Art is such a personal thing. To change from one media to another is scary, adventurous, and a bit like stepping off a cliff face blind-folded. Self belief is very important, coupled with the encouragement of others who do understand, like on the forums here and on Quilting Arts, because much of this is still cutting edge stuff and only now being recognised as art in its own right.

Steve Jobs was right - we need to find our own artist within, and trust that what we express  in our art is the voice of the artist within us, and not our inner critic feeding off  those who do not "get" what we are doing. Its self-fulfillment that tells us if where we are going is right or not, and we get that from being creative and expressing what is in our soul, not by listening to the destructive criticism of others.

I always enjoy your posts, but this one really rocks.

Thank you so much for today's thoughts!!  I am copying it and

hanging it in my studio.  Very timely for me.

Lori should realize all beginners suck.  Does she remember the first misshapen things she knitted?  It takes time to get in the groove.  Learn from each piece and it will get better with time.

Your post really spoke to me! I live with my harshest critic, which isn't even me. It took me awhile to appreciate my husbands form of critique, which is to spill everything negative he can think of about the piece I show him. It definitely stings but after much thought I am able to process it and see it through his eyes.

What I've learned is that he offers awesome feedback, he means to be helpful yet is not the intended audience for my work, and not all his feedback is gold.

It took a lot of time to realize I don't have to make all the changes he suggested. I pick through his critique comments and decide for myself which, if any, need to be resolved.

Cate, love this post!  The day Steve Jobs died, the TV showed him reading this out and like yourself I thought, Wow!  How some quotes can speak to us.  After a long time thinking/caring about others far too much and always putting myself on the 'to do' list, I am now at a place where my ideas are flowing and I have the courage and creativity to do them!  The inner voice had been drowned out for too long.  Intuition, yes, we already know, don't we? -  but sometimes we can be persuaded otherwise.

Love Kat's quote about 'if your work is feeding your soul' and CarolineA's about self fulfillment.  Thank you all so much for sharing..... :-)  

As we get more proficient in most of the things we do in life, I find we often don't want to do anything we don't do well. Most of us want to do certain things, we just don't want to "learn "how to do those things. I always tell mt students ( I teach wearable art classes) just remember practice begets skill ! Just keep doing what you want to learn and you will get there faster than you think.

I am practicing what I preach as I explore mixed media, not so good yet but I love learning from doing just doing it. Thank you for exploring this aspect of our need for affirmation from those who view our work. If I like it that's good enough fro me.

JoAnn Musso

JoAnn Musso

Wow! That was a wake up call much needed. And gives hope for the new year. Wonder if it has any significance that I am reading this on New Years Eve. Well, either way, both Steve Jobs speach and Quilnans comment will guide my way during the next year. Something moved when I read those comments.

and the other Steve Jobs quote to remember is:  "The journey is the reward".  Your journey is yours and belongs no one else.

and the other Steve Jobs quote to remember is:  "The journey is the reward".  Your journey is yours and belongs no one else.