Day 7: Are You Measuring Wrong?

A humorous look a the Comparison trap

We are artists and we can’t help it, we look at the work of other artists and admire what we see. Or we don’t like it. It is part of the process of learning to identify that part of our own Intuitive Voice that begins with simply recognizing what we like and what we don’t like as we begin developing our own style. It is inspiring to see work that we aspire to. It can motivate us to want to learn the techniques or work with the materials that we see.

Today’s conversation includes a humorous story from my own life to illustrate the trap of measuring our own work against others. Whether we deem our art is better than the work of others or believe ours is inferior, we’ve fallen into the trap of comparison. That voice that creeps in when we’re in a gallery or scrolling through our social media feeds and whispers, “yours isn’t good enough, you might as well give up” is the same critic that pops out of our mouth saying “My kindergartner could have done that!”

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you caught yourself in that comparison trap? Keep the conversation going . . .