When is Good Enough not Enough?

The Okay Plateau

Over a decade ago I read the book Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer and came across the notion of the Okay Plateau.

“… The OK Plateau is that point when we reach the autonomous stage and consciously or unconsciously say to ourselves, “I am OK at how good I have gotten at this task,” and stop paying attention to our improvement.

We all reach OK Plateaus in almost everything we do. We learn to drive when we’re teenagers, and at first we improve rapidly, but eventually we are no longer a threat to old ladies crossing the street, and we stop getting appreciably better.”

~Joshua Foer, Moonwalking With Einstein

And for most everything we do – okay is good enough. I’m perfectly find with my driving skills. And cooking skills. They serve me well and getting better is not how I want to spend my time.

But when it comes to everything related to my artwork – the auto-pilot state is not good enough.

And yet it is super easy to fall into the trap of the Okay Plateau. Why? Because it is hard work to not get stuck in that space.

I stopped making work in my Structures series after making 200 of them as it was getting too easy. I had to change to find some challenge and get back to growth.

Over a decade ago I wrote a blog post about how I use working in a series as a way of staying out of autopilot. And thereby avoid the stagnating.

To expand a bit on those ideas – I believe there are two reasons this works.

1. The first reflection. An important part of my process in working in a series is to spend time after I’ve completed work evaluating it. I have a series of questions I ask myself with the purpose of growing from the experience.
   
   This speaks to the importance of watching myself fail and learning from it.
   
   If all I did is make yet another piece that is similar, but I never evaluated what I was doing – I don’t think it would work.
   
2. The second important aspect of working in a series is speed.
   
   Quilt making is inherently a slow medium. If I want to improve I need to actually complete the work so I can get to the evaluation phase. Working in a Series allows me to work faster as I spend significantly less time stressing over what to make next than when I am making a bunch of one of artworks.
   
   In between my Structures series and really digging in seriously to my Travel Pattern series I milled about for several years rather aimless. I made quite a bit less work as a result. And I definitely didn’t get better as I wasn’t doing anything I could evaluate.
   
   It was only when I got serious about making a new series of work that things started to come together for me.

So last year, when I wanted to start a new series – instead of milling about for a few years – I simply enrolled in my own Working in a Series course.

The quick deadline are glorious – I actually completed the exercises – learned a lot when evaluating my work and receiving feedback from the artists taking the course – and now I’m well on my way with this new series (which I will be unveiling soon!)

All of the above also applies to my art business – the exhibiting and selling side of being an artist.

When I stop working intentionally I go into a sort of auto pilot mode – I can post on social media without much thought. I can skip blogging and writing a newsletter with very little effort. And I can just keep doing the same exhibitions over and over again and not grow and move forward.

I have to stay out of auto-pilot and evaluate what I’m doing each month to keep myself moving forward.

And when I’m being totally honest – a large part of my time in New Zealand I’ve been on auto pilot.

Which is why I created the MakeBigArt Incubator and Mastermind. With this group of amazing artists, I am required to give a presentation each month on my progress – forcing me to be more intentional and less on auto pilot.

Having input and feedback from others – both in the studio and office – is a critical part of what helps me grow and improve.

Here’s to 2024

While I haven’t zeroed in on my word of the year for 2024. I’m considering the word intentional.

Intentional growth.

Staying out of the Okay Plateau.

Now Enrolling

And being a year year – it means I am enrolling for my next round of courses.

The first is the Incubator and Mastermind – this is a 10 month coaching / mastermind program. The one I mentioned above. If you want to avoid slipping into the okay plateau of mindless instagram posting – I’d love for you to join us.

There is an application to join this group. Worried you aren’t ready? The willingness to fill out the application is what we are looking for. As that shows thought and intention. It’s not the answers matter as much as the act of putting in the effort.

The course, is of course, Working in a Series. It’s such a foundational piece to any sustainable studio practice. It’s not just about the process of working in a series – it is the creative practices you will put in place throughout the course.

The class starts January 14 and for the first time – this course will be at a slightly slower pace than usual. So if you have avoided this class as finishing 1 composition a week was daunting – this is the session for you.

Final day to enroll is January 19. Or until the class sells out.

And finally – Advancing the Series. This is part two of working in a series. If you’ve taken working in a series and feel like you need a refresher. Check out this six month course starting in February. You will have 4 weeks between calls to take the time to bring more complexity and maybe work larger as you deepen and extend your body of work.