Thursday, October 31, 2013

Artist Interview Questions

I like dealing with students.  Talking with kids (and since I'm an old fart, "kids" includes college students) always gives me a charge.  There are always some in the group that ask really good questions, and I like to get them to speak their minds.  I've learned a lot that way and hope I've given back as well.

So when a friend of mine, who's a high school teacher here, asked if I would be a mentor to one of her art students, of course I said yes.  Well, one student turned into two, which was even better.  These kids are high school seniors and need mentors for their senior projects.  We've been meeting once a week in my studio to talk about art, their projects, and what they want to do.  These discussions are a lot of fun and it's been great to see them grow in such a short time.

One of the things they had to do for their projects was to interview somebody working in their project's field.  So I tasked them with coming up with ten questions each.  I thought this would be a breeze.  I didn't expect something so deep.  Many of their questions would require a book to answer.  Here are some of the questions they came up with.

- What inspired you to become an artist?

- How did you get where you are today?

- What is the main challenge you face when beginning a painting?

- At what point in the process of the painting do you begin to feel like the painting is almost completed?

- How has painting influenced your life?

- What qualities do you look for in people you work with or other artists?

- How do you manage balancing work/life?

- What do you like most about your career?

Some of my answers were a bit long, as you might imagine.  How would you answer some of these questions?

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