The Freedom to Fail

I purchased a few doll making books at the beginning of this year by Susanna Oroyah and while reading one of them I came across this quote that spoke so deeply to me:

“Being creative means giving yourself the freedom to explore, the freedom to fail, and the permission to try again.”

You see, I’ve always been very hesitant about trying new things. New things are scary. Trying something new has the potential to turn out terribly. Problem is, if you don’t try anything new, you don’t get very far.

Susanna’s words have been echoing in my head for weeks now. The freedom to try. The freedom to explore. The freedom to fail.

I made some pretty big mistakes last year. One time I melted a pair of doll eyes inside a dolls face. I pulled her out of the oven and her eyes were melted and oozing down her face. It was probably one of the scariest things I’d ever seen. Thankfully, there was a lesson to be learned in making that huge mistake: not all doll eyes are oven safe. Now I know.

Surprisingly, the more new things I’ve tried, the more mistakes I’ve made, the less I’ve been afraid. I’ve learned so much from each and every one of the mess ups and the do-overs. I’ve gained confidence, experience, and skill. I still get a little anxious, but there’s also something new, something I hadn’t felt before when I would attempt something new – a sense of thrill and excitement.

New things can be fun and adventurous. And they can turn out wonderfully.

At the beginning of 2015 I vowed to try new things, to challenge myself, to keep from getting in a rut, and to make better art. And so I’ve had to face the fear of failing and allow it to be an adventure instead of a trepidation. And guess what? It’s been exciting. It’s been fun. And things have gone well.

In the last few weeks I set out to try something new – to create a new kind of doll with more detail and pose-ability. I was happy with my dolls, but I wanted them to me more lifelike. I wanted to be able to pose them, to have them stand – which also meant I had to figure out how to make doll stands. I also wanted to add more detail to their clothing, adding undergarments in addition to their dresses. It was a big project and I’ll share the details of how it went in another post, but what I will say is that everything turned out amazing. And I’m so glad I gave myself the freedom to try something new, the freedom to fail, and the freedom to grow.

So, what about you? What new thing are you going to attempt this week?