tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488735896467172908.post681486260496189848..comments2024-03-02T00:22:22.808-08:00Comments on Janice Mason Steeves: Welcoming MistakesJanice Mason Steeveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146958998411894033noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488735896467172908.post-63897678110132781592009-12-23T06:18:15.043-08:002009-12-23T06:18:15.043-08:00I enjoyed your post Welcoming Mistakes.
Your refer...I enjoyed your post Welcoming Mistakes.<br />Your reference to an exercise from the Tao of Photography reminded me of my own experience years ago in a painting class with that very same exercise. The value of that lesson was a turning point for me and one of the most important things I learned as a student.<br /><br />Our professor had us do the worst, ugliest painting we could paint. After shaking off the initial confusion about what purpose this could possibly serve, we all got into it. Paper and anything else that could be attached to canvas came out; thick, muddy colours were mixed and slathered on. It was great; we were all having a ball after all that tightness and fear. In the end what emerged were the best and, ironically, the most beautiful paintings most of us had done up until that point.<br />Lesson learned and never forgotten.<br />There was freedom in letting go of perfection and welcoming and embracing the chance of failure.<br /><br />There are times now when I think back on that lesson as I find myself paralyzed by a perfectly prepared birch panel or canvas or when I have painted something and am too afraid to continue it for fear of ruining it. That preciousness is the most paralyzing thing for me in the studio. Sometimes letting go and letting the painting make the decisions without the interference of my own misguided intentions in that moment in trying to produce a paintng is the saving grace of the piece and brings me to a stronger more solid place in my work.<br /><br />I enjoy your work Janice, especially the dark colours and patterning. Beautifully exquisite.Hilda Oomennoreply@blogger.com