What It Takes To Become An Artist

I just finished teaching a three-day Split Rock Workshop on photography offered through the University of Minnesota. But let's backtrack.

This was the first good street photograph I ever took. I was in my mid-twenties and had dreams of becoming an artist, even though my only formal photographic training was an Intro to Photography course taught by Sister Noemi at St. Scholastica (I got an A). There was one museum in my hometown Duluth, the Tweed, which I seldom visited. But I was crazy about photography. And now, some 25 years later I'm teaching a college photography class.

I asked the students what they thought were the characteristics, the stuff, it took to become an artist. Here's the list. All good answers. Surprising, though, that no one mentioned talent. Or an art degree.

Scope, Parameters
Resources
Time
Subjects
Passion, Motivation, Ambition
Thought
Purpose
Audience
Moral Support
Deadlines
Persistence
Flexibility, Openess
Faith
Feedback
Work on Skills
Enjoy It