art is a river you navigate by yourself; only take passengers if they can make better rafts than you...a problem is just a creative solution in a box waiting to be unpacked and assembled according to your instructions...make plans, prepare well, do your homework, then lose it all temporarily; people work better under a little stress...quantity is no indicator of worth and quality is always relative; be sure to network in the appropriate circles...listen to others' advice and then dare to be different; no-one makes a change by nodding agreeably...the uninspired have it written all over their faces; the inspired have it written all over their notebooks...if someone says but, i could do that! - ask them to demonstrate, chances are they will decline, thus disproving their point...an enquiring mind raises the question; a critical mind looks for faults within it...being mildly discontent is a sign that you are thinking; it's those that are blissful that one needs to worry about...never mix art with chocolate; it will only make your art look fatuous...your last piece of work is probably the best you could do at the time; if you think it's perfect you weren't trying hard enough...art like all things, is open to interpretation; but it's not an excuse for a lack of understanding...bad artists lack critical judgement, good artists make work in response to a crisis in their thinking...when in doubt, look at your art upside-down in a mirror; if it still looks awful don't worry, you still have a mirror to play with...rejection: a qualitative method in which artists slowly mature, as too much success breeds complacency...creative block: the old building where the cool artists work; aspire to have a studio just like them...there are no absolute rules in art; either you agree with them, or you don't because you have a better ones...and the list could go on... i just made these up, but they probably exist somewhere, in some form or other, in some context, on a wall, in a book, on a website......