Here's another tile I did at Tangle U. Pretty sure I did this one in Sandy Steen Bartholemew's class, in which we made prints. My print didn't come out well so I went ahead and embellished it, going over it with white Gelly Roll and a bit of colored pencil work. I ended up liking this, even though it never looked even remotely like what I had first imagined. Isn't that so often true of what we do? We see one thing in our heads, but can't make it come out on paper (or in writing, or in the textile, or whatever our medium is) the way we are envisioning it...so we end up disliking whatever-it-is because we are disappointed that the real image doesn't match the mental image. I know this has happened to me a million times. What's odd, though, is how when we let go of that disappointment, perhaps even putting the actual real image away for a few days, it suddenly looks quite interesting. Maybe, even, it looks good. Maybe, even, we end up liking it. Or even end up being proud of it. I've often thought about this in life, noticing how often my expectations lead me to be disappointed in something I've done...only to realize later that it actually worked out very well. It seems the only way to move ahead, to get better at something, is to bumble along and simply let go of expectations, just accepting what comes and moving along to the next task. Practice, practice, practice. "Progress, not perfection"--isn't that how the saying goes? We're bound to come up with things we love--even if we have to learn to love them in retrospect. Comments are closed.
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ABOUT ME I'm a textile artist (traditional rug hooking, punch needle rug hooking, and other textile arts), a long-time meditator, a certified meditation teacher and coach, and focused on learning about the interplay of art, creativity, and mindfulness every day. Certified Unified Mindfulness Coach Level I, 2024
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