Way back in 2003 I was a relentless freelance writer, penning lengthy feature profiles I couldn’t be prouder of for the now-defunct Medium Magazine. My paths crossed with a number of local creative individuals, one of the most memorable being Omaha artist Rodger Gerberding.

A quote from my delightful two-hour interview, which found its way into my article, has stuck with me for the past six years. Here Rodger discusses his reaction when encountering work by other artists. I anticipate Rodger’s insight will stay with me for quite some time, and I hope it does the same for you.

The artist and person Gerberding is today also doesn’t allow unwarranted criticism to continually surface. He says he understands and sometimes connects with the person behind the work, regardless of his opinion: “It’s very difficult for me to criticize, in a very outright way, anybody’s work. I tend to look for what beauty is in it, what it says about the person who did it. That’s something I’ve come to fairly recently. You have to consider the hand and heart that’s behind it.”