“No matter how far you may dig into the the depths of your soul, eventually you will come out an asshole” -Norman Mailer. Great things come out of shit. Remember that. -Me

In the art world, if you are not failing then you are stealing someones else’s work.

This is the story of “lessons in accidental success.”

Failure is an odd word. Failure is often used when “not showing up” is the accurate word choice. In life we have morals, ethics, sin and grace, yet there is no failure in nature, so why do we place it into our man-made-culture? Is a volcano a failure? Is a melting iceberg a failure? It’s all process. Perfection is found in the doing. Creative human beings: it’s an oxymoron. Drop the word being, drop the word creative…human defines the process.

Doing or not doing. That’s it…nothing, no others words (or judgment) needed.

The photos in this post today all came out of a failed project. For weeks I had conceived this composition in my mind. A multiple exposer of light, water, architecture and 30 seconds of time. I set up my gear, composed my shot, hit the shutter and then was saddened by my own creation. Discipline of repetition for the next twenty shots I reframed, refocused and still nothing but failure.

After giving up on the original idea, I gave myself a “create” test. Go for a walk, but every shot must be accomplished using the multiple exposer technique. With a blend of inspiration and hunger I stumbled into lucky accidents in success.

If you’re not growing then you’re dead. Art is dead without mistakes. Beautiful accidents in success. Picasso knew that, Miles Davis knew that. There is joy in repetition only when you f’ up. The mysteries are only revealed in the searching. Grace does not come to those who ask. Grace only shows her face in the times of struggles.