Boris Pasternak (1890–1960)

The aim of art is self-discharge
And not the clap-trap of success.
It’s shameless to be looming large
For merits which are but a guess.

I could not find translation of the rest of the poem, but it goes more or less like this:

Life must be lived without false face,
Lived so that in the final count
We draw unto ourselves love of space
And hear the call of future.

So plunge yourself into obscurity
And conceal there your tracks
The way landscape hides in the mist
When nothing can be seen around.

Others will follow your still warm footprints
Step after step,
But you yourself should not be able
To tell your loss from your victory.

You should not betray even the smallest bit
Of your true face,
But be alive, alive - fully and only alive,
Alive until the end.

Welcome and thank you for taking the time to comment. I agree with you and that was pretty much the point of the post, I think I was a bit round about with it though. Until you know what success means to you it’s really hard to work towards that success or even know if you reached it. So working through the exercise to figure out your personal “use case for success” is really something each person has to do on their own. Entering shows is great - but unless it makes sense for your idea of success it’s probably a waste of time and money.

The post she was referring is this one (which has comments close to reduce spam): How To Become a Successful Artist - the usecase

I came across your site through Etsy. I read your old post about success and I wanted to agree with the other poster who said that everyone’s definition of success is unique. For some people success might mean finding enjoyment in the creative process. For others it might mean enjoyment plus monetary gain as a result of exposure. Maybe enjoyment is found in the creative process. Maybe it is found through acknowledgement by others, whether compensated by positive feedback or that paper stuff we trade for objects/services rendered. Whatever it is, I think it is most important to know what will make you happy and go from there. Know thyself and be at peace with it. The rest doesn’t matter.

Best of luck to you!

I find it a challenge to work small - to make something interesting in such a small space. But I am working on making more smaller pieces, both because it is good to push myself out of my comfort zone and because I know my larger work is out of many people’s price range.

Thanks for the comment.

Tracy - cool - mod.

Vicki - wow - thank you.

i am so glad you took your own and others advice and got some rest. I did some too this weekend and don’t feel as tired. Makes sense, but sometimes hard for hard workers!

~ Diane Clancy
http://www.dianeclancy.com/blog