Love & Acceptance (re: your own art)

Art, in any form, is a funny thing.

We all know that an artist is their own harshest critic, right? Based on my experience, I believe this is because they have a very clear vision in their head when they begin a project. They start out with certain expectations for the finished product, maybe a certain message they hope to convey, and a very specific end goal in mind regardless of the art form or medium.

Another thing we all know about art is that it is rarely ever that simple and straight-forward. Things do not always go according to this pre-conceived plan and the image in the mind of the artist may not come to fruition the way they had expected or intended. When that happens, the artist looks at the finished product and generally the mistakes and flaws are going to be what stands out to them the most.

Where this gets tricky is that most artists won't even allow their "failed" work to be seen by others. So many pieces of work that will never even see the light of day because it didn't quite live up to the preconceived notions of the artist and now they're unwilling to have this "failure" associated with their name. A weird mix of pride and shame sets in and they wouldn't dream of presenting that piece to be seen by the public, refusing to believe it could possibly be loved by anyone all because if fell short in comparison to the vision they had in mind.

While this can feel like a failure from the perspective of the artist, that's not always how it is viewed by the world outside the mind of the creator. In reality, these works that they see as "ugly" or "all wrong" may have a unexpected yet legitimate appeal to an unbiased audience. Artists tend to forget or just intentionally disregard that the outside world doesn't know what it was "meant to" be or have these same high hopes for the piece that were never achieved. The viewer takes it at face value and bases their opinion on the same - a piece of art cannot fall short of expectations that were never there to begin with. This isn't to imply an ignorant audience by any means - they're just seeing it with fresh, unbiased eyes.

This is not to say that every piece will be met with fanfare either. In fact, we see the complete opposite situation all too often where the maker just adores the way a piece turned out - a perfectly executed venture in their eyes. They are proud and excited to show off their work to the world but once presented, the same enthusiasm and passion is not always reciprocated. This can be for many reasons such as a lack of connection or interpretation, not having been on the same journey as the artist during the making of the piece, or simply a difference in taste. Regardless of the reason, the result of their hard work & passion was met with indifference, criticism, or even mockery. These reactions to a piece the artist held dear can be a major let-down and easily discourage future attempts at sharing their work or even from continuing to create again in the future.

I believe that is the behind-the-scenes art of artistry itself: to find a way to accept what you have created for what it turns out to be in the end. Period.

Remembering that at the end of the day, an interaction between an artist and their craft will always produce ART. This art may not be easy for you to love as the artist and it may not even be widely accepted by others. At very least, try to acknowledge that you created something and find a way to appreciate it even if it didn't turn out the way you originally hoped or expected. If you really can't find it in yourself to appreciate the art itself, maybe you can focus on appreciating the creative experience or the lessons learned in the process, both positive and negative.

If all else fails, you can at very least try to accept that, if given the chance, your artwork could be loved by SOMEONE. Someone out there who sees the beauty in it even if you, as the artist, cannot.

Let's start sharing all of our art, not shaming it.