Walt Disney's newspaper editor told the aspiring cartoonist he wasn't creative enough.

J.K. Rowling was a divorced single parent living on benefits when she wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - and the book was rejected by 12 publishers before being snapped up by Bloomsbury.

We've all heard the failure stories of these incredible successful people.. It is inspiring, especially when you seem to be at a stand still. In my last post I talked about being a senior in college and trying to find where I am supposed to be in the world. I also talked about applying to art shows and how I was turned down on the first 2 that I applied for. I had applied for 4 more, knowing that I did not have a great chance of getting in. And, like I had assumed, I did not get invited to the first one I heard back from. It really did take a hit on my confidence when I found out I was denied, but I am still hopeful for the next three.  

The show that I got denied from was a world wide small metals show. This was an exhibition I assumed I would not get invited to because amazing artists from around the world submitted pieces, and this was one of the first metal jewelry pieces I had ever made. Of course I had hoped that I would get in, but in reality I had no real chance of making the cut. BUT what I do know is that the judges of this contest saw my name and my artwork. Whether it was good enough for their show or not, my name was put in front of people who had never seen it before.  The next show I will hear from is a cup show that is being judged by one of my favorite ceramic artists. I have the same outlook on this show as I did for the small metals one. Whether or not I get in doesn't matter as much as the fact that one of my favorite artists who is known around the world will see my cups and see my name associated with them. 

It is rare to be successful right out the gate. Artists especially take years or decades refining their work in order to become recognized for what they do. I am still young, and I still have plenty of time to find the recognition I am looking for. As I look forward to the next month waiting to hear from the other three shows, I will be applying for more shows, and looking for more ways to get my name and my work out there in order to get where I want to be.