per-feck-shuh-who?

someone please post me some beetle repellent, thanks x

hi hello howdy-do g’day. lately a pesky beetle named ‘perfectionism’ hitched a ride on my shoulder and whispered unhelpful things into my ear.

I’ve written and re-written a post several times¹, all about how daily life is getting a bit more lonely with the rise of more and more self-checkouts. and how unhelpful they actually are, they make things cheaper for businesses but aren’t really made to make any experiences better for us, the people who use them. and low and behold the beetle kept chattering away “the last post did well, this next one better be good or people will run away”. Couple this with a combination of difficult to find statistics and a propensity to tangent and here we are.

SO. hErE is a DeLiBer8Ly² BAD post. wow look at all the bad gram.

mar.

the beetle is pervasive. I doubt I will be adding anything new to the conversation of perfectionism by saying it’s fear-based of not wanting to do badly.

but.

sometimes doing something badly on purpose is exactly what you need.

as well as remembering that ‘perfection’ or ‘great things’ come from abundance rather than agonising.

musicians often make an album that isn’t as good as their others. artists often have a few dodgy paintings no-one remembers, because they only remember the good ones.³ stand-up comedians perform work-in-progress shows where they trial out jokes and see how a joke they thought was hilarious falls flat, and the one they tried on a whim actually works well. actors perform in the occasional film that is so-so.

i’ve heard the colloquial statistic that if you want to be good at drawing, you have to get your first bad 1,000 drawings out of the way. so you may as well draw them as soon as possible.

even when you can draw (or any other skill) there will still be days where you draw an absolutely doozy and you fear that THAT’S IT. I’VE LOST IT.

but the key is keeping going, and keeping making. while taking the pressure off, and being yourself. or as i said already, because i am nothing if not a ~practice what I preach~ kinda lady - MAKE IT BAD.

Personally, I’m slightly embarrassed how long it takes me to remember this fact given that I regularly perform an entire show based on this concept. I created an immersive comedy show/art workshop, from the seeds of entertaining friends online over lockdown, called Sh!t Art Club. The premise is exactly what it sounds it is. Under the guise of a silly artist character, I guide audience members sat around cabaret tables to purposefully make art not even your grandma would want on her fridge. It’s wonderful to see how much joy it brings people, to just enjoy the physical act of drawing, rather than stressing about creating something “good”. A reminder it is⁴ of how taking that pressure off really makes you a lot more present too.

The best thing about making something bad is how freeing it is. A technique I came across while reading recently , is setting a timer for 20-30 mins, writing all your thoughts down (and not stopping) and scrunching them up and throwing them away. One day I did this, and I realised I DON’T HAVE TO WRITE ON THE LINES. Sure they can be useful if you want, but when it’s something you are literally writing to be disposed of, it can look however you like.

it doesn’t sound like much. but it brought a lot of joy. the pursuit of turning every hobby into a side hustle has removed the freedom and joy for a lot of people. as there’s now a pressure to make money from anything you’re skilled at. I usually draw most days of a week, but the beetle has been gnashing its little pincers, and stalled me from even doodling.

so whatever your craft is. cooking, writing, music, drawing, embroidery. i explore you to release the shackles of ‘impressive’ and embrace the liberty that is making something rubbish, on purpose. it’ll kick start your internal engine⁵ by smashing through any creative block via getting back in the habit of making again, and iT wilLL be rEEElly niCe for YoUr feelings

i

promise.

1. will it see the light of day? perhaps.

2. deliberately

3. no dodgy paintings here, but the story of the creation of one of the world’s most famous paintings, The Great Wave, is really grounding in how much work and other paintings came before the one that everyone remembers.

4. grammy grammy grammar whatever

5. Another thought for another time also to be expanded on