Hal-the actor

My son Hal is an actor (he’s very talented and you can see his webpage at www.halfickett.com). When people ask me what Hal’s doing, I tell them that he’s an actor in his last year of college. Invariably most people either groan or roll their eyes and say something to the affect of, “You poor thing, he’ll never get a job!” or “You paid all that money only for him to be unemployed!”

The cheerio prayer

I’ve heard it so many times now that I just use what I call the “cheerio prayer” and say “Oh” (it’s amazing how many ways you can say “oh”–“OH”, “ooooooooh”, “oOooh”).

Art, Artists and Vocation

What I want to do is explain to all these folks that “having a job” isn’t what being in the arts is all about; being in the arts is a vocation, a gift, something to be cherished, something to be in awe of–that they should be proud, very proud!

So I decided to write an article explaining this. It is called Art, Artists and Vocation, you can find it by visiting my website, Mary Baker Art. Hopefully other people who get the same reaction about their loved one, can print a copy of the article and hand it to the person instead of reverting to the “cheerio prayer”.

Maybe artists young and old who get lectures from their families, friends and strangers on how pointless it is to be an actor, writer, sculptor etc. can also print out the article, so that people can know that being in the arts is a good thing and not fall routinely into despair!

So if you are an artist or a family member of an artist, don’t despair, instead, dance, you or your loved one are in for very interesting ride!