Dealing with rejection and criticism of your art.
Once upon a time, in far away land....
"NO! What are you doing?
You are not going to say anything MORE about this muddy muck are you?
Flame the fire?
Are you simply INSANE?
Sinking to the bloody battlefield full of clashing egos?"
No, NO relax....
I am not gonna talk about it any more...
This is a story about criticism.
I wanted to reflect about criticism, because I feel that it needs to be looked at.
Especially criticism that artists, writers and other creative beings, get for showing their work.
So.... Once upon a time in a far away land...... we were walking through a Sunday market in Bondi Beach, which is located in a suburb of Sydney Australia.
Bondi Beach has sand, sun and surf, but it is not a pristine and remote beach.
In fact, it is very much an urban beach.
It is a manicured and well kept beach, a place to hang out with your best bathing suit, meet people, eat and observe the surfers, mingle with the tourists and the locals.
In the Sunday market, I met a young writer.
He sat on a folding chair in front of a folding table, stacked with two neat piles of the two books, that he self published.
The books were wrapped in plastic, because of the breeze, that carries with it the salt from the Tasman Sea.
On the table next to his books, he had laminated newspaper reviews of his books.
I picked some of them up to read them, and noticed that ALL of them, were negative reviews of his work.
The more I read, the more I felt intrigued..... and the more I wanted to get to know that person... The more I actually liked him....
He was smiling at me.....
I handed the articles back to him, and said:
"You are a better person than I am... I do not think I would be as strong as you are,..... Or able to show all these bad reviews, when I try to actually sell my work...."
His smile got wider, and he pointed out to a sentence in one of the worst reviews.
I am NOT quoting here, because I do not have the newspaper next to me, but I clearly remember the gist of it.
The critic in the review, said something along the lines of: "Usually I do not like this genre of adventure/ romance/ murder/ mystery fiction crap anyway, and Mr X's book has not changed my mind in the least, about why I find these novels boring, but I must admit that when comparing it to all the other crap that is out there in this category, it is better than most..."
"You see, (he told me with pride,) it says that it is BETTER THAN MOST........."
I looked at him puzzled....
I wished I were able to glance over so many harsh words, and only to remember and notice the good that had been said....
I have been an artist for many years now, I got awards, and major amount of sales, and I still feel as vulnerable as a small parakeet...
Oh.... I sigh as I write this........and I must admit that learning to deal with criticism, is a huge life's lesson AND a major road block to overcome as an artist.
Being a working artist, means putting your work out there.
Without exposure, there are no sales, no income, no possibilities....
No showing your vision to the world and no sharing ideas.... Or influencing change....
The whole creative wheel comes to a stop, if you do not put it out there.....
Rejection and criticism is part of the territory.
The world is full of judgement and anyone who wants to make it in the arts, have to find his/ her ways of dealing with it.
I must admit that it hurt at first, when people did not like my work, but I got over it in a jiffy.
The people in the streets, and in the marketplace, have as many ideas as grains of sand on the beach.
What people do not like today, they may grow to love tomorrow.... Even embrace and collect.
Think of how belittled the impressionists were, in their own times.
Critics hated their departure from realism and one critic was reported to go out of the gallery and THROW UP in the street, when he first saw Van Gogh's Sunflowers paintings.
For me, it was the galleries, and shows, that were the most hurtful ones to deal with.
But I developed my own methods.
I used to keep all of the rejection letters and post them on my wall, as wall paper in my studio.
I did not just post the rejection letters, but also some copies of the checks I got from people who bought my art, and hundreds of copies of the credit card slips that I got.
Sometime I also added some Polaroid photos of me with my collectors, taken at art shows, award ribbons, and check copies of the award money.
When I felt paralyzed and discouraged about submitting my work, I would step back and look at that wall paper collage.
I would just sit there in front of my wall, which I came to look at as my artistic journey into the marketplace,....... And allow my feelings to run rampant.
There would be tears of frustrations.... And insecurity..... But there were also good feelings, when I looked at a check for thousands of dollars that some people had paid for my art, or multiple payments from people who bought five, six or TEN, pieces of my art...and I would be tearing up with joy and gratitude......
The word 'CRITICISM,' or CRITIC, comes from Latin 'criticus' and Greek kritikós.
The original words mean:
A person who judges, to separate, to decide, to evaluates, or to censure.....
It was commonly used to judge or analyzes literary or artistic works, dramatic or musical performances, and the like.
It also has its roots in the word 'CARPER',which means to find fault, to disagree, to complain, to condemn,...... OR to 'Wrangle' which means to excel at debates, to boast, to brag, or funnily enough... It is also the origin of the word 'WRONG'.
The reason I bring up the origin of the word criticism, is because criticism in usually associated with a negative connotation.
When people LOVE your work, or 'get it', they do not analyze it, tear it apart or look into debating it.
They love it and accept it.
They do NOT look for the faults in it....
A piece of art is only one slice of the artist's work.
His body of work, is seen over the course of his lifetime.
An artist must not feel that whatever she is producing now, is the sum of her talents and abilities.
The work you do today, is ONLY a reflection of how you feel Today.
It can get deeper or take a whole new direction, based on how much you want to explore it, or run with it, in whatever direction the spirit of creativity takes you.
Be brave my brothers and sisters on this journey.
Do not offer other people harsh criticism, and do not accept it when it is thrown towards you.
Yes, these people are entitled to their opinions, but they do not have to be harsh about it.
I also have to report, that at least in America, the world IS CHANGING.
With all my hundreds of rejections, NOT ONCE, did I get a vicious rejection letter.
In fact, some of them were so kind, it hardly felt like a rejection....but a 'try harder' message.
Do put your art out there, and never stop!
Work through your feelings and learn to manage them well.
