An outline of the discussion topics:
- Introduction and greeting
- Doodling in the Margins and Valerie Meiss (Tiny Wonder or Valerie from Far Away… go support patreon)
- Who am I? What is my history with puppetry?
- What is my privilege that lets me talk to this, and why you shouldn’t listen to me
- Capitalism Lies to you
- Imposter Syndrome is a lie too easy to listen to
- Your value is not about the product you create
- Three financial modes for art
- “Hobby” financially (money goes in, but doesn’t come out)
- Self Sustaining (Money goes in, money comes out, but generally only enough to keep paying for the money going in)
- Job/Career – Money goes in, Money comes out… you’re feeding your family or paying your rent at least partially with puppet money (I can’t speak to that one)
- What is Art
- You see me? I see you? We see each other? (Perceive instead of See)
- Alternately: Enable Empathy, Educate, Provide Enrichment, Foster Enjoyment (aka Entertain).
- It should have meaning, and sometimes that meaning is just fun
- Why Puppetry?
- Puppetry is Multifaceted
- Study/History
- Writing
- Building (simple or complex)
- Practice performance (self tape/monitor setup, etc)
- Actual performance (Slams, Films, XPT, Cons, etc)
- Community – Part of what fills your soul is, or can be, the community of puppetry. If you can, take the time to foster that.
- Puppetry is Multifaceted
- Professionalism – Taking it seriously doesn’t have to mean not having fun.
- It is all part of your plan, not a side gig or a hobby
- This is part of the Capitalism lies to you in some way
- Things feed your career, your soul, your wallet
- You are a complete person and the value to you, society, etc isn’t defined by how much of your “income” is derived from the act of creating art
- Treating it seriously enough to get better at your art, will feed your soul more.
- Note on the Ira Glass bit on taste
- It is all part of your plan, not a side gig or a hobby
- Set up your time and space
- If you can, set up a place that is yours for doing your art… even if it’s transient like the dining room table.
- If you can, set up a regular or specific time that is for doing your art… if this is 20 minutes a day, or one day a week, or one weekend a month, it’s all valid.