Make Art Make Money: Lessons From Jim Henson on Fueling Your Creative Career Read Online Free PDF Page B

[54]
    When you have a business like Henson’s, people
work for you for reasons that go deeper than money. Joseph Bailey describes in
his memoir that he was “writing the TV show 10 hours a day.” [55] Yet he was happy. “At thirty years of age,” he wrote, “I got to run away and
join the circus. The adventure lasted for 20 years.” [56]
    Dave Goelz was an industrial designer who showed
up on set one day during his vacation. He also left a good career because he
wanted something better . He relates:
    I started my own business doing industrial
advertising.… Jim proposed that I keep my main industrial client, come to
the Muppet Workshop as a designer/builder, and perform occasionally in
specials. It gave me the Muppet work that I was passionate about and included
several escapes to California each year.… How could I say no? So I did it. [57]
    Karen Prell, in her own words, “bombarded Henson
Associates with fan letters and inquiries about puppet building or performing
work.” In one such letter she introduced herself by saying, “I would like to
work with the Muppets. Or at least attempt to.” It goes on to explain why:
    I’ve gone through several jobs that offered security
and dental insurance, but none that gave me an opportunity to become hairy
monsters or singing animals. [58]
    Joseph Bailey wrote in his “In Memoriam” chapter for Henson:
    I’ll always remember him as
the magical ringmaster who let me turn a quirky talent into a meaningful career
and for letting me spend 20 fascinating years with his marvelous, mystical,
magical circus. [59]
    Artists work for artists for good
reason. It is because they are “passionate,” in Goelz’s words, about art; they
want to “become” something, in Prell’s words; to have a “meaningful career” in
Bailey’s. To some people, that is more important than security and dental
insurance.
    On the other hand, it can
be tempting to assume that everyone is, in some sense, an artist.
Perhaps we are all born artists, but when it comes to finding dedicated
collaborators, that simply isn’t true.
    QUALIFICATION TO ADDENDUM
NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO WORK FOR YOU
    In 1980, a poll asked secretaries whom they’d most like to
work for. In the poll, Jim Henson—at the height of his career—was just about as
attractive to the secretaries as “the ‘average employer’—3 percent.” Many more
women, it seemed, would like to work for Phil Donahue—the overwhelming winner
with 18 percent. Other more preferable bosses included Erma Bombeck, Alan Alda,
Dan Rather, and President Carter. [60] While it is notable to be on the list at all, it would be wrong to say that everyone wanted to work at Jim Henson’s magical circus.
    Some people will always want to work for someone
more powerful, more handsome, or more charming. Not everyone, it seems, is a
Fraggle. Not everyone wants to dance their cares away.
    And perhaps that’s the beauty of a nuanced
phrases like “Why don’t you come talk about working?” It’s a quiet question
that requires an overwhelming affirmative in order to truly connect. Not everyone wants to work for you. But some people really, really want to work for
you. If Spinney hadn’t really wanted to, he wouldn’t have joined Henson. Prell
had to write multiple letters to get in. Henson’s quiet method effectively
sought these people out and brought them into his group. And while Caroll
Spinney could have begrudged Henson for hiring him at lower wages than he’d
like, he didn’t. Everyone who worked for Henson seemed to express gratitude for
what they say was a positive experience. He let them create and achieve things,
and it is hard to watch clips of Henson’s funeral service without feeling this
gratitude very deeply.
    Muppet builder Caroly Wilcox later reflected on
her time in the workshop, saying, “To be given the chance to create was
something Jim did for all of us, and that was a great pleasure.” [61] Jerry Juhl said of Fraggle Rock, “Jim