desperately seeking perfection

The other day someone asked me how I can part with my creations, that they're too pretty to sell. It happens a lot when you first start out making things. You fall in love with your own work and have trouble when it's time to send it on its way. You get over that pretty quickly, simply because you run out of space to keep it all. And the materials used to make them. Ask any quilter or sewer about their fabric stash and you'll see what I mean :)

And, no matter how perfect you think your first efforts are, you're going to get better. There isn't a single thing I make that hasn't evolved over time. I'm constantly seeking perfection (perhaps not desperately, but that did make a good headline). Not just in the finished product but in the process of making it. There will always be ways to work more smoothly and faster, and new and cheaper ways to source the materials used. You may not think about those things at first but you will.

I've been thinking a lot lately about college and some of the influences, inspiration, and life lessons I learned from my professors. On the first day of a ceramics course the professor was showing us how to use the potters wheel, and threw a perfect pot. And we all gasped when he smashed it flat after completing it. I can't remember the exact words he used but it was something to the effect that "If you can make something once, you can do it again, and even better the second time". He was also teaching us to not be afraid of the materials and the process, which seemed daunting at the time. It was a dramatic lesson and one I haven't forgotten.

But back to sending your babies out into the world. I feel that if you've found my website and are spending your hard-earned money to buy something I've made, then we have some kind of connection already. And I feel better sending my creations to their new home because I know you'll love and take good care of them. They're going to friends after all!