When Things Go Wrong
When do you Tap OUT?
What happens when an art piece just isn't going according to plan? Do you you keep trying or do you quit?
Alright, soooo… here’s the thing. I was working on this particularly difficult art project that seems to be lodged in my brain and won’t get out. It has been one that’s been lurking around for a few years. I would try to tame the idea on and off… Now I’m at the point it is just kicking me in the lady tenders. I worked on it yesterday. It involves assembling these painstakingly hand painted butterfly wings on super thin sheets of paper and trying to give it enough stiffness to stand up like an actual butterfly. I can’t make it work.
Here’s what kept going through my head…
“Why are you this stupid?” “You’re not even trying now.” “Dude… seriously, a kid could make this work! Why can’t you do this?” “Why don’t you just quit now? This is taking too much time.” “Why do you always come up with stupid projects?”
“ Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
My subconscious is a prick.
There’s often this perfectly clear image in our heads about what something is supposed to look like. However, there is a disconnect from mind to fingers. Making your hands do what your mind sees, is like trying to touch something miles away through a foggy pathway. So we keep trying and trying. A lot of times something different emerges and that is just fine! But sometimes… in some dark days, an art project does not see the light of day.
That is where I am at right now with this particular project. Maybe I’ll pick it back up again but for now… bleh. I think it might be the healthier thing to move on to other projects, cleanse the palette, and consider trying again later.
There is no shame in tapping out.