A Key Lesson (for me)

The lesson came from a painting instructor, he said “If you don’t cross the line, you’ll never know where it is”. Too often a painting starts to get precious too early, hampering the ability to make choices, paralyzing you with fear of screwing up what’s already achieved. He was encouraging me to risk ruining a decent painting in the name my future efforts. This plays out a little differently in woodworking than painting, but I believe the lesson holds true.

I know the proverb “perfect is the enemy of the good” but I’m not talking about a painting, or a chair, I’m talking about growing as a designer and builder. I don’t just want to make a good chair, I want to get better at the process of imagining and creating chairs. It’s a skill, a process that must be practiced in motion, like riding a bike. I recently got to help an 8 year old learn to ride a bike, and I could see how every new part of it, like standing while peddling was hugely risky. He had just learned to sit and ride successfully, but the hills were getting tough. He was hesitant, the risk of trying another skill was scary, with real physical danger on the line. I could see his reluctance, but he did it.

How does this play out in woodworking? I see it all the time in my classes. Students at risk, learning something new, trying to understand what they are doing while simultaneously trying to get it right . My solution to this is to play. Expect that the point is to explore, failure is always an option. The skill and the results will follow. Who knows, maybe I’m just a craft adrenaline junkie, but I know one thing for sure, I’m not alone.