A Sample Column for the Oddest and Most Creative Job

And here is the sample of the odd job I chose as the first newspaper column – I interviewed an actual working ocularist for Reader’s Digest a decade ago, but I don’t want to publish her real name here on my Blossom blog. Maybe she’s on the lam, or just wants to avoid the burst of fame and fortune that will accompany this exposure.

By the way, if you’re hoping that blogging or online writing is one of those creative ways to make money, read What Types of Blogs Earn the Most Money?

Eyeball Painter – a Creative Hobby Turned Into an Odd Job

“Someone once found one of my eyes in a beer carton,” says Penelope Lantzer.

It wasn’t an eyeball from her head, but it did come from her hand. Toronto-based Lantzer is an ocularist or artificial eye maker – one of about 30 in Canada. How did she see the possibilities of this odd job as a creative way to make money? Twenty-two years ago, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from a TV program on artificial peepers.

“I approached the eye-making businesses in my area, and found a job behind the second door I knocked on,” she says.

25 Odd Jobs and Hobbies That Make Money in Creative Ways

Her commercial art background helps as she hand-paints “iris discs” to match seeing eyes and shreds red silk thread to create life-like veins for the whites. Though Lantzer makes six eyes a week, she doesn’t work with dogs, horses, or babies – but some ocularists do.

She says that losing an eye can be more difficult than losing a limb; her clients are coping with accidents, disease, and birth anomalies. One man lost his eye to a flying rock while he mowed the lawn. Years later, another rock almost took out his seeing eye!

“It makes you wonder how you manage to get through life with both eyes,” says Lantzer. “My oddest request was from a forensic detective. He needed two brown eyes for a skull he was reconstructing.”

Glass eyes aren’t in vogue now – though ocularists once had drawers full of them. Today, fitting artificial eyes is a job that requires a five year apprenticeship and regular certification updates.

When clients ask if they’ll actually see out of their new eyes, Lantzer admits she can’t restore their vision. However, she does restore their appearance. She helps her clients look forward to the future – and that’s what she loves about her odd job.

Being an ocularist is more than a creative way to make money, isn’t it?

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Dear Reader, what say you about these creative ways to make money from odd jobs and hobbies? I welcome your big and little comments below! What is your dream job, and how do you see it unfolding in your life? If you’re a writer who wants to make money writing, let me know below. I’ve written dozens of articles for writers, and would be happy to share a few ideas and links.

If you’re considering a midlife “pivot”, read What You Need to Know About Making a Career Change at 40 .