Failure Is Good A Thing

I’m sure we’ve all heard the quote that goes, “The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.” I heard it so much, I got kind of tired hearing it. Yeah, yeah… try and fail, try and fail, try and fail… Failing all the time is exhausting. Specifically, I’m talking about having an awesome project in mind and trying it out… then it just… suuuucks.

But let me tell you something… I guarantee you, I have thrown away more art than I have shown or kept. I tossed sketchbooks in the garbage. I have burned piles of paper. I have shredded canvas. All because I deemed them failures.

However… I don’t regret a single one of those failed pieces. I'm not trying to get preachy so let's be honest... Yes, it was hella frustrating to have to go through the trial and error portion of it all. Especially the “error” part. It hurts and it's made me cry more than once. It makes my brain think, “You’re pathetic.” And it kills me but I think like that riiiight up to the moment I make something a success. That’s when the failures wash away. I try until I learned something. Each failure taught me things to try or understand better. Each failure taught me a new technique. Each sketch got the bad ideas out so the good ideas could come through. Each ruined canvas was an opportunity to start fresh or use my brain power to figure out how to make it work. There is always a solution and a fix to every problem.

I heard this TED talk the other day by Susan David. It struck me because it really does take a certain mindset that these so called failures make me more successful. It takes courage to go into something knowing it could very possibly fail. I don't know about you... but I like to think I am being badass.

I still throw a fit when I mess up a painting because I'm only human. My heart pounds, my face gets hot, and I swear like a sailor. I forget that the “failure” I’m going through is going to teach me something. Right up until that moment I’m about to make another mistake and I remember, “Oh yeah… that didn’t go so well last time. Let’s try something else.” Then, TADA! Epiphany strikes and I make something pretty neat!

Failures aren’t exactly failures. They’re just lessons. Lessons are a good thing for any artist. The constant state of learning from these failures makes the work all the better. I know I’m going to continue to fail. Each time I do, it will bring me that much closer to success. In fact Vanessa Lemen wrote an article on Muddy Colors entitled Mindfulness - Listen to the Lost Painting where she points out some lessons she's learned by, essentially, "failing" at a piece because she tried a new technique for the first time. She also points out some handy ideas to overcome that problem. To take a step back and breathe then use your noggin to come up with a solution. Failure is just a tool to use to expand your mind and talents.

In the end, I think obtaining that absolute wealth of knowledge is worth all the heartache and hard work put into the "failure."