Why we all need a Fail Club.
I recently watched Imogen Parry’s Creative Mornings seminar on why we all need a Fail Club—and at first, I thought, Well, that’s an odd idea.
But the more I sat with it, the more brilliant it became.
As artists, one of the greatest gifts we can offer ourselves is permission to fail.
Mistakes push us beyond what’s comfortable. They move us toward the edges—where real growth, depth, and discovery actually happen. Failure is not a setback; it’s a natural and necessary part of the creative process.
Yet social media has trained us to hide our mistakes. We curate only the shiny parts—successes, wins, accomplishments—while quietly burying anything that feels messy or imperfect.
And that creates a problem.
Because if you’re creating regularly… you will fail. You will try something that doesn’t work. You will make a piece that falls flat. You will chase an idea that fizzles out.
But instead of seeing these moments as important steps in the journey, we tend to label them as failures—full stop. All or nothing.
And here’s the truth….Often, the fear of failure is far more damaging than failure itself.
If we’re not failing occasionally, we’re probably playing it too safe.
Yet within every “failure” are things that went right—ideas, marks, colors, risks, or instincts that deserve credit.
Imagine if you had a small group of like-minded artists who understood this deeply…
…who supported you unconditionally…
…who reminded you that mistakes are lessons, not verdicts…
…who helped you stay brave, even when the work gets scary.
That’s the power of a Fail Club.
A Fail Club is a group that celebrates you—even when you’re struggling.
They hold space for reflection rather than shame. They remind you to be gentle with yourself. They encourage courage. And they help you keep creating through the uncertainty.
Because failing doesn’t make you less of an artist.
It makes you a bolder one.
Would love to hear any comments you may have and what you think of the whole concept of ‘failure’.
Be well….be creative,
Hmmmmmmm, I should be a genius by now. 🙂
Me too:)
While taking your online class . . . I was watching one of your instructional videos and you were explaining using the heat gun. The warning was to be careful not to apply too much heat as the image will begin to disintegrate and spread out.
I viewed that warning as an open invitation to use that mistake to go “outside” the lines and have fun. I LOVE making mistakes!
Oh yes, it can definitely be fun making mistakes and seeing what happens. Glad you’re having fun doing it too.
Over fusing can create some great backgrounds!
The reason I fail so much is because I reach for the difficult. I want to show my work and put it out there. I am not content to keep it in my house. I was just turned down from a great gallery. His rejection was more compliment than criticism so I’ll keep on.
I love the idea of a fail club. It’s OK to fail as long as you don’t keep it to yourself.
Good for you Carol. I love that you see the rejection as a compliment…..keep on going. You are doing fabulous work. I love seeing it. Learn from the mistakes. They are so many in life…..it would be a shame to not learn something from them.
When I was a reviewer for professional journals I kept asking the editors, “Where are the articles on the the experiments and studies that DID NOT turn out as the authors thought they would? We learn at least as much from our “failures” as we do our “successes.” In other words there are no “failed” experiments; there is something to be learned from every outcome.
A friend of mine is a research scientist and he says the same thing all the time…..there is something to be learned for each and every outcome.
I love this idea of a Fail Club. It might be hard to convince people to join, though. Most of us would rather throw the failures under the rug and move on.
Yes Donna, but once convinced to join…..it would be so freeing talking about them.
Not sure I want to focus on my failures I look at them whenever I’m working. Sometimes I’ve unexpectedly turn trash into treasure but not always. Are we exposing them for critiques or maybe to pick up a tip as to where I went wrong?