tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post7195801594243673073..comments2023-10-17T05:41:41.681-04:00Comments on Katharine A. Cartwright Studio: The Forward Momentum of FailureAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11037549177881696434noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-80212849701147589362010-03-16T07:18:38.443-04:002010-03-16T07:18:38.443-04:00Hi Kaylyn - I like the magnet and your attitude!!Hi Kaylyn - I like the magnet and your attitude!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11037549177881696434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-23579859336901625852010-03-16T01:55:41.835-04:002010-03-16T01:55:41.835-04:00I had a major aHah moment when I found a magnet pr...I had a major aHah moment when I found a magnet printed in simple black type on a square white ground. It yelled at me from across the store " always make new mistakes". I don't buy magnets with sayings on them. But I walked right across and picked it up and bought it. Changed my life and my perfectionist fear of failure.<br /><br />Mistakes (failures) are good if we learn from them and quit making the same ones over and over...and over again. So I welcome them and try to recognize when they're actually not mistakes at all but just the right thing breaking out of my thick skull!!Kaylyn Munrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11717537170993339125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-79025488422576026682010-03-14T13:09:47.740-04:002010-03-14T13:09:47.740-04:00Thanks, Pam. You seem to experience the anxiety (...Thanks, Pam. You seem to experience the anxiety (as I do) -- do you enjoy that buzz, or do you find it unpleasant? I'm risk-avoidant by nature, so the anxiety that goes with danger or risk is not pleasant for me at all. Do you just power through it or do you have a way of reducing the "stomach churning" part of creativity? I've learned all these strategies that are supposed to help, but I haven't figured out how to make them work for me.Deborah C. Stearnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10293517108313679115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-24516768512589630222010-03-13T21:19:34.678-05:002010-03-13T21:19:34.678-05:00Beautifully said Deborah- from the heart.Beautifully said Deborah- from the heart.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-9079839703142595912010-03-13T08:25:40.800-05:002010-03-13T08:25:40.800-05:00I'm late to the discussion, but this post touc...I'm late to the discussion, but this post touches a key issue for me. Risk and the fear of failure is a huge stumbling block in my process. I'm easily bored by repetition, so I want to do new things, but I'm deeply afraid of failure, which is always attendant. (I think the risk of failure is always present in life, not just creativity -- to avoid the risk of failure we would have to do *nothing* at all, which of course means that we would fail to do anything -- again, failure.) What if I ruin it? What if this choice is the wrong one? In theory, I agree with Teresa's framing, that all choices lead to success, in that we either produce good work or learn from our mistakes so that we go on to produce better work. Risk and mistakes are necessary for growth. But it doesn't feel that way when I'm in the middle of it. When that fear of failure becomes too strong, I walk away and stop creating to avoid the possibility that I'll screw it up. So I struggle with this issue; it represents my biggest creative stumbling block. Every once in a while I go back and re-read <i>Art and Fear</i> to try to get a handle on this issue, but I don't have a systematic way of working through it yet.Deborah C. Stearnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10293517108313679115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-28194760368959668622010-03-11T08:35:33.385-05:002010-03-11T08:35:33.385-05:00I DARE you to make me relax... maybe it's my a...I DARE you to make me relax... maybe it's my attitude.... :-)))Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-15140111684766333982010-03-11T07:20:10.142-05:002010-03-11T07:20:10.142-05:00Hi Pam - repeat after me: ohhhhhm, ohhhhhm, ohh...Hi Pam - repeat after me: ohhhhhm, ohhhhhm, ohhhhm ..... We need to find a way to get you to relax, girlfriend! Art can be a blissful journey, too :-)<br /><br />Hi Hallie - you're definitely a risk-taker in your art, which is a great reward for the rest of us who view it!!<br /><br />Hi Egmont - finding focus can be very difficult and I understand your struggle. For me, it was a matter of making a firm decision that I'm supposed to occupy my life with making art. But, life does have a way of throwing more immediate problems on our path, and I know you've had your share. I hope that you find enough rewarding moments to engage in your art.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11037549177881696434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-81565365170614674332010-03-11T00:46:59.851-05:002010-03-11T00:46:59.851-05:00Greetings Katharine,
