Artists are going to try their damnedest though.
I have watched her slave away for hours over just one project, just so at the end she can look over at me and say "I hate it." I can't help but look at this incredible work of art she has been working on and stare at her incredulously. How can she hate it? If I could do something like that! I would worship my hands! Hell, if I could somehow manage to get them to cooperate long enough to improve my hand writing I'd jump for joy. But this is not the case. She makes beautiful drawings, sketches, paintings. Now she is trained in computer graphics and the visuals she makes are just as brilliant. I've watched her dabble in sculpting too and she's pretty freaking good at that!
But to an Artist, it isn't good enough. There is nothing in this world that will make their work "good" to them, in their eyes. And it depresses me.
I look at all the "flaws" of the work and see that it gives it character. There's a wrinkle, or a smudge, or a fingerprint? Fine. That's wonderful. Becasue it shows the piece as a piece itself and not just something you did. Maybe this is just from a Writer's point of view, but I want people to see the work for the work, and then see it as I wanted them to see it. If I write something and think to myself "I want people to think this is a story about garbage" and then read the reviews and hear "its a story like romeo and juliette!" Then thats wonderful.
Why would I not want to send it off and hear what people think?
Isn't that the point of creating? To give your work life, whatever life may fill it, and send it off into the world? Much like raising a child, you can only do so much before there is nothing else you can do. You have to let the work take it's course, otherwise it won't come out at all.
Prose needs to be coaxed, to be sweet-talked out of your mind and fingers. It needs to be lured with promises and smiles, and sugary treats. I feel like all creation is like that. You can't lure a carving out of a piece of wood by yelling at it. You have to ease the knife down the wood, play it like a fine instrument. The same should be true with a painting or a sketch, or a work of poetry. Even if the emotion you're feeling, the one that inspired you to begin the piece is harsh or quick or frightening in its intensity, you can't show that to the piece.
You cannot show a child a scene of their parent in distress, it will stress the child. You must ease the child into believing that there is nothing wrong at all. They will come to learn more easily, less traumatically. This gives you the result you're looking for. The child is aware, but calm, and you're conveyed emotion is correct. With a piece of artwork you have to be calm on the outside, even if you are raging war in the inside.
Creation is the most intense form of meditation.
Unfortunately, Sweetness is very, very bad at meditation. But she is a brilliantly wonderful Artist. How can I go about helping her be not quite so harsh with herself? It breaks my heart to see her rip down everything she's worked so hard on. I just wish there was something I could do about it.
If you have any advice on the matter, it would be greatly apperciated.
Oh, and by the way, Happy Anniversary, Sweetness. :)
Sacred Secret
