There were various turning points, but the main one at the beginning was that I was going off to do another degree in the history of art. I would have ended up as some art historian at Sotheby's or something.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I set my sights upon becoming the kind of artist who would make a contribution to art history.
I was an art student at the time, like thousands of others.
I would have been a visual artist. When I was in high school, that was one of the things... I had to make a decision what I was going to go to college for, and at the time, I also painted and sculpted. I got more attention for my performing, so I thought that was a better idea.
I would probably have been very content as a scholar to have carried on organising exhibitions and writing books and teaching.
I did art history and English literature at Newcastle.
I had art as a major, along with English, French and History. I had dance, modern dance. In English I was allowed to write my own poetry, which I eventually got published.
Before I began concentrating on writing, in my free time I was an artist, making and selling etchings illustrating stories based on my readings in classical literature.
I kind of just lucked into and fell into the other profession. It was really just an outgrowth of the fact that when I was in art school, I had no money whatsoever.
My major was Fine Arts and Education thinking I would become an Art Teacher. I couldn't visualize myself as an art teacher, thinking how it wouldn't work.
I became an art major, took every art class my school had to offer. In college, I majored in Advertising Art and Design.