By Nicole Gencarelli
Let me preface this story by stating this is not the photo story I planed to share with you all today. However, this story is still a matter of great importance because it address an aspect of being an artist that is not usually highlighted. In short, the photo story I spent weeks planning and creating ended up being a failed project.
As art students and young artists, we have all felt the pain, frustration, and stinging disappoint of watching a project fail. Despite the fact that many of us have seen these failures as shameful, failed projects are a crucial aspect to creating art, its just that many of us do not wish to publicly announce our short comings or feel as though truly talented artist do not have such failures. I will not lie to you, after spending weeks of my hard earned money, precious time and energy into this project, to get back essentially nothing hurt. I felt an anger and a deep shame in my self for nothing achieving my goal, for not creating the images I had seen in my mind.
In this moment, I forgot to give myself credit for trying something totally new for me. I built my own camera out of a jello box, I used film for the first time, I stepped way out of my comfort zone and took a risk. This photo story, and the three pathetic photos it produced, is my personal reminder that I will not always create my next masterpiece, but its never a negative (pun intended, couldn't help myself) to step out of your artistic comfort zone and push the boundaries.
“We thrive, in part, when we have purpose, when we still have more to do. The deliberate incomplete has long been a central part of creation myths themselves. In Navajo culture, some craftsmen and women sought imperfection, giving their textiles and ceramics an intended flaw called a “spirit line” so that there is a forward thrust, a reason to continue making work. Nearly a quarter of twentieth century Navajo rugs have these contrasting-color threads that run out from the inner pattern to just beyond the border that contains it; Navajo baskets and often pottery have an equivalent line called a “heart line” or a “spirit break.” The undone pattern is meant to give the weaver’s spirit a way out, to prevent it from getting trapped and reaching what we sense is an unnatural end.” -Sarah Lewis, The Rise
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| Nicole is a recent graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. You can follow her on Tumblr and her website. |
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