Tuesday [Things I Make for Me]

It happened. I'm surprised that I evaded it this long. Time and time again, I have been regaled with others' horror stories. And my own experience lived up to the grave descriptions.

There's a Hole in the Bucket

Sadie Sidecar, once
employee of the month

On the heels of a brief break from studio work, I've been anxious to sink my teeth, my hands, and my energy back into my work. And being on the workaholic end of the spectrum, I thought I could take advantage of the distraction of the July 4th holiday to squeeze in some quality creating time. 

Wreck in Review

Have you ever had a week where you repeatedly asked "What the???" Where a series of things that should conservatively be sprinkled over the course of a few months [a manageable touch of calamity for the ordinary person] just keep happening back to back? 

Trial and Error

I like trial and error. I do. It is a necessary process that elevates my understanding of various media as I learn the quirks and oddities that make up the properties of a material. Yeah, whatever. As valuable as I know trial and error to be in creating, sometimes it just iirrrrrks me so bad!

Yesterday, when I discovered a drying process gone awry on a piece I had eagerly and excitedly painted the day before, I wanted to kick something, hard. Luckily no one else was around.

Some fluke crackle effect where I didn't intend it to be.
really? GRRRRR!!!

Yeah, it's a pretty big buzz-kill on that whole fulfilling creative process thing when green dries blue, stuff warps to look stangely like crap, or a tool fails just minutes away from the completion of a major piece, all but totally destroying
weeks of work.

super.

Seems like it happens the most on stuff I am really looking forward to finishing. I'll be cruising along, moving closer and closer to the finished product I picture, when, wham, a lil ol' monkey wrench in my plan. Most times whatever has gone wrong is fixable, and teaches me something I can use to my benefit on other projects. In fact, the errors sometimes equal happy accidents. Sometimes it will change the vision for what the finished product will be. Bring out my inner scientist when something doesn't work and I'm forced to rig- er, formulate a new method.

how many times do I have to mix paint
to get the right pink? we are not going for
pepto bismol here...

But often, it is a setback, adding additional
step(s) and an additional day or more to a project. And, who are we kidding, when you are creating for a living, the "time is money" thing definitely applies to you. In the end, I try to make myself feel better about extra time I have to spend fixing or re-doing by thinking about how much faster and more efficient I'll be able to get that same thing done the next 5 or 10 times, knowing what I know. It's awesome in the same way as getting your taxes done.
Back to the drawing board...