Dealing with Disappointment

Under painting

"On the Side (Lori's Diner)"
9 x 12, pastel

Here's how I handled some disappointing news yesterday: I went out to the studio and painted.

The news? That two of my paintings were not accepted into a show. Ouch. That hurt my ego a bit.

I suppose that there are stages of handling rejection just like any other thing. Elisabeth Kubler Ross introduced her famed stages of grief in 1969.

They are:

1. denial
   
2. anger
3. bargaining
4. depression
5. acceptance

I think that my stages were more like this:

1. surprise
2. upset
3. talk to a few friends
4. make some disparaging comments about the juror
5. turn the music up louder and paint something new

I think that I could avoid the risk of ever having work rejected again by never entering another show or contest. But, that would be an overreaction. Foolish or not, I think I'll just go on putting my work out there and seeing what happens.

In the meantime, I think I'll listen to some more LOUD music. Hmm. Queen or Bartok?