When I'm sculpting, I work with wood and clay, and though some say that an image is already in the material and the sculptor just has to discover it, I also believe you have an image in your head that you're trying to get to. So you're in a dialogue with the piece, a back-and-forth.

There is incredible power in the arts to inspire and influence.

I believe that if you really have a strong idea, you can say, "What do you think? Let's see how my idea plays off yours."

I use cinematic things in a theatrical way on stage, and in film I use theatrical techniques in a cinematic way.

In a way, artists are shamans, facilitators who take what's there, channel it through themselves, then put it out there for people to appreciate.

You have to stop yourself from even thinking about failing.

You don't have to patronize your audience, and you can mix art and commerce in a profound way. You can simultaneously play to the sophisticated, 60-year-old theatergoers and to 4-year-olds.