I'm Not Perfect--And So Can You!

A common worry among people who want to tap into their creative side but don't because of the constant fear of messing up. If I had a nickel for every time someone said "I can't draw" to me, I'd be...well, I wouldn't be rich, but I'd have at least a nickel.

No matter how talented you are--no matter if art runs in your veins--everyone has to start somewhere. You can't improve without practice. For example:


Made for my Mom when I was almost 3. 

Is it silly and flawed? Of course, I made it at 3 years old! But that's just where I started. If I'd looked at that crayon drawing at the tender age of 3 and decided I wasn't any good at art, I wouldn't have the skills I have now.

I'm just going to throw a pretty trite old phrase out there for good measure: "You can't succeed if you don't try." You may roll your eyes, but somehow when it comes to art, people forget those words of wisdom. They assume that if they can't create something to rival Picasso and Van Gogh the first time they put a crayon to paper, they'll never be any good.

Now, I'm not saying it's not normal to doubt your work. Even the most talented of artists have their off-days. There's not one artist who hasn't crumpled up a work, thrown it at something, and declared themselves a hack. But the trick is moving past that and working to improve.

Not to mention, no one's perfect! We've only seen the real "works" of the old masters. Their homes were probably filled with stuff they considered sub par for themselves. And however good you are, you'll still screw up now and then. I even consider that a good thing--when you make something that you consider bad, it's an opportunity to reflect on what went wrong, and how you can do things better the next time around.

Case In Point:
A couple weeks ago, my 3D Design instructor handed each student an 8' two-by-four and said "make something out of this." Oh dear.

I planned for a long time. I ran around town, trying to find a place where I could get the damn thing cut into manageable pieces.
Then this happened:


This isn't even all of them. A total of 96 little tiny boards--NINETY SIX OF THEM!

And then THIS happened: 

Play dead, Board-Fido!

Flimsy. That was how the instructor described it, and I can't blame him. I had no prior experience working with wood, and it showed. Disaster struck about 20 times while I worked on that fence--I named it "A Testament to OH NO". It was supposed to represent freedom from society's bounds, and exploration of your world...and instead it represented things that break when you carry them into the classroom.

But you know what? I'm glad I messed up that project, because now I have some degree of know-how. I'm going to redo the assignment, and I'm going to do it RIGHT (I'll post it here upon finishing it!) I'm not about to throw in the towel because one instructor thinks my work is "flimsy".

Anyway, if you've been arguing with yourself over whether to try your hand at creativity, go for it. It might go better than you think, and if it doesn't, then you can always try again. :D

Off to the Home Depot to get a two-by-four!

Daisy