NEA Arts Article

1. What are the similarities between the artists interviewed in this article? What are the differences?

Each one of these artists has experienced success and failure. They have had things they are very proud of, things they would like to go back and change, and things that haven't gone the way they intended to. The difference between them is what they are working with. Some are writers and some are performers, while others are musicians and artists. They all experience the same type of feelings, just with different kinds of materials.


2. Is there anything discussed in this article that you can relate to?

I think the one thing I really related to in this article was when Perry Chen discussed what failure was to him. He considered failure to be when something is one way in his brain, but comes out completely different. It's not what you intended, even if it isn't that bad. I often feel this way. I have so many ideas swimming around in my head and I try to put them on paper sometimes, only for them to not come out the way I thought they would. 


3. Do you believe that taking risks and pushing boundaries is important to the creative process? Why or why not?

I definitely think you need to take risks and push the boundaries. In high school, I stuck to the same old thing with every painting I did. I painted houses, landscapes, etc. When I got to college I realized I needed to do more than that. I started playing around with the human body and explored my emotions. I wanted to put myself into my paintings. 


4. Do you experience fear of failure? When? How do you think it has impacted you positively or negatively?

I sometimes experience fear of failure. I think about it before I start each piece. I try not to dwell on it though. I'm always pretty excited to start my idea so I don't think about it too much. I also get nervous about failing when I enter my art into shows or put them up for a critique. I want my art to move other people and grasp their attention. As an artist, I think a lot of us feel as though we need the acceptance of other people in order to be successful. I think it all just keeps pushing me further though. I have a desire to be the best that I can be and I'm not going to stop that now. 


5. How do you think you can support your students as their teacher when they encounter the "fear of failure"?

I think the best thing to do in order to support students who are afraid of failure is to encourage them. They better they feel, the more confident they will be with their work. They should understand that not everything will come out the way they intended and that it takes a lot of practice to get to where they want to be. I want to encourage my students to keep pushing and practicing and to push themselves farther than what they think they are capable of.