Showing posts with label failing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label failing. Show all posts

Friday, December 30, 2011

Nothing Changes Until You Do

 
that targeted collections
Image from Internet


“Nothing changes until you do.”
  -SOURCE UNKNOWN                                                 

Okay, so as the year draws to a close I’ve been reviewing tips that I have gathered in blogs, books, and on the Internet. From these disparate sources I have compiled a list in a handy-dandy, easily readable fashion in hopes of staying on top of my career this year.

They are not earth shattering revelations, but they are distilled down to the essence, which makes the list handy-dandy, and maybe more doable, too.

I thought I’d end the year off by paying it forward to you in hopes my list might help you as well.

Please feel free to pass on your tips too. Any tips to help me be a more organized and productive artist are always welcome!

• Identify what you want. You won’t know what to shoot at if you don’t have a target.

• Be purposeful about where you put your attention. Only positive thoughts allowed. Positive thoughts bring positive results.

• Stay focused. Keep distractions at bay.

• Be ruthlessly protective of your studio time. Learn to say “no” more often.

• Keep failing. It builds character and helps you grow.

• Be happier. Laugh every day.

• Be better. Learn more.

• No excuses. Period.

Off to work I go.  I hope you have a creative and productive day!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Show and Tell Sunday- A Crushing Blow

A little over a week ago I got the bad news that my beloved 2 year old cat, Hennessey, had feline leukemia. Fortunately her sister and litter mate, Molly, does not. In the days that followed, I found out that most of the barn cats I care for here at the farm, 10 of the 12, also have feline leukemia. It has been a crushing blow. I have fixed, vaccinated, and loved these guys for many years and now they will die. Had I received more advice, I could have saved them from their fate with a simple vaccination in addition to the others they get annually.

It is possible they were born with it, both my adopted two, and the rest, a common problem on the farm, I now know, but maybe not. A moot point, though one I will continue to second guess forever.

After many tears, which I know I will shed for a long time to come, I have accepted that my beloved cats and I were only meant to be together for a short while and we are all richer for the experience. The sun will continue to rise, as it did today while Hennie and I watched, and the world will go round and round. But I am still profoundly sad.

So, I beg of you, please, if you have cats, inside, outside, or feral cats you care for, get them checked and vaccinated for ALL contagious diseases. Speaking from experience, it will be worth the extra effort.

And now, I am going outside to visit with my barn cats. May you find happy moments in your day too!

Hennie and I watch the sun rise together

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Swan Diving Into the Wrong Pool

Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out
  -Alanis Morissette

A while back I told you that I was applying for a residency and had my fingers crossed for good news. Well, the good news is that I didn’t get it. Yep, that seems like the wrong answer, but I mean it. I am so very happy that I didn’t get accepted.

If I had, I’d be packing up and leaving right now for the 2 month stint working on a new body of work. Instead, I am home (very important to a home body such as myself), working diligently in my studio on the pieces that I already have in my head and need to get out.

Also, if I had, I wouldn’t be able to watch Summer slowly fade into Fall from my small house on the farm. My favorite time of year in one of my favorite places on earth.

I got excited by an idea, and instead of working through it in my sketchbook, (which is sometimes all I need to do to work through an idea and then be done with it) I had a momentary lapse in objective thinking that made me swan dive into the pool, the wrong pool.

And the universe jumped in to save me from my own mistake. Thankfully.

Did it smart a bit? Maybe a touch. But I am so HAPPY that it worked out this way.

And, rejection helps toughen the skin. Who doesn’t need that from time to time?

Life indeed has a funny way of helping us out.

May your day bring you wonderful surprises!

Friday, February 25, 2011

You’ve Got Mail

It used to be when we got letters regarding shows they came in the mail.

In an envelope.

Now it’s not so much about holding the letter in your hand as it is about hearing the words, “You’ve got mail!”

And I did. Get mail, that is. From the gallery in Wisconsin that I told you about in January. Good news too. I got a solo show in September 2012. I’m thrilled.

