Ironically, today, many who award grants might not really understand what the artist’s process is all about.  They’re just doing their job, and detached from the players involved.  Then there’s the peer review committees, made up of individuals who too often have their own interests and biases.  And, for those applying for grants, the competition is steep—anyone and everyone who wants to survive in an artistic field needs revenue.  If you can’t work a regular job while creating, what do you do?  Give up?  Many are forced to.  Others go into debt.  Those who keep on going, if they don’t have personal safety nets or private supporters, have to get creative with other fund raising strategies.  And, when you put your creativity into fund raising, you’re taking it out of artmaking.  There’s only so much creativity to be had.  Therefore, you have to hope for kind individuals who you can jump on board to help see you through—assisting with their business acumen to gather the necessary $$$.  Artmaking, when it’s not a hobby, but for public display and enjoyment, is a community service and gift.  An artist, in many ways, is just a transimtter—given opportunities and skills (from outside of him/herself) to put out what others might not be able to do.  Mix a little talent and energy with dedication, industry, and perseverance and a public servant is born, one who needs "patronage" (an old word seldom heard).  Yes, what happened to "patrons of the arts"—those who used to finance artists’ endeavors in front of and behind the scenes—a big reason why art history is so rich and extensive.  It’s only in the last few generations that these types of givers and doers seem to have diminished.  In an age when materialism and quick fixes appear more important than genuine hard work, creative struggle, and innovation, culture and the development and maintenance of "higher" (non-hightech) arts are in jeopardy.  The inability to find support—for the honing of skills that used to gain esteem as a matter of course—is a growing problem, not unique to artists’ predicaments.