One of the best things I do for myself as an artist is give myself permission to be awful, even at things I’ve done well in the past. I mean really awful, sometimes in full public view, not just in my studio.
I work at an art gallery, and have lots of conversations with artists. About their careers, their work, about things they want to try. It’s amazing how often they will bad mouth their own work, or be anxious about trying something new.
Everybody’s afraid of something. I’m lucky in that I’ve always seen the creative process as the safest ‘place’ on Earth. I give myself permission to just be excited about making stuff. I love when those things wind up having a resonance beyond the moment of creation, but it’s the feeling that I get when deep in the process that’s the point.
I make something every day to remind myself that allowance is the ultimate portal.