“To live a creative life, we must lose the fear of being wrong. “   – Joseph Chilton Pearce

Over the past couple of years, this has become my creative motto.  It speaks to me very personally.  I am by nature a perfectionist of sorts, terribly afraid of being wrong.  Mostly not wanting to look stupid.

I’m not sure how this became such a part of who I am (I have an educated guess), but it’s been there a long time.

When it comes to art, don’t we all feel like we’re wrong at some point?  I have sat through many, many art history classes, all of which held up artists as geniuses of their time.   And I agree that many were indeed geniuses.    I’ve critiqued their work.  I’ve stood in awe.  But some of them really just knew how to work the system.   And sometimes I thought, “What?  This is art?”  Because, as we all know, art these days is so subjective that it’s hard to say what art is anymore.  I like some of it.  I hate some of it.  Most of it I can at least appreciate.  But you have to admit it, most of what is considered “modern” and “it” in the art world now really isn’t very pleasant to look at.

Yes, I know that’s the point, ok.  But it still doesn’t make me want to look at it.  So there.  It is visual art, for crying out loud.

And so what if I’m wrong?  I’m not afraid of being wrong anymore, remember (she reminds herself).

So this leads me back to my own creativity….. over and over again as I’m working in my studio, I have to remind myself to enjoy my creativity.  Stop thinking so hard and have some fun at it.  Play.  Experiment.

I’m still working on losing my fear, I guess.  But I’m a lot closer than I was this time last year.  And the year before….