So did you notice that I upgraded my WordPress software today? No? Perfect! The process took all of about five minutes including restoring ALL of my customisations. What’s more, I have been able to activate some nifty new plug-ins such as an image resizing facility – thanks for the links Kim. I should have done this weeks ago but I was apprehensive about what might happen in the course of deleting old WordPress files off my server. That basic fear provoked inertia if not paralysis.
The same thing can happen in quiltmaking or other creative endeavours. As David Bayles and Ted Orland observe in Art & Fear – Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking: If you are prone to disaster fantasies you may even find yourself caught in the middle, staring at your half-finished canvas and fearing both that you lack the ability to finish it, and that no one will understand it if you do.
If this predicament sounds familiar to you, then the chapters “Fears About Yourself” and “Fears About Others” may be instructive. Orland and Bayles highlight the benefits looking at your work clearly “without judgement, without need or fear, without wishes or hopes…ask your work what it needs, not what you need. Then set your fears aside and listen…” Furthermore:
“…courting approval, even that of peers, puts a dangerous amount of power in the hand of the audience. Worse yet, the audience is seldom in a position to grant (or withhold) approval on the one issue that really counts – namely, whether or not you’re making progress in your work. They’re in a good position to comment on how they are moved (or challenged or entertained) by the finished product, but have little knowledge or interest in your process. Audience comes later. The only pure communication is between you and your work.”
Judy says
Brenda,
A topic close to my heart at this moment thanks for the thought material. My head knows I make quilts that please me, and if they work will please others as an accident or bonus but often the theory gives way to fear and I begin to think what will he/she/they think of this! My daughter (printmaker) and I often talk about just this fear.
Thanks
Judy.
Tracey Petersen says
I like that – whether or not you are making progress… Everything I do makes me think of how to do it differently. This is how I move on and grow.
Helen says
Wow, that last paragraph quote has set me thinking. Thanks.
Felicia says
That sounds like an interesting to add to my list. Thanks!
Kim says
Your welcome for the links – I need to update my wordpress software as well – but they are supposed to have a new version out very soon and I keep waiting. Meanwhile my spam comments get larger and larger. I use the askimet and get about 30 spam comments a day. 🙁