I foresee this being a recurring theme in my blog to explain what is art from my view or a collection of the views of others; today featuring..

Peter Lindbergh 

'tis the season of job seeking. Life after graduation cannot be more confusing and stressful. One day you feel like a flying squirrel, and then others like a stale, dry biscuit. 

The ultimate question it boils down to is "What skills do you have?" 

I think it is such a limited mentality, I believe that all of us have unlimited amount of skills, because it could be learnt easily. The difference with artists is not that we are limited by our skills, just our minds. The commitment to an idea would allow us to learn skills just to accomplish our goals. 

For example, to create solidarity, I had to learn how to sew, to make the cereal box video I had to learn video editing. 

Instead of thinking: what skills I can have to create something, artists decide what they want to make and then problem solve, problem solve, and problem solve until it is accomplished. 

So, when you ask an artist, what skills do they have the answer is unlimited. My professor Tom Lauerman (artist) teaches how to build 3D printers, my tech-allergic (artist) friend Christina Dietz learnt to direct a film and build a house for her film, "Honeybees and Homemakers: Pollination and Gendered Labor", my quiet (artist) friend Kaye Saxe learnt how to upholster furniture for a project. (Artist) Michael Grasso is improving his woodworking skills to better deliver his ideas, (Artist) Bonnie Collura was certified by New York City Fire Department for her welding skills, (Artists) Paul Outlaw and Jennifer Catron modified vehicles to suit their art purposes.

We are always learning, a bee art project requires you to study animal behavior in detail, precision artwork may require new knowledge about 3D printing, laser cutting or  CNC milling, a performance piece may require the knowledge of a stage set up, public speaking, each photoshoot requires basic knowledge of photo editing; mold making, casting, sound editing, projections etc the list is endless!

So don't ask an artist what their skills are because the difference with artists is that the list is always expanding. We are the ultimate learners, idea driven people. Learning a new skill is our daily bread.