Calling something ‘done’ is difficult. When I embark on a new art project, I have a loose idea of what ‘done’ could be. But there’s no specific, measurable, or consistent criteria.
One one hand, ambiguity is necessary because it provides space for natural curiosity that needs to be present in the process of making. Ambiguity allows discovery.
On the other hand, infinite discovery without closure leaves me with a feeling of stagnation, incompleteness, of circling but never coming down to land. That’s tiring.
Calling something ‘done’ means accepting, most often, imperfection. When something is done, it’s often not as good as I imagined it would be. It almost always never fully scratches the itch I had that made me begin the work in the first place.
But calling something ‘done’ gives me permission. Permission to stop, rest, come up for air, reflect, or learn something about myself and my work that I didn’t know before. It’s with *that* that I become better positioned to go on my next discovery; to further, deeper, and more interesting places than before.