Perfect Art Doesn’t Exist

The Beauty in Doing Something Just for Pleasure

It sounds harsh, but perfect art doesn’t exist. There is a lot of art out there that is amazing, fantastic, really, really, REALLY good. But perfect? No. And I’m not being super critical. Just logical. And it would seem to me to be incredibly arrogant for any artist to claim to have reached the status of perfection.

I think we can all agree (narcissists aside) that none of us are perfect. Logically, imperfect beings cannot create perfect things. Think of humans like cake pans. Each of the cake pans has little dents and dings in them. Because of those imperfections, none of the cake pans will ever produce a perfect cake. It’s as simple as that.

And that’s fine! There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s what makes this world interesting. And, it’s what makes our art interesting. It’s what keeps us aiming for perfection…or as close to it as we can get.

When did human beings become so controlled by our egos that we think that whatever we do has to be perfect? And for most of the planet, if there are any doubts or fears of making mistakes, then we don’t even try at all.

Photo Credit: 123RF.com Copyright : Ion Chiosea

How many experiences do we miss out on because we’re so worried about being perfect?

As really young kids, we didn’t pay much attention to what we created. We colored without worrying about staying in the lines or using the right colors. Perfect art wasn’t the goal. Having fun was!

But what is it about the ego, that as we get older, we don’t allow ourselves the luxury of a learning curve? Studies have shown that around nine years old we become acutely aware of peer pressure. Nobody likes being made fun of. The overriding thought or fear becomes, “What if I can’t do it right? What if I make a mistake?”

So what if you can’t do it right the first, second, or third time out?

And, yes. You will make mistakes. Who cares?

News flash…Nobody was born an expert at anything!

Chances are pretty high that you won’t do it right and you will make mistakes. In fact, probably lots and lots of mistakes! Do you honestly…