In Praise of Erasers

How a creative kid reminded me to CTFO*

Man, this creating thing.

This impossible part of the urge of making a thing.

It’s a mess, and there’s no hope that the vision in your head is going to make its way out. And quitting feels like utter failure. <Been there. Ahem, maybe am there.> But getting it right is SO. FAR. OFF.

Erase and move on? That’s all?

I watched my 10-year-old friend learning to draw, using a teaching app. She has a practice journal, and erasers all over the house. Over the course of a 14-minute teaching video, she paused it to go at her own pace at least 7 times, and whenever she drew a line she didn’t like, she grabbed her eraser, erased the line, and re-drew it to her liking.

But that’s the thing, too! The surrender of this kid. She said a few times, “That’s not exactly what I wanted, but that’s good enough.” And on she went, drawing along with the instructional video.

Good enough is pretty phenomenal

You know what I LOVE about her practice journal? Her sketches all resemble the model drawings, but they have character in them that’s all hers. The slant in a face, seemingly revealing an internal state. The curve of leaf, giving the plant in her drawing an attitude. Her plants have attitude!

What I forget about creating when I’m in the UTTER MESS? Is that if I keep going, eventually I won’t be in the mess. And if I go line by line, then it’s only a little mess, and then a little less. AND IF I USE AN ERASER, I can make as many messes as I want.

The drafts may be messy. The landing may not stick. I might think I’m the worst person on the planet. ((Why do we do this?)) May I please offer a solution to this freak out? Try approaching with an eraser, line by line (make it a metaphor), and see if you also find yourself in a blessed state of CTFO*

*Chill the F Out

Need help getting through the mess?

Or braving your way up to make it? Hang out with me this fall.