a sigh of relief

well, today i finished off my final grant application. in the process, i dropped 2 of them and just hoped that the chance will come around next year and lost my mind. yes kids, i lost my mind. i officially bit the dust as far as how much stress and anxiety my body could handle. i'm ok and on the road to picking myself up again, but it did prompt me to think about what is done for artists' health. there are some great organisations out there helping artists with their lives: arts lawarts law for legal advice, nava for practical advice and lobbying on our behalf, arts hub for employment resources and general news, but there isn't one for the health and well-being of artists. i'd like to see Arts Health established to support the physical and mental needs of artists. since durer and beyond, we've been aware of the illness that artists can be susceptible too and there are arguments that without the melancholia, would the art be as great. and maybe not, but at least we wouldn't have quite as many artists and arts workers dying from alcoholism, drug addiction or suicide if there was a support agency specifically for our needs. would blair trethowan still be alive today if he could have chatted with someone about the stress he was feeling? maybe, maybe not, but i still think it's worthwhile.