Moving Through Hesitation

I think it’s healthy to take time every now and then to look back and reflect on how far you’ve come, whatever you’re working toward. Progress often happens quietly, in small, brave steps, and I’ve found that looking back helps me appreciate those steps even more.

I remember the day I created my very first multi-color print (see above). I was terrified to try a color gradient, convinced it wouldn’t turn out the way I imagined. The funny thing is, if it hadn’t worked, I could’ve just cleaned the block and tried again. But fear doesn’t always listen to logic. It took me days to build up the courage to even roll the ink.

When I finally did, it worked and it became “New Horizon,” a piece I’m still proud of. Every time I look at it, I’m reminded of that moment I pushed past hesitation and just made the thing.

A few months later, I took an online Zoom course with Bruno Press and learned about reduction printing. Reduction prints are a whole different level of scary, because with every new layer of color, you carve more of the block away. There’s no undo button. No cleaning and trying again. Once you carve, it’s permanent. But the class gave me the confidence I needed, and that’s how “Fixation” came to life (see above).

And then something shifted in me.

After finishing Fixation, I suddenly felt bold, ready to push myself even further. So I decided to create the largest print I had ever attempted… as a reduction print. A massive, beautiful challenge. That piece became “Tangled Grace” (see below).

Looking back now, I can trace my growth in these prints:
from hesitation → to confidence → to courage → to creative freedom.

It’s a reminder I think we all need: Sometimes the breakthrough comes after the fear, never before it. And often, the things we’re most afraid to try become the pieces we love the most.

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With gratitude and ink,
Emily Ciecka