Everybody in Make-A-Wish Meadow was gathered outside my art gallery! I had been working so hard putting together my very first art exhibit for all my friends and finally, the day came up and here they were, all excited and eager to see my work.
My friend Julie snail helped me cut the inaugural ribbon and with “ooohs” and “aahhs” everyone I knew came inside my garage. As soon as they set a paw, hoof, trotter, fin or foot into my exhibit, their expressions changed from smiles… to confusion.
They looked at my work: it all looked wrong! Paintings with paint spilled all over, paper crumpled, unfinished drawings, uneven sculptures and other works of art that my friends couldn’t quite consider art. My friends walked around in silence and gave me a smile, without daring to ask anything. I had to work hard to contain my giggles, my plan was working perfectly!
I climbed on top of a table, cleared my throat and started speaking out loud to them: “My dear friends, thank you for joining me at my art exhibit!” I said proudly. I saw their confused eyes and continued “I know this doesn’t look like your typical art exhibit and that my work doesn’t look like… artwork”
Sally frog, who’s always very outspoken, jumped and said “It’s all unfinished and…” she jumped again “is this a joke?” I smiled and said “no, it’s not. What you see, are my many attempts to make the perfect artwork”
I climbed down my table and started pacing towards my painting. “When I first started painting, I really, really wanted to show you something perfect. But I just couldn’t! I started being so frustrated that I ended up not enjoying making art and I almost quit.”
I took a pause, looked at Julie Snail and continued: “That’s when Julie came over and told me that… if my work wasn’t going to be perfect anyways I may as well just have fun making it! And I did!.”
I continued walking around my imperfect artwork exhibit, remembering the many mistakes I made when creating each one and said “I made a lot of attempts, I tried many different supplies and techniques, I found out I am better at some than others and more importantly, I realized that everyone has a different perspective about art and that I need to keep doing it because it makes me very happy, not because it is perfect.”
I smiled at all my friends gathered around me and said “Today I open the doors to my mistakes in art, so you all can see my many failures. I love each one of them because they have taught me something new. And now, grab some supplies and do your part! Biggest mistake wins a banana muffin!”
And so, me and my friends had the best time making mistakes in art, enjoying the process, learning from each other and feeling safe to fail without being judged!
Key Points:
Nothing is perfect, starting with art. We should celebrate we are expressing our creativity, even if it doesn’t look “perfect”
Mistake’s friends were expecting a perfect art show, Mistake opened their minds to see what they usually didn’t consider art.
Mistake isn’t ashamed of its mistakes and is happy to share its experience about them.
Art is Mistake’s way to relax and meditate. What’s your own way to relax?
Enjoy the process! Frustration isn’t helpful because you get stuck. If you are frustrated when making art, take a break and visit places that inspire you.
