The Art of Making Mistakes

 

I don't know if you have ever struggled with your "bits n pieces" of art being good enough for general public viewing.  I love to draw doodley art/tangles/words... mindlessly on bits of paper especially while watching TV or listening to music.  I would never classify it as "fine" art.  I do it to relax - and because I'm  trying to slow down, I'll often make errors in the process from impatience or distraction.

They are far from perfect. Not poetically beautiful. Not necessarily powerful or inspirational.  And are littered with mistakes.

A few weeks ago, I saw my talented son draw a beautiful picture and half way through, throw it in the bin.  I asked him why he would throw away such a beautiful piece of work and he grunted "too many mistakes" and then "Its not how I imagined it to look."

Oh boy - did I relate!  

We want to hide our mistakes or start over... forget that we were so stupid to make such a big blunder in the first place. But I was devastated that he threw the whole thing out because he didn't like one part of it.  What if my son had kept his picture and continued drawing?  Would the value of what he made decrease in my eyes?  NO! Not at all!

What if we embraced our art (ugly bits and all) as a means of learning and growth? Maybe even as a means of acceptance of value/worth too?  What would that look like?  I'm going to try to be brave enough NOT to throw away my "less than perfect" creations and see how they look finished anyways.

Here's a sneak peek of some recent pieces - warts and all.