Attitude Towards Art: Perseverance

As I teach, I try to incorporate the idea of perseverance into the whole creative process of art. I teach under the "rule" of : "Make your mistakes into Masterpieces!" or "Don't give up on any piece of art...Conquer the problem of why it isn't working and you'll have learned a valuable lesson!"
I can't tell you how many times I've used this. Countless times. That's how I've learned what I know in art. I analyze it and think of it as a puzzle. I persevere and figure out why a piece works and why it doesn't. Those lessons will transfer to other pieces and much will be gained. When a piece is "scrapped", valuable learning lessons are missed and you've reinforced the idea that you can't conquer that mountain. It breeds insecurities. Now, I may lay something aside and puzzle it out, but I don't ever paint over a piece and give it up. So, just a reminder...persevere and climb that mountain of a piece and you will benefit in many ways: in self esteem, in art knowledge, in confidence and in having a super finished piece of art!