[July 14, 2002: a correspondence of considerable wisdom. Five years later, I think I am on the verge of truly gathering and executing that strength, confidence, and focus. Thanks, Ed.]
“Your questions are all good ones. I think you will require time and space to discover the answers that will fit your needs best. When I was much younger I was talking with a good friend, an artist of some reputation. I was worrying about career moves, gallery relationships in NYC, getting recognized by the right folks at the right time. He calmly looked at me and asked if I was in a hurry? Right then and there I realized that there was no rush for me. That I was better off when I took the time that was needed to do the things I was able. That does not transfer into procrastination, but it does allow for time to be an ally.
I pose the same question to you. Are you in a hurry?
Doing what you are now doing is a perfect start to an organic discovery of what is important to you. You sample this and that and support your habit with whatever money you can make that will not interfere with the sampling. Perhaps, in some cases, the sampling will be the job and the salary. When you are through sampling you will know. You will know that from all of the fragments of interests and tid-bits of knowledge/skills you have gleaned from the past experiences you have built that something in that speaks most clearly to what must come next.
Graduate school is best utilized when you are certain that “this” [whatever this is] is what you need to do and “here” [wherever here is] is where you need to do that. It should not, in my opinion, be the place you discover what you require.
Now this path is a bit unconventional. It drives most parents nuts and sometimes makes the participant look like the mis-fit, the n’er do well, the rambler. But collections are often the most exciting when they begin from the unknown and evolve into masterful treatises on that which had previously been overlooked. Sampling.
…
A former student of mine had a plan that worked well for him. He worked for six months a year. Made as much money as he could. Lived cheap and saved a lot. Then he worked in his studio for six months. It gave each time its opportunity to be just what it was.
This path takes patience and focus. It is not a rambler’s dream of evolution. The sampling is always pushing against what you want from the work. You are ahead of the game here because you are smart enough about your work to know when it delivers what you require. You have learned that this past six months. That strength is crucial and will sustain you. Do not not let anybody ever stain that skill or confidence.”