“Failure is the secret to artistic success. You have to fail in order to make your next discovery. When you are fulfilling a function–when you are being obedient, in other words you’re doing as expected–you can’t really learn anything. Because you already know the answer. It’s through mistakes that you can actually grow.  I did a TED talk about the difference between serious work and solemn work. I define serious work as being were you make breakthroughs, and solemn work as doing the status quo and the level may be very good but it’s not breakthrough.  When you’re working and you make mistakes, particularly when you’re young, you make discoveries because you do things that are inappropriate and wrongheaded, but within the wrongheadedness you find an unexpected way to go. These things are truly the breakthroughs.  The thing about mistakes is, when everybody praises something, you don’t learn anything. But when something is terrible, you know what not to do. And that’s fantastic. You also learn what you could do if you manipulated it a different way. You have to try these things.”  Paula Scher on Failure Image: Edward Fella “Once upon a time there was a woman who was just like all women. And she married a man who was just like all men. And they had some children who were just like all children. And it rained all day. The woman had to skewer the hole in the kitchen sink, when it was blocked up. The man went to the pub every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The other nights he mended his broken bicycle, did the pool coupons, and longed for money and power. The woman read love stories and longed for things to be different. The children fought and yelled and played and had scabs on their knees. In the end they all died.” Elizabeth Smart–The Assumption of Rogues & Rascals – 1982 Painting: Diet Sayler