![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
puppetmakerToday’s topic Believe in Yourself
This can be hard to do. You look at one of my puppets or dolls and see the whole thing. I can see all the flaws and imperfections in the piece. Kind of a forest for the trees thing.
It took me years to be able to say that I was an artist. I called myself a craftsman for the longest time. It was an artist that I respect who changed my thinking by calling me an artist rather than a craftsman. He told me that he was in awe of what I could make because even though he could paint for days, he couldn’t sew to save his life. He was impressed at what I could make fabric do. And, for some reason, that changed my thinking.
Everyone creates art in one form or another. Some draw, some sculpt, others cook, and there is even art in the ability to organize a drawer or a closet. We start creating when we are small. Give a child a pencil and paper and they are off to the races making pictures of things that are important to them. Then our inner censor starts up and for some we don’t feel anything we draw is good enough. It goes even further when our peers jump in and tell us we aren’t good at something. We figure they are right and go from there.
Caroline sometimes gets frustrated when she can’t get what is in her head out on paper. I tell her that part of it is practice. The more you do something, the better you get at it. I can make a puppet from fabric and foam to finish puppet in about 4 hours but I have been doing it quite a while and I have had a lot of practice. Everything isn’t going fall into place at once.
And don’t be afraid to fail at a piece. There is always another piece of paper or fabric or clay that you can try again. Failing is how we learn to succeed. That method didn’t work so now we try something else. I have a box or two of puppet parts that didn’t make the grade but I figure I will use them for something else down the road.
So believe in yourself. There is an artist within that is willing to come out and play if you ask them to.
I am grateful my inner child and I get along so well.
This can be hard to do. You look at one of my puppets or dolls and see the whole thing. I can see all the flaws and imperfections in the piece. Kind of a forest for the trees thing.
It took me years to be able to say that I was an artist. I called myself a craftsman for the longest time. It was an artist that I respect who changed my thinking by calling me an artist rather than a craftsman. He told me that he was in awe of what I could make because even though he could paint for days, he couldn’t sew to save his life. He was impressed at what I could make fabric do. And, for some reason, that changed my thinking.
Everyone creates art in one form or another. Some draw, some sculpt, others cook, and there is even art in the ability to organize a drawer or a closet. We start creating when we are small. Give a child a pencil and paper and they are off to the races making pictures of things that are important to them. Then our inner censor starts up and for some we don’t feel anything we draw is good enough. It goes even further when our peers jump in and tell us we aren’t good at something. We figure they are right and go from there.
Caroline sometimes gets frustrated when she can’t get what is in her head out on paper. I tell her that part of it is practice. The more you do something, the better you get at it. I can make a puppet from fabric and foam to finish puppet in about 4 hours but I have been doing it quite a while and I have had a lot of practice. Everything isn’t going fall into place at once.
And don’t be afraid to fail at a piece. There is always another piece of paper or fabric or clay that you can try again. Failing is how we learn to succeed. That method didn’t work so now we try something else. I have a box or two of puppet parts that didn’t make the grade but I figure I will use them for something else down the road.
So believe in yourself. There is an artist within that is willing to come out and play if you ask them to.
I am grateful my inner child and I get along so well.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-03-04 05:01 pm (UTC)I remember how long it too me to give my car a basic tune-up the first time around. And the last time I did the actual work, it took me all of about two hours, because I had done it enough times by then that I knew what I needed to be careful of, what tools to have ready, the best angle to get at the spark plugs...
I think, though, that in our instant gratification, no waiting society, people forget that some things just take time. I remember in high school, the "smart" kids getting frustrated because they couldn't solve a math problem in less than five minutes. And if you took away their calculator...
But when pursuing a hobby that you enjoy, practicing at something you really want to be good at... It takes time, but there's a LOT of enjoyment that comes from the practice itself and the process of learning. Or, maybe I'm just a nerd.