Balance and Being An Artist

Today I want to talk about balance. It's always been important to me. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I'm a freak of nature and anbidextrous, but I've always considered balance in all aspects of my life. If there is no balance in a situation, then that situation needs to be tweeked in some way.Okay, I'll get to the point. I know I'm rambling around here. I'm just trying to work this out. I'm a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother who is an artist. I can hear you now. Yes, in a perfect world I would love to say I'm an artist who also just happens to be a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, but I'm a realist and there is no perfect world. I know who I am. I am an artist. But the fact that I am the daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother begs that I put people first. Actually it screams that I find a balance.How do I make this happen? You know what I'm talking about. How do I make myself stand out, be seen, recognized as the ARTIST if my LIFE requires that I be FIRST the daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother? I don't want to hear from those that say I just need to put myself and my art first. There is no balance in that anymore than there is balance in my reality. Does it take an unbalanced life to be successful? I could say that, yes, it does take an unbalanced life to be successful. I look at successful artists and I see someone paying the bills at least prior to that success. I remember talking to a potter who was set up next to me at an outdoor fine art show in Tahoe, CA. He had a beautiful set up for the shows and he worked as a potter full time, but he only sold 4 bowls all weekend. It took me three days of friendly conversation to find out that his wife was the president of a local bank. He admitted that if he hadn't had the support of his wife, there would be no way that he could be sitting there selling his pottery. I want to know how everyone else is doing it. What sacrifices have you made or someone else has made for you so that you can pursue your art? For those of you who have found balance, share. Let me know how you did it.