The Mistake

This butterfly is imperfect....but no less beautiful

You're just plugging along, art brush a flowing....pastels a going, creativity pouring out...and then it happens. A blob of paint falls off your brush, an ink stain in the wrong place, a smudge you just cant fix. Yup a glaring mistake on your masterpiece.

It's heartbreaking to say the least. All that work made a perfect piece of art ugly. You are heart broken and angry all in one breath. Don't throw it away! Step back a moment and allow the initial feelings to pass. This is a teachable moment for the artist in you.

Art comes from your soul. It is a God given gift to be able to express it in any form. Mistakes are apart of life. Don't let it break your spirit. Instead overcome it. Work around it, create using it...or bolder yet leave it there and tell others it's true artistic expression. This moment teaches you adversity, to overcome, love yourself through it and continue on with out being defeated. Mistakes do not define you or your work unless you allow it to. A mistake in your art will only become ugly if you define it as such. You have to tell someone it is a mistake, that it is ugly, in order for them to know it is so. If you tell them it is art, then you set the scene. That's the beauty of art. You create it, mistake and all.

I am part of an art group and I often tell them, be gentle with your artful soul. Nurture it, love it, and accept what ever it produces. It is your soul speaking out loud, expressing itself in a very real way. Mistakes are part of that process, because life is not perfect...but the song of your soul is, because it is the most beautiful part of your being. Allow imperfection to become a perfect moment of overcoming life.

Have a wonderful and creative day and don't forget to embrace those mistakes.