Saturday, October 13, 2007

Learning from experiments

I was experimenting yesterday. More or less successfully; not the outcome I was hoping for, but not a total failure, either. And therein lies the problem. Resounding successes are wonderful. I get to do the happy dance, I know when they're done, and I'm thrilled and excited. Failures aren't bad, either; they go off quickly to the scrap pile, and I've learned something valuable.

It's the not-quite-but-almost ones that give me fits.

That's when I discover that sometimes it's better to just leave well enough alone. For example, the ring I made yesterday was an experiment, and, as experiments go, it was a good one. I learned a lot; both what to do, and what not to do. I'm not quite happy with it, but I don't hate it, either; and that makes it very hard to set down. This morning I woke up with a few ideas for "fixing" it; and yes, you guessed it, no matter what I tried, it just didn't work. It's gone right back to where it was yesterday, and this time, it's going to stay that way.

The weaknesses in the project could not be turned into strengths. And covering them up only made them look, well, covered up. It's not a bad ring. It's not a good ring. It is what it is: a lesson learned.

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