Stefanie Pusateri: Moving Through the Mess
An exercise in battling self-doubt and pushing forward
I’ve been writing for a long time. The first story I remember writing was scribbled in a padded journal between bedtime and 2am during 7th grade. It was some ridiculous pre-teen romance about which the only thing I remember is a vignette where one of my actual classmates had grown up to be a doctor and ended up delivering my baby. I brought it to school to share with one of my besties, she wrote a review in the back, and it got passed around to some of my other classmates. I was mortified and ended up pitching the whole works in the garbage, despite the positive press I got.
Most recently, I wrote a book that has been stalled in the editing stage for over a year now. I’ve invested significant time and money (not including my degree in Journalism) into perfecting my craft. I realize I will never perfect it because there’s too much to learn, too much to try. Evidence indicates not much has changed for me as a writer between middle school and now. The idea of showing my work to anyone results in a glorious combination of procrastination and paralysis.
Thankfully, I know a couple of incredibly talented and motivated friends, and our shared interests have resulted in The Literary Canvas. Writing, painting, drawing, sculpting, recording, editing–all of these things are individual studies of their own. Figuring out what to do with creations and how to do it is another thing entirely. Personally, I find it all overwhelming enough to kick my already overactive fight, flight, or freeze response into overdrive. A major part of the goal with this site is to offer encouragement and motivation to the other artists out there. The world needs us to put the seemingly clotted nightmare of daily life into perspective. Art is transformative and essential. We want to encourage everyone to keep the creative spark alive.
So, thank you. Thank you for your interest and for the art you bring into the world. Life would be a pretty bleak thing for all of us without it.
 |
|