her stall at the Rose St Artist’s Market in Fitzroy (Melbourne). The market runs every Saturday and Sunday and has a collection of stalls; clothes, jewellery, accessories, knick knacks, paintings, art and various other miscellaneous items. As far as I can ascertain everything sold there is made by the artist/designer who is selling it.

I was really moved by the fabulous vibe there; everyone is there to try to make a living from what they create. Every stall holder I spoke to had an incredible story of how they got to where they are now, what motivates them, what inspires them to create, their reason to be there.

There was an awesome sense of camaraderie, of shared struggles and experiences which lead to a strong sense of a beautiful artistic community living and thriving in Melbourne and I want to be a part of this community!

Perhaps not the market community specifically but the community of people for whom art is their life and everything else is done to support their art. I was inspired by these people who have given their lives too creating meaning and spreading that to others.

While I am still only just starting out I feel like I’m really on a similar wavelength on the beginnings of a similar journey to a lot of people there; I still have to eke out the niche of art that suits me, find my style, discover my particular talent, hone my skills and become an artist rather than and aspiring amateur but I feel a kinship that makes me think I’ve made the right decision.

There are other communities where I have felt that I belonged; the beautiful people who go to Confest, some of the gorgeous hippies who live in Melbourne, but it was amongst the artists at Rose St that I really found the people with a drive and a stamina that resonated with me. They have made their art their job, they have managed to take something that they enjoy doing, that brings happiness to people around them and make it into something that can sustain them. This is what I want to be – I want to do a job where what I create is what I live on. It may not be that I become a market person hawking my wares personally to the faux-bo-ho consumerist hoards but I am comforted by the fact that it is possible, that people do it everyday and that those people can be so loving and welcoming to someone like me.