Unlearn that mistakes are a bad thing.
I believe they are the opposite.
Sure, they show we’ve gone down the wrong path, so we have to backtrack and find another – and, really think about how we can make things work.
But….that’s where inspiration and innovation often occur.
Mistakes are a part of our art experience – if we don’t make mistakes how on earth can we learn and grow?
And for those who lack confidence in their work, embrace mistakes, write about them, take images of them and learn to talk about them, don’t hide them, because they’re some of the most important times in your work.
Mistakes are usually the turning point, the point where that good old light-bulb moment happens, allowing us to move forward, successfully.
Mistakes also help justify a design concept. If we want people to truly understand our design process to a fully resolved end product as a journey, including those mistake moments makes perfect sense, as it makes our work more relatable.
It shows progression and determination.
Everyone makes mistakes.
The spray lubricant, WD40 is so named because it took 40 attempts to create. It’s taken me four iterations to finally resolve my current work, Coral.
We just have to do what it takes to make something work.
So, celebrate the small wins that help push our work forward toward completion, but similarly, we must have compassion for ourselves when things go wrong.
Mistakes are positive, not negative.
The true artist learns from them and uses them as stepping stones.
Walk away from a mistake, and take a breather. Chances are that by the time you return, you’ve already worked out how to rectify things enabling you to move forward with confidence.
So change that relationship with mistakes – embrace them as the learning tools they are.
They’re showing us the way forward by closing off unworkable paths.
Don’t be overwhelmed and don’t quit because things haven’t gone quite to plan.
The secret is to just figure it out and keep going.
Being perfect is a myth – being practical is rewiring how we think to make use of those mistake-moments.
So learn to form a kind relationship with mistakes because they’re bound to keep happening.
