I can’t remember how many years it’s been since the first time I took Sara & Luke’s school portraits; but each fall when I stop by to pick them up for their shoot, I see last year’s framed 8×10 hanging on their family room wall. And every year I think to myself, “Did they really PAY me to take those? I owe them a refund!”
Because of my navel-gazing artistic bent, it’s sometimes difficult for me to find a balance creatively. I want to be confident about the quality of my work, while being at peace with the fact that I will always be growing, changing, and learning better ways to tell stories with my camera. So when the perfectionist side of me comes out loud and strong, I try to remind myself that I’m not embarrassed about my kindergarten fingerpainting masterpieces. Nor should I be embarrassed about my work now, as long as I’m constantly doing the best that I can. Letting fear hold me back from growth is the only wrong I can do.
There is always going to be someone out there creating work so amazing & engaging that it makes mine look like a kindergartner made it. But if we are going to work together to make our world more beautiful, we’ve got to stop comparing our stuff to others’ stuff and just start doing what we’re best at – with all the joy and abandon we can muster! Each one of you has something you were built to do; you all have the capability to be artists in your own right. St Francis said: ”He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.” So whether you build bridges or garden ornaments, play in a rock band or teach toddlers to play piano; let’s create stuff we aren’t afraid to own. I hope you take the chance to make something beautiful in your world today!
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Mary Markley - This post inspired me to make something beautiful! Thank you for that inspiration. And these images are not amateur. They are seriously beautiful.