The other day, while taking a drop-in art class, I had an experience that I don’t always have when I’m engaged in something creative. I was fully in the zone. My instructor even commented: “You’re on fire today.” Painting after painting was flying out of me. I felt free—a very unfamiliar feeling for me.
Class started off with quick thirty-second figure drawing, then we worked our way up to one-minute, and then finally four-minute sketches (素描). Ever since the instructor told me not to go over the same line twice, I’ve really struggled with finding my freedom in figure drawing. But that day I was completely free, and as a consequence, my line quality was much better. I felt completely unconcerned with what the teacher thought of my work. It was one of the most enjoyable creative experiences I’ve had.
Afterwards, I was reflecting on why this was such a pleasurable experience. This is how I always want to feel while creating.
I think this was so enjoyable because it was a drop-in class. Not a full course. Not to get a master’s degree. Therefore, I felt no responsibility for getting it right. I was able to take it less seriously and just have fun with it. And I wasn’t monitoring myself to make sure that I was improving.
If you practice at your chosen craft, you will improve over time. Worrying about whether you’re getting better doesn’t help you improve. It actually slows down your growth. Your intellect might think it’s helping out, but it’s actually slowing you down and making your creative process less fun. Eventually, there’s truth to the simple saying—practice makes perfect. Since there’s no perfection in the world of creativity, practice makes better.
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Create even though it won’t be perfect. Create because it won’t be perfect. Create even though it won’t be perfect. Create because it won’t be perfect. Create because your spirit needs to express itself. That is where the freedom is. That is where the joy is.
【小题1】What does the underlined part in the first paragraph mean?| A．The author was very clever. | B．The author got a little bored. |
| C．The author made a wise choice. | D．The author devoted herself to her work. |
| A．She did what she liked. | B．She learnt the basic skills of sketching. |
| C．She had no inspiration to create works. | D．She couldn’t keep up with other students. |
| A．She focuses on gaining better drawing skills. |
| B．She has no sense of responsibility in her daily life. |
| C．She thinks joy mainly results in a person’s perfection. |
| D．She has found the reason for the pleasurable experience. |
| A．Practice makes perfect |
| B．Begin enjoying drop-in art classes |
| C．Try to find the key to successful work |
| D．Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good |
