A recovering perfectionist
Raised by an artistically curious mother and an ambitious father, this week’s guest, Carrie Brummer is an artist, researcher, activist, professor, and mentor. She shares her empowering journey through art, success, and pushing past societal expectations of perfectionism and beauty.
After earning a BA in Art and Art History at Colgate University as well as her MA, Carrie’s work has been showcased and featured in countless galleries and exhibitions throughout the world.
But what is art?
One of Carrie’s biggest discoveries is that “art is not just art,” and perfectionist issues affect not only the way we do things but why we do them. She has learned to tackle the challenges of self-doubt and strives to continue letting go. Promoting self-expression of the arts is incredibly important to Carrie and she reminds us that “it does not need to be perfect nor particularly beautiful to anyone but you.” Your artistry and experience of joy is enough.
Community over competition
Sharing her struggle with perfection is important to Carrie. That’s one of the reason’s she created a safe, online forum, called Artist Strong. The group is based around the arts and education. Their intention is to alter society’s expectation of art and its value.
Today, Carrie uses her creative talents to fight social norms around women and the roles that are created around gender. She asked women to consider the following questions:
- What is your value and impact on society, specifically around the arts.
- How can we improve this position?
Carrie shows unequivocal strength and determination in everything she does despite her lifelong journey of persistence, trust, and letting go.
