Andrew, I appreciate this. Frankly, I was horrified by the art and aesthetic of the project, I did not understand your involvement, and I stayed silent owing to the sensitivity and wrongness of [a lot]. In any case, I have always admired your vibrant enthusiasm and the kind of light silliness you brought to your outreach. In my opinion, you made mistakes. None terrible, though undoubtedly painful. And to be fair lots of bags were pumped. :/ Bag pumping has never been my approach as imo it unquestionably taints the authenticity of art. However, with regards to the mistakes I believe they were errors of judgement and (while I question the ambition of them) that they were made in in good faith, and, good gosh, I made PLENTY of those kinds of mistakes when I was you ie in my early-mid (and late) 20's.

If indeed you intend on being an artist–this was the biggest news to me–our experiences inform our work. If you do choose to pursue art, this experience will therefore also inform your work.

Lastly, one thing I have always noticed about you is a loving heart. For that I can vouch and for that I am grateful. What worked for me in becoming who I am now was less ambition, more compassion. In deed, heart, action, and mind, this is the way.