One thing I have throughout my career, it felt like I did my best to align myself with quality artists, quality work, and it is a situation of steel sharpening steel.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
You can work hard to sharpen your talent, to get better at whatever it is that you do, and I think that's what it comes back to.
I've spent my life pursing excellence as an artist, which is what I always wanted to do anyhow.
For everybody in their busy lives, you need to invest in sharpening your tools, and you need to invest in longevity.
I worked my way through art school as an auto mechanic, doing various stuff including sanding bodywork and using Bondo filler.
The fact that I could secure an opera engagement made me realize I had within me the making of an artist, if I would really labor for such an end. When I became thoroughly convinced of this, I was transformed from an amateur into a professional in a single day.
Success gave me confidence as an artist. And now I'm able to do what I want without anybody thinking it's dumb.
One must dig deeply into opposing points of view in order to know whether your own position remains defensible. Iron sharpens iron.
I have very good knife skills. I learned to butcher on my second job - I was 18 years old. Every other day we would break down six legs of veal.
The material I did was lasting material. A lot of people thought I wasn't doing anything, but I was in the studio. The biggest factor is the material you choose. You hunt, you cut.
Whether I'm playing right now or not, I still have an opportunity to get better in practice. It's like sharpening my blade.