Today was my practical diploma exam. I presented 5 paintings and my sculpture “Greedo”. There were 5 professors and the exam was about 15 minutes.

I was asked about my process and about other (sometimes obscure) stuff: They asked e.g. why I did the American theme and I told them that I was from the US. One of them blurted out “Oh I’m sorry about that” to which I said “Well I’m not”. He didn’t mean to be offensive, just to provoke and see what I would do.

The important thing in situations like these is to keep calm and show confidence and honesty at the same time. If a critic sees a weak point, they’ll dig deep and push you into a corner. As an artist you are (or at least will be) faced with critics, everyone will have a say about what you should or should not do. Part of being an artist is shaking it off and keeping confidence. You have a choice as to how you respond to stuff. As for me, I have the rest of the day off :)