Over the holidays I happened to meet an old friend of a friend, described and introduced to me as “also into photography.” I feel like an expectation comes with meeting another artist that we will automatically forge a connection based on our shared occupation. This woman happened to live in New York, drawing and taking photos and working behind the scenes for the popular ARTstor digital image database.

As I stood in the front foyer at my in-laws' house, somewhat enamored and thinking how much this new person reminded me of a friend in Baltimore, I thought for a minute about my path thus far. I always wonder what impression I make on people who are much more cut and dry Artists than I am. Do I look like I've copped out by shunning the New York art universe and making my own way in a much smaller city? Should I be applying for a job at the BMA next year, visiting DC more often, looking for residencies, considering my current day job a step along the way or even a stall point in the process?

Much of my motivation to join AmeriCorps stemmed from a disconnect I felt, the lack of desire to move to New York, keep up with the gallery scene there, try to “make it” in the capital of the art world. Art students (or this one, at least) feel a lot of pressure to focus on New York, on the big biennials and the new superstar artists. After college,, I'm sure there was a mass migration northward to test all the skills we'd learned not just at making art, but also shamelessly marketing and selling ourselves to galleries in Chelsea. And then there was me, following my husband to a career in the Baltimore/DC area and looking for a day job I could fall in love with.

Sure, working at a museum or gallery would be great, in theory. But just because it's an “art job” doesn't mean it's going to be ultimately fulfilling. I'm sure that was on my mind when I wrote the following in my AmeriCorps*VISTA motivational statement: “My career should be something that makes me proud, something I can't stop smiling about, when I'm doing it or when I'm telling others about it.” After years of working in retail, I knew a day job was never just a day job.

Right now I'm involved in a career path I'm willing to petition the President about. Honestly, no matter what some of my art professors may think of my progress, I feel extremely lucky to say that. I'm still taking pictures, still entering juried contests, still looking for grant money, still thinking and writing about my art. I'm also serving my country and extremely proud to do so. When my term runs up next August, regardless of what I choose to do post-VISTA, I will be a lifelong advocate for national service. My experience over the last year and a half has impacted and changed me tremendously, set me on a path I never would have expected in the months preceding my college commencement ceremony.

Again, I feel truly blessed to be here. My path as an artist may not be the stereotypical image of success, but that's okay with me. I feel great when I come home every evening, and that's what matters. Artists or not, it's what we're all looking for.

In honor of Blog Action Day, I'm going to revisit my “day job:” a topic I haven't written about in months.

As I neared graduation with my bachelor's in fine arts, I realized I didn't want to support myself with my craft. In art school the mantra seems to be: work toward losing the day job, that is how you define absolute success.

Is it? What career options exist for the visual artist who wants other work; who cares deeply about social change but does not want to turn her art into political commentary? Certainly, my school's career center offered no viable options when I asked that question a couple years ago.

Luckily, I found AmeriCorps and enlisted as a VISTA (that is, Volunteers in Service to America). VISTA is the national service program dedicated to eradicating poverty in the U.S. -- a lofty goal, but one we've been striving for since 1964. The commitment is full-time for one year and comes with a modest living stipend and basic health benefits. A $4725 education award is payable upon successful completion of a term of service.

See, the idea of military service has always appealed to me, but it's just not possible given my personality type. Little did I know, folks like me have fantastic opportunities to serve our nation and make an enormous contribution to society.

I promised myself a short post this evening, but before I go I will say this: both Barack Obama and John McCain have said AmeriCorps needs to be expanded.  Obama actually promises to increase the ranks from 75,000 to 250,000. McCain rightly points out that anyone interested in “small government” should be advocating for such an expansion.

For once, the Republican Party is right, in theory if not in practice: government can't solve everyone's problems. What it can do is find programs in the non-profit sector that work and give them the funding they need to apply their solutions on a larger scale. It can draw upon the ingenuity and passion of the American people and give them the opportunity to go to work for our nation.

Polls are looking good for Barack these days, so I hope he follows through on his promise – and soon. Two out of three people haven't even heard of AmeriCorps, so I encourage you to check out what AmeriCorps has to offer for you, and if you're not called to serve, consider contacting your representatives and letting them know this solution should be the keystone to the war on poverty.

Seriously, it has been so hard to get back to work since spending a week and a half in Pennsylvania for the holidays.

With less than a month until my self-imposed deadline for the MICA application, there is a lot to do, especially factoring in a week-long ski vacation in late January.  I'm just glad I have a few things going for me.  In the past, I have always “worked on” portfolios, going out on a lot of shoots or spending long hours painting in my room.  The need to develop a portfolio in response to an application deadline has been the primary source of stress time after time, and it feels great to be able to draw from a strong pool of images I have already produced.  

I have enough photos for the MICA portfolio in each of my two primary bodies of work.  This means I can skim off the cream from both of them, drawing my descriptions from the artist statements I HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN.  Piece of cake, despite the tedious process of resizing all the files and assembling them into a powerpoint presentation.

The two-portfolio requirement – one must be a collection of images detailing community work – adds another fun twist.  My current AmeriCorps*VISTA assignment seems to have set me up perfectly for that portfolio, since community work is what I do for 8+ hours per day, every day.

Needless to say, this takes a lot of the worry out of grad school applications.  I can work with a fast turnaround on writing projects, so I have no doubt my essays will take fine shape.  I tend to abandon projects easily, but I have already committed myself by asking for letters of recommendation.  Everything seems to be working out in my favor, I just need to keep the momentum going.