Dawn’s Reviews > Art and Fear > Status Update

"When you are lazy, your art is lazy; when you hold back, it holds back; when you hesitate, it stands there staring, hands in its pockets. But when you commit, it comes on like blazes."

"People who need certainty in their lives are less likely to make art that is risky, subversive, complicated, iffy, suggestive or spontaneous. What's really needed is nothing more than a broad sense of what you are looking for, some strategy for how to find it, and an overriding willingness to embrace mistakes and surprises along the way. Simply put, making art is chancy--it doesn't mix well with predictability."

I love that there's already a mention of the importance of beginnings: "the first few brushstrokes to the blank canvas satisfy the requirements of many possible paintings, while the last few fit only *that* painting--the could go nowhere else" (p. 16). This discussion (especially the Didion quote) relates directly to the IO workshops I've taken, which stress that the first three sentences of a scene are crucial.