Progress Not Perfection

You rarely see the many failures of any artist. So many pots have collapsed, a lot of ugly glaze combinations, broken handles, too dry, too wet and many grandiose ideas that just can’t defy gravity. And that’s just the ceramic part of my artistic journey. With social media, the pressure is even higher. Any artist who wants to grow, produce and sell has to use social media in some way to get recognition. My own social feeds are filled with ceramic artists that inspire me. They build and create perfect ceramics that often make me feel incompetent, unattainable and thoughts like “why try if I can’t do that” fill my head all the time. Everyday I have to consistently remind myself of how far I’ve come. That big bowls weren’t part of my vocabulary just 3 years ago. I couldn’t make a mug larger than a tea cup 5 years ago. Putting the negative thoughts out of my head is not easy. Just for today, I will be my own cheerleader, and I was never the cheerleading type. I know I will never reach perfection, and that is no longer my goal. I keep raising the bar for my artistic growth all the time. The acceptance of who I am right now, reminds me in a kind voice, that I am enough, I am good and I will keep on learning, so I can be even better. And this not only applies to my art making. I am making progress, because perfection is just too hard.