Or, you mean I could, dum dum dum, FAIL!

I never make the same mistake twice.

I make it like five or six times, you know,

just to be sure!

Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking

David Bayles & Ted Orland1993, Image Continuum Press

ISBN: 0-9614547-3-3

Writing is easy: all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your

forehead.Gene Fowler

Making art provides uncomfortably accurate feedback

about the gap that inevitably exists between what you intended

to do, and what you did.(pp,4-5)

You learn how to make your work by making your work. The best you can do is make art you care

about—and lots of it.

When “the critique” is the only validated destination for work made

during the first half-decade of an artist’s productive life, small wonder

that attrition rates spiral. . .

Two kinds of judgment: Constructive and Obstructive. The trick for the creative person is to be able to tell the difference. (p.

134)

The difference between acceptance and approval is subtle,

but distinct. Acceptance means having your work counted as the

real thing; approval means having people like it

The greatest gift you have to offer your students is the example of your own life as a working artist.

The artist’s life cannot be otherwise than full of conflicts, for two forces are at war within him

(her)—on the one hand the common human longing for happiness, satisfaction and

security in life, and on the other a ruthless passion for creation which may go so far as to override every

personal desire. . . There are hardly any exceptions to the rule that a person must pay dearly for

the divine gift of creative fire.

The role of the university has always been to provide an

education, which is a small but significant step removed from providing training. Training prepares you for a job; an

education prepares you for life.(p87, Art & Fear)