Learning Is A Tunnel Experience That Makes

That Artists Are Called To Be More Responsible And 'true' Is A Tip Of Hat To Their Power.

Be More Than Ready. Be Present In Your Discipline. Remember Your Gift. Be Grateful For Your Gift And Treat It Like A Gift. Cherish It, Take Care Of It, And Pass It On.

Art Should Take What Is Complex And Render It Simply. It Takes A Lot Of Skill, Human Understanding, Stamina, Courage, Energy, And Heart To Do That.

Some People Study A Text Very Deeply. The People Are My Text. I Study Their Words And What Their Words Sound Like, Over And Over Again. When I Was A Kid, My Grandfather Said That "if You Say A Word Often Enough, It Becomes You." Thinking Of That Later In Life Gave Me This Idea That I Could Try To Become America By Learning The Words Of People From Many Aspects Of The Country. It Doesn't Matter How Educated They Are. By Living In The World And Living Their Experiences, They Bring Extraordinary Truths. I Try To Do Those Truths Justice.

You Know If We Were To Look Back And How We Were In 1955 Living In Jim Crow, Living In Segregation, Living In Segregated Schools, It's Hard To Believe That It Was America, But It Really Was.