What Your Failures Are Teaching You with Laura Petrovich-Cheney (#95)

Failure. We all fear it, especially in our art businesses.

But failure is necessary for growth. If you are succeeding at everything, there is no way you're learning and growing.

My guest today is ambitious and knows what she wants, and she is not afraid to fail.

In our interview, you'll hear about Laura Petrovich-Cheney’s philosophy that failure is the result of not listening to your instinct and not doing your best. Laura talks about a few failures she has learned from, why it's helpful to have a little bit of time and space between examining failures, and the shame that gets in the way of sharing failures with other artists. We also discuss the inevitable comparisons with other artists that arise when you fail and see only their successes.

Highlights

• Laura Petrovich-Cheney shares the artist journey that led her to embrace failure. (1:40)

• Defining failure as a lack of listening to your intuition and not trying your best. (4:30)

• The difference between failures and mistakes. (6:14)

• The most productive timeline for examining your failures so you can learn from them. (11:45)

• Success comes from learning to do something better. (15:05)

• Compare rejection and failure — which one comes from within? (16:49)

• At what point should you define an experience as a failure? (19:47)

• Throw yourself a pity party, then let go and move on. (22:23)

• Should you share your failures with other artists? (25:42)

• Trying again, and again, and again, and knowing what to do better next time. (29:17)

• Laura shares the lessons she has learned from failing so successfully. (32:43)

• The benefit of asking others for help. (37:58)

• What is currently holding Laura’s attention in her studio? (39:05)

Mentioned

• MacDowell Fellowships

• Bemis Center Artist Residencies

• Wolf Kahn

• Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowships

• Laura Petrovich-Cheney

• Laura’s Instagram

Resources

• Full show notes including photos and listener comments

• Art Career Success System

• Art Biz Success Community

• Intro and outro music by Wildermiss

Quotes

• "Failure is primarily a lack of listening to your intuition.” — Laura Petrovich-Cheney

• “If you really tried your best and you were only capable of a mediocre performance, that’s still your best.” — Laura Petrovich-Cheney

• “Failing to learn from an experience is another failure.” — Alyson Stanfield

• “In the failure, you learn how to do something better. And that sometimes is a bigger success.” — Laura Petrovich-Cheney

• “Listening to your intuition and honoring who you are is so important to being successful.” — Laura Petrovich-Cheney

About My Guest

Laura Petrovich-Cheney’s work is a profound assessment of contemporary issues merging with traditional folk art practices, quilting, woodworking and her repurposed materials with environmental issues of climate change. In all of the artist’s recent sculpture, a dialogue exists between environmental and individual concerns. Much of Laura’s work is feminist in nature, incorporating traditional women’s arts such as needlework and quilting, which are then transformed through found materials. Laura’s work has been published in several national and international publications including television, books, magazines, podcasts and NPR.

Laura was born in Philadelphia and raised in Haddonfield, New Jersey. For twenty years, she has lived in Asbury Park, New Jersey. She earned her BA in Fine Arts and English Literature at Dickinson College. Laura also has an MS degree in Fashion Design from Drexel University and an MFA in Studio Arts from Moore College of Art and Design.

First posted: artbizsuccess.com/failure-cheney-podcast

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Music by https://wildermiss.com