\u201cTo require perfection is to invite paralysis. \u00a0The pattern is predictable: as you see error in what you have done, you steer your work toward what you imagine you can do perfectly. \u00a0Your cling ever more tightly to what you already know you can do, away from risk and exploration, and possibly further from the work of your heart. \u00a0You find reasons to procrastinate, since to\u00a0not\u00a0work is to not make mistakes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTo demand perfection is to deny your ordinary (and universal) humanity. . . yet this humanity is the ultimate source of your work\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe lessons you are meant to learn are in your work. \u00a0To see them, you need only look at the work clearly\u2013without judgment, without need or fear, without wishes or hopes. \u00a0Without emotional expectations. \u00a0Ask your work what it needs, not what you need. Then set aside your fears and listen, the way a good parent listens to a child.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThose who would make art might begin by reflecting on the fate of those who preceded them: most who began, quit. To survive as an artist requires confronting these troubles. Those who continue to make art are those who have learned how to continue \u2013 or more precisely, have learned how to not quit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n If you’re interested, I wrote an article for our Artist’s Bookshelf series<\/a> on the site that includes many favorite quotes from the book along with reviews and comments from other artists from around the world about how this amazing book has influenced them.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0~$10<\/p>\n