This most recent feature illustration for my blog post consumed a lot of my time; in hindsight, perhaps too much of my time. The reason was a desire for perfection.
I needed the perfect message to coincide with a perfect illustration to create the perfect blog post that would capture fall and thankfulness. This would all be neatly tied up with a bow to match my business tag line of Simple, Fun, and Meaningful.
You see, next week is the regional conference for SCBWI, The Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. In order to stay connected, I will be handing out lots of business cards. The cards will prompt visits to my site and since this probably will be my last post before the conference, this will be the landing image. Like the opening number to a musical, it needs to be exciting and have visitors looking forward to more.
The problem with trying to attain perfection is you never do.
I recently read Eliza Wheeler’s blog post (BTW, she is one of my favorite children’s book illustrators. Check out her amazing illustrations in Wherever You Go). She wrote the post after returning home from the National SCBWI Conference in LA this summer. In it she recounts emotions of being in a venue and learning from the best but also having that sinking feeling of “I Suck.”
That desire of having the next illustration be better than the one before can be a boulder or a stepping stone depending on what attitude is brought to the drawing table.
The defeatist attitude can become overwhelming with the sea of talent out there.
The comfort comes from knowing that perfection is neither expected nor attainable. Our Creator can even use our messes to help us get over the boulders and on to the next stepping stone. He meets us right where we are with poorly drawn squirrels and all to remind us of just how blessed we are and to be thankful that all we have to do is look to his perfection for daily guidance and share what he has given us in the best way we know how.
That is a good message in a nutshell.
Smiles,
Wendy