September Art Project / day twenty / encouragement to artists

Wallpaper Obsession

Written about 'writing' but you could easily stick in drawing/painting/any kind of artistry, and I think it's just about right.

"In my journal I recorded this moment of decision, for that's what it was. I had to write. I had no choice in the matter. It was not up to me to say I would stop, because I could not. It didn't matter how small or inadequate my talent. If I never had another book published...I still had to go on writing.

I'm glad I made this decision in the moment of failure. It's easy to say you're a writer when things are going well. When the decision is made in the abyss, then it is quite clear that it is no one's own decision at all.

If it is as good a book as you can write at this moment in time, that is what counts. Success is pleasant; of course you want it; but it isn't what makes you write. - Madeline L'Engel, A Circle of Quiet