Image note: Mixed media collage
It can be hard to know when a piece is finished. I have a tendency to stop a few steps before I could even consider it finished. I think it’s an artistic defense mechanism of sorts. If I never get to the final steps, then I never have to commit to anything. Never have to stand behind something and say, “This is ready.”
This piece had been at that point. Then I lost it in the pile. I was digging through to find paper and happened across it. I liked it more than I remembered - isn’t that always the case- and pulled it into the process. And now I think it’s close.
I’ll bring it to my monthly art group and get feedback. While not a true critique group, I trust their insights. Plus I’ll bring it and a few other pieces down for a weekend with my Mom, artist and teacher, Lynn Powers.
Feedback can be scary. It can be hard to not turn every piece of feedback into a reason why you’ll never make it as an artist. They aren’t personal attacks. They are opinions. Tiny, specific opinions. And while some come from experts, they are still those experts’ opinions. Maybe that’s why it can be so tough. At some point you have to comb through and decide which to accept and which to discard. But it’s still an important process.