After five months of working on it I ended up with eight and a half pages of over worked art with a nonexistent story before finally I decide to set it aside for good. For a time I tried to start painting again, but it wasn't work that was motivating or interesting me. I eventually got sick of that and started to do little badly drawn comics most that were drawn within a few minutes. And through this I could say things that had been building up inside of me for a while. Shortly after this time I discovered a magazine called The Comics Journal in the bargain bin of a local comic shop, in it was an interview with James Kochalka an artist that at the time I was only faintly aware of. And in that interview he talked about a couple of letters that he had written to the Comics Journal that had caused some rumblings among some cartoonists.

I have included these letters entitled "Craft is the Enemy" and "Craft is Not a Friend" To provide a frame of reference for how I interpreted it. Like I said previously I started to draw much quicker as a result I started to get more of my thoughts out. Reading these letters in the midst of this discovery, felt like a giant nod of approval, that what I was doing was valid. I really felt that it discusses about how new cartoonists often get bogged down creating well-crafted artwork. Therefore, they develop their skills as a cartoonist more slowly, never developing a work of quality because they only concentrate on one aspect of cartooning. James told readers to draw the way that they do now. Don't concentrate on drawing alone but strive for a balance of concentration between the two aspects of comics, and in doing so you will develop your own unique voice.
This essay had a profound effect on me because it kind pointed out some of the faults that had developed in my previous work. As a result I started to concentrate less on my artwork, my thought being that if I just did my comics eventually the artwork would get better as long as I kept at it, because, honestly it couldn't get worse. Instead I tried to reach this middle ground between art and writing, and just drawing to make a comic as opposed to drawing to make a nice drawing.

Since the time that I first read these letters I formed a set of rules based in part on the three principals of the Arts and Crafts Movement. The first of these principles is "Unity of Art" (Crawford 1) people involved with the arts and crafts movement wanted to remove the pecking order that existed in the arts. This referred to art forms such as sculpture and painting being held in higher regard than more decorative or illustrative arts. Extending this principal to include comics into the list of art forms that deserve more respect is the first obvious thing that I thought of. But taking the idea of "Unity of Art" further I believe this principle can be modified to remove the pecking order of drawing aspect of comics versus the writing. Not developing a concentration of one or the other independently, but concentrating creating a comic as a whole.

The second principle of the arts and crafts movement is "Joy in Labor" (Crawford 1). Joy in labor is exactly that, having joy in what you do. Comics in particular this is an extremely important factor because as a cartoonist there just isn't a large enough paying market. If you are a cartoonist and it is because you enjoy creating comics you are good to go, if you are in it because of the money then you're setting yourself for disappointment. But this idea is easily come by and obvious to people who are serious about becoming a cartoonist. "Joy in Labor" In the context of Kochalka's letter can be equated with creating a great comic, creating something that you are proud of and that may garner respect of your peers. My interpretation of Kochalka's letters is that he wants a cartoonist not to obsess about the drawing, because you can easily become a slave to it. If you are a slave to your drawing ability and you allow your abilities as a drawer get in the way of your responsibilities as a cartoonist, you have already deprived yourself of the ability to create a truly great comic.

The third principle of the arts and crafts movement, which is "Design Reform", essentially says make designs better (Crawford 1). As in comics, the arts and crafts movement sought to move away from assembly line products and have products and designs be created by one person. This was done for a number of other reasons but the main was to retain and nurture a person's unique vision and quality of their work. Although that quality may be lacking at first, the followers of the arts and crafts movement believed that a craftsmen, through the repetition of constantly creating new products, would eventually lead them to a natural improvement in quality (Crawford 1). In Kochalka's "Craft is the Enemy" it can be inferred that someone who concentrates on developing their drawing abilities will not help them grow as a cartoonist. Only by concentrating on creating a finished comic will a person learn to make a better comic. By doing this a cartoonist will be put into a position that will allow them to grow more effectively as an cartoonist simply through the act of constantly creating.

There are some people that could see some problems with ideas and rules I formed around Kochalka's letter and the principles of the arts and crafts movement. Mainly, this can easily be seen as an excuse to draw badly. But as a clarification I wanted to emphasize that Kochalka's letter doesn't want a cartoonist to spend their time perfecting their drawing ability, but spending their time perfecting their cartooning ability. I believe that creating comics and drawing are two completely different acts, based simply upon the fact that a comic is meant to be read, while drawings are meant to be observed. And whether you are perfecting a high level of craft or simply not evolving your craft you are failing to meet the criteria of the third principle set forth. As Kochalka said he wants a person to use the abilities they have now, and eventually these abilities will grow.

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