- Published on
Reclaimed Horizon
"Reclaimed Horizon" - mixed media on salvaged plywood, 19" x 29" x .5". Ready to hang. Available here.
"There are no perfect days. We have struggled hard against this truth. "
From Today's Gift
This little zinger landed in my in-box last week. And it smacked me in the forehead - she who struggles with her own perfectionism. idealism and romanticism. What do you mean there are no perfect days?
Most of my life I have dreamed of the day when ___________(fill in the blank). As if someday that perfect, idealized day would come. The three "isms" get in the way of every day, and turn the actual horizon into an event horizon (black hole speak, which can mean a horizon which appears to keep moving away as you move closer to it).
The "isms" are also tough on your relationships (what? you mean no one is perfect???) your creative process (never satisfied, not enjoying what you've accomplished) and your decision making capability (nothing is quite good enough).
"There are no perfect days. We have struggled hard against this truth. "
From Today's Gift
This little zinger landed in my in-box last week. And it smacked me in the forehead - she who struggles with her own perfectionism. idealism and romanticism. What do you mean there are no perfect days?
Most of my life I have dreamed of the day when ___________(fill in the blank). As if someday that perfect, idealized day would come. The three "isms" get in the way of every day, and turn the actual horizon into an event horizon (black hole speak, which can mean a horizon which appears to keep moving away as you move closer to it).
The "isms" are also tough on your relationships (what? you mean no one is perfect???) your creative process (never satisfied, not enjoying what you've accomplished) and your decision making capability (nothing is quite good enough).
So what happens when we discard the idea of perfection?
This piece is (ahem) a perfect example. It began is imperfect as a piece can be - the very board itself is a piece of salvaged lumber, discarded at a metal shop. It was already painted (light teal exterior paint), scraped, grooved and rough. By starting with something discarded and hugely distressed, each layer I added to it just made it better. None of the angst of beginning with a pure, white canvas and judging each subsequent mark and brushstroke.
There was NO WAY this painting could ever be pristine and perfect. I embraced its rough imperfection by adding even more texture (dimensional grounds) and using a spackle knife to carve back into the layers of paint. And it got better and better. It is now the best that it can be. Which isn't perfect at all. But it makes me smile every time I walk past and get a glimpse of it on the easel. Now, if I can just look at each day this way - rough and discarded, ready to be improved and made better, not made perfect. Hmmmmm.
This piece is (ahem) a perfect example. It began is imperfect as a piece can be - the very board itself is a piece of salvaged lumber, discarded at a metal shop. It was already painted (light teal exterior paint), scraped, grooved and rough. By starting with something discarded and hugely distressed, each layer I added to it just made it better. None of the angst of beginning with a pure, white canvas and judging each subsequent mark and brushstroke.
There was NO WAY this painting could ever be pristine and perfect. I embraced its rough imperfection by adding even more texture (dimensional grounds) and using a spackle knife to carve back into the layers of paint. And it got better and better. It is now the best that it can be. Which isn't perfect at all. But it makes me smile every time I walk past and get a glimpse of it on the easel. Now, if I can just look at each day this way - rough and discarded, ready to be improved and made better, not made perfect. Hmmmmm.
and that painting I'm gobsmacked by it!
Thank you for the reminder of Wabi Sabi! I needed that today.