the messy art of making
When is a piece of work truly done? For a decade, I have used this maxim as a way of navigating my creative work “ Art is never done, it is just abandoned”. It has served me well, but now I feel more and more discontent with the idea of abandoning something I am creating. Early in my creative journey, I always use to get trapped in perfectionism, trying to add one last thing, possibly because it was scary to put things out there. But as I have grown I realised that the instinct to add is often much more grounded in an insight that will make the piece better. At the same time I do want to publish more and put out more things, I want to use my work, my art, my writing as explorations of things. But at some point you have put a final line and just say “its done” “put it out now”. And so the biggest dilemma, “when is a piece of work done?”
The tension here isnt just about getting it done. It is also about what finishing even means. Is it clarity? Compromise? Courage?
