Last, I encourage young artists to find their voice, find their style. No matter how talented you may be, if you don’t have a way to express it uniquely, you’re not living honestly with what’s waiting to spring from inside you. There are a lot of really talented imitators around, and they’ll probably find work in the studios out there, but do you want to be drawing like Walt Disney all your life? Don’t be an imitator, be an innovator. It’s challenging, but I think the long-term reward is worth the blood, sweat, tears and debt.As I've said before here and elsewhere, there's nothing wrong with building Muppet replicas (just don't sell them!) and "Muppety" puppets, but if you're serious about building a great career in puppetry and want to really develop and succeed as an artist you have to find your own style and your own voice.
Incidently, Sam's new show The Fox Latern - an anti-war story set in feudal Japan - is running until August 20th at Centenary United Methodist Church in Los Angeles and has been getting really good reviews. If you're in or near L.A. and want to check it out call (213) 617-9097 or email cumcshotokyo@aol.com for reservations and information.
