scransmellion

As a $5.00 patron with a $10.00 cap, I agree with the heightened sense of realness. And the realness is both delightful and uncomfortable, as any realness is bound to be! If anything, I would say that Patreon breeds more accountability with artists. Not accountability in the sense of "I own this artist" or "This artist must only put out art I adore/agree/underwrite with my approval" or anything like that . . . but more in the way that, because I am directly offering funding to a person and their judgement and their inherent humanity, I examine their actions more. When there were proposed fees for patrons, the entire Patreon community had very strong feelings about the proposed change. I am a patron to two artists on Patreon. I watched how both artists responded. Amanda engaged in even, open, understanding dialogue and gathered view points . . . she listened, I mean really listened, to her patrons. And she advocated for us beautifully, and we all made it out alive. There was radio silence from the other artist. Amanda now has my higher pledge.

Thank you for answering my question! :)

I generally think that it is unfair to expect anyone to share the same perspective us yourself - different perspectives are what make the world go round! In my experience, I left home when I was 17 (toxic home life, alcoholism, addiction, abuse) and set my sights doing something that wasn't done in my family: go to college. With that experience in mind, I have a hard time empathizing when folks seem to overlook how amazing it is (in my view) that they were able to have the foundation to attend college as an expectation, possibility with financial support from parents, etc. Everyone has their own journey, struggle is relative, and if an artist isn't brimming with joy about college they may have felt forced into that is okay . . . I just don't see myself in that story. I recently read Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein and she sort of hit the nail on the head for me when she described her transition between colleges and her eventual journey to Olympia: “Like a lot of middle-class kids, I needed my punk rock and rebellion underwritten by my parents." For me, college was my rebellion. And I don't know anything about the funding behind my favorite artist's college journies, nor should I. I just think it is cool that Amanda embodies authenticity in her relationship with college (I certainly would never expect every artist or person to be a yes-man or cheerleader for our flawed higher education system), and that she also acknowledges how it contributes to her creative process. Happy composing!

I was enjoying following bits and pieces of your and Michael Pope's journey working with students at Wesleyan, as well as reading about your time there in The Art of Asking. Often times, it seems to be a popular phenomenon that artists dismiss their college years as some sort of chore, as almost a hindrance to their journey . . . As a first generation college student who busted my ass putting myself through school to get a B.A. and an M.A., I see things a little differently. I really appreciate your continued relationship with your alma mater. So, my question is: how does your higher education seep into the creative process - what has your degree contributed to your artistic voice? Thank you for this AMA, for being my first Patreon artist, and for everything you do!