Over the past week, I’ve been bustling around the art studio like a mad scientist. A neighbor walked up the drive yesterday afternoon as I stood and held a rock towards the sun. I must have looked like I was waiting for my Great Leader to descend from the sky. Today I sported my best nursing-chef-astronaut attire, donning a face mask, splattered apron, and blue nitrile gloves. Sadly, after days of effort, my waste bin is filled with a heap of failed prints and ruined digital negatives. Only one of my experiments produced an enlightening breakthrough. A few days ago someone asked me how I respond to failure. I was just about to give a mindless answer and then paused, recognizing that the only true failure I believe in is a lack of personal effort or, worse, giving up altogether. I think we often confuse “failure” with “mistakes”, but we’re all human, aren’t we? Some of the experimentation I’ve been working on stems from ideas that have been brewing in the back of my mind for more than a year. I thought about them once or twice every couple of weeks, envisioning how I could make a technique work. That creates a lot of mental static over an extended period of time. Now, still holding on to a tinge of discouragement, I’m also grateful to release the background noise and to have cleared a space in my mind for new curiosities. What sorts of thoughts are you holding onto that you have the power to set free? What is holding you back? 
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