In his 2006 TED lecture, Do Schools Kill Creativity, Sir Ken Robinson suggests that one of the reasons why adults are less creative than children is that they are less willing to make mistakes:
“If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original. and by the time they get to be adults, most kids have lost that capacity. They have become frightened of being wrong.” (Robinson, 2006)
Now, I’m not so sure that is entirely a bad thing. I want the structural engineer who designed the bridge I travel over twice daily to be afraid of making mistakes. I don’t want a surgeon who is indifferent to inaccuracy.
On the other hand, I can appreciate how everything that was ever invented or discovered was only accomplished after a myriad of failed attempts. In fact, some of mankind’s greatest revelations were accidental. For example, I am reminded that penicillin, perhaps the most significant medical innovation of the 20th century was the unintended result of forgetting to put the lid on a petri dish.
Moreover, failure is a function of learning. theories and brain based research suggest that failure is a natural consequence of learning and that children need to feel safe to make mistakes in order to progress scholastically (Cambourne; Eitelgeorge, Rushton, and Zickafoose,2003; Jaeger, 2007; Juola-Rushton, Larin and Rushton, 2010).
For example, Cambourne articulated seven conditions which best facilitate natural learning. According to his theories, approximation, or a phase of learning marked by repeated failures is a necessary step that students take towards mastery. According to Cambourne, children learn best in environments where they can try to emulate without fear of psychological hurt if their attempts are not fully correct (Cambourne, 1995).
Salvador Dali once said “Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature. Never try to correct them. On the contrary: rationalize them, understand them thoroughly. After that, it will be possible for you to sublimate them.”
With that in mind, I will present and consider two drawings of mine marked (or marred?) by mistake.
The inspiration for this piece was one of my classmate’s, earrings. I noticed in our second art tutorial that Kiara was wearing this really interesting earring that resembled an abstract butterfly. I wanted to recreate the effect in a drawing. Initially, I was very pleased with the result. I used pencil to create curved lines and contrasting voids which had some stylistic elements of art nouveau. It was shaping out to be my best creation to date.
Then I got overambitious. I decided to add colour and that’s when things went pear shaped. My first mistake (aside from continuing to improve something that I was already satisfied with) was using pastel chalk. It’s messy and difficult to use with precision. Since the effect I was trying to create in the drawing depended on clean lines and distinct sections (like a stain glass window) chalk was not an appropriate choice of material.
My next mistake was in the selection of colours. I thought that the pink and purple would contrast nicely with the silvery grey of the pencil. I was wrong. My butterfly turned into a blood clot. I would have been better off to have applied the knowledge I gained about colour theory in art class that week and use either one colour or complimentary colours.
While I was very disappointed with the resulting creation, I can retrospectively appreciate that the exercise was constructive. Additionally, the fact that I didn’t rip up the drawing to shreds and throw it in the bin but instead am exhibiting it online shows a change in my attitude. I am no longer ashamed of my artistic inadequacies because I can see that I am making progress.
The main mistake in this piece is the shape and size of the bird’s wings. Also, I repeated my previous mistake of choosing the wrong colours. On the positive side though, I feel that I have successfully created the effect of flight and motion. I think this is in part attributed to the blurred wings because it kind of resembles the blurriness seen in photographs taken of subjects in motion. Also, I think that the gradual fading of the pink background from a fairly solid application of the colour in the bottom right corner to a few swirling wisps of mixed pink and purple in the top left corner add to the appearance of flight and motion.
So, even though I was initially frustrated and disappointed with the outcome of the piece, I can see some merit in it.
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