I believe in risk, especiall...Greetings Katharine,<br /><br />I believe in risk, especially when I come to understand the bases of a technique, when I then want to try something new and possible different. <br /><br />I have found that when I attended collage last year and given some guidance and made aware of new materials, that I was willing to experiment, taking risks.<br /><br />I miss school as it opened me up and allowed me to become the artist that was hidden. Now there are too many distractions to be able to focus and create and so fear sets in.<br /><br />I have had my share of failures, but I look upon them as a success too, because from it I learned and tried again.<br /><br />Thank you for sharing and wishing you a wonderful day,<br />EgmontFour Seasons in a Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16515078635782464939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-85824658212980325762010-03-10T17:33:15.367-05:002010-03-10T17:33:15.367-05:00I'm walking--I like the uncertainty.I'm walking--I like the uncertainty.hw (hallie) farberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11636182620056350811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-2178673287273128712010-03-10T16:00:27.795-05:002010-03-10T16:00:27.795-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-10764183679084078862010-03-10T14:45:27.997-05:002010-03-10T14:45:27.997-05:00Hi Don - my feelings are very similar to yours on ...Hi Don - my feelings are very similar to yours on all counts, and I'm always puzzled by the risks I take because I can't objectively evaluate them. Sometimes that's very frustrating. However, it's one of the reasons I continue to enter juried competitions each year - if I get in and/or earn an award then it looks like my risks were good ones. However, I'm also aware of the subjectivity of juried competitions, so I look at the total response of many over time. You ask if one is being creative if no risk of failure is involved and it seems to me to be true. No pain - no gain!<br /><br />Hi Teresa - I like your positive attitude. The reality for me is that not everything I paint turns out well, but (as you point out) those works are learning experiences. I count them as "failures" only in the sense that they aren't good enough to sell or exhibit. That doesn't mean that I'm a failure, only that the work itself has failed to achieve what I wanted it to accomplish.<br /><br />Hi Stan - I like the risks you take!!<br /><br />Hi Nancy - isn't it ironic that some people actually like the works that we artists throw into the discard pile?? As you say, it happens. So, I guess we artists aren't the best judges of our work.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11037549177881696434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-59471803831818606492010-03-10T12:18:37.628-05:002010-03-10T12:18:37.628-05:00Sometimes, the paintings that I consider to be fai...Sometimes, the paintings that I consider to be failures are ones that receive the most positive comments. Because art is so subjective, I imagine this is true for many artists. Now that I'm painting more often, I don't worry as much about failures because I find that trying new ideas and methods is invigorating regardless of the outcome. Also, I usually learn more from my 'failures' than my successes.Nancy Goldmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08957674798737272474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-65788261197794544992010-03-10T11:55:54.039-05:002010-03-10T11:55:54.039-05:00I don't think I look for failure but in retros...I don't think I look for failure but in retrospect I know many of my failures are a result of both risks I take and don't take. I think risks are a necessary part of my progression. I break a lot of rules and it seems I can't hang out too long on the path of certainty; I move on, albeit sometimes too quickly or not soon enough. My art, like life, is a roller coaster ride.Stan Kurthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07591425614127432689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-42387372181315240922010-03-10T10:32:03.298-05:002010-03-10T10:32:03.298-05:00What is failure? I don't believe I leave thoug...What is failure? I don't believe I leave thought for such a negative connotation. Things may not progress as I intend yet I find pleasure in finding alternatives when art goes awry, but failure, no such thing. We have learning experiences. <br /><br />I learned long ago that a piece that may not hold up to personal expectations usually means there is room for growth, challenge and learning. So on that note, there is only success.tess stiebenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14990043775194246617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1324184304367023797.post-53133404060315531722010-03-10T04:54:06.812-05:002010-03-10T04:54:06.812-05:00I don't necessarily look forward to failure, b...I don't necessarily look forward to failure, but like Rauschenberg, I have to watch out for boredom. To this end, I feel a continual need to push myself outside of my comfort zone while trying new things with my work. As you know, Kathy, I'm always looking for new challenges - and to me those challenges are what keeps what I do fun.<br /><br />I'm not sure I'm ready for sustained uncertainty, though. Once I understand something another appetite may have formed, but I also allow that understanding to inform my new appetite.<br /><br />I've noticed that the amount of risk we take seems to affect the sum of the reward. When I've really gone out on a limb to try something new, and it works, there is an intensely rewarding feeling that results. If it fails, I find a need to try harder to "understand" - to figure it out. But, if I do something that I know I can do with my eyes closed then the feeling upon completion is much more subdued and, in fact, disingenuous. This makes me wonder if one is really being creative if there is no risk of failure involved?<br /><br />-Don-Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17549962962379079880noreply@blogger.com