When you are a freelance artist, you just gotta love it when you get to do work for other independent creatives who are making their way in the world of the bottom-line and the big sell-out. Of course many commercial artists could be accused of selling-out just because they are commercial. Many of us (myself included) originally wanted to be fine artists or would have just been happy making whacky "stuff".

But what I'm referring to is the pervasive greed and grab that I keep feeling has become a dominant paradigm since the internet went boom, and since stuff can be produced overseas so cheap. Everyone is selling it, trying to figure out a way to become an overnight millionaire or celebrity. So many creatives have a hard time wrestling with those ravenous opportunists who will pimp anything, prostitute anyone or anything that has marketing potential to quickly fill their bank accounts. Big businesses just seem to gobble up the little guy, then spit them out once they have lost their juice.

Yeah yeah. There probably is a little bit of sour grapes in there. Technology keeps rocking everyone's world making once viable forms of making a living difficult, if not obsolete, while rewarding the notorious for being ...well notorious, and encouraging the appearance of success rather than the real accomplishment. Sort of like hanging a well framed diploma that you bought from a paper mill.

But instead of going to the bitter, resentful place, I prefer to go to the encouraged, productive place where the little guy who follows his dreams is the essence of success, even if it never will mean BIG bucks or being on the cover of People – probably because I identify with that and have never been much of a consumer or a capitalist. And manys the day that I am grateful that I can make a living doing creative things, making letters.

So here are a few recent jobs done for the independent with a creative vision. There are many other examples on my site already (Buddha Beads for instance). Enjoy my little homage.

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