You’re Doing It Wrong
It’s not given to people to judge what’s right or wrong. People have eternally been mistaken and will be mistaken, and in nothing more than in what they consider right and wrong. ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
[one_half padding=”4px 10 px 0 4px”]”We all make mistakes.” How many times does a parent or teacher say that to a child who is distraught over what the adult sees as an insignificant error? I know I heard the phrase countless times as I was growing up and I’m pretty sure I’ve said it to my boys and several other children, and maybe some other adults, over the years. Some mistakes are significant and deserve attention and correction and perhaps even punishment. But the majority of mistakes we make aren’t really that big a deal, even though they may feel like it at the time. We’re good at blowing things way out of proportion. Hell, political pundits wouldn’t have anything to talk about if they gave mistakes a fair shake. None of us are perfect, but we too often expect such of ourselves and, most notoriously, of others.
“You should have known better.” Wow, have I used that one far too often. I’m rather ashamed now that I’m sitting here giving it some though. Should we always know better? Sure, we may have covered the topic under similar circumstances multiple times before, but when we consider the nuances that surround each and every second of our lives that keep up from actually duplicating anything, could it be possible someone innocently, unwittingly, taking the moment for the unique thing that it is, doesn’t know better? What we see as an error born of failure to pay attention may very well be one simply caused by living in the moment.
“You’re doing it wrong.” Ouch, that one always hurts but it has taken on a new life of its own thanks to a “song,” by some guy named Drake. I have to admit to some ignorance here. I’m not a hip-hop/rap fan and if I’ve ever actually heard a song by this Drake fellow no one bothered to tell me. I know he’s no Frank Sinatra but it’s not exactly fair to hold that against Drake, is it? Just because someone doesn’t sing in the style to which we accustomed doesn’t mean they’re doing it wrong, does it? So this Drake fellow is being creative, as are millions of other people who choose to do things in their own special way, color their life outside the line. Does that mean they’re doing it wrong?[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Powder-like substances were the first thing we tried, but after five attempts with only two that could be considered successful and two that were outright disasters, we opted for thicker, more sturdy substances that provided a greater amount of texture. I don’t like having a concept go wrong, but moving on to other substances was probably the best for the project. Being versatile and flexible is a necessity even when working on one’s own. That doesn’t make admitting that you’re doing it wrong any easier.
At least the only m negative aspect of using flour was the mess quotient, which was considerable. Anyone who has spent any time in a kitchen knows the propensity floor has for getting all over the place, no matter how careful one tries to be. One little whiff of air and there is flour all over the place. Now imagine, we weren’t trying to be all that careful and the air conditioning was on. Every time the model changed poses, more floor became airborne. By the time we finished, flour dusted everything in the room. Clean up took weeks.
I still like this image, though I probably wouldn’t do it again. There’s a phantom-like feeling to it that is a little dark and mysterious if one chooses to let one’s mind wander in that direction. Also like the natural lines that formed as the model moved. The texture and design turned out far more interesting than I had anticipated. While this portion of the project wasn’t quite what I wanted, at least it doesn’t carry that sense that we were doing it wrong. Nothing in life has to be perfect to be correct. After all, we all make mistakes, even when we should have known better.
Forgiveness is often very necessary. [/one_half_last]