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Path to happiness is found on the boardwalk
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Success is measured in many ways. To most it’s a stable career with a sure paycheck and a few choice benefits. To Mike Fath, it’s a table along San Diego Bay's embarcadero creating artwork for donations. The setup is simple, consisting of a table, samples of his wor
k, the donation jar, a small work area, and a sign advertising “Free Art”.
For a suggested donation of $5 to $10, Fath will employ his skills in the ancient Oriental art of leather brush painting. It’s a Korean art form going back over 500 years where good luck symbols are drawn together with the letters of a person’s name. A slice of leather wedged into a gripping tool is used to apply the paint to paper. But it’s the expertise of the artist that brings the drawn characters to life using simple but finessed strokes.
Fath is a master who’s been at it for eight years, teaching at amusement parks including Disneyland, Sea World, Knotts Berry Farm, and countless others. His contract ended in February so he’s on his own at the boardwalk near the Maritime Museum. It’s an area of heavy foot traffic every day of the year. When the cruise ships drop off passengers, the area is a crush of bodies. 
Fath obviously enjoys his art and interacting with people. It’s a life he lives by choice, over a more conventional existence. Originally from Ohio, he earned a master’s degree in Organizational Communication.
“I hated life, living in Ohio, quit my day job, and moved out here”, he says.
On a good summer day, Fath will create 100 pieces of art. The winter “off-season” may require him to be out there seven days and produce as little as two a day. How often he’s at the “job” depends on whether the rent is paid, and he won’t divulge how much a single day will bring in.
Fath has a permit, but says it’s not required. He is not allowed to charge for his work. He works on what he calls “peoples good-will”. Wearing ear-buds connected to his iPhone, listening to Christmas music, Fath flashes a huge smile when talking about his choice of occupations.
“You’ve got to find what makes you happy”, he says. “Happiness is something that you create. You can’t find it in other people”.
Additional Resource:
Oriental Leather Brush Art
Seaport Village (next to Upstart Crow bookstore)
Phone: 858-485-6671
Questions or suggestions? Please contact Ken at brantingham1@earthlink.net
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