When It Doesn’t Work Out (But Still Meant Something)

Sometimes you prepare. You show up early. You imagine what it might feel like to see your work in a certain room, on a certain wall. And then… it doesn’t happen.

This week I was told no.

And for a moment, I questioned everything: Did I move too soon? Did I hope too much? Was I wrong to prepare as if it were already mine?

But then I remembered: Getting ready isn’t failure. It’s trust. I didn’t miscalculate. I believed.

The work is still worthy. The frames that I bought to finish them in are still beautiful. The opportunity wasn’t wasted—it just wasn’t the one.

I’ve learned that disappointment and clarity often walk together. And sometimes, something doesn’t happen because it was never meant to contain what you’re becoming.

So here I am, clearing space. Not with bitterness, but with openness. The right wall, the right show, the right collector - they’re already on their way.

And in the meantime, the work remains. Ready. Worthy. Alive.