second home

The photography lab is my second home. I've was there for the past 12 hours only to find myself disheartened after many failed attempts at making a print.

I was talking to one of my classmates, who is a grad student, and mentioned how I failed miserably for a 12 hour workday. He then interrupted me and said, "Failed what? You got something done! You're on the right track so you didn't fail; you're only closer to your goal."

So I thought it was cheesy talk in the beginning, but he kept saying it over and over to me the more disgruntled I got. It hit home then.

One of the joys of being an artist, I've found, is the lack of "failure." What I mean by that is, we all work hard in the lab/studio and while our work may not be considered "perfect," the process of creating the work is art as well.

My initial thought of failure was driven by how much film/photo paper I would use yet, not have a perfect print. The monetary aspect of it became a bigger deal than the process of making the art using the materials. I won't lie; photography isn't cheap and if I keep on "messing up" my prints, it only creates a bigger hole in my wallet. It's a worry, but it should be the least of my worries.

Rather than looking at what I'm losing, I need to start looking at everything else I am gaining.