A couple of years ago I did a course through The National Centre for Writing. It was a treat to myself after years of no creative output and an attempt to kick start my writing habit again.
Our tutor was the wonderful Yan Ge, who has written some absolutely excellent books – Strange Beasts of China being my favourite. Yan was enthusiastic, inspiring and kind. She really encouraged us to enjoy what we worked on.
She told us a story about a ceramics teacher which went like this ….
A pottery teacher decided upon a unique grading method for her class. She split the students into two groups. For the first group, the entire year’s grade would hinge on crafting a single, flawless piece of pottery.
The second group faced a different challenge: quantity over quality. Their grade would be based solely on the amount of pottery they produced throughout the year.
At the end of the year, the teacher reviewed the results. As expected, the first group delivered impressive, well-crafted pieces. They had, after all, dedicated the entire year to perfecting just one creation.
The second group stacked their work in huge, towering piles for grading. The earlier pieces, at the bottom of the pile reflected hurried attempts at churning out work. But, as the teacher progressed up the pile, things began to change. The pottery in the middle of the stacks, which represented the mid-point of the year, showed a noticeable improvement in quality. The students themselves were baffled when questioned about this shift. They insisted they hadn’t changed their focus – quantity had remained their sole objective. This trend continued on up the stack, the pieces of pottery becoming finer and finer until the teacher reached the top of the pile and there sat a near perfect piece.
So the students in the second group, had not only produced a vast amount of work they had also unknowingly honed their skills as they created.
This is my poor retelling of the story, I couldn’t remember where this tale Yan had told us came from, as I hadn’t made a note of it. But …. last week I received an unexpected parcel, a very kind gift from a friend – Art & Fear, Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking – by David Bayles & Ted Orland.
I started flicking through the book and there on page twenty-nine was the story about the ceramics teacher! So I finally knew where the story came from and if you read Art & Fear you will see that David Bayles and Ted Orland tell the story of the ceramics class in a far more eloquent manner than I did.
This story struck a chord with me as I am someone who is paralysed by the pursuit of perfection. I want to write, but I fear not creating something perfect, so often I don’t write, I don’t create, I just make excuses not to put words on paper. I was inspired by this story, it helped free me from my crippling self doubt, it allowed me to see writing as something that is always developing and improving. It certainly isn’t something that will improve if we don’t practice it! I wont ever write the perfect story, but that is ok, all art is a form of growth.
So to steal from Dory of Finding Nemo fame – ‘Just keep writing, just keep writing.’
I haven’t yet read all of Art & Fear, as I have a three book rule while reading which I try to stick to and I currently busy with Sub Rosa by Jennifer Burke, Frank O’Hara ‘Why I Am Not a Painter’ and other poems and Peter Duck by Arthur Ransome.
But I can’t wait to read Art & Fear, I suspect it will inspire me to be less fearful of the creative process. I wonder how other creative people over come the obstacle of perfectionism and self doubt?
A Year of Time 