Tiny Epiphanies
I’m an artist and teacher, but also a recovering perfectionist and people pleaser. Whether I’m painting or teaching, I'm always looking for ways to avoid those well-worn paths in my brain. I’m building positive, new pathways instead. I’m currently reading Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff and love, love, love her section about persisting, pausing and pivoting.
Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff
She lays out how all three options can be equally valid. So simple, right? But for me, this felt like an epiphany. When I was a beginning artist, persisting was the real battle. I had to show up and do the work, even when it didn’t look the way I wanted it to. Building a foundational set of skills takes practice and practice takes time. That's true for any skill, and drawing and painting are skills.
As I’ve advanced, I’ve learned to appreciate pausing too. My perfectionistic self still feels this need to constantly produce and produce. Yet allowing myself to pause gives me time to reflect. Even though it doesn’t feel productive, it often is more so in the long run. I recently took a break from a painting I was feeling frustrated with. I came back to it today with fresh eyes and realized the perspective is wrong - I need to redo that. Had I just, you know, plowed through I might’ve missed that. (And felt like a failure for not catching it earlier.) Giving myself permission to pause has been freeing; it allows me the space to get better, without burnout – without that constant drive to produce.
And pivoting. As a new small business owner, I'm still learning to recognize when that's the best choice. I take my commitments seriously, so pivoting away from something I think should be working doesn’t come naturally to me yet. But I’m learning to check-in with myself; to identify – is this really a problem, or do I just need to adjust my expectations?
If any of this resonates – whether you’re a beginner figuring out how to keep going, or an experienced artist learning when to pause or pivot – I’d love to support you in your journey. I offer small local classes, 1-on-1 mentoring and workshops tailored to your needs.