In celebration of the upcoming visit with Neil Gaiman on the 18th of April, here is a collection of highlights of his Make Good Art Commencement Speech. One of the ways for a Treasure Mountain student to win one of the 100 tickets is to watch one of Neil Gaiman’s speeches. If you are an artist of any kind this speech would be an inspirational and fun one to listen to. As always Neil Gaiman blends an inspiring message with subtle humor and is a delight to watch. Below is a list of ten highlights from his speech.
“When you start out on a career in the arts you have no idea what you are doing.”
“The rules on what is possible and impossible in the arts were made by people who had not tested the bounds of the possible by going beyond them. And you can.”
“If you don't know it's impossible it's easier to do. And because nobody's done it before, they haven't made up rules to stop anyone doing that again, yet.”
“I tended to do anything as long as it felt like an adventure, and to stop when it felt like work, which meant that life did not feel like work”
“A freelance life, a life in the arts, is sometimes like putting messages in bottles, on a desert island, and hoping that someone will find one of your bottles and open it and read it, and put something in a bottle that will wash its way back to you: appreciation, or a commission, or money, or love.”
“The problems of failure are hard. The problems of success can be harder, because nobody warns you about them.”
“If you're making mistakes, it means you're out there doing something. And the mistakes in themselves can be useful.”
“Things go wrong, in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health and in all the other ways that life can go wrong. And when things get tough, this is what you should do. Make good art.”
“Most of us only find our own voices after we've sounded like a lot of other people.”
“The old rules are crumbling and nobody knows what the new rules are. So make up your own rules.”
Neil Gaiman’s speech describes his own life and obstacles while giving advice to any aspiring artist. This is a recommended speech for any dancer, actor, writer, painter, musician or artist of any sorts. As a bonus, it could earn you a free ticket to see Neil Gaiman when he comes to Park City in a few weeks.
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