Monday, June 20, 2016

Don't throw it away. Just keep on going.

I practiced a few during the last couple of weeks but not enough to show you. The truth is I was out of town, visiting family and there was little time and energy to sit down and make a sound practice. I resumed the sketching during the weekend and I also tried to do Zentangles. This is my very first try. It does have mistakes but it looks pretty good despite those mistakes. Since Mother Dragon often mentions how I no longer draw anything for her, I decided to make a Birthday Card for her and this zentangle to be part of it. Must say that zentangles are far more time-consuming than I first thought. What you see on the left took me three days so far.

Once I heard an artist (not sure if it was Proko or Marshall Vandruff) say that at some point during the process of an artwork it looks like you screwed it up. He said there is always that moment when you look at it and you just hate it and feel like throwing it away and start anew. It sounded somehow familiar to me. I've been there. Actually I was about to throw this zentangle away because I thought it looked hideous. There is a mistake in the lotus in the middle, on the right side. The one that doesn't have yellow underneath. That was the first one I did and I thought it sucked. I was about to rip the whole thing apart, despite at the moment I had already invested two days in it. But I remembered that despite feeling the artwork was ruined, you just had to go on and finish it. Then more often than not, you'll see it works out well, somehow. Either you find a way to fix the mistake or it comes out that it wasn't a mistake after all, but a chance to be creative and come up with something different. Maybe it wasn't what you planned in the first place, but it is still good, or even better.

The combination of the other five lotuses (is that a word?) were a result of my efforts to fix the first one. It is not perfect but I am pleased I didn't rip it off and threw it away. I think Mother Dragon will like it too. It is still a work in progress but it's looking good. Besides practicing my pulse here, I'm also practicing patience, a lot of patience. Did I tell you patience is not my strong suit?

So I leave you this piece of century-distilled wisdom. When you feel like you screwed it up, don't throw it away. Be patient, keep on going and finish it. You might be surprised.

Dragon Hugs!


11 comments:

  1. She will be really pleased because you made it!
    We see our mistakes. Often, no one else does.

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  2. Alex is right. On both counts. And happy birthday to Mother Dragon.

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  3. We all dislike our creations at some point. Yep, just keep going, it always seems to work out. I think it beautiful. Wish I could make artwork like that.

    Jut keep - - drawing :) and practicing.

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  4. Hi Al - I rather like it .. and not all flowers are perfect at the same time ... also as you say - you practise as you work the Zentangle ... enjoy doing more sketching and zentaglians onwards ... cheers and Happy Birthday Mother Dragon - Hilary

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  5. I think that it is the little flaws that create the uniqueness and that is the true beauty. Patience is a difficult obstacle to overcome. I use breathing techniques. slow rhythmic inhales and exhales. It is in the pauses between breaths that brings the calmness forth.

    I think it is the hand created gifts that are the greatest, a picture, poem or song. It comes from the heart. Mother Dragon is probably one happy dragon. Keep on going let your creative energy flow.

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  6. What exactly is a Zentangle? Did you paint it or stitch it? I see nothing wrong with it and I am sure Mother Dragon will love it.

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    1. Zentangle is a like line weaved patterns. It is supposed to be therapeutic and help your mindfulness and creativity. And this was drawn. :)

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    2. Gracias querido dragon.

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  7. It's pretty. Your mother will love it.

    Sometimes we can fix the mistakes and sometimes we just work around them.

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  8. Your art turned out wonderful, and I hope Mother Dragon loves it. It's a great life lesson to keep on trying and going.

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  9. It's lovely... And, as a fellow artist, one should finish a piece before declaring it a disaster and throwing it away..

    HOPE all is well FD....

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