Saturday, November 13, 2010

Gwen the Hen


A friend of mine has a hen named Gwendoline. This is my charcoal drawing showing my new found affinity towards these birds.


I came across this piece of wisdom at the beautiful le projet d'amour:


nobody tells this to people who are beginners, i wish someone told me. all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. but there is this gap. for the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. it’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. but your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. and your taste is why your work disappoints you. a lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. most people i know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. we know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. we all go through this. and if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. it is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. and i took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone i’ve ever met. it’s gonna take awhile. it’s normal to take awhile. you’ve just gotta fight your way through.
-ira glass.

19 comments:

mumbai paused said...

Very true.

Abhipraya said...

My 17 month old daughter loves Gwendoline!

Gwen Buchanan said...

Priya, What a great point of view!!!

.... but are we ever satisfied.... we, of this persuasion, are a hard bunch to please... I don't know if we ever grow out of it...

Anonymous said...

Priya.. this is awesome.. and so so true!!

Debanish Achom said...

This is exactly the stuff I have been trying to read. Super!

Owen said...

The road to enlightenment is long, and passes through many dark and discouraging places, perseverence is required...

Might have been quoted from the i-Ching, or maybe I heard Gwendoline whispering this...

Anil Jagalur said...

"How true!", I was about to exclaim. Actually, I meant "I hope it is true!" I am working on what I do and hope one day I will feel reasonably happy with the result!

Thanks

sabine said...

love the quote, but the hen is awesome! so light weight and fluffy. her feathers seem so glossy!

pRiyA said...

Thank you Sabine!

bigBANG studio said...

I *love* your hen, I love Ira Glass, and I love that quote. You're the woman. xo.

Priya Sebastian said...

Thank you Lily. I love your comments. You say all the right things :-D
I think you're the woman too!

agnes szucs said...

this hen is beautiful.

so true... still happens to me... i can see so well with my mind's eye what exactly i want. it's there in me, i can feel it, but many times it just won't "come out". but when i don't give up, it gets better and better. (but to be honest, i do give up, many times.)

actually, there's one other thing that easily turns me down... to see how many talented people there are out there.

yes, quantity is an answer, definitely.

Priya, have you read the book "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron?

hugs from hungary,
agnes

Priya Sebastian said...

Hi Agnes, lovely to hear from you again. Thanks for your comment. I do have a copy of The Artist's Way but I have to admit that is one book I have never been able to complete.

agnes szucs said...

Hiii, :) I have to admit I never completed it either (i don't mean reading but the actions). but i found it quite enlightening, i think i better understood myself and what was going on in me... and i like it's attitude about art/the artist.
(what's a shame, it didn't really made me create more, but i actually don't blame this on the book as i didn't go thru all the actions... when i do, i let you know what happened.)

take care,
agnes

Hila said...

aww, thanks for the mention. and I love the fact that the hen is called Gwendoline :)

ArtPropelled said...

You have captured the essence of Hen, but that's no surprise because you are very good at capturing the essence of what you draw. I think Ira makes a good point about deadlines. I hate them but just lately I've noticed it's the deadlines that are moving me forward .... kicking and screaming all the way :-)

Sophie Munns said...

This drawing is stunning Priya...
cant wait for more ...your affinity is strong I suspect... the drawing shows this!
S

Maya Sara Matthew said...

After the trip to coorg will you be attempting a drawing of a pig? I really like the picture you took of two pigs feeding.

Priya Sebastian said...

We all know you like chubby things Emby! Gee! I wonder why?
;-D