They say Failure is an Option

August 18th, 2014

I have decided to give cardboard a try. The dumpster outside my apartment overflows on a weekly basis. Very nice boxes can be found, from amazon, overstock, various shoe providers... good, new, once used boxes on their way to be recycled into another good, new box. The point is, I have plenty of material.

And I have plenty of ideas. I am still working out the larger idea, as it seams I never really know what a piece will be until it is virtually finished. But I have this idea to work with the cardboard as a fabric, to take it from its rigid state and try and soften and curve it. And then to light it.

I was attempting to create a patterned, layering affect of the torn apart cardboard to give it a feel of being one cloth. I was hoping that once the cardboard had been soaked in water over night, torn apart and layered back together with glue and water... that it would feel delicate and fragile.

It is  definitely fragile. The whole form fell apart as I removed it from the mold. Failure is an option, as they say. But there can be beatuiful discoveries in that failure. And I am not one to think that my art, my ideas, will be manifested in one easy attempt. There are always failures, imperfections... do overs. The challenge is to be accepting of these failures and to learn how to think through the neccesary steps prior to beginning again.   defiTnitely

Does the artist who does not have any failed ideas fail in their own identity as an artist? Would they not be pushing themselves hard enough to try new ideas, processes, materials? How important is failure in an artist work or in their process? Of course there are thousands that have perfected their craft and are satified repeating the motions in each new work they create. And I am by no means saying that there is anything wrong with this. Personally, my failures are teaching me more about my art than ever before and I would love to have access to the lessons learned by the great artists of today and yesterday through a discussion of their failures.

Posted August 18, 2014 11:58

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