It is the only way to be a working artist.
"NO! What are you doing?
You are not going to say anything MORE about this muddy muck are you?
Flame the fire?
Are you simply INSANE?
Sinking to the bloody battlefield full of clashing egos?"
No, NO relax....
I am not gonna talk about it any more...
This is a story about criticism.
I wanted to reflect about criticism, because I feel that it needs to be looked at.
Especially criticism that artists, writers and other creative beings, get for showing their work.
So.... Once upon a time in a far away land...... we were walking through a Sunday market in Bondi Beach, which is located in a suburb of Sydney Australia.
Bondi Beach has sand, sun and surf, but it is not a pristine and remote beach.
In fact, it is very much an urban beach.
It is a manicured and well kept beach, a place to hang out with your best bathing suit, meet people, eat and observe the surfers, mingle with the tourists and the locals.
In the Sunday market, I met a young writer.
He sat on a folding chair in front of a folding table, stacked with two neat piles of the two books, that he self published.
The books were wrapped in plastic, because of the breeze, that carries with it the salt from the Tasman Sea.
On the table next to his books, he had laminated newspaper reviews of his books.
I picked some of them up to read them, and noticed that ALL of them, were negative reviews of his work.
The more I read, the more I felt intrigued..... and the more I wanted to get to know that person... The more I actually liked him....
He was smiling at me.....
I handed the articles back to him, and said:
"You are a better person than I am... I do not think I would be as strong as you are,..... Or able to show all these bad reviews, when I try to actually sell my work...."
His smile got wider, and he pointed out to a sentence in one of the worst reviews.
I am NOT quoting here, because I do not have the newspaper next to me, but I clearly remember the gist of it.
The critic in the review, said something along the lines of: "Usually I do not like this genre of adventure/ romance/ murder/ mystery fiction crap anyway, and Mr X's book has not changed my mind in the least, about why I find these novels boring, but I must admit that when comparing it to all the other crap that is out there in this category, it is better than most..."
"You see, (he told me with pride,) it says that it is BETTER THAN MOST........."
I looked at him puzzled....
I wished I were able to glance over so many harsh words, and only to remember and notice the good that had been said....
I have been an artist for many years now, I got awards, and major amount of sales, and I still feel as vulnerable as a small parakeet...
Oh.... I sigh as I write this........and I must admit that learning to deal with criticism, is a huge life's lesson AND a major road block to overcome as an artist.
Being a working artist, means putting your work out there.
Without exposure, there are no sales, no income, no possibilities....
No showing your vision to the world and no sharing ideas.... Or influencing change....
The whole creative wheel comes to a stop, if you do not put it out there.....
Rejection and criticism is part of the territory.
The world is full of judgement and anyone who wants to make it in the arts, have to find his/ her ways of dealing with it.
I must admit that it hurt at first, when people did not like my work, but I got over it in a jiffy.
The people in the streets, and in the marketplace, have as many ideas as grains of sand on the beach.
What people do not like today, they may grow to love tomorrow.... Even embrace and collect.
Think of how belittled the impressionists were, in their own times.
Critics hated their departure from realism and one critic was reported to go out of the gallery and THROW UP in the street, when he first saw Van Gogh's Sunflowers paintings.
For me, it was the galleries, and shows, that were the most hurtful ones to deal with.
But I developed my own methods.
I used to keep all of the rejection letters and post them on my wall, as wall paper in my studio.
I did not just post the rejection letters, but also some copies of the checks I got from people who bought my art, and hundreds of copies of the credit card slips that I got.
Sometime I also added some Polaroid photos of me with my collectors, taken at art shows, award ribbons, and check copies of the award money.
When I felt paralyzed and discouraged about submitting my work, I would step back and look at that wall paper collage.
I would just sit there in front of my wall, which I came to look at as my artistic journey into the marketplace,....... And allow my feelings to run rampant.
There would be tears of frustrations.... And insecurity..... But there were also good feelings, when I looked at a check for thousands of dollars that some people had paid for my art, or multiple payments from people who bought five, six or TEN, pieces of my art...and I would be tearing up with joy and gratitude......
The word 'CRITICISM,' or CRITIC, comes from Latin 'criticus' and Greek kritikós.
The original words mean:
A person who judges, to separate, to decide, to evaluates, or to censure.....
It was commonly used to judge or analyzes literary or artistic works, dramatic or musical performances, and the like.
It also has its roots in the word 'CARPER',which means to find fault, to disagree, to complain, to condemn,...... OR to 'Wrangle' which means to excel at debates, to boast, to brag, or funnily enough... It is also the origin of the word 'WRONG'.
The reason I bring up the origin of the word criticism, is because criticism in usually associated with a negative connotation.
When people LOVE your work, or 'get it', they do not analyze it, tear it apart or look into debating it.
They love it and accept it.
They do NOT look for the faults in it....
A piece of art is only one slice of the artist's work.
His body of work, is seen over the course of his lifetime.
An artist must not feel that whatever she is producing now, is the sum of her talents and abilities.
The work you do today, is ONLY a reflection of how you feel Today.
It can get deeper or take a whole new direction, based on how much you want to explore it, or run with it, in whatever direction the spirit of creativity takes you.
Be brave my brothers and sisters on this journey.
Do not offer other people harsh criticism, and do not accept it when it is thrown towards you.
Yes, these people are entitled to their opinions, but they do not have to be harsh about it.
I also have to report, that at least in America, the world IS CHANGING.
With all my hundreds of rejections, NOT ONCE, did I get a vicious rejection letter.
In fact, some of them were so kind, it hardly felt like a rejection....but a 'try harder' message.
Do put your art out there, and never stop!
Work through your feelings and learn to manage them well.
It is the only way to be a working artist.
