Summer, 55, lives in Koreatown and asked to go by only her first name to maintain her privacy. This transcript is based on a conversation with Summer, and has been edited for clarity and length.
Summer: When I get paid for my art, I feel absolutely amazing.
I am a fine artist. When I'm able to create, I feel like I'm “making it.”
My job is being a stay-at-home mom. So cooking, cleaning, [and] taking care of my son, who is grown now but he's a teenager. He still needs support.
I am living with my ex-husband. My ex-husband covers most of my expenses. I guess you would say that I have an investor.
You know, I do want to say that I find that there are a lot of hurdles for people like me, for artists [and] for Black women. I think that is one of the reasons why he does help me the way he does. Because he is white. Because he sees it. He knows.
A lot of women end up in really challenging situations once they've been taken care of, and they have not been able to establish something for themselves. And personally, I find it very hard to find work because I don't do anything but art. But I don’t do art like graphic art. I don’t have a skill that transfers to really be hireable — which I kind of did to myself. You’re not really set up to succeed unless you’re doing something where you’re getting an hourly wage, and that wage can be pretty low.