I think many people fall under the assumption that anyone of great skill was born with some sort of special gift or talent. Although I have seen very impressive feats while being a TA in ceramics– like kids throwing on the wheel for the first time and making a nice bowl, for most this isn’t the case. But even in the rare cases it is, it still takes time to build consistency and develop a unique style. My take on this is that when we’re born our environment influences what we do, and the skills we build are based on which ones we choose and how much we practice. No one is immediately a savant— you have to work towards it. Because of how long it takes to build your skills it is easy to be overly critical of yourself and fall into perfectionism. Scraping pieces because they aren’t “good enough”, or hating what you’re creating because you’re hung up on every minor imperfection. It’s foolish to compare yourself to professionals. For example, if you just started playing basketball, comparing yourself to Michael Jordan is silly. This extends to all areas, not just sports. Even the greats start somewhere– and that is important to remember.
Because of perfectionism you can feel like giving up because you aren’t good enough. It’s easy to quit, quitting doesn’t take any time to do. But being persistent, practicing, and devoting yourself to your craft– that takes time.
I have experienced this first hand. I’ve always been in love with art, when I was younger I would draw sticker figures and colorful scribbles. It was so much fun for me, and it was a carefree hobby. Then as I got older there’s a subtle pressure to be better, which at times has taken away my joy of art. But as skills grow and the negative mindset goes away, it’s very enjoyable. Being able to look at my past artwork and compare it to me now, really confirms to myself that I have grown a lot– which is sometimes hard to remember.
