An Older Beginner's Take on Letters to a Young Artist

First of all, I think all the responses from established artists to the young artist shows how wonderul and encouraging artists are. We see it in our block in the way everyone shares supplies if someone forgot something and in the constructive way we try to critique each other's work. I really liked the comment in the second letter that talks about how the importance of integtrity plus freedom of thought is so important and that you may be viewed as difficult and uncooperative for chosing integrity over commercial success. Gregory Amenoff's advice is really great- Artists Drive the Bus- the entire enterprise of the art world is built on the one creative purpose that occurs in the studio. I think everything he suggests is really practical and helpful and a good touchstone for those rough moments of disappointment or discouragement all creative people encounter from time to time. Also WPL's adivce about enjoying your hateful day job being invaluable to one's life experience and creativity makes sense. Also important was the comment, "We artists deserve the art world we create." Mierle Laderman Ukeles' letter was full of good observations, but I think the comment. "Believe in yourself and work your ass off.'' is something to remember everyday. Finally, I think it's great to remember the letter after Jo Baer (I can't quite make out the signature) where the final sentence says, "Art is not about making sense but of determining meaning." It was interesting too to see how many responses were hand written.