You have a few cute choices, but none of em describe the real life of most people I know.

The fact is, most people who are artists, cant help it. They make things because they need to, because its the thing in life they enjoy the most.

Some of those people have the other skills needed to make a living at it- people skills, money skills, the ability to jump off a cliff without looking back, and a supportive family.

And others of them dont- they have various reasons why they work a regular job, and make art on the side. Sometimes it might be a kid who needs expensive health coverage, or an aversion to risk, or just an inability to talk themselves up.

Both kinds of people can be master metalsmiths.
Personally, I have always been pretty unemployable, so I have figured out ways to make a living from metal for almost 30 years. But when I started out, I wasnt that good- just ambitious. I would take jobs, with little idea how to actually do them, then fake it. And in so doing, I learned a lot.
But learning is a lifelong thing- I just know enough now to know how much I dont know.

So on your poll, I fit in somewhere between the "spent a lot of time in the trenches" and " I am a self employed artist" categories.
I just had to dig my own trenches first.

I managed to marry a stone carver who can not/will not do anything other than stone carving related things. Hopefully one day he will be successful enough that I can hire someone else to run our business so that I can play with metal full time.

Out of the two of us I'm the most employable, but it seemed to make sense for me to work for our business rather than working for someone else.

When our kids are older I might create more of my own work.

Elizabeth M. Meadows
Mother, Metal Sculptor in that order.

"When in doubt, use a sledgehammer. It helps!"

None of your poll choices appeal to me much. I am a metal artist because that's what I am. Whether or not I make a living at it has no relevance to my status. Just like whether or not I make a living has no relevance to my eye color; it is what it is.

I've done lots of things to make a living. Shoeshine boy, TV repair, machinist's helper, welder, teacher, silversmith, law enforcement, sign contractor, law enforcement again, blacksmith, consultant, cabinet maker, etc. I probably left out a few or maybe even several. It's been an interesting ride for the past forty or fifty years since I started working as a shoeshine boy in the local barbershop.

The one real constant is that I have always made things. Some practical, some creative, some purely whimsical. But all made for the sake of making them as much as for the sake of reaching a certain objective. I like creating things. I really love creating things that are artistic and attractive (at least to me). If no one ever bought a single thing, I would still make them. Just like I keep on breathing.

What did Janet Rutkowski say? "it is what it is"... I can relate! I also agree with Ries, "The fact is, most people who are artists, cant help it."

I have found that if I can't create in one way shape or form, I get depressed. My husband can vouch for that... not fun, not fun at all.........If you have 'art' in you, it has a way of coming out in your life. I believe it's the job of the artist to help others to see the world in new ways; to take a closer look at what is around them. Also it's the artist's job to have fun and enjoy their ability to create....

I'm also Very fortunate to have a spouse who supports my 'habit' but is also my teacher in so many ways. He is the one who got me started in metal work, having been a millwright for 30 years and a hobby blacksmith on the side. He saw talent and believed in me before i did... fortunate is putting it mildly... anyway... obviously a lot of great thinkers on this site...

Paula