Creating a piece of art is a multi-step process. First the artist finds a point of inspiration for their piece. They then begin sketching to refine the idea. When the artist has selected the idea they want to go forward with, they must decide on the production plan and materials. This can take a bit of time as it will require research on where to obtain the necessary materials, as well trial runs, where the materials are tested. Any point in this process can lead to failure and because of that, most artist’s are not keen on allowing others access to their ideas mid-stream in the design process. Doing so can put the artist at risk for humiliation, which in turn, can lead to the visual artist experiencing aform of “writer’s block”.
I too have experienced this artistic state of being “frozen” or stuck in the middle of a project due to someone’s comments or interactions about the work. On one occasion, while I was a freshman in an art college, we were asked to go home and cut a eight by ten inch mat and bring it next class for grading. I had never cut a mat before. Even worse, I had never even used a mat cutter. I bought the supplies needed and spent the night completing the project. I carefully measured the same distance from outside edges of the mat. Then I dragged the mat knife along the measured lines on the back side of the mat. I was perplexed that the cut did not work the first time and concluded that I must need to press down harder. So I ran the knife over the first cut a second time while bearing down heavily on the knife. The knife did cut thru in some places and not in others. I flipped the mat over to the front side and saw that the blade had actually torn some of the edges. I took the knife and cut the remaining attached places from the front side. They looked better than the ones cut from the back side. Nonetheless, I had cut my first art mat and was very proud. The next day the professor asked us to place our mats on the dry erase board rail. We all lined up our projects. The professor walked down the rail and viewed the mats as if he was a general inspecting his army. Then he whirled around and said “Who made this piece of shit?” At first I didn't take notice because I was sure he wasn't talking about my project. There was no way mine was “shit”. Unfortunately, he was. He kept asking for someone to raise their hand and claim the “shitty” mat. My hand felt like lead but I somehow managed get it in the air. Everyone’s eyes were on me. The professor began yelling a string of expletives at me with a angry expression on his face. He basically told me I was lazy and I should just get out of art all together. I was embarrassed and felt ashamed of my little mat that I was so proud of the night before.
Weeks went by and I found my creativity was immobilized by this man’s ability to shame me in front of my peers. I tried everything but could not seem to find inspiration. I was depressed. I went to my design professor and confessed my dilemma. He encouraged me to see the broader picture of my college experience. These were the facts he shared with me. First, I was a talented artist who needed to practice cutting art mats. Secondly, the screaming professor was only going to be in my life for one semester. Finally, part of being a successful artist is defending your work. I needed to be able to take the heat and keep my voice strong.
In the end, this was life lesson. I graduated from the semester knowing how to cut a beautiful mat, I learned how to defend my work, but even more importantly, how to be prepared so defending my work became an easier job. Oh, and I wrote a letter to the art department head about my experience. I suggested that in the future, the professor consider actually teaching the class how to cut a mat before the boot camp review.