Inspired by Orpheus: So What Do You Do?

     I'm one of the motivated members of my family. I've valued my school work and opportunities. However, recently I was asked by a family member, "So what do you do?" I'm not a person to just go into some grand, self-promoting rant about how I'm going to be a professional artist, as I adjust my monocle and take another sip of my dry martini. Nevertheless, I do have a standard response.

   My interrogation usually happens at family gatherings that I choose to attend. So, I guess it a way, I subject myself to it. The QUESTIONING. It usually starts like this (if I'm speaking to a certain Aunt of mine):

    "So Megan, since we last spoke it has been x-amount of time...WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE?"
"I go to college, and I work."
    "Oh...that's nice. So what do you do?"
    "I work..."
    "I mean after college, with your degree in...what was it? Crafting?"
    "No...it's Art...just like it has been."
    "Oh, my mistake."

     At this point I'm done, but this point is key. I'll entertain them with my uncertainty for as long as I can stand to see them struggle to make sense of my life choice, it's my own personal joke time.

"So what do you do?"
    "I'm happy, and creating things that really matter to me and could potentially matter to other people too. I'm leaving my own footprint that doesn't damage others or the earth. I'm discovering my own path, instead of letting you or the other members of my family push me into some sort of trade...And what do you do again? Work at Famous Footwear?"

I know it's pretty forward, but why question my choice? I've never questioned theirs. I guess because I've chosen the unconventional route it causes problems, but I'm really happy with what my exploration had brought to me.

    Below I've gathered a few of my more recent works. I've be dabbling into the photographic field for a while now. Most of my photography work would be labeled portraiture. One of my main obsessions in life is the human body. People are such magnificent subjects. You can never see the same thing twice. Muscles undulate underneath skin, shadows cast different patterns on flesh, and so many other little changes that make people amazing.