Failing and Being Challenged: An Essay
One of the best ways to get good at something, become an expert at it, or master it, is by failing, many times over, before you succeed. This can build stamina, conviction, and resilience which can all strengthen a person and make it seem to them as if all obstacles, difficulties, and setbacks seem absolutely insignificant when compared to the final and ultimate goal. Failure is an integral part of intellect, progress, and the creative process. There is no such thing as the perfect sketchbook. Sketchbooks actually seem more to me like books that chart creative and artistic progress or evolution, rather than a "gallery of masterpieces". If a person does create a masterpiece, there is usually no way to tell if the work-in-progress will end up that way or not. This is because you cannot observe the essence of the whole until the whole is finished, which is why it's important for an artist not to judge his own work too much, unless it's for constructive self-critique, which is often the source responsible for the artist's progress.
