Adam's Notes

Share this post
My first MATS art submissions
adamming.substack.com

My first MATS art submissions

#PeptoberDay11 - Show a piece you hate.

Adam Ming
Oct 11, 2021
Comment6
Share

MATS, or “Make art that sells”, is a series of online courses that I have been taking. I’m going to show you my submissions from my first week of class. I’m prompted to do this as part of Peptober’s Day 11 Prompt, “show a piece you hate”.

The assignment was to create a character sheet for a nonfiction kids book character. It was the historic story of Jo Ann Robinson and the part she played in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. After 30 hours of reseach, I came up with this:

I was especially proud because I turned the bus into a character. As part of class our instructor, Lilla Rogers, will pick and show the best pieces. She typically picks 15 out of hundreds.

I sat through class looking at the fifteen awesome pieces of work, work that according to Lilla, a top art agent, would easilly attract paid gigs. As each piece was shown, my only thought was, mine is better, and I’m sure I would be picked next.

I did not get picked.

And that was the most important lesson in class.

I learned that I was not good enough. And I learned what good enough looked like. More importantly I learned that I did not even have the ability then to recognize what was good enough.

I had been working as a creative for 19 years by this time. This was trully a humbling moment.

I learnt then that good enough in one industry might not translate to another. And that every industry looks for very specific things.

I learned where I was, Point A

I learnt where I needed to be, Point, B

The thing that made the difference was I had access to the people who were at point B, I watched what they did, I asked the occasional question, and I stared walking from point A to point B, and have been walking for over a thousand hours.

So yes I hate the work I did at point A. But you need both point A and point B to make the journey.

I’d love to hear about your point A and point B, it will help me make these notes better for you. So please leave a comment or hit ‘Reply’, talk to you then :)


Comment6
ShareShare

Create your profile

0 subscriptions will be displayed on your profile (edit)

Skip for now

Only paid subscribers can comment on this post

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

Check your email

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.

William Lien
Writes Kinase Newsletter ·Oct 11, 2021

Looks like you are being honest with yourself about your own abilities.

More importantly, you now know where point B is!

Expand full comment
Reply
1 reply by Adam Ming
Lynn Gaines
Oct 11, 2021

Thanks for being vulnerable and sharing- it is a wonderful journey 😊🙏🏽❤️

Expand full comment
Reply
1 reply by Adam Ming
4 more comments…
TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2022 Adam Ming
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Publish on Substack Get the app
Substack is the home for great writing