rule 1. Find a play you trust and then try trusting it for a while.

rule #2. General duties of a student; pull everything out of you teacher. Pull everything out of your fellow students.

rule #3. General duties of a teacher: pull everything out of your students.

rule #4. Consider everything an experiment.

rule #5. Be self disciplined. This means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.

rule #6. Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.

rule #7. The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all the time who eventually catch on to things.

rule #8. Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.

rule #9. Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.

rule #10. “We’re breaking all of the rules. Even our own rules and how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities.” John Cage

Helpful hints: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often. Save everything – it might come in handy later.

There should be new rules next week.

Source: David Mekelburg, Immaculate Heart College Art Department Rules, c.1968. quoted in Rubber Stamping, Stephen Fowler, p. 9.