- Joined
- Mar 7, 2009
- Messages
- 254
You know the old saw about the craftsman leaving an intentional flaw in his work, so as not to offend the gods? I always thought that was utter bullshit. If a craftsman ever did that, it was a copout, pure and simple. He just couldn't face the pain of constant failure.
I've made a lot of things that stopped at "good enough". I wish I hadn't. My granddad always told me "Son, everything you do, do it like you were going to sign it." Work that's just good enough doesn't meet that bar.
I've also made a lot of things, from jewelry to the seed chutes in a Texas cottonseed mill to my first knife, that I did try my best to make them perfect and only stopped when I knew I'd be going backwards. I've never gotten even close to perfect in my own eyes, and it just breaks me every time I fall short.
If your heart is in your art, if you strive for the perfect expression of your mind's eye, it's an exercise in futility. I'm never going to get exactly what I "see" into a piece of steel. My best work is never going to come out quite right. That's OK - It's the trying that feeds my soul, and the falling short just spurs me to better work and clearer vision.
Doc
I've made a lot of things that stopped at "good enough". I wish I hadn't. My granddad always told me "Son, everything you do, do it like you were going to sign it." Work that's just good enough doesn't meet that bar.
I've also made a lot of things, from jewelry to the seed chutes in a Texas cottonseed mill to my first knife, that I did try my best to make them perfect and only stopped when I knew I'd be going backwards. I've never gotten even close to perfect in my own eyes, and it just breaks me every time I fall short.
If your heart is in your art, if you strive for the perfect expression of your mind's eye, it's an exercise in futility. I'm never going to get exactly what I "see" into a piece of steel. My best work is never going to come out quite right. That's OK - It's the trying that feeds my soul, and the falling short just spurs me to better work and clearer vision.
Doc