What If This Is Not a Mistake?
On creative process: the pause, the invitations and the listening
The Pause
There is a moment - before the next brushstroke, before the instinct to fix, before the fear of having ruined it - when you could simply pause.
I have learned that my biggest mistake is not in what I create but in rushing. The need to fix something too soon, to cover it up, to get rid of the discomfort of not knowing where it’s going. It’s like I’m ashamed of that in-between space, afraid that someone might look at my work and say, “Excuse me, what is that?” But the truth is, this - this exact moment - is the process. Messy as it is.
The painting is not resisting me. It is asking me to listen differently.
What if, instead of reacting and rushing, I gave it space? Letting it breathe. Letting myself breathe. Not thinking about the outcome, not rushing toward a satisfying end that I can then share and be proud of. What if the pride is not in the final piece but in my persistence, in my willingness to stay present with the unknown? With what’s uncomfortable.
And you - have you ever stopped at a crossroads in your work, hesitating? Wondering if the next step is the wrong one? What if that hesitation is actually an invitation? A doorway to a new way forward, a creative opportunity you haven’t yet seen? The pause is where intuition whispers. Listen.
Mistakes are Invitations
What if I told you this is not a mistake? What if what you see as failure is actually the key to holding the piece together?
The fear of making mistakes can keep you stuck, hovering over your work, afraid to take a step in case you ruin it. But what if you shifted that thought? Instead of, “What if I mess this up?” ask, “I wonder what will come out of this?” Instead of, “This is ruined,” ask, “What if this is an opening?”
Every layer teaches something. If you listen.
Some of the most powerful moments in my work come from what I once wanted to hide or throw away. I have learned that what feels like an accident often carries the most energy, the most truth. A story. Mistakes are where my work finds its own language. I don’t need to correct them - I need to embrace them. I need to let them exist long enough to reveal their purpose.
And if you allow it, your so-called mistakes might become the foundation of what makes you - you, the thing that sets your work apart.
Nothing is lost. All is as it should be.
Are you listening?
It wasn’t always the case but now, I am in conversation with my art. I ask, and I listen, and I trust.
Sometimes, the next step is not about what you can add, it is about stepping back. To let the work tell me where it wants to go. When I rush, when I overwork, when I cover something too soon - it’s not just the painting I lose. It’s clarity. It’s connection.
How can I stay curious? Well, by not forcing the outcome. By not assuming that I already know what’s best. By leaning into the small moments of wonder: I wonder how this layer will dry. I wonder where this texture will lead. I wonder what happens if I take a risk here. Do I dare to be bold?
And you - how do you listen to your work? Do you give it time to speak, or do you fill the silence too quickly? Do you let curiosity guide you, or does fear of getting it wrong hold you back?
Pausing is not hesitation - it is presence. Mistakes are not failures - they are opportunities.
Every layer is teaching me something valuable - if I listen. If I don’t dwell on what is lost and see past it, I rediscover clarity. Pauses are moments for reflection, curiosity, and intuition.
Pause, journal (a post about my journalling process is here), breathe, move. Give yourself the space and time.
If you’re anything like me, if you love the slow life, if you hate rushing and deadlines - embrace it. Make it your strength, use it as your voice, use it in your process. Explore how it feels to allow yourself to just be, with your art, with your uncertainties, with the stages in between.
Breathe. Step back. Feel the work.
Trust where it leads you.
From my ever-curious heart to yours
- Ela
Taking a moment of pause to be present, you’re so right! I loved reading this post! "Mistakes in art? You mean extra texture" 😂 exactly
Highly relating to your words and experience with the listening, letting the brush, colors, paper, guide us :) and not wanting to get anywhere but the process itself, no fixing, no rushing, just being with what is.