I rented 4 rooms in a commercial building on bath house row. Two rooms I lived in and two I painted in. There was a bathroom down the hall, but no shower or tub. I turned one of the rooms into a kitchen and bathroom. I bathed in a metal wash tub in Hot Spring water I collected in jugs across the street. When I cooked it was on a hot plate. I worked part time enough to pay rent and eat. The rest of the time I painted, smoked and became highly congested from the cat dander, cigarette smoke, oil paint fumes and occasional car exhaust that would slip up the stairs to my dwelling place. I was in bliss, or I told myself that because, after all, I was suffering for my art. There were two other artists that rented space but didn't live there. We displayed our art in the hall and in our studio and had high hopes that people would flock to our space during gallery walk. Trouble is we couldn't get people to come up the stairs.

About this same time I met a man who was a poet and had a dream of seeing the world in a mule pulled wagon. We would sell our art along the way to survive. He was charming and romantic. We had a lot of fun planning, but long story short, our trip didn't last long and neither did our relationship. However I was inspired to write poetry, and I found this book I made (crudely) including marbelizing the paper in a mud puddle. Here are a few examples:

as they mosey down the lane

What I have learned from this experience is :

a. I'm not as tough as I thought. I must have certain creature comforts.

b. I'm going to have to find out what the secret glue is to making a man stick around, because two is always better than one especially when it comes to creativity.

c. Never marry a man that has been married 5 times before. That should be a red flag, no matter how charming he is.

d. Oil paint and turpentine fumes combined with smoke and cat hair are not good for your health.

e. When bathing in a wash tub and then dumping the water in a tiny sink, and also using that same sink to wash your oil paint laden brushes, make sure you have a friend who knows a little about plumbing, because you sink is going to get clogged often.

 f. Once you've been to the edge if you have to go back you know how to do it.

g. Bohemian life is much more fun as a fantasy than a reality.