So does this mean we can’t be friends?

Kettle Falls artist Gloria de los Santos sent me a long letter disagreeing with my column on shopping for "Junk Masters" and other amateur art at thrift stores. She doesn’t approve.

She writes: "Artists are known to be the most highly educated and low-paid citizens in our society. There are scads of professional, extremely talented artists in the Inland Northwest, yet you encourage folks to collect cheap, ugly art by students and amateurs. There is nothing to be said for this kind of art except it's worth nothing, and always will be worth nothing."

Can’t argue with that. The point I made in the column is that these pieces had charm because professional artists didn’t paint them. There is a big difference in collecting fine art and picking up an amateur painting at the thrift store.

However, I will argue that artists aren’t the only ones who are over- educated and under-paid. Writing is another profession that is long on preparation and short on monetary reward. There are plenty of beautifully written works out there, but I don’t begrudge anyone the right to read whatever strikes their fancy.