How Perfectionism in the Studio Can Be Our Worst Enemy

By Ivan Barnett

  Image by Ivan Barnett.

“Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be your best. Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect, and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgement, and shame. It’s a shield. It’s a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from flight.”  –Brené Brown

Perfectionism is a paradox. In our studios, it feels like a noble pursuit, if only I get this line straighter, this glaze smoother, this stroke more exact, then my work will finally achieve greatness. Yet time and again, striving for flawless results backfires. Instead of liberating our creativity, it can lock us in a cycle of hesitation, self-doubt, procrastination, and paralysis.

At Serious Play, I’ve witnessed how perfectionism derails artists. It steals joy from the process and narrows creative possibility. To borrow from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of the influential book Flow, “Control of consciousness determines the quality of life.” What he meant is that when we are absorbed in a state of flow, fully immersed in creating, losing track of time, we reach the deepest satisfaction. Perfectionism pulls us out of flow. It interrupts the rhythm of making and replaces it with self-consciousness, fear of failure, and a worse fear of ‘starting.’

The Myth of Flawless

History teaches us that imperfection carries wisdom. Among many Native peoples of North America, artisans weaving baskets, pottery, or blankets would intentionally include a broken pattern or asymmetry. This was not seen as a mistake, but as a safeguard—a way for spirits to enter and leave the object, ensuring that nothing harmful became trapped within.

If we consider perfectionism itself as a kind of spirit, perhaps it is one of the most dangerous to let slip into our creative lives. It whispers: “You are not good enough. This piece isn’t finished. One more adjustment will make it perfect.” But that voice is insatiable. By chasing flawless outcomes, we risk never finishing at all.

Perfection, in this light, becomes a detriment of sorts. A seduction that draws us further from the vitality of creativity and creative flow.

“Perfectionism isn’t a behavior. It’s a way of thinking about yourself.” –Andrew Hill  Image by Ivan Barnett.

Mother Nature’s Example

Look anywhere in nature and you’ll see perfectionism exposed as false. A pebble on the riverbed is smoothed by water, but still carries chips, cracks, and surprising colors. A leaf unfurls with veins that twist irregularly, asymmetries built into its very design. Even the sky carries a shifting, unsettled balance of clouds and light.

These natural forms are imperfectly perfect. They reveal the truth: beauty is not symmetry, flawlessness, or uniformity.

Take a look in the mirror. Cover half your face with your hand and compare one side to the other. No two sides are alike. Each half carries subtle differences in contour, tone, and shadow. Yet together they form the uniqueness of you. Humanity, in its beauty, is full of character, and character is always imperfect.

Perfectionism and the AI Dilemma

This is precisely why AI-generated images strike many as strange. They are too smooth, blemish-free, unscarred by time or experience. Their flawlessness leans toward the uncanny, giving them a science-fiction feel rather than a human one.

Artists instinctively recoil from this kind of artificial perfection. We know that great art is not sterile; it carries evidence of struggle, exploration, hesitation, and discovery. The brushstroke left behind, the misaligned bead, the glaze that ran unexpectedly, these so-called imperfections are what breathe life into the work.

In fact, in the language of Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi celebrates imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness as the very essence of beauty. AI, by contrast, seems designed to deny those qualities. This is its greatest flaw, and one reason why true art remains a profound human act with the human hand.

“Perfectionism is not a way to avoid shame. Perfectionism is a form of shame.”  –Brené Brown  Image by Ivan Barnett.

Knowing When to Stop

One of the most difficult lessons any artist learns is when to stop. The temptation to “fix” or rework one more area, refine one more detail, adjust one more layer can be overwhelming. Perfectionism tricks us into believing that art improves indefinitely with every additional touch. The reality is the opposite: past a certain point, further work diminishes vitality, obscures spontaneity, and deadens authenticity.

I’ve seen it countless times in my years as an artist and gallery director. A piece that was alive with energy in its first state becomes overworked, too polished, drained of spark. The artist, blinded by perfectionism, cannot see what they’ve lost.  Yet the client or the collector know that ‘the spirit is gone.’

At Serious Play, one of the most valuable things I help artists with is exactly this: knowing when to stop. We train ourselves to step back, to see the work as a whole, and to recognize that the vitality of imperfection is often the soul of the piece. Stopping at the right moment preserves the work’s authenticity, while pushing past that point risks strangling it.

The Joy of Imperfection

Returning to Flow, Csikszentmihalyi reminds us that joy arises from challenge and absorption, not from flawlessness. “The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” Notice, he doesn’t say “perfect.” He says “difficult and worthwhile.”

Art becomes worthwhile not because it is perfect, but because it reflects our whole selves: our effort, our vulnerability, our failures, and our resilience. Imperfection keeps us human, keeps us connected, and keeps us moving.

The next time you feel yourself paralyzed by the chase for perfection, remember the broken patterns woven into Native baskets, remember the asymmetry of your own face, remember the crooked vein in a leaf. These truths point us toward freedom.

“A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new.” –Albert Einstein  Image by Ivan Barnett.

Serious Play: Helping Artists Break Free from Perfectionism

The mission of Serious Play is to help artists thrive, not just financially, but emotionally and creatively. That means confronting perfectionism and learning to embrace imperfection as part of the process.

When we release the grip of perfectionism, we open ourselves to discovery. We reclaim joy in making. We enter flow, where the act of creation itself becomes the reward. And we allow our works to stand as authentic witnesses to our journey, rather than monuments to unattainable ideals.

This is the heart of what I offer artists who come to Serious Play: permission to let go, to trust their instincts, and to know when enough is enough. It’s a discipline that takes time to learn, but once grasped, it transforms both the studio practice and the artist’s sense of self.

“At its root, perfectionism isn’t really about a deep love of being meticulous. It’s about fear. Fear of making a mistake. Fear of disappointing others. Fear of failure. Fear of success.” –Michael Law

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