Like Santa Claus, carrying his bag full of goodies on his back, he shook like a bowl full of jelly. Okay, so maybe he wasn't exactly Santa Claus. And maybe the bag upon his back was a black plastic bag. He reached inside and withdrew the first surprise, it shot through the air like an airborne missile.

"Here," he said, "catch that. If you can draw this horrible plastic flower, you can draw anything." This was not what I had expected my first day EVER as an art student. I pondered if I had made a mistake in choice of major. Half of the class screamed, "I can't draw." They were just there to get a cultural credit.

I sat on the first row, dead center, not a very safe position when flowers were flying right and left, whizzing by my ear, wind in my hair. When the bag was almost empty, my instructor reached in and pulled out one last flower, "my flower". It was the runt of the litter. It wasn't even really a flower. It looked like a stick with things hanging down. I looked with envy at another student who had a handful of roses. When everyone had a flower in hand and the moans and groans had risen to a loud disapproval, my art instructor finally spoke.

"Everyone can draw," he said. "All you have to do is 'correct your corrections.' You cannot fail." What a fantastic opening statement for the first minute of an art degree. "You cannot fail."

Think about that for a moment.

Example: Take an apple. Sit it on the table and begin to draw. The first time you attempt to draw it, it isn't quite right. You scratch your head and say, "This line should be a little more round," so you draw back around the apple and make a slight correction. It's better now. No erasing, just keep going. You go around again. And with each revolution, the apple becomes more perfect. YOU CAN DRAW! And you are the one in charge. You keep getting closer and closer to perfection each time you correct. UNTIL the point where YOU say, "It is perfect enough, I think I will stop."

Two weeks passed. Art classes are held twice a week. The groans of the first flower experience diminished into silence as each student focused on "I'll do just a little bit better today." Until it was time to show the drawings. And EVERYONE in that class had a good drawing to present. The instructor was right. Everyone could draw.

I think back to when I was a child, a crayon in my hand and drawing all over the place. I was sure of myself then. What happened? Fear. Fear that others would laugh. Fear that I wasn't perfect enough, my drawing wasn't exactly the way it was supposed to be. Fear that I would make a mistake. Eraser mark upon eraser mark until the paper was soiled and torn.

Now I had a system, a way to keep away the fear. "You draw by correcting your corrections. You cannot fail."

When I begin a drawing today and it seems just too darn difficult, my mind says, "I can't draw a horse, I have never drawn a horse. I can't draw a dog or a bird or a motorcycle." Then I hear those words spoken years ago, I pick up my pencil, and with each stroke I get closer and closer to what I want to draw. It's true. You draw by correcting your corrections. Anything Is Possible! There is no way to fail. Each step takes you closer to perfection.

Wouldn't that be a great philosophy for life. Each day I become a little more perfect. Each day I learn a little more. Each day I become a little closer to what I want to be. All I have to do is gently correct each of my mistakes along the way. I can never fail!

 

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