Creative Failure

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Blue Rider 1903 Wassily Kandinsky

One of our cornerstone principles in making art (and teaching it) is that we learn from failure - more than from success. Success, however one may define it, can only lead to more of the same, whereas a healthy disregard for it and a willingness to push past a goal accomplished can open up new opportunities for creative development and expansion. It is the yin and yang of art. This is the realm of the inveterate explorer, which we have found most professional artists to be. It takes time, discipline and above all, courage, to learn to work this way. After all, it isn’t like our culture encourages us to be explorers in art - we must find our own way. We are always fascinated to hear how and when artists make the decision to be explorers and “damn the consequences”. Our regular Voices of Experience interviews probe the many pathways artists have taken to make that crucial choice. In every case, they are willing to em…