#43 and #99, I bet you the OP earns more money than you do. Thus making it a proper job. As #68 said, artists animate movies and so on. It's a good job to have, and it's a more difficult job to do - anyone can work in an office 9 to 5, but artists have a real talent. OP, your mother's a douche. I reckon you should go round to hers, and clean out all of her favourite stuff, see how she likes that.

not going to say ydi but you could have scanned your drawings into a computer so you would have a digital copy

Look up parental enmeshment. And get a good counselor.

That's just devastating. All of your hard work! :( I know how it is, I get pretty attached to my work, too... but this was all you had for your JOB! Ugh. Best wishes in trying to undo some of the damage.

That does suck, I'm sorry. My mom always moves my car out of the way, and in the process, takes things out. Then one day, she took out the donation money that I was collecting, and almost threw them out with her papers, so I know the feeling.

ugh, that's gotta hurt. Seriously, though. Dumpster dive. It's the only way. FYLx2. :(

#99, when something you put effort into provides you with money for you to live on, that's a job. When someone makes statements that have no basis in reality or fact and claims they are true, they're an imbecile.

Wow, some of you are real assholes. The OP shouldn't have to put everything away in his/her own PLACE! Their mom should have known better. It is bad enough that should stop by, let herself in, and just decide to clean, but to actually throw shit away! It sounds like the mom needs a hobby if she has that much time on her hands. To the others, an artist is a real job you dumbasses! To the OP, I sooo soo sorry that that happened to you! You definitely need to have a talk with your mom about boundaries.

Ugh, this sounds like something my mother would do. She's given up on trying to clean my room, but when my room was gutted to redo the floor and walls, all my stuff was in the living room. She'd constantly try to "clean up" my stuff and, in the process, move it or throw away any misplaced sketches or sculptures she got her hands on, and she would always do this to me when she thought I wasn't home to catch her at it. I flipped the hell out on her when she tried to toss a sculpture that I'd been working on, which she had already damaged severely, setting that project back weeks. The worst part is that when she threw away or moved MY STUFF, she would then complain when I couldn't find anything. When SHE'S the one who moved it and refused to tell me where she put it. Also @106: A digital copy is a copy. The mom threw away originals, which by definition are not recoverable without redrawing them or dumpster diving.

I'm sure it's been said before, but oh my God that's so terrible! = ( As a writer, I understand - there's no way you can get that stuff back. 7 months?? I would be praying the garbage didn't get taken away yet