In the Mind of the Artist
Essay · October 2026
“You sho’ is uglyyyyy!” - Shug Avery/Circa 1921
I have pieces that I don’t like to even admit that I created - LOTS OF THEM!
— The SculptressHey, it happens (you know there are two letters you can place in front of the word "it" and then it would really get my point across, right?). You create something, you’ve spent time on it…it was all good as you guided its evolution. Then, you’re done - finally! You step back to take your new creation in totally and realize, “You sho’ is uglyyyyy!”
Damn.
The piece that inspired this essay
WEIRDNESS
Twice-fired stoneware. Original one-of-a-kind sculpture. TM Sculptures & Clayworks collection.
You will stare at pieces you made years ago, even weeks ago - and question how you thought, even for a second, that there was ANYTHING aesthetically pleasing about it. It’s all part of your evolution. A necessary discomfort.
Whenever I’m confronted with a piece that didn’t turn out, at all, the way I hoped, I usually comfort myself with - “Don’t matter…Somebody’s gonna like it!” I’ve learned that sometimes my own work can be a monstrosity in my opinion - yet be revered in the eyes of many others. I have pieces that I don’t like to even admit that I created - LOTS OF THEM! I used to post them on social media, or even make them available for acquisition on my site to honor the words of my boy, artist Pumkin Escobar, “Post your mistakes…it keeps you humble”. I would do exactly that as a reminder to myself, and to others, that no matter how accomplished you become creatively - you will still manage to crank out works that fall short in your own estimation. You will stare at pieces you made years ago, even weeks ago - and question how you thought, even for a second, that there was ANYTHING aesthetically pleasing about it. It’s all part of your evolution. A necessary discomfort.
Be easy with yourself. It’s fine to look at your creation and think, “You sho’ is uglyyyy!” - then, go right to “Don’t matter…somebody’s gonna like it!” and then move on to the next creation. Ugly or not, that’s still your baby and there’s so much you will gain from having created it at all. Trust.