I’m also happy the committee took the time to tell me that they loved my proposal packet. Very nice of them.  It helps to know stuff like that. To be reassured that, yep, that was good, stay on this path. I’m feeling even better about the proposals that I have screwed up in the past.

And I know you already know why, I can hear the rustle of your pom poms.  Thank you.  I'm cheering for you too!

Have a wonderful day!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Tenacity Trumps Talent

My 15 year old niece is applying for a summer workshop at an art college and needs my help with the whole application process. I am always happy to help. People have helped me and I am eternally grateful for that, so I am passing it along. I was once told you can only repay kindness with kindness. Seems like a lovely rule of thumb to live by.

Back to my niece. What can I do to help her at this very beginning step in her art career?

First, I’m gonna tell her to read my blog. She can skip over most of it, if she wants, but I want her to read about the failures. About my failures. I do walk on water in her eyes, so it’s time to show her otherwise.

Secondly I’m going to tell her that the single most important part of success isn’t talent, its tenacity.

Though I knew my entire life that I wanted to be an artist, I was never the most talented kid throughout that time. I’m talking all the way through school, elementary through college. And it took me 20 years to get my MFA so this isn’t just a casual statement. I’ve got the time under my belt to prove my statement. Admittedly most of those college years were off and on for my AA. Once I set my mind to getting my degree, first my BFA and then my MFA, I was very focused and on track. Again, not the most talented. But nobody worked harder than I did, even in the early years.

As you already know, I was very shy and insecure. All those classes I took were my testing grounds. I tried, I failed. I watched and listened. I learned from all of it. I needed those 20 years to finally believe that I was an artist. And I am glad I did it that way. It worked for me.

I hope Lydia takes a shorter course. Though I hope she doesn’t skip failing.

I hope she will be willing to step outside her comfort zone to try something new. Something uncomfortable. I hope she tries things that don’t come easy or things she is not good at. If she stays only in her comfort zone she’ll be holding herself back and not growing to her potential. I hope she’ll have some great failures. And I hope she sees me in the back corner with my pom poms cheering her on.

Nurture, 8 inch hoop, Kim Radatz
Have a great day!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Courage to Fail

Last night we had last minute guests for dinner. It was a long time friend and his new girlfriend. Since it was Valentine’s Day and all the restaurants would be full, I knew we would have to eat in.

What could I throw together quickly in short notice? (I mean that pretty literally as time was of the essence and I didn’t want to run to the store.)

And what does this have to do with courage, you ask?

Let me tell you.

It takes courage to throw (remember, literally), together a meal for somebody, especially if you don’t know them. And it something I would not have been able to do in the not too distant past. You see, courage is something I have lacked for most of my life. Many of the people I know now would doubt that about me, but my long time friends remember me when.

-When I was so shy I dropped out of a class in college, and got an F for doing so, because I had to give an oral report. (Which I did, BTW, I just didn’t have the courage to share it with the class.)
- When meeting with somebody new I would assume they didn’t have time for me.
-When asked a question I would defer to anybody else, as long as I didn’t have to answer.
-When I wouldn’t offer assistance as I felt my contribution wouldn’t be good enough.
-When I wouldn’t apply for a show as I assumed in advance that I wouldn’t get in.
-When I believed that others were prettier, smarter, better at anything than I was.
-Etc.

So what changed?

Me, naturally.

And what changed me was failing. I didn’t sit in the corner and cry about it (though tears were indeed shed), I learned from each failure.

Often it was little tiny failures (such as a smoke alarm dinner), though there were some pretty big ones too, (like a less than stellar review). But I never ignored them. I learned from each of them what not to do next time.

Now, I’m not going to lie to you and say I love failing. No, not at all. But it doesn’t bother me so much anymore. Because if I had not failed, I would not be where I am today.

And that, I wouldn’t change for anything.

Have a great one!


Lest you think it's been all surgery and dinner guests for me, here is Cover Me a little further along on her path.

Cover Me, 48" x 36", Kim Radatz
P.S. Dinner was delicious! Company too.