No argument can persuade me to like oysters if I do not like them. In other words, the disturbing thing about matters of taste is that they are not communicable. ~ Hannah Arendt
This week, I watched Andrew, my 5-month-old grandson, explore his world with his eyes…and his mouth. Bob and I were kept busy discerning which toys Andrew would enjoy. Teething ring, yes. Cow puppet, no. And so on…
Each object offered was picked up, observed and then stuffed into his mouth to check for taste, texture and effectiveness for chewing on. Those not to his taste were tossed heedlessly to the floor.
I remember this stage with my sons and their introduction to solid foods, especially the older two. As they progressed from one food to another, Stephen, the oldest, quickly exhibited a dislike for many vegetables. Green beans and carrots were all he would eat for a long time. Christopher, on the other hand, loved vegetables, especially trees (broccoli). And I wondered then, what makes one child like a vegetable and the other one not? Same parents, same environment, same food preparation…
This idea of our personal responses to the flavors and textures that we prefer carries over into all areas of our lives but most especially into the creative arena.
When I first exhibited my carefully handwoven rayon chenille scarves at the big wholesale fine craft shows in Philadelphia and Baltimore, I watched person after person walk by my booth without coming in to look at my work.
I wondered if there was something wrong with my work. Perhaps it wasn’t up to the quality of the other weavers exhibiting at the show, my colors were too strong, or my prices were too high…or too low. But a buyer finally walked into my booth and oohed and aahed over my scarves, loving the colors and the finishes, as did another buyer, and another. An order was placed, then another.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with my work. After all, I had been weaving for years. I knew my craft. My sense of color was equally honed and personally unique.
But, as I listened to the buyers talk about their customers, I realized that the customers of the shop in LA had different tastes from the customers of a shop in Boston. And I realized that personal taste was just that…personal.
I wasn’t going to change it. In fact, to try is a waste of time and energy. And why should everyone’s taste be the same? How boring would that be?
Now I’m not advocating that you create without regard to the tastes of your clients and customers. Certainly, over the years, family menus had to take personal tastes in to consideration–which is why I never served anything with bananas cooked into it (me).
I can’t expect everyone to like everything I write or weave or create either. I can’t even expect you, because you liked something I did in the past, to like everything I do in the future.
The flavor of the different products and events I create change and vary. So do your tastes.
So the next time someone passes by your work, rejects it, says no to it, doesn’t buy…
Remember that, if you’ve practiced and honed your craft and you’ve created from a place of both awareness and integrity…
It’s simply a matter of taste. They just prefer carrots to broccoli.