What are your views on being self-taught versus receiving a college or art school education?

Well, seeing that I am back in school I definitely think art education is positive but it won’t make you a good artist if the drive and talent aren’t already hidden somewhere in you. I enjoy school. I like the environment. The teachers are there to help you but not coddle you. They can make technical criticisms that really will help you. Of course you can figure a lot of this out on your own without the classroom, and many do and do amazing work, but the classroom is a really nurturing, calming place for me. I wish I had stayed in school the first time I went, when I was fresh out of high school, but I didn’t. I’m lucky to be in a place in my life that allows me to return and to have such wonderful support at home. Being there really forces me out of my *comfort zone*. I’ll use that expression though it sounds a bit too close to *thinking out of the box*, which is an expression that makes me shudder and reminds me of my brief web designing days.

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