Do What You Love: A Spontaneous Lecture by Professor Tholen

Today in 2D Design, my professor gave us quite the motivational speech on art and doing what you love. A lot of people are worried that they won't make it as an artist... but according to my teacher, it's possible and plausible.

The teacher says that:

There is room for everyone in art. Anyone that wants to can participate and can succeed. But, in order to succeed, you need to be the best at what you do - better than everyone else. That is how you get jobs and commissions.

But how do you become better than everyone else?? That depends on YOU. For some, it helps to go to school, to have people that can teach you how to be better by telling you the rules so you can break them. School is a good place to fail, and to get back up. It's a great place to develop style, to learn deadlines, to acquire skills. You have to go FULL FORCE, put your best effort into EVERY assignment, or you are wasting your time. Getting through school to get through school doesn't work with art. If you want to be good, you have to take what you learn, do your best to understand and to apply it.

But, in the long run, no one cares where you went to school. No one cares what your grades were (unless you are on scholarship, or you plan on teaching art later). HOW you acquire your skills is not important, its how you UTILIZE them.

If you get discouraged by others, get over it. My teacher suggests a mourning period of about 15 min. Then, you get on with your life. The world has BILLIONS of people in it, and chances are that if someone doesn't like your work, someone else will. If you quit now and become a taxi driver, or a Wal-mart cashier, then, in 30 years, you are going to wish you did something you loved.

Wow. Wasn't that motivational?? For me, totally. As an artist, it's something you worry about all the time. And, I certainly don't put my 110% into every assignment I ever have. That's my new goal for next semester - LEARN TO LEARN. If you fail, it hurts. It costs money. Maybe even a scholarship. But I want to be a successful artist, whatever it takes, and so I am going to be THE best. I'm going to go FULL FORCE and PUSH ON. I'm going to learn to learn, and I'm going to do what I love.