You know those moments when you’re working on something and you think… “Ugh. This is going nowhere.” Or, “Why did I do that?” Or. “What on earth was I thinking by doing it that way?”
Yeah.
Those moments.
Well, I hit one of those yesterday.
I knew in my head how I wanted it to look. But, the outcome… well, let’s just say I struggled to get anywhere near what I envisioned with what appeared.
I also know… seeking perfection is the path to frustration. It can also lead to a whole bunch of negative self-talk and doubt.
And staying in my head… well that’s the road to perdition.
Because, in my head, it’s easy to get caught up in the “What is wrong with you/Can’t you do anything right?” game the critter loves to play with my creative expression when I am stuck or over-thinking or feeling frustrated by a new technique I’m playing with — and taking my play way too seriously.
Which is why I am choosing to share this piece even though I struggle to accept its imperfections.
Like it says, I gotta dare to walk on the wild side and let imperfection be a reflection of what my heart is yearning to express.
It’s not about the art. It’s about the process. And the process for this piece incorporates a new-to-me element — using stencils, rice paper and soft pastels together.
I love how it works and looks — I just don’t love how I judge myself so harshly when learning something new!
In that space, I forget all about being loving and gentle with myself as I slip effortlessly into a river of self-condemnation and doubt.
Swimming in that river is not good for my mental health. It dams up my fearlessness, leaving me swimming upstream against the natural flow of creativity as the critter exhorts me to ‘get it right… the first time!
It also makes me want to quit.
I am writing this out because in writing it out, I find myself once again doing what Benjamin Zander suggests in his brilliant TedTalk – The Transformative Power of Classical Music when I come up against my oh so human traits of thinking I need to be perfect when I do something new…
I throw my hands up in the air, shake my head and exclaim, “Aren’t I fascinating!”
And then… I take a walk on the wild side where the beauty of imperfection is a wide open field of possibility, stunning in its capacity to open me up, heart, mind, soul and body to the wondrous nature of life lived wild and free.
Dare Boldly 
I really liked this
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Thank you Joanne! I really appreciate that you do. ❤
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I throw my hands up in the air, shake my head and exclaim, “Aren’t I fascinating!” – I absolutely love this!!! I appreciate your post absolutely.
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Thank you Pragalbha. I appreciate your stopping by to visit and comment and share your light. ❤
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🙏🏼💛
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I’m sure we all have those feelings from time to time…….your creativity is nothing short of amazing but somehow we are our own worst critics. Happy you didn’t stay there very long!💕
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Thanks Val — I think the secret is to let the feelings flow so that I can flow free of their distruptive ways! 🙂 ❤
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I needed this today. Yesterday I was forcing a song to go where it wasn’t supposed to… overthinking it… today I will see where it takes me.
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How lovely that my words found you at just the right moment Ian! I love that serendipity — and your reminder to me to “see where it [the muse] takes me” is timely too! Thank you!
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The beauty of imperfection! I’ve learned to embrace it!! I really love this piece of art, I’m just starting to learn and try collage.
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Oooohhhh!!!! How exciting! Collage is so much fun — I am loving working with rice paper. It is transparent enough to allow the underpainting to show through in unusual and mystical ways!
Have fun!
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Thank you for that tip!!!! I’ll add it to my learning log.
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First: You’re nothing short of perfect to ME (sorry for the upper cases, can’t do ‘bold’)…. You’re a hero and a warm-hearted friend.
The talk with B. Zander I’ve seen and re-viewed many times. As a hobby singer & musician (not ‘classical’ but rather Baroque) I can’t live without music (as I couldn’t live without books) I need his speech from time to time. I must have sent this link to just about everybody I know who ever made or enjoyed music….
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See! We are so sympatico!!!! It has long been one of my favs and one I too replay as a reminder.
Ooohhhh…. a hobby singer. I love to sing — and though I once played music (accordion – don’t ask), I now just play it on my iPhone music – and I too can’t imagine emy world without it!
And thank you my warm-hearted, kind and generous friend. ❤
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PS: I’m re-listening to this video as I’m writing to the bloggers I follow…. 😉 🙂
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Oh, that C making the b sounding sad…. 😉
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He is brilliant.
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I love this. I actually think the work is beautiful but love even more embracing imperfections. They are after all what make us real and relatable 💗.
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Thank you! and so true LaDonna — they do make us ‘real and relatable’ — love that! ❤
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💗💗
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