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If You Feel Like Your Pottery Isn't Good Enough
42 Plays6 months ago
Overcoming Doubts: How to Keep Growing as an Artist In this episode of Shaping Your Pottery with Nic Torres, Nic addresses the common feeling artists have of doubting their own work. He offers practical advice on overcoming self-comparison, staying motivated, seeking inspiration, and continually improving one's craft. Nic emphasizes the importance of staying true to your reasons for creating art and the benefits of surrounding yourself with other artists for fresh perspectives and encouragement.
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Transcript
Artistic Self-Doubt and Comparison
00:00:00
Speaker
Have you ever felt like your art just isn't good enough? The pottery isn't good enough. Your art isn't good enough. And have you ever felt that way? Because I know I have at one point or another. I know I have felt like the pottery I'm making just wasn't really soothing my soul. It just wasn't good enough. It wasn't there yet. And but what do you do about that? How do you how do you move forward? How do you how do you move forward and keep growing? What do you do about that?
00:00:27
Speaker
So here are some things that have helped me when I feel like my art isn't good enough or it's not living up to my expectations of what I want. First thing is that we are all on different journeys. We're all on different areas of journey. So comparing yourself to other potters out there is probably the worst thing that you're going to do. And it's going to it's going to be tempting.
00:00:47
Speaker
To compare stuff with other artists, other potters, other people out there, it's very tempting because we see all this stuff on social media where it looks like having so much success with their art and their art looks so amazing. And we wish that our art could do the same. And we know that our art isn't living up to its full potential.
00:01:06
Speaker
And that comparison right there, that's what really is keeping you down.
Harnessing Inadequacy for Creativity
00:01:12
Speaker
You're comparing yourself with other potters, other artists, and you're not focusing on what you could be doing to improve your art, to make your pottery look better, to have art that truly feels like it's for you. You know, right? We got into art, we got into pottery for one reason, because we liked it. We enjoyed it. We enjoyed making stuff with our hands. And that is why
00:01:36
Speaker
Sometimes it can be a big burden when we feel like our art isn't good enough. We're no longer having as much fun. We're not having our art just to us feels like an imposter. But that's a good thing. Sometimes these feelings in us where we feel like our art isn't good enough or we feel like an imposter, that's a good thing because we could use that as fuel.
Overcoming Self-Doubt with Original Motivation
00:01:58
Speaker
Use it as fuel to make something that is truly unique to yourself, truly unique in terms of what you want to be creating.
00:02:05
Speaker
If you're not if you feel like your art isn't good enough, you have to focus on what you can be doing to get it better.
00:02:12
Speaker
Maybe take a workshop, maybe do some other things outside of what you were working on. Try it. Get a new perspective. Go for a walk. Do a bunch of different things. Just get out of your zone a little bit so that you start focusing on what really matters. And that's the art. And sometimes we get too focused on trying to make the best possible art for somebody else that we forget about ourselves as well.
00:02:37
Speaker
The most important thing when you feel like your art isn't good enough is you have to come back to yourself and remember why you are making art. What is it about art that excites you? Why did you start making art in the first place? Why do you continue making art? Is it for a living? Is it because you enjoy it?
Persistence and Skill Improvement
00:02:52
Speaker
What is it? Maybe it's for your family. Maybe you see them see them the way they look at your art and say, wow, mommy, daddy, that looks really amazing. What is that why behind why you are making art?
00:03:04
Speaker
And if you could come back to that why trying why you're making art, then you're going to come a long way because even if you like your art isn't good enough, you'll be heading in the right direction. The next thing that you could be doing is just to simply keep making art. If you like your art isn't good enough, then keep making art, keep making pottery. Because if we if we stop making art, we start making pottery, then what begins to happen is our skills diminish and then we get into that habit of not making the work.
00:03:32
Speaker
And the most important thing is to begin the studio and making it to work. So if you feel like your art isn't good enough, don't stop. Keep making, keep making, keep making because you don't want to stop. You want to keep making even maybe take a little break for a week or so a month, maybe if that's what you want. But keep making, find time to keep making because that's the only way you're going to get through it. You have to push through it sometimes.
00:03:59
Speaker
You have to get through that ugly middle so you could finally see the art that you wanted to come to life. Be in your hands. Make it feel alive and make it excite you.
Community Engagement and Inspiration
00:04:09
Speaker
Keep pushing through that ugly middle.
00:04:13
Speaker
Because I promise you, if you get through that ugly middle, then your art's going to look that much better on the outside. The last thing I recommend if you feel like your art isn't good enough right now, get around other potters, get around other artists. Get new perspectives from them. Because if you get new perspectives from them, sometimes a simple idea of being around their idea, maybe go to a conference or event.
00:04:34
Speaker
That simple one simple idea could change your art, how you make your art forever. It could literally be one idea. Maybe right now you are making flowers and somebody you go and you talk with somebody else that also makes art or pottery and they say they like making cars and then oh, all of a sudden now you get an idea to add flowers onto cars or you're making flower looking humanoid people and just driving cars, you know,
00:05:02
Speaker
Sometimes just getting around other people, getting out of your own environment and getting around like minded people, that's where a new idea is going to come from. And you're going to get more excited about your art and your arts going to get that much better. And plus, most times they're probably going to give you feedback. Well, oh, wow, this art looks amazing.
Finding Your Unique Artistic Voice
00:05:18
Speaker
And sometimes that's all you need to hear is just somebody saying that this art looks amazing and to lift you up a little bit.
00:05:25
Speaker
Hope you guys enjoy this episode and I'll see you guys in the next one.
00:05:47
Speaker
If you want to know how close you are to finding your own unique voice, go to shapingyourpodtery.com forward slash quiz or you can simply go to shapingyourpodtery.com and it will be right there at the top. I hope you guys enjoyed this episode and I'll see you guys next time.